Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Road to the White House, 2012

Introduction Voter turnout is an important aspect of a free and fair election in a democratic system of governance. A high voter turnout is deemed to be a sign of a healthy democracy (Lee 32). Even though America is one of the leading democracies in the world, its voter turnout has historically remained very low. In the last four decades, the participation of citizens in general elections has been steadily declining due to a myriad of socio-political factors. This paper highlights the measures that can be taken to improve voter turnout in the United States.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Road to the White House, 2012 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Low voter turnout in the US is attributed to the emergence of candidate-oriented campaigns, inadequate electoral competition and the decline in the popularity of party politics (Green and Gerber 66). The rise of a hypercritical press has also contributed to the l ow voter turnout. Since these factors are difficult to address, more citizens are likely to shy away from the electoral process in the future. However, the following measures can help in motivating citizens to participate in elections. First, the current electoral process should be replaced with a proportional representation system. The current system discourages voters from participating in elections since a candidate can be declared the winner even if he wins in fewer states than his competitor (Green and Gerber 111). A candidate can also be declared the winner despite garnering fewer votes than his competitor. This happened in 2000 when Bush was declared the winner despite having fewer votes than Gore. These weaknesses demonstrate that the voters have a limited ability to select their leaders through the voting system. A propositional representation system will eliminate these weaknesses by assuring the voters that their votes will be the ultimate determinant of the countryâ€⠄¢s future leadership. Second, some laws that govern the voting process should be changed. Concisely, the voting hours should be extended to allow more people to participate. Most eligible voters fail to vote due to work commitments. Similarly, conducting elections on weekdays often discourage the working class from participating. Consequently, high voter turnout can be achieved by conducting the elections on weekends. Third, the campaign period should be reduced. Traditionally, lengthy campaigns are expected to give voters adequate time to evaluate the candidates. In the contrary, long campaigns divert the voters’ attention from campaign activities. Empirical studies reveal that â€Å"most voters lack the psychological preparation that facilitates close attention to campaigns when the Election Day is still months away† (Lee 98). Besides, voters are likely to lose interest in campaigns that last for a very long time. Hence, long campaigns produce an uninformed electora te, thereby discouraging participation in elections.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Third, the voter registration process should be reformed. In most states, the registration process is often stopped, at least, two weeks prior to the Election Day. However, most citizens are hardly aware of the registration deadline. Besides, some voters find it difficult to register due to time constraints. Consequently, the registration deadline should be extended. Registration should be allowed on the Election Day in order to give more citizens the opportunity to participate. The registration process can also be made automatic. For instance, the government can use the list of registered citizens (holders of national identification cards) to create the voters register. Fourth, the media can help in motivating citizens to participate in elections (Green and Gerber 132). The print and electronic medi a play an integral role in informing the public about campaign events such as presidential debates, as well as, the policies of each candidate. However, the media has systematically reduced its coverage of political activities in favor of commercial adverts. The electorate is likely to be well informed if the coverage of political events is increased. Thus, the voters will have an incentive to vote. Fifth, civic education should be improved in the United States. Most citizens are not aware of the importance of participating in elections. Thus, comprehensive civic educational programs should be used to sensitize the citizens on the benefits of participating in elections. Finally, conducting opinion polls prior to the elections should be prohibited. Traditionally, opinion polls are used to predict the results of the general elections (Lee 122). Voter turnout tends to be low when the polls predict a landslide victory. This is because the citizens tend to believe that their votes will n ot change the results. Prohibiting polling activities during the campaigns will make it difficult to predict the results. Thus, more citizens are likely to participate in the elections. Collaborative Essay The Road to the White House, 2012, by All of Us The main issues in the 2012 presidential elections include economic growth, unemployment and tax policy (Gallup). Additionally, the voters are concerned about the management of the country’s public debt. National security and foreign policies have also featured prominently in the presidential campaigns. The Republicans have been criticizing President Obama’s economic and energy development policies since the beginning of the campaigns. Obama intends to extend the tax cuts that were introduced by Bush’s administration. The tax cuts are expected to benefit citizens whose income is less than $ 250,000. However, the president has promised to end the tax cuts that are currently being enjoyed by the wealthy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Road to the White House, 2012 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Romney, on the other hand, intends to reform the tax system by introducing a new set of tax cuts. For instance, he has proposed a 20% reduction on personal income tax rate. He has also proposed a reduction in corporate tax by 5 percentage points, as well as, the elimination of the estate and capital gain taxes. In 2011, Obama focused on pursuing green energy development policies. However, in early 2012 he made a dramatic change in his energy development policy by deciding to exploit all energy sources rather than focusing on clean energy. Romney, on the other hand, favors the development of non-renewable energy sources such as oil and gas. His energy policy is based on the premise that the non-renewable energy sector can create more jobs and significantly improve energy supply in America. The Republican presidential primarie s began in 2011 with several candidates competing for the party’s nomination. By February 2012, there were only four candidates left in the competition. They included Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Romney was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate in May, after winning the support of 1,144 delegates. President Obama was nominated as the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in September after he won the support of more than 2778 delegates. The Republicans held their national convention in August 2012, whereas the Democrats held their convention in September 2012. During these conventions, the parties focused on criticizing each other. The parties seemed to have adopted similar political values. Consequently, the conventions produced political strategies which were more or less the same. The Republicans focused on highlighting the weaknesses of their opponents by describing them as people who discourage individual success and free enterprise (Harris and Vandehei). The Republicans also described their opponents as people who prefer the European-style welfare state. The Democrats adopted a similar approach by describing their opponents as people who look alike and have little concern for the less fortunate. The Democrats also accused their opponents of having the intentions to control Americans’ sexual and reproductive freedom. Most voters find it difficult to make a decision concerning the candidate to vote for due to the similarities in the policies and political strategies that have been adopted by the two parties. Since the beginning of the campaigns, the candidates have focused on popularizing their policies in order to win voters’ support. Romney was deemed to be the winner of the first presidential debate. However, Obama was considered to be the winner of the second and the third debates (Gallup).Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the third debate, Obama won the support of the audience by clearly specifying his positions on foreign policy and his past achievements. Generally, Obama has received favorable ratings on healthcare, energy and taxes. Romney, on the other hand, has received positive ratings on economic policy, as well as, his stand on federal budget deficit. The results of the 2012 presidential election will be determined primarily by the candidates’ ability to articulate the socio-economic issues that the country is grappling with. Works Cited Gallup. This Week’s Top Stories. Gallup, 27 Oct. 2012. Web. Green, Donald and Alan Gerber. Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Harris, John and Vandehei Jim. Two Conventions Tell the Tale of 2012. Politico, 7 Sep. 2012. Web. Lee. American Voter Turnout: an Institutional Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print. This essay on The Road to the White House, 2012 was written and submitted by user Remington Wilson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Ethos, Logos, Pathos for Persuasion

Ethos, Logos, Pathos for Persuasion You may be surprised to learn that much of your life consists of constructing arguments. If you ever plead a case to your parents- in order to extend your curfew or to get a new gadget, for example- you are using persuasive strategies. When you discuss music with friends and agree or disagree with them about the merits of one singer compared to another, you are also using strategies for persuasion. Indeed, when you engage in these arguments with your parents and friends, you are instinctively using ancient strategies for persuasion that were identified by the Greek philosopher Aristotle a few thousand years ago. Aristotle called his ingredients for persuasion pathos, logos, and ethos. Persuasion Tactics and Homework When you write a research paper, write a speech, or participate in a debate, you also use the persuasion strategies mentioned above. You come up with an idea (a thesis) and then construct an argument to convince readers that your idea is sound. You should become familiar with pathos, logos, and ethos for two reasons: First, you need to develop your own skills at crafting a good argument so that others will take you seriously. Second, you must develop the ability to identify a really weak argument, stance, claim, or position when you see or hear it. Logos Defined Logos refers to an appeal to reason based on logic. Logical conclusions come from assumptions and decisions derived from weighing a collection of solid facts and statistics. Academic arguments (research papers) rely on logos. An example of an argument that relies on logos is the argument that smoking is harmful based on the evidence that, When burned, cigarettes create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are toxic, according to the American Lung Association. Notice that the statement above uses specific numbers. Numbers are sound and logical. An everyday example of an appeal to logos is the argument that Lady Gaga is more popular than Justin Bieber because Gagas fan pages collected 10 million more Facebook fans than Biebers. As a researcher, your job is to find statistics and other facts to back up your claims. When you do this, you are appealing to your audience with logic or logos. Ethos Defined Trustworthiness is important in research. You must trust your sources, and your readers must trust you. The example above concerning logos contained two examples that were based on hard facts (numbers). However, one example comes from the American Lung Association. The other comes from Facebook fan pages. You should ask yourself: Which of these sources do you suppose is more credible? Anyone can start a Facebook page. Lady Gaga may have 50 different fan pages, and each page may contain duplicate fans. The fan page argument is probably not very sound (even though it seems logical). Ethos refers to the credibility of the person posing the argument or stating the facts. The facts provided by the American Lung Association are probably more persuasive than those provided by fan pages since the American Lung Association has been around for more than 100 years. At first glance, you might think that your own credibility is out of your control when it comes to posing academic arguments, but that is incorrect. Even if you write an academic paper on a topic that is outside your area of expertise, you can improve your credibility- using ethos to persuade- by coming across as a professional by citing credible sources and making your writing error-free and concise. Pathos Defined Pathos refers to appealing to a person by influencing his emotions. Pathos is involved in the strategy of convincing the audience by invoking feelings through their own imaginations. You appeal through pathos when you try to convince your parents of something. Consider this statement: Mom, there is clear evidence that cellphones save lives in emergency situations. While that statement is true, the real power lies in the emotions that you will likely invoke in your parents. What mother wouldnt envision a broken-down automobile perched by the side of a busy highway upon hearing that statement? Emotional appeals are extremely effective, but they can be tricky. There may or may not be a place for pathos in your research paper. For example, you may be writing an argumentative essay about the death penalty. Ideally, your paper should contain a logical argument. You should appeal to logos by including statics to support your view such as data that suggests that the death penalty does/does not cut down on crime (theres plenty of research both ways). Use Appeals to Emotion Sparingly You may also use pathos by interviewing someone who witnessed an execution (on the anti-death penalty side) or someone who found closure when a criminal was executed (on the pro-death penalty side). Generally, however, academic papers should employ appeals to emotions sparingly. A long paper that is purely based on emotions is not considered very professional. Even when you are writing about an emotionally charged, controversial issue like the death penalty, you cant write a paper that is all emotion and opinion. The teacher, in that circumstance, will likely assign a failing grade because you havent provided a sound (logical) argument. Source â€Å"Whats In a Cigarette?†Ã‚  American Lung Association,

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Chip and Pin Card Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chip and Pin Card Systems - Essay Example The magnetic strips required the customer to present their cards for swiping in a terminal, sign a slip of receipt and the payment would then be processed (King, 2012). However, with the introduction of chip-and-pin, the customer’s card is swiped and the details would be authenticated by entering a unique pin and the payment would be processed. Based on the introduced chip and pin cards in the United Kingdom, research is to be conducted to determine whether their introduction has really served to reduce incidences of card fraud in the United Kingdom. The main issue in this paper is whether there has been a reduction in card fraud since chip and pin cards were introduced and whether any reduction can be attributed solely to the introduction of chip and pin cards. Literature Review The shift towards the chip and pin technology in the United Kingdom was driven by increasing card fraud, which totaled to a lot of money in 2000. After the introduction of chip and pin technology, the re has been a drastic reduction in card fraud in the UK. The technology is a technology backed by the government to implement the benchmark created by EMV to curb card fraud (King, 2012). This was meant to reduce the fraud committed when transactions are completed face to face with the customer. All major card providers in Europe and Canada have gone the way of the chip and pin technology, but the United States still uses magnetic strips on their debit and credit cards. From research, the working of the chip and pin technology is stated as replacing the common form of card performance; magnetic strips and requiring the customer to sign the accompanying receipt (Diebold, 2011). In chip and pin technology, the customer’s information is stored on an IC chip embedded in the card as opposed to the magnetic strip used before the technology was introduced. The data is then encrypted on the card using different algorithms that generate random numbers when transactions are recorded. I n the previous magnetic strip technology, the card was swiped on a terminal, but with the new technology, the customer inserts the card in a terminal, the information in the integrated circuit is decrypted and authorization for the transaction provided. When the authorization for the transaction is provided, the customer then enters a unique pin, a receipt is generated and the money deducted from the cardholder's account. One of the main security features of chip and pin technology is the ability to use wireless terminals that are more secure since the card is used in the presence of the customer. This also means that the terminals use secure modes of transmission of customer data to a central database. Before the introduction of chip and pin technology, magnetic strips were used for authentication reasons (Financial Fraud Action UK, 2011). The magnetic strip on the card had personal details for the holder which could be related to the bank account in case they want to perform any t ransaction like withdrawing money on the ATM or purchasing items in shops using the card.Â