Mice of Men Essay

By Golda Bhebhe. â€Å"Of Mice and Men. † In the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck we are introduced to two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small. These men are close friends who travel together looking for employment in America in the 1930s. Lennie is quite a simple guy who sometimes gets into trouble. Steinbeck uses a range of writing techniques to portray Lennie and we are left at the end feeling very sad that he has had to die. When we first meet Lennie and George we immediately notice that George is the leader and Lennie is slower and seems to await instructions.George is described as a small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong feature. It also moves on to say that every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. The author creates a very masculine attractive imagine of George by making him look put together and neat with very chiselled bone structure which in society has always been considered very handsome. On the other hand Lennie is described as a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders.This creates a very unattractive look for the character because he seems to be coming of slightly a large untidy man who doesn’t seem to take pride in the way he looks. When the two men first walk into the brush George is leading the way and Lennie is carefully following him. They were walking in single file down the path, and even in the open Lennie stayed behind George. This shows that Lennie is very dependent on George in the way that a child would be. The two men soon move into the wider world of the ranch and here we see how other people react to Lennie.Steinbeck evokes sympathy for Lennie when he shows the way other people react to him. The ranch workers at the start are very inquisitive and some even envious of Lennie & George’s relationship. Some are slightly intimidated by Lennie because he is a big guy but they don’t know that he really a child at heart could never hurt anyone intentionally. One of the workers who are especially intimidated by Lennie is Curley. Curley is the boss’s son. He is a thin young man with brown face, with brown eyes and head of tightly curled hair.Curley seems to be intimidated by Lennie because of his large size and him being a small man feels the need to look down on him to make himself feel like a â€Å"big guy† because he knows Lennie can’t do anything because he is in the position of power. â€Å"Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at’em because he aint a big guy. † This shows that Curley has always been jealous of bigger men. So he finds pleasure in bullying Lennie because usually it’s the other way round.

Determinism Versus Free Will Essay

Freedom is an ideal that many people in privileged society take for granted on a daily basis. Just because some people find themselves at home in a country where social norms have evolved to allow a rational sense of individualism and free will within its borders does not concede that free will is a universal right. In fact, many other countries such as Syria struggle to bring their policies up to speed with more progressive democracies such as Spain or the Australia, and their populace suffers backlash from corrupt legal systems and government. However, one thing that these countries stand to learn from successful nations such as the United States is that populations with more personal freedom tend to be happier with their lives as a whole than those who feel limited and stagnant in their development. At the same time, as freedom is important in making any group of people happy, there must be limits placed on their actions to avoid moral misconduct; that is, the concept of personal responsibility is a crucial one to keeping society clean, and it is commonly accepted that accepting responsibility for one’s actions is a way to keep society tidy. However, the weighting of moral codes and ethics is a difficult thing to do with accuracy because of the varying nature of such an abstract concept. In â€Å"Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility,† Harry Frankfurt describes a principle that states that â€Å"a person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. † Called the principle of alternative possibilities, this proposition purports that moral responsibility and choice go hand in hand; without one, the other can’t be just. As Frankfurt mentions in his writing, most people would take for granted this idea as a faultless constituent of the rationale behind lawmaking. However, Frankfurt conjectures a few obscure ways in which this principle could be contradicted. One example given was of a man named Jones who had decided to do something morally wrong, and when a second party was notified of his intent, Jones was forced to follow through with his actions. Here, Jones obviously would have been considered morally liable because whether or not the second individual had forced him to commit his crime of choice, he would have done so anyways. The logic stands to reason then, by the example given, that such a possibility does exist to make a similar situation happen. Whether by karma or by blackmail, myriad similar things could happen, and since moral fibre lies within the conscience and not in the physical realm, evil has been done as soon as one decides to act. At the same time, in this example, Frankfurt manages to give a proof that determinism and moral responsibility are compatible because, as he points out, it is possible to be responsible without the option to do otherwise. That is, in the case given, the threat of blackmail could have been so severe that Jones would have had no choice but to do what he had done. This would mean, then, that Frankfurt’s example would present a large hole in the way most people would see the intersection of free will and determinism; that is most would see it as incompatible, but by Frankfurt’s proof, they can sometimes run side by side practically parallel. While Frankfurt was quite perceptive to realize such a possible proof of compatibilism, this also presented a hole in his argument in that free will and determinism are not necessarily compatible because at the same time that one could be forced to do something without prior intent, if determinism were true, then the whole situation would have been predetermined, and if everything were predetermined then responsibility cannot exist as an option. Responsibility is defined as a state of having to deal with something, which in itself entails making certain decisions. However, despite the fact that determinism seems to dictate a timeline of events that completely eliminates the importance of making decisions, perhaps the brain’s ability to make decisions is a real one and decisions are, in cognitive terms, actually taking place. Determinism has merely caused one line of thought or line of decision making to necessarily end up coming true over the other. If determinism were true, then that would not entail that there is no such thing as a decision, it simply means that all our decisions would have been made beforehand. In that sense, the idea which Frankfurt presents is lent credence. If free will and determinism were indeed compatible, then every Christian, every latter-day saint, and every last-minute convert would be happy to know that they were much more likely to be granted a spot in heaven. According to the most popular scriptures, God is an all knowing, all powerful, and all good being, who granted the right of free will to all humans as an ultimate test to determine their destiny for better or worse. In this way, God is purported to be both liberal and deterministic; it only goes to follow that Frankfurt’s theory would be happily received by many religious believers. In some sort of real-world sequel to the book 1984, there would be signs all over the place proclaiming the existence of God based on some study created by Frankfurt’s constituents. Mass converts would line the streets of all the New York burroughs. Heaven would be a doorknock away. Though such an extreme scenario could only be conceivable in a novel, the image is clear. Sarcastic as it may be, such a magnitudinous occurrence in modern society could not be expected to occur based on some example with such abstract and intangible results. Perhaps in some warped space-time corollary the same would be seen in the science of philosophy. Perhaps a new theorem would be passed in its discourse, and textbooks with the same tired old vocabulary would be entirely rewritten to include Frankfurt’s new theorem. Though no one cares about philosophy as much as religion, still such a magnitudinous occurrence would be like an earthquake caused by everyone in the town of Athens jumping at the same time: difficult to conclude based on the lack of further evidence. Perhaps this pattern of occurrences is one of the holes in Frankfurt’s theorem. Well, not a hole in the sense that it disproves his logic, but a criticism nonetheless; it seems that his idea is too marginal to conclude something so physically contradictory as to say that just because a person could be forced to do something that he would otherwise not have done could prove determinism as right as the theory of relativity. Surely the scientific community would be all ears to Dr. Frankfurt’s dissertation as to why they should all wear underwear to work the next day: in a word, â€Å"who cares! † with determinism proved true, the scientists would probably feel a lot more relaxed for the next few weeks, however, when they tallied up all the evidence as to why they suddenly converted to Dr. Frankfurt’s new school of thought, they would have only one piece of evidence as to why: the mysterious case of Mr. Jones. Realizing that it was fate, they would rest their faces in their palms and wait for something else to happen. While Frankfurt’s logic is as technically true as is that of a Cartesian argument for the existence of reality all in one’s own imagination because of the lack of evidence to the contrary, perhaps the shoddy reputation of philosophical theories as being worth anything besides food for thought is nil. They are always careful with words, so as to traipse around the discerning and cold ears of the left-brained. There, they peacefully coexist with poets, artists, and other like minds. However, no matter the precision of their wording, it is always the popular decision to simply stay in the third dimension of thinking without bringing in any extraneous points of view that would go against common sense in an inherently immaterial way. â€Å"One nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. † This famous verse marks the final few words of the American Pledge of Allegiance. Without prior knowledge of the country, one would probably be led to assume that Americans value freedom highly. In this case, they would most certainly be on to something. Freedom is a beautiful thing, yet it is powerful at the same time. Its power can be used for good or for evil, and that is why America (as well as every other model society) simply is not complete without a decent legal system. Obviously murder, rape, and theft are all violent crimes which must carry harsh penalties for those who commit them, and they all share one thing in common that no minor traffic violation does at heart: a morally wrong motive. Truly it would take a sick individual to commit any one of these things with intent to do so. So where does the idea of determinism in relation to the concept of free will fit into this picture? It is a tight fit in an ever-evolving jigsaw, but one of the obscure pieces nonetheless that must be considered to get the bigger picture. Laws are changing all the time, and morals have to remain at their core. When one remembers the addendum, â€Å"under god,† of the Pledge of Allegiance, it becomes ever clearer how determinism can fit into the moral scheme of the country as well. However, when it does in a legal sense, it goes against what is clearly stated in the constitution: America has secular laws unlike some other countries, and although some of the laws on the books are outdated and had better jurisdiction in a time when America is more religious, new laws as of late are much more secular. This adds to the point that determinism is becoming an increasingly abstract concept in society as times progress; that is, it has less place in law than it does in philosophical thought. Determinism is a concept that no proof, no theorem, and no scientific data will ever elucidate and validate before society. It would mark a monumental moment in the history of things, but if it were true, it would not matter very much what happened; all events thereafter would be destined to occur. For this reason and the reason of practicality, it is necessary to view determinism as an abstraction rather than reality. In such a dimension where determinism were held to be true, it would follow from assumption that free will would be merely an illusion. But why then, one would suppose, would humans have evolved to become such complex decision makers? If one believes in an omniscient and omnipotent God, then determinism’s validity seems much more promising, however for all other parties, it seems better left in the realm of abstraction. However, despite its realistic application, determinism remains as essential to philosophical abstraction as does the concept of good and evil. That is one reason it manages to justify itself in the vocabulary of philosophers worldwide — a broad vocabulary, indeed. Frankfurt happens to be like a Newton or Aristotle of his day and age, postulating truly genius and more importantly original ideas in such a relevant field as his own, A polite way to put it but an apt one as well. It is an inventive mind who decides to venture well beyond the blurred lines of the abstract and metaphysical in order to question an a priori truth so firmly believed to be accurate as the perpendicularity between determinism and free will; it is an inventive mind indeed. Works Cited Frankfurt, Harry. â€Å"Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility. † N. p. : n. p. , n. d. N. pag. 620pixeltable. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

Quiz Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Quiz - Assignment Example In order to identify with the UCC contract, the product that the parties exchange must exist, in the current case the product is the jet-ski. Article 2 of UCC governs every phase of transactions and describes remedies for problems that might arise. The contract involving Andy and the local Kawaskai dealership is effective when the parties exchange goods under the Uniform Commercial Code provisions. Unfortunately, the product broke down the second day. Andy decides to return the product back to the seller. The dealer refuses to refund the money that Andy demands (LII 1). The UCC has a clear description and remedies for problems that might arise in transactions. The law has a provision for warranty stating that a buyer can return goods to the seller in case the goods prove to be faulty within a specific period. Provisions for a warranty allow for replacement in case of a faulty product acquired from the buyer. The law only entitles Andy to get a replacement for goods and not receive a refund of the money. Andy’s action is unjustified and should only get a replacement for the jet-ski since he had entered into a contract. Section 2-725, is the Statute of limitation in the contract for sale. The law clarifies that parties must clarify any action of breach of contract within four years after initiating the course of action. Otherwise, the parties can as well shorten the time limitation to a period not less a year. The statement connotes that the buyer must notify the seller of any breach of contract within a specific period. The buyer and the seller can adjust the period from four years to not less than one year. Within the period, the buyer can notify the seller for any breach of contract. In section 2-601, there are provisions on breach in installment contracts that provide the buyer some rights on improper delivery. The provisions are, however, subject to sections of contractual limitations of remedy. If the seller declines to conform to all

Position Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Position Paper - Essay Example Due to the importance of the learning process this position paper was created to compare and contrast the learning assessment performed by Jim Evans in 1962 and two alternate ways to assess learning of students. The position of the writer is that the traditional learning assessment performed by Mr. Evans is inadequate to determine if real learning occurred. The proposed methods to assess learning which are far superior to the techniques utilized by Mr. Evans are simulation and essays. Jim Evans performed a teaching workshop to state agencies for creating effective visuals in which the teaching objectives were outstanding. As an educator Mr. Evans taught a class in which most students seemed to be satisfied until he decided to utilize a 50 item test as the only assessment of what the students had learned during the workshop course. Some students immediately complain after not doing well on the test, some of the comments included constructive criticism such as, â€Å"the teacher continue his lesson assuming everyone had learned the concept he was teaching† (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p.104). The methods Mr. Evans utilized did not truly reflect a correct basis to determine if students actually learned the basics they must have picked up from the course. Mr. Evans was teaching a short course to a group of adults. He utilized a technique more appropriate to ensure younger students learning basic skills such as intermediate math or elementary grammar. In this type of course the teachers has to ensure specific items of knowledge are learned to ensure the student learned knowledge they need for future courses. In those types of scenarios the students are taking a course that lasts a semester typically in which they are numerous class reunions and the instructor is able to teach different segments of the material and emphasize on theories and specific applications that are easy to evaluate through a series of written tests. Mr. Evans was not

International Arbitration and Islamic Law or Sharia Law Dissertation

International Arbitration and Islamic Law or Sharia Law - Dissertation Example There may be also generation of stipulations attached with the confidentiality of the proprietary information, evidence, backdrop, number of arbitrators, issues attached with arbitration and so on (Kohler & Stucki, 2004). Among the various definitions of arbitration one of the definitions can be mentioned in this case which is as follows: â€Å" two or more parties, faced with a dispute which they cannot resolve for themselves, agreeing that some private individual will resolve it for them and if the arbitration runs its full course†¦.it will not be settled by a compromise, but by a decision† (Born, 2009, p.217). History of arbitration Arbitration finds its roots in the Greek mythology as well as in the Bible (Moloff, 2008, p.186). In the maritime industries of the pre-colonial England as well as within the merchants of diverse trade background, the process of arbitration found its profound utilization. Prior to the industrial revolution, the process of arbitrage was high ly predominant among the American colonies and the process was regarded as an inexpensive and highly private although a voluntary mode highly depending with the ties of the communities as well as pressures for the effectiveness of the policies. The first permanent board of arbitration was established in 1768, by the New York Chamber of Commerce followed by the implementation of the primal comprehensive clause of arbitration although the availability was limited to a restricted number of disputants (Wolfe, 2006, p.432). The scenario widened its horizon with the herald of twentieth century with the necessity of making the process of arbitration an alternative method of dispute resolution. The process strengthened with the creation of organized labor movement. In 1925, the United States Congress enacted the New York Federal Arbitration (FAA) with the notion that the agreements to submit disputes to arbitration should be as enforceable as of any other contracts (Brunet, 2006, p.36). Wit h gradual crawling of time, after 1950s, lawmakers stressed that the process of arbitration can be implemented as a device of resolving international disputes. In 1998, Congress enacted the Alternative dispute Act (ADA) which led to the mandatory equipment of every federal district court for authorizing by local rules, the utilization of the alternative dispute resolution process in all civil actions and also led to the designation of a judge or other employee to be knowledgeable in ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) practices. In today’s world of complex legal milieu majority of the lawyers and litigators find it compulsory for the application of ADR processes with arbitration in particular (Bennett, 2009, pp. 9-12). Basic foundation for arbitration The basic foundation on which arbitration rests is that of the consensual nature embedded in it. No arbitration procedure will take place with the without the express consent of each party. The prerequisite of a consensual arbi tration agreement can be inspected as an assemblage of procedures which directs to the avoidance of the default jurisdiction of the domestic courts and hence it must be clearly demarcated. In most of the cases, the agreement of arbitration will require

Evidence Based Practice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evidence Based Practice - Research Paper Example 167-168) state, Privacy can be seen as an individual’s freedom and having private space to be by oneself, being protected against physical and psychological intrusion, having the opportunity to achieve emotional release, ensuring that certain personal information is protected from others, and controlling how personal information is handled† and â€Å"Altman defines privacy as ‘the selective control of access to the self’ and Westin10 as freedom of choice. These are important notions in the context of the research discussion as they provide an overarching framework within to examine the nature of privacy in the emergency setting. The research goes on the articulate the core notions of privacy as consisting of autonomy and confidentiality. With the implementation of computer technology the research notes that there is increasing concern with patient privacy. As a result, the study examined privacy issues within this context. The research analyzed patient sati sfaction with current medical privacy levels. The study was a descriptive analytical approach that involved 360 patients within three emergency departments. The study measured three areas of privacy: physical, informational, and psychosocial. The study results demonstrated that over half (50.6%) of the respondents believed that their privacy was either weak or average. Conversely, 49.4% indicated that their privacy was ‘fairly good’ or ‘good’. There were also demographic factors that correlated to some of the privacy statistics. Finally, the study demonstrated a strong correlation between perceived privacy and satisfaction. Shepherd, Ho, Shepherd, and Sivarajasin (2004) further considered patient privacy questions through the investigation of confidential registration in health services.... The research discussion revealed a number of pertinent information that can be applied to the investigation of HIPAA violations. In terms of HIPAA privacy violations, Nayeri and Aghajani established medical notions of privacy as being highly important to the functional medical environment. Their study measured three areas of privacy: physical, informational, and psychosocial. The results demonstrated that over half of the respondents believed that their privacy was either weak or average – a statistically significant figure. While this study established patient concern and desire for privacy, Shepherd, Ho, Shepherd, and Sivarajasin examined the issue in more specificity considering its implementation in confidential registration of health services. This study implemented control and intervention patients as a means of statistically determining patient perspectives on medical privacy when speaking to a receptionist. The results proved significant in that many patients in the co ntrol group expressed a desire for increased privacy. The applicability of these results are such that allowing increased privacy levels could have a corresponding benefit for patient confidence and satisfaction; notably this is a theme that was also echoed in the research by Nayeri and Aghajani.

Is Microfinancing empowering women in South America Research Paper

Is Microfinancing empowering women in South America - Research Paper Example This paper concludes that the effects of microfinancing have a positive influence to women empowerment in Latin America. This paper also concludes that the overall empowerment level of women in Latin America is significant and provides spaces for women to run viable businesses and contribute to family’s income. Introduction Microcredit, in a wider dimension called microfinance, has in the recent years become a much favored intervention not only for poverty alleviation but also for empowering women across the South American countries (Hofstede, 2012). Microfinance is an economic development approach that has evolved so as to benefit low-income persons all over the world. The term refers to the provisioning of financial services by financial institutions to their low-income clients. The general financial services are savings and credit; although some microfinance institutions provide payment and insurance services. The definition of microfinance should include both the financial and social intermediations for it to empower women (Inter-American Development Bank, 2012). Microfinance activities involve: * Small loans, usually for working capital * Streamlined microcredit disbursement and monitoring * Informal appraisals of investments * Collateral substitutes, such as compulsory savings and group guarantees * Access to larger repeated loans, based on the performance of a person’s repayment * Securing savings products (Hofstede, 2012). The microfinance industry in Latin America is comprised of numerous number of institutions that can be categorized in 3 groups. The first group is the NGOs which largely provisions financial services to micro entrepreneurs. Besides the financial services, these NGOs provide business development services such as business trainings and consultancy. This is the group that contains the largest number of institutions in Latin America (ACCION International, 2011) The second group is those institutions that formerly were NGOs b ut have up scaled their financial operations and are currently regulated by the banking systems of their country. This can be group can be referred as microfinance Institutions. The last group the commercial banks that have now targeted the low income earners into their trade. This combination of microfinance providers represent what is in the modern age referred as the commercialization of microfinancing in Latin America. Microfinancing is a potential phenomenon that that is used in Latin America to alleviate poverty (Attay, 2007). Empowering women however in micro finance would require several. Microfinance is a potential tool that can have a powerful impact on the process of women empowerment. Women empowerment is a multifaceted process that is characterized by change in a person although all individuals (Unite for Sight, 2010) experience it differently. Women across the South American countries profit from microcredit and other financial services. Strengthening the financial bas e of women and is an important role in empowering them. However, women are not only empowered by providing them with direct credits. This paper examines the perspectives under which women are empowered (Lee, et al. 2010). Problem Statement When examining the impact of microfinancing on women empowerment in Latin America, the following challenges were experienced by the field of microfinance in this region. First, it is important to note that one the key role of microfinance is providing accessible financial

Who Defines Beauty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Who Defines Beauty - Research Paper Example According to Newman, goodness as the moral equation of beauty were also used by philosophers (1) while others described beauty according to the modern definition of the dictionary which expresses beauty as â€Å"qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.† (Merriam-Webster). The contemporary understanding of beauty is subjective or that any standard of beauty must be relative (Vacker) and is largely related to the maxim â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder†. It explains that a thing of beauty for a person may not simply appear as equally pleasing to another. Nature - Biological and EvolutionarySymmetry has been scientifically proven to be inherently attractive to the human eye (Feng). Biologists have long utilized symmetry - the extent to which a creature's right and left sides match - to gauge what is referred to as developmental stability (Cowley). The sense of attraction for symmetry is not only res erved for adults, infants were also found to demonstrate this trait as well. Infants have the innate ability to spend more time staring at pictures of symmetric individuals than they do at photos of asymmetric one (Feng). Scientists believe that preference for symmetry is linked with having a strong immune system. Thus, beauty is associated with more robust genes, increasing the chances that an individual’s offspring will survive (Feng). The idea and preference for beauty differs from culture to culture (Cowley). Aside from symmetry, males in western cultures.

Moral Living Synoptic Question Essay Example for Free

Moral Living Synoptic Question Essay In this essay it is my intention to examine the theme of moral living within the Old Testament and the Celtic Church. Morality refers to ethical issues. It is the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct. It is a system of ideas of right and wrong conduct. There are two interlinked themes of religious morality and social morality under moral living. The foundation of moral living within the Old Testament is the Sinai Covenant. Whereas, the basis of morality in Celtic Church is Saint Patrick; his moral base was always routed in his scriptural beliefs. Moses, for example, made a covenant with Yahweh on Mount Sinai, the principles from which are the foundation for the Judah Christian faith today, where he received the Ethical Decalogue (10 Commandments). As Drane states, â€Å"the commands were essentially moral requirements. Honesty, truth and justice were more important to Yahweh than the performance of religious rites.† Love of God and Love of Neighbour were the two commandments at the core of the Ethical Decalogue. The first three commandments central religious morality however, the last seven focus on Love of Neighbour and Social Morality. Winward states, â€Å"no man could be in a right relationship with God who was not in a right relationship with his fellow men.† The people of Israel had an obligation as the chosen people to obey the Ethical Decalogue. Abraham was called by God to give up his polytheistic ways. God promised Abraham that he would never give up on him. As Heinsch states, â€Å"he had to journey to a foreign land alone trusting in God’s guidance.† If Abraham fulfilled this request God promised him three things, Great Nation, Land (which was Canaan) and Protection. At this time, Abraham worshipped the popular moon god, â€Å"sin† and was to break with idolatry and become monotheistic. Epstein stated that, â€Å"Abraham turned to the service of the one and only God whom he recognised as the creator of heaven and earth.† Abraham’s love of the one true God and his change from idolatry reflects similarities with Saint Patrick. Patrick arrived in Ireland to a pagan country. The people of Ireland were idolaters in that they worshipped as many as 400 gods, with the main god being the Dagda (the father). The Celts held such things as the sun, trees, groves, water and birds to be sacred. Joyce states that they had the tendency to â€Å"find the divine in all of created nature.† Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland to transform the pagan people to monotheism. He wanted them to worship and love the one true God. Patrick adopted pagan practice to Christian tradition, for example, he changed the worship of the â€Å"sun† to the â€Å"son.† Patrick wanted the people to become monks and virgins for Christ. He advocated that true worship of God required to be newly baptised (converted from paganism to Christianity.) Patrick wanted the people to convert freely; they were never forced as the decision to become a Christian had to come from the heart. When Patrick left a place he made sure he left a building (church) to be used for communal worship. Like the Old Testament prophets, Patrick expected his ordained to be good role models to the people. Unfortunately in the Old Testament the religious leaders did not always do this. Ezekiel, for example, was to inform the people that God was going to hold the religious leaders responsible as they had led the people astray instead of encouraging them to worship only Yahweh. God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the leaders, â€Å"shepherds have been feeding themselves, should not, you the shepherds feed the sheep.† In tandem with this, the prophet Elijah also had to deal with the people of Israel’s idolatry. He was aware that there was a lack of steadfast love due to the people worshipping both Yahweh and Baal (god of fertility.) Elijah challenged the people about this saying, â€Å"how long will you go limping with two different opinions?† The people needed to stop worshipping both Yahweh and Baal and were to only worship the one true God, Yahweh. Elijah had little sympathy for the people worshipping both Gods. He challenged King Ahab to a contest on Mount Carmel between Yahweh and Baal to determine who the true God is. Elijah had a great victory as Yahweh won, usually this would be celebrated but instead, Elijah went to Mount Horeb as he knew the people’s change of heart of Yahweh as the one true God was temporary and this was not good enough. True love of God was required. In line with this, Patrick also challenged the pagan people’s ways through their worship of Dagda and Lugh. It took a long time for the pagan people to convert to truly worshipping one God. Paganism continued to exist alongside early Christianity 100 years after Patrick. Amos spoke out about social injustices, he stated, â€Å"let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.† Amos spoke about respect for marriage, something which King David lacked. He had an affair with Bathsheba and committed the sins of lust, adultery and murder. He was punished for this as Yahweh was to â€Å"raise up evil against you out of your own house.† David’s son died as a result of his sins. Similarly, Patrick also showed a respect for life. He spoke out about injustices such as slavery and condemnation of wealth in his letter to Coroticus. Patrick respected women and this was reflected in the Letter to Coroticus. In L19 Patrick expresses his concern for women. The women were taken as captives, to be distributed â€Å"as prizes.† Patrick makes it clear that the fate of Coroticus and his men is to be â€Å"lorded over† for all eternity by those whom they regarded to be â€Å"barbarian Irish.† In L4, Patrick also speaks up against murder and slavery – he grieves for those captured and killed and calls the perpetrators themselves â€Å"captives of Satan† the punishment met out to them will be â€Å"external life in hell.† To conclude, Christianity is now one of the leading world religions and therefore the mission of both the prophets and Patrick was successful. There will always be a call for people to repent and convert to Christianity with a return to a moral life.

Enlightenment Essay Example for Free

Enlightenment Essay Immanuel Kant In December 1783 Johann Friedrich Zà ¶llner published an article in Berlinische Monatsschrift that stated his opposition to civil marriage, an idea proposed in a previous issue of the journal. Zà ¶llner wrote that the foundations of morality had been shaken in the name of enlightenment and concluded his piece with the question â€Å"what is enlightenment?† Zà ¶llner asserted that this question must first be answered before â€Å"one begins to enlighten†[1]. Immanuel Kant’s reply to Zà ¶llner’s question is often considered the most famous and most important. In his essay, Kant succinctly outlined his opinion on what enlightenment is, the obstacles to enlightenment and how individuals achieve enlightenment. Kant defined enlightenment as â€Å" man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage† and the â€Å"courage to use your own reason[2]†. Kant believed that â€Å"laziness and cowardice† were the prime reasons why many men remained un-enlightened[3]. Kant asserted that people refused to throw off the yoke of â€Å"self-imposed tutelage† because it was easier to pay people to think for them and run their lives[4]. As Kant put it a person could pay to buy a book to serve as understanding, a pastor to serve as a conscience and a physician to determine a diet. There was no real need for an individual to exert their own will or their own reason since these â€Å"benevolent guardians† would take over an individual’s life for them[5]. The act of enlightenment, therefore, was the act of rejecting this easy form of life and asserting the primacy of your individual reason to reject the conventions of the social guardians who Kant asserted herded soc iety like docile, dumb livestock[6]. It is necessary to understand Kant’s definition of enlightenment in order to gain some understanding of what Kant thought was an enlightened age and what was an age of enlightenment. Kant argued that obstacles to individual enlightenment went beyond self-imposed obstacles. Freedom was the essential ingredient for enlightenment. Society, however, imposed restrictions on freedom through laws and religion that constrained free thought through law, convention or threat. Knowledge was also a requirement but access to it was often very restricted and guarded in late eighteenth century Europe but attempts were being made to bring knowledge to the masses. An age of enlightenment was a time when obstacles to enlightenment were being removed or eroded, Kant believed that late eighteenth century Europe was in such an age. As a society allowed more freedom, it became more enlightened. An enlightened age, therefore, was an age when obstacles had been removed and individuals and society wer e enlightened and free to pursue self determination and self rationalization[7]. Kant did not try to assert that the only path to freedom lay on the path of revolution. Revolutions, according to Kant, merely replaced â€Å"old prejudices† with â€Å"new prejudices†[8]. Kant acknowledged that for a society to function properly, for a government to help its people, it was often necessary for an individual to â€Å"narrowly restrict† their reason in the pursuit of their job or duties. Kant defined this as private reason and deemed it a necessity. Kant used an example of how disastrous it would be for an office to question the appropriateness of an order rather than obeying it[9]. The private use of reason was offset by an individual’s public use of reason. In this form of reason the individual takes upon the mantle of a scholar who â€Å"has complete freedom, indeed even the calling, to impart to the public all of his carefully considered and well-intentioned thoughts†[10]. Private reason would compel an individual to pay a tax, pu blic reason would compel the individual to speak out against the necessity of the tax. These two forms of reason allow a society as a whole to move towards enlightenment on the thoughts of enlightened individuals who are active members of society serving as agents of change but not necessarily revolution. As a society becomes more enlightened, individuals are freer to act upon the enlightened opinions reached through their public role as a scholar. This is a gradual process and Kant’s defense of the necessity of private reason implies that a disobedient society itself is an obstacle to enlightenment[11]. The strength of Kant’s arguments lay in the context of when and where he wrote them. Kant lived in a monarchical society that allowed for little individual freedom or representation. Kant’s evolutionary nature of enlightenment worked well in a society that is essentially not free. History proved that societies that gradually allowed more and more freedom were able to maintain stability and encourage at least a small group of scholars to try to lead society’s trip to enlightenment. A steadily evolution towards enlightenment will work in a society that is more restrictive or less representative of the people because the slow rate of changes will still be perceived as changes and many will be patient with a slow but steadily progression of change. In a more representative form of government, however, revolutions are built into the government through elections. If the elected leaders do not implement the ideas of those who elected them, the people become dissatisfied and disobedient. So obstacles to enlightenment can be increased. However, such systems by nature are built to accept and expect a fairly rapid pace of change that would not be possible in a monarchy. New ideas can be implemented nearly every election so in this regard revolution, which in this regard are elections. If quick change is not implemented then the people grow frustrated and disobedient. The dynamic is more complex than in a monarchy. Freedom of thought is all that is required for individual enlightenment. Even the most repressive regimes find it impossible to block an individual from thinking. So to some degree Kant doesn’t allow for enlightenment to happen in the absence of freedom. The freedom to think and act upon those thoughts is the definition of Kant’s public reason. But Kant’s definition of private reason seems incomplete. While it is necessary for an individual to restrict their opinions based on duty or situation, that act does not restrict individual enlightenment. The full scope of what Kant described as a public scholar is the freedom to think and give voice to those thoughts, a private reason may also exist that allows an individual to think but not be able to give voice to such thoughts. This is different from sublimating their opinions to perform a duty. This is done perhaps more out of fear than a sense of duty. A soldier may not be free to question an order but in a more repressive society an enlightened individual may not be free to give voice to their opinions without penalty of death. In such a case is an individual a coward or lazy? Certainly it takes a high degree of courage to speak out but to call those not willing to die for their opinions but how are self realized enough to have those opinions cowards is not just nor fair. In a way Kant both argues against revolution but calls those unwilling to rebel in restrictive cases cowards. So he undercuts his own argument if it’s taken out of the context in which he wrote it where thought was tolerated as was the scholarly debate of enlightened ideas. Immanuel Kant’s essay â€Å"What is Enlightenment?† is justly considered an important work regarding the enlightenment and reason. Kant concisely argues his opinion and presented examples to illustrate his points. The arguments made are strong and logical in the context of the monarchal society Kant lived in that while restrictive, allowed for some freedom of thought and expression. Kant’s arguments lose some strength when applied to different societies and governments. †¨Sources Kant, Immanuel. What is Enlightenment? September 30, 1784. Naragon, Steve. Johann Friedrich Zà ¶llner. Manchester College. 23 June 2011. http://www.manchester.edu/kant/bio/FullBio/ZollnerJF.html.

Sociological Imagination In Relation To My Life Sociology Essay

Sociological Imagination In Relation To My Life Sociology Essay Sociological imagination is germane to experiences of the individual with other relationships in society. There are three primary characteristics of the sociological imagination history, biography and social structure. In correlation with Mills hypothesis of the sociological imagination, we will be able to position ourselves in reality and have enhanced understanding of ourselves and others through a grasp of the links between personal experiences versus structural and historical forces (Mitra Sarabia, 2005). In this paper, I will undertake a critical contemplation on the factors that seem to have influenced my life choices and chances. I will use my own personal encounters as a case study and will use the sociological imagination as the tool for examination while realizing that this concept must be applied critically since I am attempting to link personal experience to public issues (Schudson, 2008). Because of my life circumstances, the feminist point of view is the most useful ap proach although symbolic interactionism explains many of the issues I have encountered. The key sociological factors I have seen reoccurring in my research are class, gender and socialization. These pivotal factors of socialization have allowed me to unpack and carefully examine what the sociological imagination is, how it works based on my life experiences, and the ways in which it connects to the structural conditions in my life. The distinctive attribute of history correlates to the ways in which a society was produced and how it has been transformed over the course of time. The term Biography is an idiom for the human circumstances, or the nature of man in correlation to the type of individuals in a particular society. Social structure defines the order of a society focusing on the people who are dominating, and how they cling together and how over time they change. The sociological imagination defines visionaries who can see beyond what is in front of them in relation to history, biography and social structure. (Mills, 1959, pg. 7) The theory of the sociological imagination facilitates an individual to associate their own life experience with the whole of history along with social, economic, and political forces. The entire concept of the sociological imagination was summarized by Mills belief that the life of any one individual and the history of the whole society cannot be understood unless both are understood (Mitra Sarabia, 2005). This is because individual occurrences as well as all human action is socially and historically contextualized. The central question concerns how we can proceed or make the leap from individual experience to the entire society and to history. Schwalbe exemplifies how the social world must involve individuals practicing a conscious effort of relating and unpacking their live experiences with society as a whole when stating how In the end, sociological mindfulness must be about more than studying how the social world works. It must also do more than inspire curiosity, care and hope , it must help us change ourselves and our way of doing things. (Schwalbe pg. 43) The sociological imagination is best considered as a vehicle which permits use of one of the major sociological perspectives (Mitra Sarabia). In this case, it will be feminism but symbolic interactionism is relevant for this analysis. My parents primarily instilled certain values and beliefs especially concerning fairness and justice. The sociological imagination promotes critical thinking skills. The sociological imagination has refined my ability to think in relation to ground breaking new and innovative connections between myself and the society. A good metaphor by Allan G. Johnsons literary work The Forest The Trees and The One Thing exemplifies the sociological imagination as the forest is society and the trees are individual people. How the trees are related to the forest personifies how individuals relate to society and societies history as a whole. Its crucial to understand the relationships a mong trees that make a forest what it is. Paying attention to that something more whether it is a family, corporation or a whole society, and how people are interrelated to it is at the heart of the sociological process (Johnson, Allen, pg. 5) Social research is concerned with the definition and assessment of social phenomena. Social researchers enable us to get inside these diverse social worlds and discover what social forces are at work in creating social life. (Duneier pg.53) Duneiers standpoint on the sociological imagination corresponds to the discovery of my own personal sociological saga. As a college student I think to be successful you need to have sociological imagination. How often do we sit in classes and wonder what the purpose of all this is? When many of us graduate from high school we see as far as the first day of college, we have no vision of our future, we are looking to escape from our parents home and to find freedom and self expression. Then there are others who graduate from high school and start their college careers. The first day of college is just another day for them, they are thinking about the life they will lead 10-15 years in the future. They see their career going a certain way, when they plan on getting married and having children and some even see their retirement by the age of fifty. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I have always known I my dream job was to become a writer from the time I picked up a pencil as a child I was in love with the feel of the pencil lead on paper. I took all the courses I could in writing and participated in workshops and wrote for my local high schools paper read avidly. Upon graduation from high school I was focused more on making money, therefore I went to work and gave up writing. However, it did not take long before I went to college I quickly realized that if I wanted to not work so hard for a minimal amount of money I would need to get a college degree in something that was practical yet gave me time to write. In college as I tried to choose a major I was still focused on making money rather than being happy with what I was doing. I was determined to follow one of my passions and I picked Broadcast Journalism as my major because I could use my writing skills and do something I loved doing which was storytelling through interacting with people and reporting. I began seeing my life in years rather than days. I began taking classes in subjects I liked. I am studying business as at the Whitman School and minoring in Entrepreneurship because I know this will be an imperative skill to have later in life. I continued pursuing my passion for writing however in my many required arts and science elective classes, and have a plan for the years to come as how I want to make my living. I want to become either a sports broadcaster or a sports writer. I identified education as the key to change. The sociological imagination creates links between the personal the wider society in a reciprocal way. The person who has the sociological imagination is able to understand the large historical process in terms of its meaning for the inner experience and outer life of the individual. Schudson argues that the sociological imagination allows us to critically investigate reality instead of passively observing it. Andreev expands on that by explaining that individ uals who are positioned at different social and economic points in society hold different views of the world. Rushing argues that education is not always the solution but rather a source of new social and economic inequalities since we can never escape from the factors of class, gender and race. As a result, the concept of the sociological imagination needs to be applied to a system of education as well to understand what impact that education will produce on different groups of people. I have found through my analysis that in order to use the sociological imagination and see a need for structural change, the person has to be oppressed or deprived in some way. With the internet there is no discrimination; sociological imagination has little historical or biographical influence even social structure is irrelevant. The world of C. Wright Mills is disappearing on the internet people have no sociological imagination. People on the internet are fast becoming a society with no past or future there is just the present what is being done right at this moment. I want this type of life so does that mean I have sociological imagination in regard to the internet and how I will use it in my life. I know how the internet began and what it was originally used for, but does it influence my vision of how I am going to use it? No, when I am sitting at my laptop I dont think of the history of the internet or the people who use it. (Solis-Gadea, 2005, pgs. 113-122) When Im writing on my laptop I dont think of the people I am writing for or working for they have no face, no personality, no relevance to me except for giving me work. Social structure is nonexistent on the internet as well. No one has a face unless you want to and even then you cant be positive it is really their face. The way sociological imagination works in my life is by me seeing into the future and having a vision of myself working as a sports broadcaster or a sports writer. If sociological imagination is about making a connection to historical events and my instincts for the life I want then I would have to say I want a life unlike my parents., I do not desire to restrict myself and my lifes goals a job for 30-40 years because I have a mortgage and car payment, kids and a wife and the Joness living to the side of me. I want mobility and freedom and most importantly I want to utilize the technology that is out there to assist me in having the life I envision. (Schneider Silverman, 2006, pg. 43) The sociological imagination is valuable for allowing understanding of ourselves by means of the links between personal experiences versus structural and historical forces. Through reflecting on my life choices and chances with the use of the sociological imagination, I have been able to arrive at particular realizations. Power and class are at work in the wider society just as they are operating in my own life. Socialization was a key factor in my life because it guided me to connect with the underlying and structural conditions in my life. The sociological imagination promotes critical thinking skills, this idea to me means being able to think in terms of new and innovative connections between myself and the society. Worked Cited Mills, C. Wright.   (1959). The Sociological Imagination.   New York:   Oxford University Press. Johnson, Allan. The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing Schwalbe, Micheal. Finding Out How The Social World Works Duneier, Mitchell. Sidewalk An ethnographic study of street vendors in New York City Schneider, L. Silverman, A. (2006). Global Sociology: Introducing Five Contemporary Societies 4 ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Solis-Gadea, H.R. (2005). The New Sociological Imagination: Facing the Challenges of a New Millennium. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. 18(3-4), 113-122. Andreev, A. (2008). Russians mentality and problems of social inequality. Sociological Research, 47(5), 52-62. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Dowell, W. (2006). Throwing the sociological imagination into the garbage. Teaching Sociology, 34, 150-155. Retrieved, from Sociological Abstracts database. Mehan, H. (2008). Engaging the sociological imagination. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 39(1), 77-91. Retrieved, from Sociological Abstracts database. Mitra, A. Sarabia, D. (2005). Embracing the sociological imagination: A study of university students perceptions of sociology. College Student Journal, 39(4), 637-646. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Rushing, W. (2001). Inequality and education reform. Race Ethnicity and Education, 4(1), 29-41. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Schudson, M. (2008). The sociological imagination as clichà ©: Perils of sociology and practices of journalism. International Journal of Political and Cultural Sociology, 20, 41-49. Retrieved from Sociological Abstracts database.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STRESS AND HEALTH INVENTORY SCORES IN A COLLEGIATE POPULATION :: essays research papers

ABSTRACT Scientific literature is replete with studies examining the relationship between stressful life events and the occurrence of compromised immune function as suggested by the presence of various illnesses. Forty college students answered questionnaires regarding the presence of stressful life events and the presence or absence of recent illnesses. The relationship between these scores was examined. Life stress scores were significantly positively related to scores indicating illnesses on a health inventory. As scores indicating the presence of stressful life experiences increased, scores suggesting the presence of illness also increased. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made. After this response is made, a cascade of behavioral and physiological processes is activated. Behavioral factors such as increased alcohol use, reduced exercise, changes in sleep quantity/quality, and changes in diet, have shown to be related to stress. In turn, stress-related changes are associated with many hormonal fluctuations known to influence susceptibility to disease (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). There is overwhelming evidence that daily stress may be harmful to the overall health of humans (Cohen, Tyrrell, and Smith, 1991; Glaser, Rice, and Sheridan, 1987; and Schleifer, and Keller, 1991). The mechanism by which stress influences health outcomes is thought to involve the immune system. Rationale As reviewed, research has examined the interaction between stressful life events and the overall health of humans. This investigation will examine this relationship in a collegiate population, using two pen and paper surveys. Hypothesis Scores on the College Life Stress Inventory (CLSI) (Renner and Mackin, 1998) will be positively related to scores on the Health Inventory (HI) (Holmes and Rahe, 1967).

Software Piracy in Lebanon :: Software Piracy Expository Essays

Software Piracy in Lebanon Abstract What is it about copying software that is desirable? Simply because it is free. In the United States, one might think twice before copying a Microsoft product. Copyright issues are all over the media --remember Napster? For a period of a year, we read countless stories of students all over the US and the world that were arrested for copying and trading MP3s. However, travel across the Atlantic to the chaotic world of Lebanon and one would not even think twice about copying a version of Microsoft Office 2000. What is the likelihood of getting caught? Pretty much a 0% chance. With political chaos surrounding Lebanon since its independence in 1943, the lack of law enforcement allows a variety of of crimes to occur -- one of the biggest ones being software piracy. About 89% of the software in Lebanon is illegally obtained. Section I gives a brief overview of how the origins of Lebanon. Section II describes the politics of Lebanon. The objective of Section I and Section II is to demonstrate to the reader how the lack of a stable government and any true law enforcement allows for so much piracy. Section III discusses in greater detail software piracy and Intellectual Property protection in Lebanon. Section IV gives the author’s point of view. Sources and endnotes can be found in Section V and Section VI respectively. Section I: Introduction Establishing Lebanon2 The history of the Middle East is rich with an eclectic mix of ethnicities and culture. Before World War I, the region that we now call the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. After the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire diminished. Turkey emerged through the works of the Allies. Mesopotamia, an area filled with tradition and profitable goods, was split between Britain and France. With the support of the French, the Maronites, a sect of the Roman Catholic Church, established a strong political status in what is now modern day Beirut, Tripoli, and most of the Lebanon coast. Starting in the early 1900s, the Maronites had pressed for the expansion of this small Lebanese territory to what they argued was its natural and historical boundaries. Their argument was that the area had always had a unique social and historical character, different from its surroundings, which made it mandatory for the French to grant it as an independent state.

The Great Gatsby: How It Applies to Modern Society

The Great Gatsby: How it Applies to Modern Society The people in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby are very alike the people in our generation today. They’re alike in the way they depict racism, irresponsibility, and corruption. The two generations however; also share people who display integrity and honesty. The two generations show irresponsibility and corruption through many characters like Myrtle, Meyer Wolfshiem and Tom. After Myrtle bought the dog she had taken no care after the dog. She never walked it, didn’t consistently feed it, and the dog was later found lying around by himself.Tom was irresponsible and prejudice towards other races which were different from his own. His Irresponsibility was shown when he was having an affair with Myrtle and not staying faithful to Daisy. Tom’s prejudice was revealed when he said â€Å"nowadays people being by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they’ll throw everything o verboard and have intermarriage between black and white. † In today’s society it seems like it’s every other day where someone is discriminated against because they are thought to be inferior for skin color, religion, etc.Also during the roaring 20’s there was many gangs and mob leaders like the terrorizing Al Capone who were corrupt with power. He was a racketeer who had many wars with other gangs. Today there is also a lot of gang violence going on today between all sorts of different cliques and they all search for the power that Al Capone once had. Even though there are a significant amount of people who are irresponsible and discriminate there are also a large number of people who act with integrity and help others with enormous generosity.Everyone was first afraid of Gatsby because they thought he was a killer but turns out he was a compassionate man. When Nick says â€Å"They’re a rotten crowd, you’re worth the whole damn bunch put to gether† you feel the same towards him because his love for Daisy was very important to him. He takes the blame for Daisy killing Myrtle even though he knows he can be taken away to jail for the rest of his life. There are people still today that will fight for their friends because friendship is vowed to be very important in the life of very human. As you can see the adult’s shown in the Great Gatsby (1920’s) are similar to the adults that live today. Many portray racism and are irresponsible; however they are also many who act with honesty, integrity and compassion. I believe the two generations are similar for the common traits they share. Because there is a century between these two generations many would believe that a lot of change has undergone but in reality not much change has happened. Everything around the people has changed but them as people have not.

Managing a Business

Management is an art or practice of managing (especially a business or money. According to behavioral theories of management the traditional notion of Management is planing, organizing, leading and controlling. We have chosen Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) to explain these management concepts.PLANNING:Planning is an important management function that has to be carried out in an organization as it helps in determining the organizational goals and to create an action plan to carry it out.PLANNING PROCESS:Every department’s manager is responsible for preparing its own plans of action to carry out their tasks in the most efficient manner. These plans of action can also be termed as tactical plans as they are designed to help execute major strategic plans along with helping the organization to achieve its overall goals.SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PLANNING:The manager undertakes both short-term planning as well as long-term planning. The bank stresses on the departments to lay grea ter emphasis on short-term goals so that the bank sees at least the short-term results of each department and, therefore, the progress of the departments.While preparing its plans, each department takes into consideration the resources, capital and human both, available to the department and the budget that is available to the department for each of the products. The manager also plans for the existing product line as well as the new products that are recently launched in the market. Lastly, the manager also plans for the targeted volume of each product.After the plan has been devised taking into account all the above factors, the plan is sent to the Central Planning Department, which is centralized. The Central Planning Department is a group of planning specialists who then prepares the overall future plan for the bank and submits it to the Finance Department.At the same time, monthly meetings are held in which all the heads of various departments and the Board of Directors get tog ether to review budget vs. variances, profit and loss accounts, cash flows, inventory level, etc. of each department and then the marketing department, for example, will have to come up with a new plan to overcame the shortcomings as pointed out by the Board of Directors.STRATEGIESStrategy formulation is an important part of planning which the department also undertakes. There are various strategies and methods used by the departments to undertake their plans.PRICING STRATEGY:One of the strategies that it uses is the Pricing Strategy. In this strategy, they look at the current prices in the market and then plan accordingly and then project the new prices which will prove to be more profitable than the old prices.Note: While we are talking about the pricing then we mean the prices of the products that the banks are offering and the price itself is the interest rate being offered.  COST BASED PRICING STRATEGY: The other strategy used by the departments is Cost Based Pricing Strategy . The department’s sets the products prices by looking at the components those make up their price, that is, its imagery, cost and profit. The department always tries to set the price, which is lower than the competitors and brings in positive cash flow. So, it tries to produce the products at the lowest possible cost by investing more money into R&D so that it could increase its profit margin further.OTHER STRATEGIES:Other strategies used are market research, which is conducted on a small basis but is very important for the Marketing Department. And as their focus is on corporate clients, the carry out corporate surveys and interviews with their customers, which adds a personal touch and results in, increased sales. Focus groups and questionnaires are also sometimes distributed to get responses from the customers. Sampling is another strategy used by the department in which they give sample products to various houses which they choose randomly and the results are then verifi ed by the sales and marketing team carrying out the research.ORGANIZING:Organizing is the next important function of management which is the assignment of resources available to the company to different tasks in order to achieve the strategic goals.ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:Like every other company HSBC has also been established as a separate legal entity having its own managing director and a team of professionals to head each department. As evident from the organizational structure of the company, the company has a formal structure i.e. it is official and planned and has deliberately planned structure of roles within the organization.It follows the organic style of management where authority is based on expertise rather than hierarchy and, therefore, believes in participative decision making in which employees working in all levels of the company are involved. Decision making power is delegated up to the level of middle management. The company believes in the philosophy that  "To get the job done most efficiently, people doing the job should essentially be indecision making†.  All the decisions, whether small or minor, are made at the top levels in the company’s hierarchy. Therefore, HSBC is a centralized company in the sense that only the department heads and the managing director is involved in decision making.MARKETING DEPARTMENT’S STRUCTURE:In the Marketing Department, the authority to make decisions is vested in the Marketing Director, who makes all the decisions for his department and then delegate’s authority and responsibility to their subordinates.The sales team collects information like the sales figure currently in the market, information about the competitors, etc. and is handed over to the Marketing Director who then makes the final decision based on the available information. There are assistant brand managers working under the brand managers who are sometimes asked to give suggestions if a decision requires inf ormation related to a task which is directly handled by them.HSBC follows the concept of line authority as the people in the management positions such as the research division manager has the power to control and direct the immediate employees which in this case are the field investigators.LEADING:HSBC believes that leadership is an art or process of influencing people so that they perform assigned tasks willingly and in an efficient and effective manner. The marketing director, therefore, thinks that leadership is crucial in motivating and inspiring the workforce.MOTIVATORS:The company uses only two ways of regarding the employees: either by increasing the salary or prompting the employees if possible. The company strictly adheres to the policy of promotion from within.Job enrichment provided by HSBC is almost negligible which limits the scope of jobs for the employees because of which employees leave the company for better job offers elsewhere.HSBC does provide a good working envi ronment to its employees and there are large numbers of female employees working in the company.There is high employee turnover in HSBC because of the few opportunities of progressing that the company provides to their employees because of which none of the employees stay with the company for a long time.CONTROLLING:Controlling which is the fourth function of management is effectively practiced in HSBC. The director of the Human Resource Department monitors employees’ activities, keeps the departments on track towards achieving the goals and makes corrections as needed. These are the basic functions of controlling which are used in this department.CONTROL METHODS: Regular meetings are held to check the progress of the employees and then make amendments as needed. Marketing and sales teams are sent for national visits to places and when they come back, they have to report to the marketing director in way of both formal and informal reports The director then sees the results of the visit whether there was an increase in sales or not and therefore, make corrections like to change the sales team in the next visit, etc. These, therefore, train the employees in the practical aspects of the job which prove to be beneficial for the company.ReferenceCourtland L. Bovee, John Thill, (2004), Business in Action, 3rd Ed.Christopher Kingsley (1993), A trainer's primer: Advice to the novice trainer about the basics of organizing, planning, and leading an effective training seminar (Technical assistance & training publication series)Sandy Schuman (2005), The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation: Best Practices from the Leading OrganizationLuis Martin Diaz (2006), Evaluation of Cooperative Planning in Supply ChainsDavid A. Baldwin, Frances C. Wilkinson, and Daniel C. Barkley (2000), Effective Management of Student Employment.Rohan Wickremasinghe – (Daily News May 3, 2001), Management Consultant,  Ã‚   President of Institute of Development

Jesus Christ Essay

Curley, I’m writing this letter cause for a long time I’ve been wanting to tell ya somethin’. When we married I knew from the firs’ day that you weren’t any good for me, from the firs’ day of our marriage I disliked you. An’ you know why, cause you’re nothin’ then jus’ a dirty ranch man, who can think on’y bout fighting and goin to have a shot offa corn in’a closest bar. Ya’r nothin’ better than other ranch workers, who get them 50 bucks at the end offa month an’ go to spend alla of ’em in’a brothel or for’a whiskey to get God damn drunk. I cn’t see any litt’ difference between you and them, an’ there’s no difference. Every week ya go to a bar an’ come back God damn drunk at late night. How do you think I feel then bout you? But ever’thing has a limit. You know, if not my ol’ lady I’d have gone to Hollywood an’ prolly I coulda find that man who promised me to take me in movie. Yes he sa’ that I’m natural, and if not my ol’ lady then I’d never be livin’ with ya in this God damn place, I coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes – all of them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda set in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took me. But whatta I got – I’ve gotta husban’, a swell guy. An’ alla time I have to listen how he’d â€Å"use the ol’ one-two to make him go down†. And all I can do is jus’ to set in your God damn ranch an’ talk to a bunch of bindle stiffs. I’m dying from loneliness, Curley. An’ plus, when ya come home you starta talk about fighting again, you’re almost like fighting cock to me. You never care bout me, about how I felt and never try to make me feel better. Instead ya do opposite – ya tell me to set in your God damn two-by-four house, an’ do nothin’. But do you think that I like to stick in it alla time?.. But, Jesus Christ, if you see me outside you get so damn angry as somebody stole somethin’ from you, an’ alla your anger you put on me. For what? What have I done to you?.. You’re worse than an animal. An’ what about yer han’, stuck in’a machine, ah? Yeah, baloney! You’re a pathetic loser. Finally you’ve been shown that you ain’t the strongest. An’ I’m so thankful to that fella Lennie for doing it to ya. But why didn’ you use yer â€Å"ol’ one – two†, not tough enough. An’ why didn’ you ever fought with someone like Slim? What, was there no reason to, but you’re wrong there was an’ you knew it. You knew that there was somep’in between ‘im an’ me, but you was too scared to admit it, you was too scared to say a single word against Slim. It makes you such a loser, Curley. Aw God! I’m so fed up with you, Curley, if you could on’y understand how much. But I guess that I shouldn’t worry any more, cause I leave you, yes Curley I leave you. I’m gonna go to make my own life. I’ll prolly go to Hollywood and find the man. Course you’ll think that I’m outa my mind, but I ain’t. I ain’t gonna waste the rest of my life in your God damn ranch, rot there yourself! I wish you to rot in your damn place. Go on, go to brothel, drink, have a game of euchre, but I’m gonna be far away from you. Have a nice life! Your former wife.

Ruskin Bond

Religious Strain in the story Angry River By Abha Sirohi Research Scholar, A. K. P. G. College, Hapur (Ghaziabad) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ruskin Bond attempts to analyze human psychology in his short stories; He deals with the elemental and impulsive life of man. He tells the stories objectively and beyond all these things his stories shows goodness of man’s heart and his faith in the Supreme power.He has innate power to produce the influence of one’s emotions, sounds and sights that thrills the senses of other man; it is due to his profound faith in God. As a writer he has put goodness of man and dignity of human self ab ove all considerations this is the reason sometimes our heart is filled with pleasure and a sense of spiritual satisfaction. Ruskin Bond is a writer of children and when we talk about children a sense of innocence creeps over our mind.The bent of mind of the author takes it in a religious way; he wants to show us innocence of nature, the basic decencies of God. God creates and nourishes us with innocence without any partiality, in return He needs only our dedication, but most of the times we ignore this fact due to our business, our careless attitude:- â€Å"in worrying about own distress, they had forgotten about the island, in the middle of the river. The river was very angry now, rampaging down from the hills and thundering across the plains†¦ 165 Ruskin Bonds children stories are very famous in all over world. Some of his popular stories are Blue Umbrella, Untouchable, Panther’s Moon, Time Stops at Shamli and Angry River. The story Angry River portrays the work of n ature. How nature affects our lives? What He (God, the Supreme power) wants from us? How should we treat and preserve the nature. The story is a pathetic description of a family of remote area, where no one can imagine about survival.The Angry River is the story of a girl Sita who lives with her grandparents on a lonely island in the middle of a river. The story illustrates the life in the lap of nature, which is a symbol of simplicity and naturality. Bond has narrated the opening lines of the story in a very beautiful way:- â€Å"In the middle of the river, the river that began in the mountains of the Himalayas and ended in the bay Bengal there was a small

British Company Woolworth And Causes Of Its Failure Marketing Essay

British Company Woolworth And Causes Of Its Failure Marketing Essay The British Company, Woolworths is normally categorized as a variety store dealing in retailing of a range of varying products. Historically it was established as a subsidiary of an American Company F.W. Woolworth &Co, in 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth It was incorporated in England on 23rd July, 1909 as private limited company with initial capital of 50,250 pound sterling. It, first time floated a new idea of selling all the products at a cost not more than five cents. This idea gained popularity amongst the customers resulting in fast growth of the subsidiary. Its first shop at Liverpool attracted about 60,000 people in first two days because of attractive one penny, three penny and six penny products put at sale. It continued to open new shops at various cities that attracted heavy rush of customers and visitors. It was company’s policy to purchase the products directly from manufacturers, who also were very happy due to momentum in their business as well. Some of the ma nufacturers started doing business solely with the Woolworths and labeled their products with the company’s name. Company’s business grew day by day and it had 31 shops in United Kingdoms by the year, 1914. Due to inflationary trends after the World War II, the company had to do away with its three pence and six pence price limits. It introduced self service first time in its retail side in the year 1955. Woolworth opened about 190 self-service stores by the year 1970. It created new division in the stores by establishing Woolco departmental stores in the year 1966. These stores had full range of quality products like, clothes, groceries, car service and restaurants etc. available at affordable prices. (WGP 2007: Fu 2007) The Company continued to flourish very fast because of its stated aim to remain at the customer’s heart and best kid’s retailer till 1966. But thereafter its sales as well as profits started falling because of its competitors, Marks & Sp encer who overtook its sales as well as profits. The results of the company were the worst in the year 1969, because it failed to chalk out suitable strategies necessary to take on its competitors in the market. Sales at Woolworth began to decline. Consumers were reportedly not satisfied with the quality of customer services of the company. Many of the business sites were not at prime locations. Its new products could not attract the customers because of lack of well trained staff and availability of ‘A class service’. The company tried to improve its services in the year 1971 by introducing new system of centralized payments besides closing its 23 unprofitable shops, as an attempt to trade up. The profits of the company increased to some extent as a result of these measures but it failed to boost up its profits at the desired level. (WGP 2007: Peston 2008) The competitors of Woolworth like Wal-Mart, Argos and Next very soon became more prevalent in the market because o f low prices, better service and vast range of their products. The Management of the company ultimately decided to sellout the Woolco stores in 1977. In the year 1981 it sold-out some of its valuable prime located properties to cover-up the losses suffered by the shops situated at these locations. Even then its profits went down in the said year and the company was forced to cut the dividends first time since its establishment. In the normal restructuring process during the year 1985, the company decided to abandon the sale of food and adult clothing that was contributing about 30% of its overall sales. The Management of the company sold out its 200 unprofitable shops out of about 990, during the years 1982-1991. During this decade company made a number of acquisitions in order to become more diversified in retail business. It launched Music and Video Club that specialized in CDs, videos and other entertainment products. The company succeeded in boosting its sales and turnover durin g 1990s and gave impressive results despite the fact that some of major chains like Wilkinson expanded their business in the Woolworth areas. (FRANCE 2008)

Analysis of Creating Blue Oceans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis of Creating Blue Oceans - Essay Example The title of the reading, Creating Blue Oceans is effective and relevant since it relates to the reference company. Indeed, authors reckon that blue seas emanate from red seas through the expansion of existing industries as seen in Cirque du Soleil’s marketing strategy (Kim and Mauborge 5). The authors are informative, rational, and unbiased since they address all aspects of the topic. In fact, they introduce the merits, demerits, challenges, and risks of creating blue seas. Moreover, they complete the discussion on a positive note by informing the audience on how to formulate and implement a blue ocean strategy by presenting the principles and analytical frameworks that will guarantee success in creating blue seas (Kim and Mauborge 19-21). The authors derive more understanding on the topic by describing the motivators that drive the need to create blue seas (Kim and Mauborge 8). The reading also explains how companies like Cirque du Soleil moved from red seas by making strategic moves that define the benefits of blue sea strategic moves (Kim and Mauborge 10). Just like in other businesses strategies, the reading recognizes value innovation as the foundation of a blue ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborge 12-14). In fact, the reading offers a clear description of how Cirque du Soleil created a blue ocean based on innovation to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The reading compares Red Ocean and blue ocean strategies to justify why Cirque du Soleil created a blue ocean.

UK Economy as the Seventh Largest Economy Worldwide When Measured Essay

UK Economy as the Seventh Largest Economy Worldwide When Measured Using the GDP and the Eighth Largest Worldwide When Measured Using the Purchasing Power Parity - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the UK economy ranks the seventh largest economy worldwide when measured using the GDP, while it ranks the eighth largest worldwide when measured using the purchasing power parity. During the 18th century, UK was the first country worldwide to industrialize, hence contributing positively towards the world economy in the 19th century especially through employment. Consequently, unemployment refers to the rate at which people within a given economy are willing and able to work but cannot find a job because of the prevailing situations. In the UK, the section of the population that is not willing or unable to work based on varied reasons does not count towards unemployment. This is because they are economically inactive and may not participate in processes that focus on improving the economic conditions. However, it is true that when a given country has an elevated level of unemployment, such country is not utilizing the available resourc es as expected. Unemployment significantly influences the social cost of the affected country because persons with familial commitments may have trouble trying to meet their responsibilities. This is based on the dependency ratio, which may be high. Â  However, unemployment can cause boredom and rejection, thus increasing social problems in the society. In addition, unemployment can result in increased criminal activities in the society. Interestingly, suicide rates and poor health among individuals may also rise. The UK unemployment influences both the economy and societal history of the country. During the 1950s and 1960s, the UK experienced low rates of unemployment. This is because the service members who participated in the Second World War got full employment as a reward for their victory. However, the rate of unemployment in the UK remained low until 2005 when it started to increase.