American Minorities and Sports Essay Example for Free

American Minorities and Sports Essay Sports have always had an enormous impact on American society and culture. People use sports at all levels, whether it’s youth, high school, college or professional, to help build an identity, connect with others and grow as individuals. Even though American is a diverse country made up of different races, nationalities and ethnicities, discrimination has been in issue throughout America’s history. Sports took on an even greater meaning for some minorities during the 20th Century, especially Europeans and blacks. They used sports as a means of vertical mobility in order to advance themselves socially in America. The idea of social mobility was one concept that originally drew many immigrants to the country. Between 1880 and 1915, around 26 million immigrants moved to the United States, and about half came from several areas of Europe (Moore, 2011a). America offered the chance for people to better themselves and someone from any background could become successful and rise above their parents. During this time, Americans were already viewing sports as an important and democratic part of life, because it judged people on their talent and skill alone (Reiss, 1980). Competition was an opportunity to prove and show off your â€Å"manliness† and power. Sports were also seen as a way to gain vertical mobility, and for Europeans, it was a way to become more accepted into the American culture. Although they received more respect than blacks, they mostly were not considered truly â€Å"American† (Moore, 2011a). Boxing was a popular sport among young immigrants. Boxing was a sport that proved â€Å"manliness† and toughness, and turning professional meant chances to earn prize money. Most immigrants from Europe lived on the East Coast in cities that quickly became crowded and poor, and fighting was a functional skill to learn while living in the ghetto neighborhoods (Reiss, 1980). Boxing became a social ladder for ethnic groups since one group seemed to dominate until another group became better. Whoever were better boxers at the time were viewed as the tougher race. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s the Irish held most of the Heavyweight Championship titles, with boxers like John L. Sullivan, Jack Kilrain and Gene Tunney (Sowell, 1983). In the 1920’s and 30’s Jews began to have success in the ring, with 1913 being the only year in since the start of the century that there was no Jewish champion. In the two decade span they held 18 titles (Moore, 2011a). These champions were important to the Jewish in proving their worth to the country and countering the discrimination that the Nazis in Germany were trying to spread. Boxing for European ethnic minorities served as a way to prove their race’s toughness, and prizefighting was a way to leave the poor ghettos and make a decent life for themselves. Italians were slower than other groups in their involvement with sports. Between 1899 and 1924 about 4 million immigrated to the United States and settled in the crowded East Coast cities (Reiss, 1980). The Progressive movement was gaining popularity at the time, but because of their past in Italy, many Italians mistrusted governments telling them what to do and what their children should do (Moore, 2011a). However, 2nd generation Italian-American children were given opportunities to play sports through the creation of the Public School Athletic League. In 1905 historian Camillo Cianfarra tracked the Italian youth development in sports and observed: â€Å"In our public elementary school competitions, our children are not inferior to the children of other nationalities, in the lists of gymnastic [track and field] winners the Italian names appear quite frequently as they appear in the rosters of teams involved in inter-high school competition† (Reiss, 1980). Baseball soon became a popular sport with the Italians, and they became very successful with the sport. By the time of the Depression, Italians were becoming a majority in the Major Leagues (Moore, 2011a). Italians success in baseball gave them social mobility, but they were also still discriminated against. Some of the best players in the league in the 1930’s were Joe DiMaggio, Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti and Ernie Lombardi (Baldassaro, 2005). Joe DiMaggio helped Italians gain more exposure and respect when he became the best player in the league and an American celebrity (Moore, 2011a). Blacks in the United States had similar involvement as the Europeans with ports and social mobility, although they faced much more discrimination and rejection than the other minorities. Blacks used sports as a main way to try and prove their equality to the rest of the country. They viewed successful black athletes as heroes and passionately supported them, and used them as a more subtle channel to showcase their fight against the discrimination and hate that they faced daily. Boxing featured several black champions and was a popular sport, just like it was with the European minorities. One of the earliest black champions was Peter Jackson, an Australian who won the Heavyweight Championship over there in 1886. He traveled to America in 1988 to fight John L. Sullivan, who held the Heavyweight Title, but Sullivan refused to fight him because he was black. Besides that setback, he was considered one of the best boxers of the time, and blacks loved him because he was a respectable man and proved black equality with his victories. Frederick Douglass at the time said, â€Å"Peter is doing a great deal with his fist to solve the Negro question† (Moore, 2011b). He was also respected within the white community because he never bragged or belittled an opponent (Moore, 2011b). People around the country of any race looked up to him as a role model. Although Peter Jackson helped gain some respect for blacks in white America, it wasn’t until Joe Louis that Americans found a black athlete that was embraced as an American hero. Louis was born in Alabama in 1914 as the son a sharecropper and great grandson of a slave. His family moved to Detroit in 1924 where he soon took up boxing. After ten years of hard work he won the Golden Gloves as a light heavyweight and his career took off from there. One of his biggest victories was against former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in front of a crowd of 62,000 at Yankee Stadium (Official Site, n. d. ). Louis’s symbol as an American hero though didn’t fully happen until he avenged his loss against German champion Max Schmeling with a first-round knockout in 1938, during the time of the Nazi’s dominance in Europe. It was this victory that caused the American people to see him not as just another black fighter, but as an American hero. It helped to counter the impression of successful black athletes that Jack Johnson, the previous black heavyweight champion, had left, and in a way almost transcended his race (Schwartz, n. d. ). â€Å"What my father did was enable white America to think of him as an American, not as a black,† said his son, Joe Louis Jr. â€Å"By winning, he became America’s first black hero† (Schwartz, n. d. ). In the 1960’s, black athletes used the world’s biggest sporting stage to fight racism and show their protest against the discrimination that they were still facing. In October 1967 the Olympic Project for Human Rights was established by sociologist Harry Edwards and others, mainly athletes. The goal of the organization was to protest segregation and racism in sport and society. A boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was suggested but never happened, yet several members still used the Games as an opportunity for the organization. Many on the US Track and Field team wore black socks as support of the black community, or badges of the OPHR (Henderson, n. d. ). The most famous act of protest however was from sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished 1st and 3rd in the 200m final. On the medal podium, they each raised a fist while wearing a black glove. The act led to the International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, suspending them from the rest of the competition and forcing them to leave (Moore, 1991). Although the protest had negative consequences for the sprinters, it was another key moment in sports that showed how the black community rallied around its athletes and used sports as a way to come together and fight for civil rights. Sports and competition were important in minorities efforts to advance in 20th century America through vertical mobility, although the reasons were different for each race. Europeans struggled with adjusting to a new country and culture, and sports helped serve as a way to assimilate more with the American culture and be accepted. Because of the large numbers of immigrants in the late 1800‘s and early 1900‘s, most lived in poor, crowded urban areas. Being successful in sports meant a chance to become professional, leave behind poverty, and make a life for yourself. It was essentially the â€Å"American Dream. † Sports had a slightly different meaning for black Americans. The United States was still a country of discrimination and oppression, and black society used their successful athletes to empower and unite them. Through heroes like Joe Louis, they fought against the discrimination and tried to prove their equality to whites. Both minorities in the 20th century viewed sports as a key tool in their struggle for acceptance in American society.

Internet Taxation †A Dual Issue For Both Sides :: Tax Taxes Internet Web Research Papers

Internet Taxation – A Dual Issue For Both Sides Internet Taxation is a hot button issue that has hit all sides of the spectrum in heated debates since the late nineteen nineties. This is an issue that covers many grounds. The common misconception is that Internet taxation is simply the taxing of purchases bought on the Internet either through consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or business-to-consumer e-commerce. But, while this does remain one of the issues, the most worrisome to those behind the scenes is the second half of this complex issue - the use of the Internet in lieu of a telephone line. Both of these issues could affect consumers & businesses alike, but in different ways. Some of these ways can be temporarily damaging to local economies, but it is mostly harmless and blown up to make people believe otherwise. The first thing most think of when they hear Internet taxation is the words â€Å"like a sales tax.† But it actually is much more complicated than just a simple tax on goods sold. Many politicians have long felt that the sales tax laws are damaging to some economies, confusing to locals & travelers alike, long outdated, & generally much too hard to follow, but they weren’t sure of what an internet tax could do to help this. To alleviate the burden & answer these imposing questions the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) passed in 1998 created what has become to be known as the e-Commerce Commission, formerly known as the Advisory Commission On Electronic Commerce (CAGW). This commission was supposed to attack many issues that policy makers had asked them to address. These issues included such things as: whether the existing state and local sales and use tax system is compatible with an electronic commerce environment; if electronic commerce should be taxed at all, consideri ng the difficulty of taxing such commerce; whether or not imposing or collecting tax on electronic commerce will undermine the sales and use tax base and create inequalities between sales of equivalent goods and services depending on the form or mode of delivery; whether the multiplicity of and inconsistency among existing state and local use tax laws creates an undue burden on sellers and purchasers in an electronic commerce environment, and, if so, whether it is possible to create greater consistency in state and local sales and use tax laws to facilitate application and administration of

Hewlett Packard Spying Scandal Essay

Corporate misconduct, (or people’s misconduct so to speak) is an issue that has been dominating headline news in the American business world in recent years. Theodore Roosevelt, one time U.S. president was probably right when he said, â€Å"To educate a person in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society† (Platt, 1989). The American society has continued to suffer from corporate scandals, despite the fact that people are now better educated because behind each scandal and crisis is a possible lack of morals in the â€Å"educated people† running those corporations (Low et al, 2006). It should be noted that unethical behavior is not a new phenomenon in US business nor it is an issue of the US alone. Research Questions and Objectives The year 2002 witnessed the collapse of giants like Enron, Tyco, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom and less known cases like Morgan Stanley, Dupont and Prudential Financial amongst others all involved in one form of scandal or the other.   Such widespread corporate misbehaviors have left many people (including this writer) to wonder where things are going wrong. Should blame be placed on perceived weaknesses of legislation and accounting standards? Or is it that education is not producing the type of business graduates needed to prevent such scandals? (Low et al).  Ã‚   Do the misdeeds simply involve a few â€Å"bad apples†: a smattering of corporations that make the rest of American business look bad? Or is the problem much broader than that? Further, if it is a widespread issue, what needs to be done? (Clement R. May 2006). Such are the kind of questions this study is out to seek answers to in light of the Hewlett Packard Spying scandal of 2006. Conceptual Framework This section explains what the literature on business ethics suggests for achieving ethical behavior in an organization. It is hoped that this will lay a foundation for the analysis of the recent corporate misdeed of Hewlett Packard. Business Ethics: Business ethics, Black J. (2002) is the branch of ethics that studies what standards businesses should observe in their dealings over and above compliance with the letter of the law. This covers questions such as fair dealing with their labour force, customers, suppliers, and competitors, and the impact of their activities on public health, the environment, and animal welfare. If a good reputation helps to gain and retain business, ethical conduct need not necessarily conflict with profit, but there are bound to be cases where it does. Particularly difficult questions of business ethics arise in multinational firms, where practices such as gifts to officials, which are essential to doing business at all in some countries, are regarded as criminal in others. Previous research works on business ethics have pointed out some measures that can be taken within an organization to help foster a culture of ethical behavior. Many of these studies highlight the role that top management commitment plays in developing an ethical organizational culture. Weaver, Trevino and Cochran (1999) found that the commitment of top management is essential for ethical decision making to be integrated into a firm’s culture; in other words, management’s decisions and actions in promoting the program are more effective than making sure that the program addresses a long list of ethical issues. Trevino and Brown (2004) found that top executives must manage ethical conduct proactively by means of explicit ethical leadership and conscious management of the organization’s culture. To this end, they suggest that top managers should study the cultures of their organizations to see what ethical messages are being sent. The researchers also assert that executives should communicate the importance of ethics, reward ethical behavior, and model that behavior themselves. Holmes et al (2002) found that employees are more likely to engage in ethical behavior if top management is firm in its expectations of ethical behavior of all employees, including themselves (p. 97) while Harrington (1997) concluded that, to achieve ethical behavior, top management needs to gain social consensus through changes in organization culture and by encouraging employees to live up to their responsibilities. What constitutes â€Å"unethical† behavior? It is important to determine the types of corporate behavior to consider unethical, and to decide on the time period over which the data on that behavior should be gathered. Some types of behavior may seem unethical to certain individuals but not to others (Clement R, 2006).   He however identifies three conditions that seem to signal unethical behavior: – A plea of guilty by a firm to charges of misconduct; – by courts or government agencies against a firm as solid evidence of corporate misconduct, even if the firm is still appealing the ruling. – agreement by a firm to settle charges, often by paying a fine or agreeing to other restrictions on company behavior even if the firm is not required to admit guilt. The Hewlett Packard (HP) spying scandal Origins In a Newsweek report by Kaplan D, (2006), the confrontation at Hewlett-Packard started innocently enough in January 2006 when online technology site CNET published an article about the long-term strategy at HP and other information that could only come from a director quoting an anonymous HP source. HP’s chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, fed up with the ongoing leaks told another director she wanted know whom it was. According to an internal HP e-mail, Dun then took the extra ordinary step of authorizing a team of independent electronic-security experts to spy on the January 2006 communications of other 10 directors – not the records of calls (or emails) from HP itself, but the records of phone calls made from personal accounts. That meant calls from directors’ home and their private cell phones were intercepted. Dunn acted without informing the rest of the board and this caused a boardroom fury at the world’s largest technology company. In a related story by Sakuma P. (2007), the HP boardroom-spying scheme erupted into a national scandal , September 2006, after the company disclosed that detectives it hired obtained the private phone records of directors, employees and 9 journalists in an effort to ferret out the source of media leaks. The scandal also introduced the world to â€Å"pretexting,† a shady tactic in which detectives used other people’s Social Security numbers to fool telephone companies into divulging detailed call logs. In an interview with Newsweek, Dunn said she didn’t know that the investigation would reach such heights. Consequences In two separate press releases, HP announced a number of moves that was an outcome of 2 days of teleconferences among the board. – Patricia Dunn was to step down as chairwoman. – CEO Mark Hurd will replace her. – George Keyworth, the longest serving director and one who leaked information to a CNET reporter that led to HP’s investigation was to resign immediately. – Richard Hackborn, who served on the board since 1992 would become â€Å"lead independent director†. – A criminal investigation against Patricia Dunn, Kevin Hunsaker, HP’s former ethics chief who allegedly directed the probe, and 3 private investigators was started on 4 counts: use of false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility; unauthorized access to computer data; identity theft; and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. Each charge carried a fine of up to 10,000 dollars and 3 years in prison. How and Why HP successfully overcame this scandal Testifying before a congressional in September 2006, Dunn said she was repeatedly reassured by HP’s lawyers about the legality of its detectives’ subterfuge. In a Business Week report, November 2006, a state judge Cunningham in California dropped the above charges against ex-Hewlett-Packard Chair Patricia Dunn after she pleaded guilty. The court however did not accept the pleas of the other three defendants and offered to dismiss the charges against them if they met two conditions – by Sept. 12   2006, they must serve 96 hours of community service and complete any court-filed restitution requests made by victims. In a related story by CNN’s Katy Byron, (September, 2006), the court dismissed Dunn’s charge because of her cancer battle, according to the attorney general’s office. The dismissal came â€Å"not because she’s innocent but because she is sick,† attorney general’s spokesman Barankin told CNN. Dunn had breast cancer in 2000 and melanoma in 2002 and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2004 and is still battling it. She also underwent extensive surgery last year after doctors discovered a malignant tumor in her liver. In a CNBC news report (september 2006) Hewlett Packard agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle the lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, whose office accused the company of unfair business practices in its attempts to unmask the source of boardroom leaks. HP also implemented changes to its corporate governance policies to ensure that future internal investigations are conducted legally. There was no finding of liability against HP. The settlement includes an injunction and agreement that the California Attorney General will not pursue civil claims against HP or against its current and former directors, officers and employees. The vast majority of the settlement — $13.5 million — will fund state and local investigations into privacy rights and intellectual property violations, Lockyer said in a statement. The personal efforts of new HP chairman and CEO, Mark Hurd also contributed greatly to HP’s successfull exit from the scandal. He says â€Å"We are pleased to settle this matter with the Attorney General and are committed to ensuring that HP regains its standing as a global leader in corporate ethics and responsibility†. The company shareholders rejected a proposal that would have given investors the right to nominate directors to HP’s board. About 39 percent of HP shares entitled to vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting favored the measure, which was supported by funds including Calpers, the largest U.S. pension fund, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the No. 3 fund. The above factors culminated in a slight stock price increase of HP in September 2006 despite the fact that September 2006 was a rocky month for the company. Its stock actually rose a bit that month, ending at $36.69. It has since climbed to nearly $40 as HP continues to perform strongly in the PC and printer markets. HP today has regained its leading position as the worlds number one technology company. The Role of Business Ethics in this Success The conceptual framework of this study laid some guidelines on how to identify when a company behavior should be considered ethical or not. In the context of the widely publicized Hewlett Packard spying scandal discussed above, there is no plea of guilt by the firm nor by Patricia Dunn and the other defendents to charges of misconduct, we haven’t seen a ruling against either the Carlifornia court that handled the case nor the Securities and Exchange Commissions against HP for unethical behavior. However, HP agreed to settle charges of $14.5 million to close the case and save the goodwill of the Silicon Valley icon. The payment, by ethical standards could be considered a fine, which is an evidence of unethical behavior, by a firm. HP’s intention, perhaps, as we have seen was to save the company’s image and probably in compliance with a court injunction or lawyer’s advice. Taking a look at HP’s Standards of Business Conduct, (SBC) , we find that it embodies the fundamental principles that govern   ethical and legal obligations to HP. They pertain not only to conduct within the company but also to conduct involving HP’s customers, channel partners, suppliers and competitors. (www.hp.com). As a business, remaining profitable and viable is a must for Hewlett Packard though this is not the only concern for the company. HP seeks uncompromising integrity through what each individual can contribute — to its customers, co-workers, company and communities. HP’s business success is dependent on trusting relationships. Its reputation is founded on the personal integrity of the company’s personnel and its dedication to the principles of: (www.hp.com) – Honesty in communicating within the company and with its business partners, suppliers and customers, while at the same time protecting the company’s confidential information and trade secrets. – Excellence in its products and services, by striving to provide high-quality products and services to its customers – Responsibility for its words and actions – Compassion in its relationships with employees and the communities affected by company business – Citizenship in observance of all the laws of any country in which the company does business, respect for environmental concerns and service to the community by improving and enriching community life. – Fairness to our fellow employees, stakeholders, business partners, customers and suppliers through adherence to all applicable laws, regulations and policies, and a high standard of behavior. – Respect for fellow employees, stakeholders, business partners, customers and suppliers while showing willingness to solicit their opinions and value their feedback. Conclusion From the above, we can say that Dunn’s investigation into the leak was simply in compliance with the first principle (Honesty) of the company’s code of ethics. Her intentions were clear from the outset – to probe into an alleged boardroom leak while at the same time respecting the principles of respect and fairness (last two principles) in the investigation. That in itself shouldn’t have been a scandal. It is the methods of the investigation – pretexting that raised controversy and finally erupted into a scandal. Patricia Dunn was able to prove before congress and the courts that such an act was carried out without her knowledge, though she acknowledged that an investigation was going on, which in itself complied with company ethics.

Volcanic Eruptions - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 760 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category Environment Essay Level High school Tags: Volcano Essay Did you like this example? A volcanic eruptions are devastating events that cause mass destruction throughout our society. Volcanoes are made by lava and ash coming out of the ground and hardening. Then over time, it will create a volcano. Volcanoes kill 540 people each year(Fox News). Volcanoes can be caused by other natural disasters or pressure underneath earths surface but the destruction can be minimized by following the evacuation route. To begin with, volcano eruptions can be caused by many different things. One way a volcano erupts is when it is located on a boundary line of tectonic plates. In the text, Why Do Volcanoes Erupt it notes When one plate pushes under the other, this forces molten rock, sediment and seawater down into the magma chamber. The rock gets melted to magma, and eventually overfill the chamber until it erupts. Another way the volcano can erupt is when there is a decrease in external pressure in the chamber. An article states A decrease in external pressure on the magma chamber may also allow for an eruption by minimising its ability to hold back increasing pressures from the inside(Why Do Volcanoes Erupt). Usually a natural disaster like typhoon will cause a huge decrease in external pressure in the volcano. Volcanoes also have a huge effect on climate change as well. For example, Mount Tamboras eruption was so big that it put a lot of particles in the air causing it to block the sun so the te mperature dipped down. This caused many crops in that area to die. All in all, volcanoes have many ways that they can erupt which can cause major effects in the climate. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Volcanic Eruptions" essay for you Create order There has been many catastrophic volcanic eruptions that has caused mass destruction to our society. Two examples of volcano eruptions are Mount Tambora and Mount st. Helens. Mount Tambora erupted in 1815 at sumbawa, an island in Indonesia. An article notes that The death toll is probably about a million people(Little). That is more than a whole city filled with people. Another huge volcano is Mount st. Helens. This volcano erupted in washington on march 7, 1980. This terrible event killed 57 people and the ash went all the way to Minnesota. The eruption was caused by seismic activity in the state. The text states 4.2 magnitude tremor was recorded four days after the seismic activity(History.com Editors). To prevent any more destruction, many residents evacuated the area and the national guard put up road blocks to prevent people from going into that area. These are only two of the many big volcanic eruptions that can cause a lot of damage if not careful. One of the most recent volcano eruptions was the volcano in Kilauea, one of the islands in Hawaii. It started in 1983 and has destroyed 35 structors. A website states The good new is that,so far, no fatalities or serious injuries have been reported by this eruption(Whitefield). To make sure there are no deaths, islanders are evacuating. The text states an eruption from Hawaiis Kilauea volcano forced more than a thousand island residents to evacuate their homes(Mexican volcanoes and how volcanoes are formed). All in all, this volcano eruption was a lot smaller than Mount Tambora and Mount st. Helens because of the death toll and other features of a volcano. This volcano is one of the most recent eruptions on this planet. Finally, there are some safety tips to avoiding an injury during a fierce volcano eruption. In the text, it states Do not drive in heavy ash fall(Volcanoes). Ash is really dense so a certain amount of it can cause your car to cave in which would end up being a terrible car ride. Also, that ash can be really dangerous once it gets into the lungs. The text Volcanoes states Follow evacuation or shelter orders. If advised to evacuate, do so early. This could prevent from having to drive in the ash at all. These are some safety tips to how to survive a volcano eruption. Volcanoes can be very beautiful but at the same time, they can have the ability to destroy a whole city. Imagine if a volcano just erupted. What safety precautions would be taken place? Would you evacuate the area or try to wait it out? But if volcanoes could be predicted, then it would allow everyone in the area to evacuate a couple days before the eruption begins. This would prevent any fatalilties or any extra damage that could be taken if not evacuating. Volcanoes have way more to them than what meets the eye.