Semantic Technology-based Media Publishing Boosts User Engagement

Semantic Technology-based Media Publishing Boosts User Engagement Over the centuries, globalization and various technologies have profoundly changed the way we consume news.Just as a brief comparison, in Medieval times messengers rode far and wide to deliver news and rulers used town criers to inform the (predominantly illiterate) population about the latest laws and local taxation bills. Today, most people around the world have direct access to vast amounts of information and political institutions use social media to engage voters. Technological Advances and MediaTechnology is steadily transforming the way we experience news. It seems only yesterday when we relied on reading the newspaper in the morning and watching TV news in the evening to catch up with local and world events. Nowadays, consumers are constantly exposed to news and news outlets are reaching their audiences through media platforms, mobile apps, email newsletters, social media, podcasts, etc.In this overflow of news and information, media publishers have to go the extra mile to keep users engaged and willing to come back to their online platforms. Just as in Medieval times the town criers dressed in bright colors to catch the eye, media publishers today are applying various strategies to attract readers’ attention. They are also relying on different technologies to be able to accommodate their readers’ interests by recommending relevant content while also looking to maximize ad revenues by serving relevant ads. The Role of Semantic Technology in Media Publishing A recent report from The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism What do News Readers Really Want to Read about shows that, in our high-choice media culture, people rely most of all on a notion of personal relevance to choose the news they consume.Thanks to solutions based on semantic technology, media publishers are able to better engage their readers with the help of sophisticated tools like user-focused recommendations, sentiment analysis and more. These are also the major components of the multi-faceted solution developed by semantic technology expert Ontotext to meet media publishers’ needs.How does it work? A semantic annotation service, with the help of a knowledge base, automatically tags content and extracts specific information from the text, which is later used by the other services in the stack. In the meantime, a sentiment analysis service evaluates how users feel about and react to certain concepts, people, products or topics, based on the comments they p ost.Another major component of Ontotext’s solution is the recommendation services based on the user profiles. They take into consideration various factors such as the semantic fingerprints of the content a user has read and actively engaged with, their liking and disliking of content provided by other users and any other sentiments expressed.Finally, to help media publishers improve their control of the serving of ads and their relevance to the users, Ontotext has built a custom ad serving platform. With the help of semantic analysis, the platform selects out of several candidates the ad that matches best the user’s activity and preferences. Simply put, the more media publishers know about how users consume their content, the more relevant their content and ad recommendations will become. Which is the shortest path to higher user engagement and boosted ad revenues. Click To TweetOf course, as technology continues to get integrated more and more into our lives, the way we navigate the news environment and what drives our interests will continue to evolve.Want to know more about how semantic publishing helps media publishers keep users happy?

The Professor and the Madman essays

The Professor and the Madman essays The Professor and the Madman, written by Simon Winchester, is a biography about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Winchester, who is an author, journalist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent, has written for many magazines and newspapers distributed worldwide. In an interview between Winchester and a host of C-SPAN, Winchester was asked where the idea for the book came, he replies Well, it came to me in a rather bizarre way. I was reading a book on lexicography in the bath one morning, as one does, I suppose, just before breakfast, and it was a booka wonderful book called "Chasing The Sun" by a man called Jonathan Green. And it had a referenceit said, `Readers will be familiar with the extraordinary story of Dr. W.C. Minor, an American lunatic murderer, who was a prodigiously energetic contributor to the OED.' And I remember sitting up in the bath, Archimedeslike, dripping and saying, `Well, I know nothing about this.' Winchesters main foundation for this book is to clarify the tale of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary The formation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857 and took seventy years to finish. Tens of thousands of individuals organized the expansive language into 414,825 exact definitions. The story begins with the grisly murder of George Merrett, by William Chester Minor the former U.S. Army officer and qualified surgeon. On February 17th of 1872 in the early morning William Minor had been sleeping, when he awoke to some noises of someone in his flat. He sat up and saw someone standing at the foot of his bed. He proceeded to chase the individual into the street, and shot at the person as they attempted to flee. He ended up shooting the first person that came into view apparently, and this person was George Merrett. Merrett had never met W.C Minor and had been heading home after a long day at work. W.C Minor was arrested. While in pri...

A Native Role; Gary Snyder as the seer and prophet in ‘Turtle Island’

A Native Role; Gary Snyder as the seer and prophet in ‘Turtle Island’ Charles Altieri writes that in his collection of poetry, Turtle Island, Gary Snyder encapsulates two roles: the seer and the prophet. Altieri describes the two roles vaguely, the seer being one who is able to look past the irrelevant aspects of modern life to a purer kind of experience, while the prophet is able to articulate a traditional way of thinking native to the land of America. It could be argued that due to the vagueness surrounding the description of these two roles it would be hard not to find some continuity between Altieri’s idea and the poems, but regardless the distinction between the two roles can clearly be seen. Two good examples of Snyder acting as seer and prophet are the poems â€Å"The Bath† and â€Å"The Uses of Light† respectively. Before the two poems can be dealt with, it is worth mentioning the title of the collection as incorporating both the vision of the seer and the understanding of the prophet. The name Turtle Island is a direct reference to Native American culture, it being a name for the American continent based off of the creation myths of several Native tribes. In his essay â€Å"Gary Snyder: The Lessons of Turtle Island†, Michael Castro writes that the title encapsulates a â€Å"recurrent theme among its poems and essays [that there is a] need for modern Americans to return to the perception of the earth as a living organism to whom we are related†.[1] Through Castro’s note we can see that in the title, Turtle Island, the seer calls for the individual reader to abandon the ego so prevalent in modern culture, and see themselves as incorporated in a wider system entwined with not only the physical land of America, but also the earth as a whole, while the prophet emphasises that t his wider system is not a modern notion, but a far more indigenous and ancient concept held by the original inhabitants of the American continent. Even in his title Snyder is clearly shown to support Altieri’s idea of the seer and the prophet, setting a standard for the collection as a whole for upholding a clear artistic and symbolic intent. In â€Å"The Bath† Snyder, acting as the seer, challenges modern notions surrounding the family and consciousness, advocating for a collective consciousness and a more naturalistic attitude towards family relations. The poem presents Snyder, his wife, and his young son Kai bathing together, and much of the imagery of the poem could easily be read as inappropriate due to the frank language Snyder uses: â€Å"†¦Washing-tickling out the scrotum, little anus, His penis curving up and getting hard As I pull back skin and try to wash it Laughing and jumping, flinging arms around, I squat all naked too†. [2] This language, focussing particularly on Snyder describing his son’s genitals, serves a purpose other than simply shocking the reader for affect. Rather, it symbolises an openness Snyder and his family have found through their countercultural practices that include Native beliefs, an openness that permits a relationship between father and son that many people, both within the poems context of the 1960s and a contemporary readership, would deem as inappropriate. By removing themselves from the cultural consciousness of the 1960s and accepting a countercultural lifestyle that borrows heavily from Native ideas about the family, Snyder is able to separate the body and sexuality, allowing for a freer relationship between his son and himself. As the seer, Snyder is able to see through the modern misconceptions of sexuality and thus embodies a type of familial experience that is more honest, tender, and open than that of the wider culture of 1960s America. This separation between the body and sexuality that Snyder proposes is continued throughout the poem, and is extended to a collective physicality through a shared consciousness. Throughout the poem there is a refrain that, though changing slightly, is based around the question â€Å"is this our body?† [Snyder, pp.12] As Snyder’s description of the familial bath is moved away from focussing primarily on the physicality of Kai and incorporates more collective actions, such as â€Å"sucking milk from this our body sends through / jolts of light; the son, the father, / sharing mother’s joy† [Snyder, pp.13], and scenic depictions, such as â€Å"The cloud across the sky. The windy pines. / the trickle gurgle in the swampy meadow† [Snyder, pp.14], the separation between Snyder, his wife, and his son becomes blurred and indistinct. The poem’s conclusion presents Snyder’s family as a unified whole, inseparable from each other and aware of their place on the Earth: â€Å"This is our body. Drawn up crosslegged by the flames †¦ Laughing on the Great Earth / Come out from the bath.† [Snyder, pp.14] The progression from the questioning â€Å"is this our body?† to the declarative â€Å"This is our body† shows an acceptance of an innate connection between the family members, as well as between the body and consciousness. While in a modern context the individual is taught to think in a more individual manner, and to stay away from communal thinking, Snyder, as the seer, incorporates Native thinking to show the connectedness of the world, that the individual ego does not exist but rather there is a collective consciousness that exists in many separate bodies. Furthermore, the mention of the â€Å"Great Earth† suggests a link between this collective conscious and the connections that Native culture states exist in the natural world. Acting as the seer in â€Å"The Bath†, Snyder does much to dissemble modern notions of egocentric conscious ness and installs in its place a collective consciousness that allows a more direct approach to experience. The role of prophet, to recognise and articulate a native way of American thinking that outdates America as a nation, can be seen in â€Å"The Uses of Light†, a poem that explores the many ways that light is used in the natural world. In the poem, Snyder records how five different entities use light, progressing from the least relatable to the reader to the most: first the stones, then the trees, moths, deer, and finally a voice one can assume to be that of Snyder himself taking on the perspective of a Native American. In the poem Snyder creates a sense of interconnectedness between these five entities, and also creates a sense that this connectedness, as a belief, is ancient. The first stanza, â€Å"It warms my bones / say the stones†, personifies the stones in a voice that has an elderly, archaic, creaky tone, suggesting a history to this belief that predates not only Snyder, but also perhaps modern American culture. As the first stanza, and thus the base of the hiera rchy of life that Snyder has created in the poem, the stones symbolise how deeply this connectedness is rooted in the natural world. While we, readers immersed in a modern culture and mode of thinking, assume that stones, unlike plant or animals, are not living creatures, Snyder articulates a Native belief that the world as whole entity is a living organism. Life, therefore, is not held only by those organisms that breathe and grow, but is rather a quality everything in our world has in common. The final stanza articulates this sense of Native tradition perhaps the most clearly: â€Å"A high tower On a wide plain. If you climb up One floor You’ll see a thousand miles more.† [Snyder, pp.39] As Snyder, for the greater part of the collection, does not talk about an urban environment, but rather a rural great plains one, we can assume this â€Å"tower† is not a literal anachronistic building, but rather a metaphor. Perhaps Snyder is taking on the viewpoint of a Native American who climbs a hill to survey this â€Å"wide plain†? Light in the poem is frequently used as a means of survival: it warms the stones, it helps the tree grow, and allows the deer to be wary of predators, so perhaps this Native American is surveying the land for survival as well, wanting to â€Å"see a thousand miles more† to search for food or shelter. Through this interpretation Snyder, as the prophet, presents a use of light in accordance with a tradition native to the American land, as well showing how the indigenous people believed in sharing the light with the world as a whole and thus enforcing the connectedness that is so prevalent in Native culture. As both prophet and seer, Snyder floods Turtle Island with Native American belief, and creates a vision of America where a traditional interconnectedness exists as the primary driving force of life. Whether it is through the seer of â€Å"The Bath†, or the prophet of â€Å"The Uses of Light†, the message Snyder presents is always the same, only the means he uses change. This message can be seen as a call back to a traditional way of thinking, turning away from the modern consciousness or mind-set, and accepting a way of life reminiscent of the ancient Turtle Island of the Native peoples. Citations Michael Castro, â€Å"Gary Snyder: The Lessons of Turtle Island†, Criticial Essays on Gary Snyder, ed. by Patrick D. Murphy, (Boston: G. K. Hall and co., 1991), pp.132 Gary Snyder, Turtle Island, (New York: New Directions Books, 1974), pp.12

Role Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role Models - Essay Example â€Å"Role models demonstrate their commitment to a desired goal and are willing to invest the necessary time and effort to achieve success† (Silver). â€Å"In order for role models to be influential, they must show respect for others† (Silver). â€Å"Role models inspire other with an upbeat, optimistic outlook on life† (Silver). Summary of the article-The article is by Rebecca Morrison who claims that individuals are still susceptible to the influence of others, and especially their friends regardless of their age, strength, independence, or centeredness. The influence of others comes in various forms and can be specific, general, or indirect. Occasional and small negative habits viewed in one’s friend can erode and become sustained in the individual’s life too. It is hard for an individual to recognize that his or her friend is the one negatively impacting their life as they care about them. For one to understand the impact of negative friendship in their life, they need to step back and have a look at their actions and analyze how their life has been impacted negatively. It is possible to make positive change after identifying the negative impact. The changes that need to be made may either be dramatic or simple adjustment. Main ideas- friends with negative habits are capable of influencing one’s life. For one to understand the negative influence a relationship has on them, they need to step back and analyze. If negative behavior is key to the sustainability of a friendship, there is need for the friendship to end for one to lead a healthy life. Additional notes: the author suggests that there is need to evaluate the impact that friendships have own one’s individual behavior. If the influence is negative, there is need to undertake some changes for the benefit of the individual’s life. Summary of the article- the article is written by Susan Krauss Whitbourne. The article

Reflection on the Secluded Paradise in the Community Park Essay

Reflection on the Secluded Paradise in the Community Park - Essay Example In the first step, I had to garner enough information on the accessibility of the secluded paradise. Gathering this information was vital in ensuring I amassed enough information on travelling to the place. I had to search for this information since I figured a reconnaissance study would be appropriate. Therefore, finding a better route to the place would be plausible. Secondly, I searched for information about the place (Kamyab 23). I indulged the use of both primary and secondary data collection techniques. As I received loads of data, I had to sieve the data to attain the vital points. With such a drill, I was able to gather enough information. Instantaneously after amassing data from the primary and secondary sources, I had to embark on the reconnaissance study. This study gave me enough preparation for the actual visit to the place. After a couple of days, I made the official visit to the place to gather more data. I had to indulge many people in the quest for data as I was practically looking for quality data. I also had to compare the pricing and quality of services with other businesses offering the same services (Kamyab, 66). I discovered there was a minute difference in the pricing, as other businesses preferred the same pricing. After collecting information, I set on to write the essay. Since I had all the information, I faced lesser challenges. I had to encompass all the vital information in the essay, giving a stronger outlook. Though the essay had all the vital information, I had to revise several parts. For instance, I had to specify some of the prices in the park. The community park charges from $ 595 to $ 605, prior to a deposit of $ 303. With such a pricing technique, there is a reduction in cancelations.

Social Cultural Trends Essay Example for Free

Social Cultural Trends Essay The four current sociocultural trends that I’d like to focus on are increasing environmental awareness, changing pace and location of life, changing household composition and increasing diversity of workforce and markets. Here at Tobyhanna Army Depot, a green vegetative roof was funded with Research and Development money meant to test easily transferable technologies and verify their impacts. Team Tobyhanna funded three other roofs because of the benefits and to reduce the heat loading from the black roofs in an effort to avoid an expensive air conditioning project. This past summer here was the first one on record as having no complaints about the heat in those areas and it was an unusually warm summer here. Our data indicates 25% reduction in heating costs and we expect cooling cost savings to be even greater. Additionally, we also experienced about 40% reduction in storm water runoff as result of our efforts to improve environmental measures across the entire workforce. Secondly, lots of information and technology forms of communication application are too complicated or hardly worth the trouble for some users especially when people allow these devices to cause undue stressors or pressure. Some reactions to the typology characterize Americans as uninterested in information and communication technology or collectively hostile to cyberspace. Here at Tobyhanna Army Depot, approximately 32% of those with either cell phones or internet say that they need help from someone else to set up or use new electronic gadgets.

Marcel Proust Defines the Self in Remembrance of Things Past Essay

Marcel Proust Defines the Self in Remembrance of Things Past Proust seems to be unique among the twentieth century authors in that his denial of rational thought is through the use of sensation to respond to the problem--instead of experience, for example--by defining the self as a retrievable essence comprised of all past experiences. Our human condition is defined by mortality, contingency, and discontentment. This reality combined with the new outlooks of relationships between our lives and the objects that surround us in our world, have caused authors in the twentieth century to question traditional Western thought. In Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust extends these comparisons to include one's use of memory and sensation as well as objects. By doing so, he temps to answer the question: 'Who or what is the self?' and in looking at this work, we begin our look at the abandoning of reason in order to try and find a solution to our situation. According to Proust, the self is the retrievable essence defined as the summation of all observed experiences and their relationship in and amongst themselves. He represents this idea by establishing the importance of memory and providing a key event in the life of the protagonist whose own quest is a solution to this problem. The novel begins with Marcel's awakening--both literally and metaphorically (in relation to his quest to define the self). At the critical moment between sleep and consciousness, various thoughts pass in and out of his mind. He is disoriented--not exactly sure of his current location as his thoughts are those of experiences from a different place and time. His thoughts are unlike any he has had while awake; his confusion therefore, justifiable: .... ...onsciously, they do have an effect on the way in which we view objects and the opinions we take on others' ideas at present. Quite literally, who we were is all of who we are. Proust defines the self as an essence comprised of layers of hidden memories depicting past experiences. The memory and all that it contains, is stored behind a sort of 'one-way' door. Old events ever change the way that new events will be stored; new events on top of the old will change the way the latter were once viewed. For the most part, the door is locked. It opens only for a split second, given the correct key, if for no other reason than to prove that everything is still there--the self still defined--and nothing has ever been lost. Work Cited Proust, Marcel. Remembrance of Things Past, Volume I. Trans. C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin. New York: Vintage Books, 1982.

Sexual Discrimination in the Workplace

Canada is composed of people from all walks of life and from every race, color,creed and ethnic background imaginable. Despite our varied lifestyles and beliefs, we areall equal and are entitled to the same treatment before the law and in the workplace. Although we have this diversity, discrimination is something that unfortunately, mostpeople have to deal with it at some point in their lives. Provincial human rights codes tryto prevent this unpleasantness, by prohibiting any type of discrimination in service,accommodations and employment. Zero tolerance grounds are based on Discrimination by: race, gender, ancestry, place of origin, color, citizenship, creed, sexual orientation,age, family status and handicap. Discrimination can also include harassment based on both race, and ethnic origin, as well as sexual harassment. Despite these codes, discrimination is not guaranteed to never occur. In fact,everyday people lose their jobs or promotions because of discrimination, and women areharassed at work or people with disabilities are denied opportunities. Harassment, whether by a supervisor or co-worker, creates a barriere to equality by demeaning its victims, interfering with their ability to work effectively and, in some instances, even forcing them to resign. Eventhough there is plenty of publicity surrounding this issue, studies consistently show that women continue to face harassment in the workplace. No organization can afford to lose the talent of its female staff because of outdated attitudes, the imposition of higher standards for women, or a failure to give women the opportunity to acquire relevant experience in key areas of the organization. There is a need for employers to take a hard look at lingering stereotypes and misconceptions and to ensure that high-potential women benefit equally with men from career-enhancing. Although it is not often spoken of, there are occasionally occurrences of sexual discrimination against men. Imagine a day-care center where 12 women and one male work. You are a first time mother and for the first time you are leaving your two year old child in the care of someone else for an entire day. Many women would be likely to ask for their child to remain in the care of strictly some females, due to their loving caring nature and maternal instincts. If you think about this it is obvious how males could getdiscriminated against by women, it is just not reported as often because most men do not want all that attention, and feel it would be better to just forget about it. Employers have a responsibility to: I) provide a working environment that is free from harassment and discrimination; and, ii) deal effectively, quickly and fairly with any situations involving claims of harassment or discrimination that come to their attention. Employers could be held liable by a court or tribunal if they or their managers do not act to put an end to discrimination or harassment in their workplaces. There are several questions that are not allowed to be asked of an employee not only surrounding gender. For example questions about or relating to physical characteristics such as color of eyes, hair, height, weight, or requests for photographs. Questions about speaking English or French fluently, unless to do so is a reasonable and bonafide requirement for the position are also strictly prohibited. Questions about or relating to religious affiliation, religious institutions attended, religious holidays, customs observed,willingness to work on a specific day which may conflict with requirements of a particular faith (e. . Saturday or Sunday Sabbath days)are also against the law. The human rights laws however do come in handy as a way for victims to fight back. How a human rights complaint is handled varies from country to country. In Ontario an individual who believes he or she has been the victim of some form of discrimination asserts his or her rights by filing a complaint with the human rights commission. The complaint is then investigated by an officer of the commission who will try to reach a settlement with the parties involved. If the officers attempts to arrive at a settlement fail and it is concluded that the complaint has merit, a recommendation will be made to the Minister of Labor to appoint a board of inquiry. The board will then conduct a formal hearing, where both parties have the opportunity to present their cases. In Ontario, the board of inquiry has the authority to direct the offending party to do anything necessary to comply with the code, such as ordering restitution for monetary loss and awarding up to $10 000 for mental anguish. When a formal complaint to the human rights commission is made, it can get very expensive an time consuming for the company. As a general rule, the commission publishes settlements and awards that are viewed as having a public education value, thus damaging the company†s reputation. Aside from both the cost and the damage to the company†s reputation employers should recognize that promoting an equal opportunity work place can also help motivate employees and improve a company†s performance. Apart from the adverse publicity, human rights laws have penalties such as a monetary awards, public apologies, reinstatement of employees or orders of financial compensation for lost time, expenses incurred, and damages to professional or personal reputation and fires. Human rights officials can also order companies to make a job offer to a complainant, begin an affirmative action program in the company or sen staff to the discrimination awareness seminars. If a company has a government contract , the board may even seek cancellation of that contract. To avoid the above consequences there are five steps that can be followed to ensure equal opportunity in any workplace. The first step is to make a clear corporate commitment to human rights. Senior executives should declare their commitment and be accountable at each tier of the management structure. There should be a written policy on discrimination distributed to every member of the company. The second step is to examine recruiting procedures. Employers should look for anything that may offend the aw, such as unusual language or physical requirements, unless it can be proven essential to the job. Application forms should be reviewed and interviews should avoid any conduct or comments that could be perceived as discriminatory. The third step is to monitor the workplace. Management has an obligation to intervene if there is any evidence of harassment or discriminatory behavior. Consider providing a hotline whereby employees can report to. Harvey†s, which is operated by CARA limited, has a fairly complex yet easy to follow policy, that other companies could follow. It is five page typed policy that was last updated in May of 1995. It defines sexual harassment as â€Å"deliberate and unsolicited and can be offensive sexual comments, gestures or physical contact that are unwanted or offensive either on a first time basis or as a continuous series of incidents. It may also involve favours, promises of favours, advantages in return for giving in to sexual advances or, the threat of revenge for refusing them. It states that flirtation, or a workplace romance between two consenting persons is not harassment. (Cara Operations limited, 1) Teammates who feel that they are being sexually harassed should immediately SAY NO!!!!! The employee is responsible of immediately making sure that the offender is out of line and that the behaviour is totally inappropriate. 2) The employee is encouraged to approach his or her supervisor and/or a member of the Human Resource Team for guidance. 3) The employee is encouraged to immediately file a complaint with the Human Resource Department. There are also five steps that management guarantees they will take when a complaint of harassment is filed. First they will ensure than an examination of the complaint will take place immediately. Next they will advise the alleged person that a complaint has been lodged. Then an interview with all persons involved will take place. Interviews will be taken with any witnesses followed by a clearly, accurately filled out document. On the final page of the policy, there is a section entitled â€Å"corrective action†. It basically states that is an offender is found guilty he/she will be terminated. It also states that if it is found that someone has intentionally wrongfully accused someone then he/she will be terminated as well. Other methods of corrective action that are stated are suspension, or loss of responsibilities. As you have seen sexual discrimination and harassment are two acts that go hand and hand, and unfortunately they are both issues that are delt with much too often. If all workplaces joined together and made similar policies that are strictly enforced, perhaps our world would be a little more equal, and discrimination would be unheard of.

An Analysis of the Watergate Crisis Essay

The Watergate crisis or scandal shrouded America with an attitude of pessimism. From the people involved and the meaning of the controversy then and now, the Watergate crisis rocked the world with political conflicts and power abuse. It also involved crimes such as obstruction of justice, conspiracy, cover up, lying under oath, espionage, burglary, and concealment of evidence. The scandal was named after the Watergate hotel complex in Washington that housed the rival of President Nixon’s Republican Party, the Democratic Party. The crisis was so powerful that it resulted in the resignation of President Nixon, indictment of the President and his men, and significant media and political effects. The scandal started out with classified documents, clumsy thefts, and a trail of crimes pointing directly to Nixon’s re-election committee. Thereafter, the crisis did not stop at the tactless White House personnel or the famous President’s men. It continued all the way to Nixon himself which caused him his Oval Office. It was perceived as a political crisis created by a leader’s greed, cruelty and paranoia. Ultimately, history accounted that Nixon’s own evil foe was not his political opponents but himself. It was chronicled by several books, articles, and official and federal documents, as well as a Redford-Hoffman movie in 1976. The Watergate scandal served not only as previous catalysts of American political, social and moral changes but now more as reminders or guiding principles of American lives. Historical Summary In the history of American presidential politics, the Watergate incident was taken as the most grave and peculiar crisis or scandal. This is because of the apparent direct involvement in several crimes of the president himself and his men. In his book, â€Å"The Watergate Crisis,† Genovese (1999) described the scandal as unusual and Nixon as an unusual kind of President of the United States (Genovese, 1999). According to Genovese (1999), the cause of the Watergate scandal can be traced from the negative impacts, such as the factions, of the Vietnam War. Nixon had difficulty getting out from the said divisive war and was eventually faced with various protests. Genovese (1999) added that with pressures to stop the protests and get out of the Vietnam war with respect and dignity intact, Nixon unfortunately created a route filled with â€Å"leak plugging, wiretapping, a secret war in Cambodia, and a series of criminal acts that in the end led to his downfall and fed the already significant erosion of public trust in government† (p. 3). The same Genovese book further said that what used to be a general term that referred to the burglary of the offices of the Democratic National Committee in a Washington hotel complex resulted into various linking terminologies and included beneath it are several crimes. The crisis caused the downfall of Nixon while several highest-ranking government officials were made to serve jail terms, hurting the nation as a result (Genovese, 1999). The Watergate Break-in The Watergate break-in or burglary happened on June 17, 1972 (Sirica, 1979). During his round, a security officer of the Watergate Hotel Complex in Washington D. C. identified as Frank Willis saw a tape covering various locks of different doors in the area. Willis discreetly reported the matter to the police and thereafter, five burglars were arrested. The five men were suspected of illegally wiretapping and stealing classified documents inside the office of the Democratic National Committee or DNC (Sirica, 1979). The suspects were identified in the book of Dickinson, Cross and Polsky (1973) as â€Å"Virgilio Gonzales, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr. , Eugenio Martinez and Frank Sturgis. † The suspects, later uncovered as former CIA and FBI agents, were â€Å"charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications† (Dickinson, Cross & Polsky, 1973). Five men and two other suspects, identified as E. Howard Hunt, Jr. and Gordon Liddy, were accused by a grand jury of â€Å"conspiracy, burglary and violation of federal wiretapping laws† on September 15, 1972. It was also discovered after investigation that the suspects’ goal was to plant a bug in the office of DNC Chairman, Larry O’Brien (Lewis, 1972). A multi-investigation conducted by the U. S. Congress, FBI and media revealed that the direct or indirect connection of the seven suspects to Nixon’s Re-election committee. Nixon initially said that his aides were not involved in the case. The cover-up was later disclosed and exposed irregularities and illegal activities of the Nixon Re-election committee. The results of the investigation concluded that the re-election committee â€Å"received covert campaign funds from big companies, played dirty tricks on Democratic candidates during the 1972 election campaign, attempted to use the FBI and other government agencies against political enemies, and set up a secret group to carry out unlawful activities against political enemies† (cited in Scholastic, 1989). In view of this, America and the world were then convinced of a conspiracy linking the President and his men. The suspects who broke into O’Brien’s office and the President’s men involved were tried and eventually convicted in 1973. The following year, the bungled break-in eventually caused Nixon his position as he resigned as the President of the United States on August 9, 1974 (Scholastic, 1989). The Washington Post Investigation The Watergate scandal was publicized by The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein through a confidential but reliable source whom they named â€Å"Deep Throat. † An initial headline of â€Å"Five Held in Plot to Bug Democratic Offices Here,† that appeared at the bottom of the newspaper’s page one on Sunday, June 18, 1972, signaled the Washington Post’s investigation. The two young reporters wrote the arrest of a group of former FBI and CIA agents who â€Å"broke into, illegally wiretapped and stole classified documents from the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington† (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). Bernstein and Woodward were intrigued with the details of the story and the turn of events. Citing police sources, Woodward wrote that the burglars â€Å"came from Miami, wore surgical gloves and carried thousands of dollars in cash† (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). The break-in appeared to be â€Å"a professional type operation,† added Woodward (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). As told by the Washington post and its reporters, the intriguing yet interesting developments of the story shook Washington for two years, resulted into the resignation of Nixon and eventually created political impacts (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). According to an online compilation of the Watergate events posted at the Washington Post’s site, Woodward and Bernstein became part of the various revelatory articles that the said newspaper published. Thereafter, the succeeding Washington Post coverage of the Watergate scandal further exposed the involvement of several of the President’s men and the ultimate link of Nixon and his campaign funds to the various crimes. The newspaper’s account of the scandal also ran the grand jury investigation that identified and indicted â€Å"All the President’s Men† for their respective involvement in the crimes (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). A significant mark of the Washington Post and â€Å"Bernstein† reporting of the Watergate scandal was â€Å"Deep Throat. † A confidential source by Woodward, â€Å"Deep Throat† was identified only in 2005 or 33 years later as Mark Felt. He was the second highest-ranking FBI official who at the height of the scandal, confirmed or denied information to the two reporters and guided them to pursue specific leads (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). A string of exclusives by Woodward and Bernstein and the determination of Post publisher Katherine Graham to expose the truth made the FBI finally penetrated the White House denials and the conduct of the grand jury investigation. This momentum led to the loss of job, prosecution and conviction of the involved officials of the Nixon administration and ultimately the impeachment against the President and his eventual resignation on August 8, 1974. Nixon’s successor, President Ford, granted the former â€Å"full, free and absolute pardon† one month later (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). The Government Investigation The Watergate probe called for the courts, the Congress, and a special prosecutor to investigate its top-to-bottom connections to the White House. According to the same Washington Post online source, the investigation involved Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin and the FBI. Woodward and Bernstein stories reported the eventual breaking out of Nixon’s men from his administration and the disclosure of events that were linked to the scandal. One example was the revelation of secret tapes that further exposed Nixon’s involvement. The deep connection of Nixon resulted into a firestorm of firings called â€Å"the Saturday Night Massacre. † Amid impeachment against the President, he still denied accusations and stayed in his office (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 2,† 2008). The Watergate Scandal and Nixon In his book, Genovese (1999) noted that Nixon was a â€Å"complex, multidimensional figure, a man of many contradictions. † (p. 57). Genovese (1999) said that these characteristics of Nixon and the Watergate crisis were manifestations of â€Å"a period of presidential lawlessness unprecedented in American history† (p. 57). Nixon was an example of a president who initially took an oath to â€Å"faithfully execute† the law but eventually went beyond and broke it (Genovese, 1999, p. 69). As a result, the Watergate scandal created several questions about the American constitution and democracy (Genovese, 1999). Nixon’s initial show of defense rooted from the solid support of his men eventually cracked down and led to his televised resignation. During his televised speech, Nixon states, by taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. I deeply regret any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision. Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). Ford was sworn into office the next day but pardoned Nixon a month after. The events did not stop there as the influence of the scandal continued. The interconnecting controversies ignited a fresh and lasting doubt about American politics. It created new American political words and made the Congress approve laws concerning campaign finance reforms as well as investigation on the functions of CIA and several agencies of the government. Woodward and Bernstein’s coverage was turned into a book and a hit movie entitled â€Å"All the President’s Men† which instilled American media with a fresh harmful advantage. The scandal brought lasting and immeasurable effects on American politics (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). American Politics and Media Genovese (1999) affirmed the impression of Washington Post mentioned previously and stated that the Watergate scandal changed American politics and the issue of presidential corruption (Genovese, 1999). He added that, because of the crisis, the media became more interfering and subjective, the public became more distrustful and indifferent about its government, the relation between the executive and legislative branches of the government became unpleasant and factious and partisan conflicts became more intense (Genovese, 1999). Conclusion The Watergate crisis left profound and detrimental effects on American politics and history in general. It has resulted into distrust among the government officials and a wider gap between the branches of the government. Another effect of the scandal was that it made the succeeding Presidents more susceptible to the criticisms and suggestions of the public. The Nixon presidency has left a mark on the American politics which harmed the present list of presidents. The scandal has undeniably affected the political agenda of the succeeding presidents who were subjected to the scrutiny of the public. Nonetheless, the scandal also has its positive points to remember. These included the upholding of the freedom and power of the press as well as the effectivity of the justice system. By themselves, Nixon and the Watergate Crisis did not cause the degradation of American politics and decline of trust to the government. Incontestably, however, the fallen President and his scandal did remold the public’s view of the American story from one of presumed good goals to one of outstanding hostility. References Dickinson, W. B. & Mercer Cross, B. P. (1973). Watergate: Chronology of a crisis. Washington D. C: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Genovese, M. A. (1999). The Watergate Crisis.London: Greenwood Press. Lewis, A. E. (1972, June 18). 5 held in plot to bug Democrats’ office here. The Washington Post, A01. Retrieved from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/05/31/AR2005111001227_pf. html Scholastic, Inc. (1989). The Case of Watergate. The Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Retrieved April 19, 2008, from Scholastic database. Sirica, J. J. (1979). To set the record straight: The Break-in, the tapes, the conspirators, the pardon. New York: Norton. The Watergate Story Part 1. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part1. html The Watergate Story Part 2. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part2. html The Watergate Story Part 3. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part3. html

Islam and the West essays

Islam and the West essays One of the most significant ways the world has changed since the terrible crime of September 11 has been a new rise of an ugly strain of Islamophobia throughout the Western world. Amid the terrible agony of the recent terror attack in Bali, it is easy to be tempted, once again, by angry thoughts. The pattern is there: from the horror of 9/11, to the suicide/homicide bombings in Israel, to the flaming frontiers of Albania, Bosnia, Chechnya or Kashmir, all the way down to the recent brutal hostage-taking and killings in a Moscow theater, it is in the name of Islam that innocent people have fallen victim to hideous terrorism and unthinkable cruelty. It is, therefore, well within reason to raise questions as to the very nature of Islam, and almost plausible to see everything in terms of an inevitable clash between "our" world and "theirs." It is plausible, but ultimately wrong. According to Karen Armstrong , the Western world has always had a very unbalanced and negative view of Islam, dating back as early as the twelfth century. At that time Europeans knew very little about Muslims, and began to cultivate a highly distorted portrait of Islam. The reality was very different, in fact Islam began with a very positive message, where respect and freedom were some of the fundamental principles. It was only many years later that the religion was hijacked by old patriarchal attitudes, but the Koran still condemns violence and aggressive warfare, and Muslims are commanded by God to respect everyone, since we all share the same beliefs and the same God. To understand the terrorist attacks we have witnessed recently in many places, we have to bear in mind that what we see is not so much "Islam" mobilized to fight against "the West," but a civilization in severe internal crisis. There are rising movements in Islam, the so-called "fundamentalists, but they do not represent Islam, or even the majority of Muslims. Isl ...

Research paper-Chinese housing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Healthcare Model Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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