Chinese Foreign Policy & National Security Essay Example for Free

Chinese Foreign Policy National Security Essay The China-South Korea axis is perhaps the most overlooked variable in the strategic environment of Northeast Asia. For nearly five decades their relationship was characterized by war, lack of dialogue and non-recognition; then, over a period of some three years, this situation gave away to fully normalized and amiable relations in 1992. Rapprochement between Seoul and Beijing in 1992 opened one of the first frontiers of the post-Cold War thaw in the region, and future security will hinge at least partly on this core relationship. In this context, Cha analyzes the evolution of Sino-South Korean reconciliation, and argues that the South Koreas engagement policy from the late 1980s in the political, economic, and cultural arenas played a major part in eliciting unprecedented cooperation from Beijing, however, its initiatives alone were not a sufficient condition to prompt this cooperation. A prior and necessary condition was a change in the strategic context surrounding China and the Korean Peninsula that raised both the benefits of cooperation and the costs of non-cooperation; the end of Cold War . In the context of security environment in Northeast Asia, South Koreas success in engaging China has implications for future security on the Korean Peninsula. On balance, the axis is a stabilizing factor but not without its share of future challenges. With this in mind, the key questions of the article include: (1) How does one explain the growth of cooperation between China and South Korea? (2) To what extent has Sino-ROK rapprochement been the result of successful strategies on the part of South Korea to engage China? (3) What are the implications on North Korea? For a quarter-century after the Korean War, Sino-South Korean relations sat at the intersection of the global East-West conflict and the Sino-Soviet split, making any hint of cooperation impossible.1 However, since the middle 1980s, Sino-South Korean relationship has moved from being sworn enemies and opposed combatants in the Korean War, to being potential economic partners (but still strategic adversaries), and fully normalized diplomatic relations in 1992. Three key drivers propelled the change in the relationship: (1) the transformation of strategic environment concomitant to the end of Cold War, which established the baseline for post-war interaction. In this context, Sino-Soviet reconciliation was a significant factor in Chinese calculations to normalize with Seoul. In particular, the end of Sino-Soviet rivalry reduced in Chinese minds the strategic consequences of losing North Korea to Moscow, and made opening to South Korea more feasible. Furthermore, in South Koreas view, China had evolved from being a revisionist power to being a status quo one, in the degree to which Beijing emphasized unification or peace maintenance as the security priority for the Peninsula. Unification was associated with Chinas revolutionary power and support for North Korea to overthrow the South the essence of Chinas one Korea policy of the Cold War. On the other hand, peace maintenance implied stability outcome for Korea by recognizing South Korea and opposing provocative acts by the North which might upset the unstable peace on the Peninsula. (2) Domestic change in China concomitant to Deng Xiaopings modernization reforms, and subsequent separation of politics from economics. The initial economic trade was largely indirect, transacted through third-party intermediaries or South Korean trading firms in Hong Kong. By 1985, however, total Chinese-South Korea trade surpassed that between China and North Korea. During the 1980s, while the two sides still viewed one another as military adversaries, they increasingly recognized each other as economic opportunities. The beginnings of a diplomatic relationship also emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of trade offices between the Korea Trade Promotion Association (KOTRA) and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1990, which facilitated shift from indirect trade to open and direct transactions, and subsequently in establishing formal diplomatic relations in August 1992. (3) South Koreas conscious policy of engagement to elicit cooperation from China, in particular using non-punitive, non-coercive diplomacy and seeking mutual accommodation. South Koreas engagement strategy contained the following tiers: first, economic linkages, investment and trade ties to increase the benefits to China of cooperation, and the costs of non-cooperation, providing foreign capital and technology, separating political cooperation with economics, but gradually produce cooperative behavior in other arenas. The growth of trade ties in the 1980s was a major reason why China chose to participate in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics hosted by South Korea, which served as key event to normalize relations. Second tenet of South Koreas engagement strategy was to treat the opposing states perspectives as legitimate per se. This meant engaging Chinas divergent position into official dialogues on the proposals for enhancing peace and stability in the region such as the Four-Party talks, and more importantly South Koreas recognition of One China Policy, acknowledging Beijing as the only legal government in China. These initiatives at the diplomatic front were followed by general increase in communication flows on the business, educational, and cultural levels to cultivate goodwill. In this context, South Koreas engagement strategy included the following goals: (1) cultivate Beijings cooperation by tying Chinese national interests to stability on the Peninsula; (2) improve South Koreas credibility in the international arena by enhancing its image as a regional player willing to reduce tensions and foster dialogue; and (3) engage North Korea through alternative channels. In order to pursue these goals, South Korea utilized the following means: in the macro-political perspective, the strategy of engagement of China was pursued through the policy of Nordpolitik and Globalization (segyehwa) which implied mutual economic prosperity as a means of expanding diplomatic ties with former adversaries as well as assuming a leading role for South Korea in international organizations and the continued expansion of program multi-directional diplomacy (i.e. using meetings of multilateral bodies such as APEC, ASEAN, non-governmental track-two diplomacy, high-level military excha nges). The second method of engagement has been sports diplomacy participating in athletic competitions hosted by each country provided a useful means by to express good will and interest in expanding the economic cooperation (Seoul 1988 Olympics, Beijing Asian Games 1990). What was the benchmark of success of South Koreas engagement strategy? The key was not only engaging China, but also the terms of policy toward North Korea. The following measure could be used: (A) Failure Chinese support of North Korea (B) Minimal Success 1.5 Korea policy; formal support of North Korea and de-facto recognition of South Korea (C) Moderate Success equidistance between North and South Korea (D) Very Successful discourage North Korean provocation and aggression (E) Most Successful China supports only South Korea Cha argues that the outcome of South Koreas engagement falls in the middle range (B to D). For example, Chinese behavior on the North Korean nuclear issue in 1993-94, when Beijing sided with the US and South Korea on many aspects (such as opposing North Korea to renege Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and abide to non-nuclear Peninsula), however, at the same time Beijing expressed strong opposition against any acts of coercion against the North. It persistently pressed for dialogue and negotiona as the only acceptable means of settling the dispute, and opposed any U.S. led sanctions thought the UN Security Council. A more successful outcome was the redefined Chinese behavior on UN admission of the two Koreas in 1991, in which Chinese accepted dual membership of the two Koreas in the UN. Arguing that South Korean engagement of China has been sustained, comprehensive and moderately successful, the next question is how this new relationship will affect security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the broader region? Salient issues include the impact of the Asian financial crisis, the dynamics of second U.S.-North Korea nuclear crisis, the effect of Bejing-Seoul dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente on South Koreas alliance with Washington, and the future challenges that could be posed by Korean unification. (1) The impact of the Asian Financial Crisis didnt affect China-South Korean relations thus far. In-fact, in 2003 China has surpassed the U.S. as South Koreas largest trading partner (2) Sino-South Korean relations have important implications in understanding current relations between North and South Korea. Under Kim Dae Jung, South Korea initiated Sunshine Policy that rests on Seouls assurances of no-isolation, no destabilization, and no absorption. The Sunshine Policy is in many ways similar to the engagement strategy toward China, both in form and potential success. In particular, it is consistent (despite Norths provocations) and designed to elicit cooperation from the opposing state. However, there are also differences- regarding intentions; for cooperation to emerge, the opposing state has to be engageable. North Koreas behavior does not suggest she is open to an improvement of relations. Second, there are differences in South Koreas capabilities of early 1990s and late 1990s, in particular, in the early 1990s South Korea that engaged China did so from a position of relative strength and prosperity; however, in the late 1990s, the Asian financial crisis put South Korean position to a relative weakness., because conciliatory gestures are more likely to be interpreted as appeasement rather than engagement. Hence success to engagement of North Korea is not likely. (3) Looking beyond the immediate North Korean nuclear problem, Korean unification raises a plethora of new factors that would test the resilience of China-South Korea engagement. The absence of the North Korean buffer would give rise to a situation in which two powers with different regimes share a contiguous border. Another future challenges is on the economic front the rising China may hange its trade needs and increase competition with Korea. A final potential conflict between a united Korea and China centers on nationalism, and the two-million ethnic Korean living in Chinese Jilin province, which a unified Korea might claim. In the final analysis, the dramatic transformation of Chin-South Korean relations in the 1990s represents the most successful case of engaging China in East Asia. The lessons stemming from this engagement include: (1) consistency- a policy can only be successful if it is applied consistently and deliberately, (2) engagement requires will and domestic political support to sustain the policy even in the face of little reciprocity by the other state; (3) engagement applied from a position of strength conveys credibility, but applied from a position of weakness connotes appeasement. For the foreseeable future, the burden of managing the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula falls even more on the new China-South Korea dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and the continuing U.S.-South Korea Alliance. My Observation: Victor Cha offers a plausible analysis of the South Koreas engagement strategy and the factors that have significantly improved Sino-South Korean relations, nonetheless, I would argue that he underestimated the historical factors that bind China and South Korea together, which might have accelerated the rapprochement on both sides. Traditionally, Korea has fallen under the Chinese sphere of influence, with Korea belonging to the first-tier state of the Sino-centered worldview. In this context, another traditional binding element is the continuing anti-Japanese sentiments and mistrust in both Koreas and China that target Japanese sense of irresponsibility and demand apology for its war atrocities. Taken together, I would argue that these factors also facilitated the relatively rapid transformation of the relations, on a personal level between Korean and Chinese officials. In the context of enhancing peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, positive Sino-South Korean relations certainly play an important role. Both states are aware of this factor, and share similar interests. However, Beijing seems to be in a dilemma, it desperately does not want to face a collapse of North Korea nor does it want to see a nuclear North Korea. Hence, Chinas actions in the foreign policy arena are still bound to the minimum necessary level to ensure stability. Ironically, while the Chinese officials have been claiming that they are making efforts to persuade North Korea to enter multilateral dialogue and negotiation, they also claim that North Korea doesnt listen as it used to. In this regard, my question is: How much leverage does China have over North Korea? 🙂 1 From the ROK perspective, during the Cold War China was part of the communist bloc, a patron of revolutionary regimes in Asia, and thus one of the primary threats to South Koreas survival. Chinas intervention in the Korean War in 1950, in conjunction with the July 1961 Friendship Treaty between China and North Korea with its automatic intervention clause cemented South Koreas perceptions of China as a threat. At the same time, Chinas hostility toward South Korea was equally intense. South Korea was the fascist axis of the iron triangle that included U.S. imperialism, and Japanese militarism.

Catcher In The Rye Essay Example for Free

Catcher In The Rye Essay A journey is more than a physical movement from one place to another. All journeys no matter how arduous entail setbacks and barriers that must be met. In doing so the traveller experiences a more significant inner journey of self growth. This is evident in the journey from adolescence to adulthood during which setbacks and barriers may entail a loss of innocence. J. D Salinger’s novel the Catcher in the rye explores this concept through various literary techniques. ( thesis) Loss of innocence as a major issue within the concept of a rites of passage is explored by J. D Salinger through the protagonist Holden Caulfield. His journey appears to be one self destructive act after another. This adult world into which Holden is forced into disturbs him profoundly. In his view, the adults who dwell this world, seem to be filled with phoniness, pretence and social compromise. He finds it almost intolerable to communicate with most adults and peers. This is prevalent throughout the book when he constantly brings up the question of what happens to the ducks in winter. The adults’ response to this recurring question is of contemn and expectation to know the answer, therefore never giving him an adequate explanation. This clearly demonstrates how his innocent mind conflicts with this phony adult world, and his response, is to rebel against this whole society. â€Å" quote† Holden expresses his rebellion through his inability to progress in life and his hatred of people. It is really only in children that he sees the true simplicity of honesty- and that is his escape from this adult phony world. Salinger portrays the transition from adolescence to adulthood as a quest for self identity and self discovery. For Holden however, his journey is a bombardment of obstacles in his search for connection with others, thus highlighting the angst of growing up. Holden finally breaks down with the constant disappointments and let downs he encounters. â€Å"quote ans technique† From his fight with Stradlater to Maurice’s exploitation of a prostitute, to Mr Antolini’s behaviour, Holden just cannot handle any more letdowns so his odyssey is one of loneliness and cynicism. An example of this is when Holden abruptly gives Sally an ultimatum to leave their current lives behind and build a future without the promise of stability. Sally’s refusal to this proposal results in Holden lashing out at her hence elucidating Holden’s naivety. And, just like a kid, he thinks that everyone is to blame except for him. The inability to meet setbacks and barriers and accept a loss of innocence within the jouney from adolescence to adulthood will inevitably lead to ones downfall. The deliberate irony is that Holden strives to act as a grown up but constantly acts like a child is seen in his provocation of his peers and his irrational thinking. â€Å"quote † The title of the book, â€Å"Catcher in the Rye,† is more than just a pretty ditty. It is Holden’s dream to be the catcher in the rye, thus save little children from falling off the cliff into adulthood. Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobodys aroundnobody big, I meanexcept me. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliffI mean if theyre running and they dont look where theyre going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. Thats all Id do all day. Id just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know its crazy, but thats the only thing Id really like to be. Holden is adamant on playing the adult role of protecting children and their innocence that gets lost in the adult phony world. He envisions protecting and shielding children from the evils of society, when he himself is one who is in a state of conflict between adolescence and adulthood. However, it is through the telling of his story that Holden eventually gains control of his disturbed past. His search for self identity and discovery can be seen as a search for tolerance, acceptance and understanding- something that he finally experiences in the final scene with Phoebe riding the carrousel. When he see’s Phoebe on the carrousel, he accepts that he is not a child anymore indicating that he is perhaps more accepting of change. Towards the end, Holden has found some wisdom when he claims to â€Å"sort of miss everyone. † There was some light for him at the end of the tunnel- and that light is hope and acceptance that he doesn’t live in such an evil world that he made out to be. Holden wants desperately to protect this idealistic life but perhaps he realises at the end that it is not possible and that maturity is a means of accepting what life throws at one. How he deals with obstacles along the way conveys Holden’s journey from adolescence into adulthood.

Adopting MapReduce and Hummingbird for Information Retrieval

Adopting MapReduce and Hummingbird for Information Retrieval Adopting MapReduce and Hummingbird for Information Retrieval in dedicated cloud Environment Dr. Piyush Gupta Chandelkar Kashinath K. Abstract: Data collected in section 3 indicated the number of active internet users across the globe. The collected chunks of information termed as Big Data not only utilizes physical resources into the network, but also leads to increase in human and financial resources. Cloud computing being a technology with IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) provides virtual resources on pay per use policy. MapReduce being widely used Algorithm is used in line with Hummingbird Search engine for information retrieval. Keywords: MapReduce, SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, Hummingbird, Big data 1. Introduction One of the papers published in International conference at Jaipur, entitled â€Å"The Need and Impact of Hummingbird Algorithm on Cloud based Content Management System† [21] elaborates on existence of humming bird algorithm on 15th birthday of Google. In existence with previous Google algorithms like panda 3.5, page rank and penguin, hummingbird is a new replacement of full engine instead of repairing individual modules. This has affected 90% of data across the globe. Migrating MapReduce algorithm on cloud environment using Hadoop, not only improves performance due to cloud features but also the efficiency is increased with cost minimization. 2. Problem Fig-1: Data center Source: IBM Enterprise System Fig-1 gives a snapshot of engineers working at data centers who manages information from diverse platforms and resources. Managing hardware and Network with virtualized resources needs dedicated young talent. When it comes to end user, he gets an average service as a result of improper management of data centers. MapReduce is one of the best known algorithms used for IR (Information Retrieval) in addition with existing algorithms as explained in section 7. Due to exponential increase in smart devices that supports voice based search, definitely needs fast and efficient searching algorithm for information retrieval. The voice based search assists to make smart decisions in real time applications like place identification, weather forecast and medical assistance using android based applications. 3. Why problem is important Fig-2: Global Internet users Source: W3 Foundation Looking at data increase across the globe as shown in Fig-2 (data collected till July 1, 2014) [19], the pilled content in repositories is increasing worldwide. It requires huge amount of hardware resources running for years to extract information and knowledge for decision making. The big challenge in big data is ever increasing content utilizing human resource and cost to create chunks in available networks across the globe, which needs attention. 4. It is an unsolved problem From the following relevant reviewed literature (table-1), it gives a blueprint that the problem has still remained unsolved. The authors have either focused on cloud components [6] [11] or had used traditional Google Components during the analysis. Since Hummingbird Algorithm [10] is not keyword based the searching criteria have changed. When combined with MapReduce [1] [3] [15] in cloud environment shall definitely yield efficient results with minimum cost and resources. Table-1: Existing Systems compared 5. Here is my idea Fig-3: Proposed Information Retrieval System Being cloud computing [4] [6] is upcoming Technology as discussed in section -7.2, is a good source of virtualized resources that helps to manage content on diverse platform irrespective of geographical boundaries. An instance of Hadoop that supports MapReduce Algorithm (elaborated in sec-7) is migrated in cloud environment using SaaS (Software as a Service) to whom input is diverted for processing. Hummingbird (more in section-7) Algorithm is a brand new search engine designed to understand meaning from acquired query instead of word, is imparted to collect output from MapReduce instance. The collected output on Amazon S3 cluster is efficiently and effectively delivered to end user based on voice based request, in addition to traditional systems for efficient decision making in the field of medicine, scientific research and so on. 6. My idea works To confirm the working of proposed idea, a hosted instance of Hadoop was used that supports MapReduce Algorithm and S3 data cluster from Amazon. It also has Qubole [20] managed database to test the instance in cloud environment. Qubole has an API (Application programming Interface) that gives overview of running instances through dashboard. A user shall give input as a database or can manually select file in addition to query wizard. Once the input is given to MapReduce cluster, data analysis shall be done by using hive query in addition to pig script. Following results were collected by using existing database. Fig-4: Cloud based Hadoop Instance Source: Qubole Figure -4 shows a dashboard running Hadoop instance, in which 2 queries have finished data analysis. It communicates at runtime with Amazon S3 bucket where data is stored for input. The mapper [1][3][15] scans the data files from the source and extends the output to reducer. The reducer further processes data and is sent back to S3 cluster for further processing. This information shall be accessed by end user through web access and with the support of Hummingbird Algorithm. Fig-5: Running Hadoop Cluster Source: Qubole Fig-5 shows a single running Hadoop Instance in cloud environment. Qubole supports metrics of instances running simultaneously that enhances performance their by increasing efficiency. The graph in the above figure indicates time spent to complete single job. Every task is monitored by master DNS having unique ID. To each DNS a list of queries shall be given as input for further analysis. Fig-6 shows process getting started on Hadoop Cluster that combines both map and Reduce session together. The jobs performed uses batch processing system for single instance. Running multiple instances on different clusters in cloud environment makes process more efficient without investing much is physical infrastructure. As a result of which end user shall enjoy the benefits of information retrieval with minimum time, cost and physical resources. As cloud supports pay per use policies resource allocation as per requirements becomes easier. Fig-6: Hadoop Master DNS Source: Qubole Detail explanation about concepts existing algorithms used for information retrieval BFS(Bredth First Search) Redundant BFS. ISN (Intelligent Search Machine) Directed BFS Random walker search Randomized Gossiping Centralized approach Distributed Information retrieval Searching Object identifier Following explanations shall help to elaborate more about specific areas. 7.2 Cloud Architecture Fig-7: Cloud Architecture Source: NIST Cloud is an upcoming technology that supports IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) as shown in Fig-7. For any hosted instance in cloud, open source software is used as a server that supports virtualization and Grid technology. Virtual private network is used in addition to broadband network13] [16]. As a service provider SLA (Service level Agreement) is signed between an organization and service provider. Distributed computing is one of the known components as data transferred across the network requires secure, authentic and efficient service in a given network. The type of cloud includes public, private, community and hybrid cloud [2]. Private clouds are hosted in dedicated environment having firewall and other authentication features. Updating existing system and taking backup remains responsibility of the owner. Hybrid clouds may be hosted in private environment in synchronization with public resources. The end user held responsible for resources used in public cloud with minimum security. 7.3 MapReduce Algorithm Fig-8: MapReduce Algorithm Source: Jimmy Lin, University of Maryland The algorithm takes data input as a file or database in the form of query. A list of mapper instances are activated which travels across the database in search of information. The jobs or data values are shuffled based on keys and aggregated as an input to reducers. These reducers understand the key inputs and reshuffle to get unique relevant information for further processing as shown in Fig-8[1]. 7.4 Hummingbird Algorithm Hummingbird Algorithm [10] [21] is the latest birthday gift from Google. Panda 3.5 and penguin were basically filters applied to searching criteria in the form of web pages and hyperlink. The traditional search engine extracts information based on keywords. Considering a sentence â€Å"How many times does hummingbird flap their wings per second?† the traditional search engine being keyword based tries to extract word like times, flap and per second. Based on collected keywords the web pages are searched in database. The collected content undergoes filtering from panda and penguin. Resultant results are displayed to user in the form of hyperlinks. Being hummingbird is innovation in the field of search and meant for voice based information retrieval, it accepts query as a single sentence instead of keywords. The engine tries to understand meaning and creates knowledge base from provided information or query. Fig-9: Hummingbird Search Source: Google.com In fig-9, the query asked to Google was where am i? Using voice search. The search engine had found my current location based on IP address or physical location and displayed map for the same. 8. Conclusion and future work The paper is continuation to hummingbird Algorithm [21] that supports MapReduce Algorithm with Hummingbird search engine in dedicated cloud environment. Qubole a hosted Hadoop instance is used to confirm working of MapReduce in support with Amazon S3 for data during. A single hive query instance on single DNS is tested which shall be extended for testing multiple instances of hive and pig script simultaneously as future work. References [1] Rahul Prasad Kanu , Shabeera T P , S D Madhu Kumar 2014- Dynamic Cluster Configuration Algorithm in MapReduce Cloud, International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies, Vol. 5 (3), 2014, 4028-4033. [2] Mr. Kulkarni N. N., Dr. Pawar V. P., Dr. K.K Deshmukh -2014 Evaluation of Information Retrieval in Cloud computing based services, Asian Journal of Management Sciences 02 (03 (Special Issue)) [3] Brian Hellig, Stephen turner, rich collier, long zheng-2014- beyond map educe: the next generation of big data analytics HAMR.Eti.com. [4] Ismail Hmeidi, Maryan Yatim, Ala’ Ibrahim, Mai Abujazouh, 2014 Survey of Cloud Computing Web Services for Healthcare Information Retrieval Systems , International conference on Computing Technology and Information Management, Dubai, UAE. [5] Anil Radhakrishnan and Kiran kalmadi -2013- Big Data Medical engine in the cloud, Infosys Lab Briefing Vol-11, No-1. [6] Dr. Sanjay Mishra, Dr. Arun Tiwari 2013 A Novel Technique for Information Retrieval Based on Cloud Computing, international Journal of information technology. [7] Yu Mon Zaw, Nay Min Tun 2013-Web Services Based Information Retrieval Agent System for Cloud Computing. International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research Volume 2– Issue 1, 67-71. [8] Gautam Vemuganti 2013- Metadata Management in Big data, Infosys lab Briefing. [9] Aaditya Prakash 2013-Natured Inspired visualization of unstructured big data, Infosys lab briefing, Vol-11, No-1. [10] Xinxin Fan, Guang Gong,Honggang Hu-2011- Remedying the Hummingbird Cryptographic Algorithm, IEEE. [11] Mosashi Inoue 2009- image retrieval: research and use in the information retrieval, National Institute of Informatics. [12] Jeff Dean Google Fellow 2009- Challenges in Building Large-Scale Information Retrieval Systems. [13] Tsungnan Lin, Pochiang Lin, Hsinping Wang,Chiahung Chen-2009-Dynamic Search Algorithm in Unstructured Peer-to-Peer Networks, IEEE. [14] William Hersh -2008 Future perspectives Ubiquitous but unfinished: grand challenges for information retrieval, Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. [15] Jeffrey Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat 2004-MapReduce: Simplified Data Processing on Large Clusters, Google.com. [16] Mehran Sahami Vibhu Mittal Shumeet Baluja Henry Rowley 2003-The Happy Searcher: Challenges in Web Information Retrieval, google.com [17] James Allan 2002-Challenges in Information Retrieval and Language Modeling, Report of a Workshop held at the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval, University of Massachusetts Amherst [18] Amit Singhal 2001- Modern Information Retrieval: A Brief Overview IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Data Engineering. [19] tp://www.internetlivestats.com [20] https://api.qubole.com [21] Dr. Piyush Gupta, kashinath Chandelkar 2012- The Need and Impact of Hummingbird Algorithm on Cloud based Content Management System, vol-2, issue-12, IJARCSSE journal.

The Threat of Language :: Essays Papers

The Threat of Language America is a nation that promotes the image of diversity among its citizens. This diversity is what makes American unique and different from any other country in the world. As years pass the ethnic population of the United States grows at a rate comparable to the speed at which a bullet flies. With so many different cultures and languages coexisting within the boundaries of this nation, a question arises. Do languages other than English threaten American’s ability to unite socially, politically, and economically? Richard Rodriguez is a perfect example of an immigrant that came to American with his family and didn’t know any English. Starting when he was a young child Rodriguez had a very difficult time making friends and feeling comfortable out in public. This was because he didn’t know how to communicate with people outside his home. Richard realized that the only way for him to break this social barrier was to be able to speak English like everyone else. Rodriguez was not just able to learn English but he also was able to gain his own individuality with out loosing his ethnic background. â€Å"The bilingualists insist that a student should be reminded of his difference from others in mass society, his heritage. But they equate mere separateness with individuality.† Rodriguez regained his individuality when he was able to communicate and express himself to the community in which he lived. With the tool of the English language under his belt Rodriguez was able to succeed and share with others his experiences and feelings. Is it necessary for people of different cultures and languages to be able to speak English in order to succeed in America? Should their ethnic background be sacrificed in order to fit into American society? The U.S. Department of Education enacted the Lau decision to increase funding for bilingual education all over America. Many immigrants felt that this increased funding wasn’t helping to teach the children well enough. In one case a Chinese man in San Francisco complained that his children were at a disadvantage, both socially and economically because they weren’t being taught English adequately. The statistics are staggering regarding the success rates of minorities throughout high school and college. A report by the American Council of Education states that â€Å"50 percent of all Hispanic youths in America drop out of high school, and only 7 percent finish college.

The Killer Angels :: essays research papers

The novel starts out when Harrison, a Confederate spy, reports to James Longstreet that 80,000 to 100,000 Union soldiers have marched within 200 miles of Lee's position near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Harrison also bears news of a change in Union leadership. Major General George Meade had replaced "Fighting Joe" Hooker as commander of the Union Army. Lee sees this change as an opportunity to strike while the new commander gets his bearings. He decides to concentrate on Gettysburg, the small town where several roads in the area converge, where he intends to cut the Union army off from Washington, D.C. First shots are fired at dawn as Rebels attack Buford's dismounted cavalry. Later that day Lee orders Ewell to take control of Cemetery Hill. Ewell did not follow orders and the union gained control of the Hill instead. Late in the afternoon, on the second day, Colonel Chamberlain's 20th Maine regiment is moved into the woods. Colonel Vincent orders Chamberlain not to withdraw from his new position at the left flank of the Union line. The Confederates engage with the Union troops and Chamberlain’s 20th Maine time and time again. Finally when ammunition is low Chamberlain gives the order to â€Å"fix bayonets,† and charges down the hill driving the rebels back. That same day Lee orders Longstreet to attack the Union center, and Longstreet advises against it. â€Å"They will break," Lee insists. He directed Longstreet to take three divisions. Longstreet passes the order along to his generals Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. Pickett and other commanders lose mos t of their men in the battle. As the survivors pull back, Lee finally admits his error to Longstreet, who gives his order to retreat. The two personalities that stand out the most in my mind are Robert E. Lee and Joshua Chamberlain. Lee and Chamberlain share many similarities. They are idealistic, optimistic, and have faith and pride in their men. Both care about their men, yet do not hesitate to use them, including Chamberlain’s own brother, for the sake of the cause. The men under Lee and Chamberlain show them a great deal of respect. Chamberlain is somewhat of a father figure to his men, as is Lee to James Longstreet. Joshua Chamberlain is an unusual man, formerly a college professor, and views the war and the men around him more as a philosopher then a military man. On his march toward Gettysburg he sees a row of dead confederates from a previous battle, and wonders whether the town’s people will give them a decent burial or leave them for the buzzards.

Global Warming Essay -- Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

Global Warming, also known as the Greenhouse effect, is a problem everyone will soon have to face. The people of the younger generations should be educated about what Global Warming is and that it is caused due to the way people are treating the environment. Planet Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, and life on earth has existed for more than 3.5 billion years. Humans have been on earth for 2 to 3 million years. It is only been in the past 200 years people have been affected by global warming. The last 40 years have been the most damaging.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the impacts of human influences have grown, so have the risks associated with those impacts. New technologies carry increasing risks, and the scale, frequency, and impacts of disaster caused or influenced by human activity are growing tremendously. The risks to the Earth ¡Ã‚ ¦s natural systems are becoming significantly concerning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world ¡Ã‚ ¦s population, currently 5.2 billion has grown from about 3 billion in 1960, and around 2 billion in 1925. Today it increased by almost 90 million each year, and is likely to reach 10 billion by 2025(Corson 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reason we currently have an atmosphere crisis is because of human impact on the gases which make up our atmosphere. Our atmosphere, which is made up of four distinct layers blankets our planet and protects up in many way. One way it protects us if from the harmful rays the sun radiates on our planet. Each layer differs from the others in temperature, density, composition and in the way it absorbs radiation from the sun. The atmosphere itself is some 300 miles thick. The first layer is the Troposphere. It is the lowest layer and extends higher than any airplane can travel, about 6.8 miles. Air in this layer is heated by the earth itself and for every 1000 feet the temperature drops 3.5 „a F. When it reaches the top of this layer the temperature is about - 70„a f. The next layer extends to about 30 miles. It is less dense than the underlying layer. Unlike the troposphere, temperature increases with altitude. This warming is caused by a layer of ozone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ozone is a form of oxygen. The ozone absorbs most of the sun ¡Ã‚ ¦s ultraviolet radiation. This has two important effects, First, it warms the air in the stratosphere. Second, it prevents much of the harmful rays from reaching the earth surface. Tempe... ...tities of pollutants are pouring into the atmosphere , posing health threat to humans, damaging the environment and changing the Earth ¡Ã‚ ¦s climate. Historically, the air has renewed itself through interaction with vegetation and the oceans. Today, however, this process is threatened by increasing use of fossil fuels, expanding industrial production, and growing use of motor vehicles.(Corson 220)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common and widespread pollutants currently emitted by human activities are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds particulate. Dozens of toxic chemicals are commonly found in the air surrounding urban areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In recent years, many industrial nations have controlled air pollution with some success. Europe and North America are now suffering serious damage from acid deposition. Increasing pollution from the growing use of motor vehicles plagues many nations. Car sales in Western industrialized nations rose 71 percent from 1970 to 1986. Sources Cited National Research Council (NRC). 1993. Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment. ("The Corson Report.") Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Retirement plans

Abstract A good retirement plan should be one that would provide retirees with the most benefits. These benefits should ideally provide tax advantages. Tax savings can be realized in the short run or in the long run depending on the type of scheme selected. It should also provide a secure investment that offers attractive returns. This paper looks into the retirement programs highlighting the advantages of these schemes to different players. This paper opines that despite the few disadvantages of these schemes, They provide an great avenue through which employees can plan their futur. Definition These are a programs established by employer or employee or both aimed at providing the retirees with a source of income when they are no longer in employment. Retirement plans basically are set up as a form of savings plan to cater for the future i.e. by providing some form of income when a person has retired. Types of retirement plans There are several retirement plans available in the market today. The employees should therefore select a plan that meets their expectation and suits their needs. Below is a list and explanation of some of the available retirement plans. i) Individual Retirement Accounts plans It is one of the simplest retirement programs that can be set by an individual. It is also worthwhile to note that IRAs be established by employers. Therefore IRAs can be established with little employers’ involvement to those that they establish and contribute to the scheme. The retirement benefits depend on the contributions and subsequently the income earned by these funds. There are four IRA plans Payroll Deduction IRA- formed by the employee either under traditional or Roth IRA in conjunction with a financial institution. The financial institution (banks, insurance companies) then deducts the contributions towards the plan under the authority of the employee. Traditional IRA contributions are partly or wholly tax deductible and therefore present tax savings to the employee. The other advantage is that the earnings on the plan are not taxed unless distributed. The same applies to the contributions to the plan. Roth IRA deductions are not tax deductible and also distributions are not part of the income (Internal Revenue Service 2008) Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SARSEP) – It is a simple plan that involves salary reduction agreement which enables the employers to contribute to the IRAs set by them and also to the employees IRAs. There contributions are subject to a limit. Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)-Employers contribute towards the plan Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) – employers make contributions towards their own retirement plan and also that of the employees. The employees reduce their salaries with the employers making similar contributions. ii) IRC 401 (K) Plans. Can involve employees delaying their salaries and these money is taken to 401(k) plan supported by their employers. The deferred salary is not taxed unless distributed. The benefit of having a 401(k) plan is that one can have other plans as well The employee/employer contribution is subject to a limit with withdrawals being permitted but subject to taxes. iii) TRC 403(b)-Tax sheltered Annuity Plans This plan are operated by public schools and certain tax exempt organizations. This plan is same as 401(k) in the sense that contributions are in form of salary delays with the employers sponsoring the plan. The potential benefits of this plan are that the contributions and earnings on retirement are tax deferred with annuities being carried by the employee on retirement or change of employers (IRS: 2008) iv) IRC 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans Established by state or local government or tax exempt organization under IRA (501(c). Employees or employers contribute to the plan through salary reductions up to a certain set limit under IRC 402(g) These plans can be eligible under IRC 457 (b) or illegible under IRC 457(f). Eligible plan allows tax deferral on contributions and earnings on the retirement funds (Ryterband &Alpem: 2005) v) Designated Roth Accounts in 401(k) or 403(b) plans 401(k) and 403(b) can be designated as Roth plans since 2006. These plans are allowed under Code section 402 A added by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act 2001. Designated Roth contributions are included in the gross income and are also elective. A designated Roth account is where with contributions is made with separate accounting of contributions, gains and losses being maintained (IRS 2008) Designated Roth contributions are subject to limit with employee and employers contributing up to certain determinable limit. Advantages and Disadvantages of good retirement plan As discussed above, there are different types of retirement plans that employees and employers can chose from. The plan to be selected should provide the most benefits to both the employer and employee and most importantly suit the needs of both the employee and employers (Scotto, D., J et al: 2008) Therefore, in discussing the advantages and disadvantages of retirement plans, it important to approach it from the employees and employers point view. Advantages-Employees Tax saving-A good retirement plan should be able to provide the most tax savings and advantages. Tax advantages can be in the form of tax-exempt and tax deferrals. A good number of retirement plans offer these tax advantages and therefore employees and employers can select a plan that meets their needs (Maddock J, 2007) The tax savings can be realized in the short run or in the long run depending on the type of scheme selected. Many investment options and opportunities-The contributions (funding) to the retirement plan are invested in various investment options. A good retirement plan should therefore put the money in investments that offer attractive returns while at the same time safeguarding the investor’s money. Retirement plans are long term in nature and therefore the contributions should be invested in the long term also (Perlinger Financial Services: 2008) Provides a ‘nest egg’-Retirement plans provide employees with an opportunity to slowly but constantly contribute towards their retirement. The benefit of this arrangement is that it does not strain the employees financially and thus they are able to make contribution which they are comfortable with. All these contributions are invested in stocks, bonds and other investment opportunities which earn interest and appreciate in value and therefore the retirement benefits will accumulate and become substantial upon retirement. Employer contributions-Contribution to the retirement benefits plan can be by an individual or by the company or both depending on the type of plan. A good retirement benefit plan should allow both contribution of employee and employer. The employer contributions are usually elective in nature. Contributions by both employer and employee ensure that the fund accumulates faster and thus on retirement the fund will be huge. Performance of the fund-The contributors to the retirement scheme should be able to monitor the performance of the fund. A good retirement benefits plan should provide regular updates on the performance of the fund so that any surplus or deficit can be appropriately dealt with. Advantages- Employer Employee retention-A good retirement plan can act as an incentive to the employees and also attract better employees. The company can retain its top employees by offering them a good retirement scheme and since it is for the long term, the company is able to retain them. The company is also able to attract employees who are better qualified in terms of experience and skills and thus the company will benefit (Business Owners Toolkit: 2008) Financial security of employees-Employees is able to perform optimally if they know that their financial future is guaranteed.   A retirement benefit plan that provides this perceived financial security is good Employee morale-Since most pension schemes are based on the salary earned by the employee, a good retirement plan therefore, serves to motivate and encourage all employees to work hard and hence earn more wages. Higher salaries subsequently means ‘handsome’ retirement package and this enhances staff morale. Tax savings-The contributions to the retirement scheme in most plans is tax allowable and this provides the company with the most tax efficient way of rewarding its employees. The contributions are deducted when calculating the taxable income. Reduced recruitment costs-As seen above, a good retirement plan helps the company retain most of its employees and therefore the costs associated with recruitment and replacing the employees who left the company is minimized (Perlinger Financial Services:2008) Disadvantages of retirement plans Despite all the numerous advantages of setting up a retirement plan, there are several disadvantages associated with it. Some of these are discussed below. Some of the retirement plans are time consuming, expensive and complex to set up. The result of this is that the company incurs extra expenses and thereby squeezing the profit margins. The complexities in establishing the plan will also present more costs apart from being time consuming (Business Owners Toolkit: 2008) The operations of the retirement plan needs professional expertise e.g. that of actuaries and accountant. These professionals offer their services at a fee which is usually expensive. The administrative costs of running a retirement plan may pose a challenge to the company in terms of extra costs. Early retirement by the employee could reduce the amount received. This in essence means that the employee has to work his full employment term in order to receive all his retirement benefits. This could mean being trapped in employment even if one is not comfortable. Joining a retirement plan late on in one’s employment i.e. when there are a few years till retirement may not accumulate a large amount enough to sustain the retiree. Therefore the retirement plan will not improve the financial security of the employee (Scotto, D., J et al: 2008) In some of the retirement plans, the contributor has no role in deciding where to invest the fund’s money. This means that the money could be invested in assets that are not in line with one’s investment strategies. This essentially means that the contributor has no control of his money. Employees are responsible for ensuring that they have enough savings for their retirement in some of the plans. This means that the employee is the one in charge of all the investment assets and therefore bears the responsibility of any losses incurred by these investments. Reference: Maddock, J (2007) Advantages of Offering a Pension Plan to Your Employees: Retrieved On 29/1/2009 Perlinger Financial Services Ltd (2008) Pension Plans: Retrieved on 29/1/2008 Internal Revenue Service (2008) Types of Retirement Plans: Retrieved On 29/1/2008 Business Owners Toolkit (2008) Pros and Cons of Retirement Plans: Retrieved On 29/1/2008 From http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid=P05_4640 Scotto, D., J.   Maglio, V., T. & Maglio, M. (2008) Choosing a retirement plan that meets the needs of employees and employer: Retrieved on 29/1/2008 from Retrieved On From http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2333 Chang RuthenBerg and Long Pc (2003) Types of Retirement Plans retrieved on 29/1/2008 from  Ã‚   http://www.seethebenefits.com/CRLframeset800x600.asp?targetPage=http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:AO6rPS-WpS4J:www.seethebenefits.com/content/CWHY/typesretireplans.htm%20types%20of%20retirement%20plans Ryterand, D., J. & L. Alpem, R., L. (2005). The Hand Book of Employee Benefits: Design Funding and Administration, section 457, Deferred compensation plans 6th Edition (NY) Mc Graw-Hill Professional.