The Doping Dilemma

Analytical Summary Paper: The Doping Dilemma In â€Å"The Doping Dilemma†, Michael Shermer writes about the consequences and the ethics behind performance enhancing substances in professional sports. He begins with an anecdote, which describes the feeling of getting â€Å"dropped by your competitors on a climb† (420:2). As described by the author in the development of the story, every athlete has a genetic limitation that regular training cannot exceed (421:4). According to Shermer, the only thing to be done is to dope.Arguing that, in order for an individual to stay competitive nowadays, he needs to make use of performance enhancing substances. Shermer concludes that today’s drugs are better, harder to test, and the incentives usually favor them (421:8/422:9). The author effectively argues that there should be a direct shift on the incentives regarding sports doping. His experience read as a reflective narrative to young competitors who are now starting, and to those who are already veterans.He believes that sports should return to the foundation of celebrating those rewarded by excellence, aided only by their determination to succeed. Shermer points out the scenario professional athletes have been facing since the 1990’s. Making performance enhancing drugs part of the team’s â€Å"medical program†, team members are bound to embrace illegal substances in their preparation before they are cut from the team (421:6). According to Shermer, his reasons for competing did not match the principles behind doping.He was a thirty-year-old academic with a career to return to, cycling just to test his physical limitations. However, he could relate to the young, amateur athletes who earn their living through sports and have no other ambitions in life, other than compete and win. These same athletes, who are convinced that â€Å"everyone else† dopes; therefore, they should do it too (421:7). Even though we rather deceive our m inds from even considering that such competitors use drugs, we are lead to believe that they are left without option and support from athletic departments, teams, and confederations.From my perspective, it is clear why, many times, our â€Å"idols† end up giving in to illicit substances. First of all, due to the evolution of drugs: the industry for these products has experienced an unpredictable growth in demand, making researchers and developers work harder on the final product to be more effective. Second, the competition between takers and testers has been consistently won by those guilty of the cause. Consequently, emphasizing the scientist’s advantage – whose work is constantly and solely dedicated to mislead testers – to over perform them in their own game.In addition to that, I believe that amateur athletes begin their journey as sportsman at a relatively young age. Uneducated and immature, without familiar and technical support to back them up, th ey might end up on the wrong track towards success. Very early the doping chain reaches them: professionals dope in order to stay competitive, and, before they know, they are doping too; however, simply to compete. While Shermer asserts that the third reason for the success of doping is the incentive behind it, he provides multiple concrete ideas to shift the incentive back to competing in compliance.Ideas such as immunity to athletes for past doping; improve the testing methods by doing it more often, through independent agencies right after competitions; reward the development of unknown testing methods; increase the competitor’s penalty and make the appeal system fair and trustful; and finally, disqualify the team even if only one member is under use of drugs. According to the author, Nash equilibrium needs to be reached in sports. This means that, in sports, the appeal to cheating needs to be reverted so that it has a lower utility cost than playing by the book (422:11/42 3:12).From his suggestions, I believe that readers might start to find that sports are not as ethical, truthful and fair as they have once judged to be. Essentially, the public’s disbelief to professional sports is rather due to their shock with reality, than because of the actual cheating taking place. Since the issue with incentives is so acute, Shermer provides a very truthful and transparent analysis in his recommendations to grant – once again – belief to the spectators that sports could possibly become about honor, and not dishonesty.Given that the author is a competitor himself, it makes the reader more likely to consider his words of wisdom, especially because he offers examples of true accounts and events. To emphasize his recommendation analysis and to propose a deeper understanding, he uses the mathematician, John Forbes Nash, to persuade the reader towards his ideology. After reading this, spectators will have a better understanding of the false driv ing force behind the sports industry. However, they will be more incisive when making onesty have a greater utility cost than cheating. Shermer’s analysis not only reveals what has been unknown, but it also raises public pressure on confederations to reward those who really deserve to compete. According to the facts mentioned above, I believe a major change in attitude from big decision makers is needed in order to achieve transparency in sports. Young athletes should be under constant supervision and support, so that they are correctly directed towards professionalism.The right people should consistently check competitors at high-levels, making their will to cheat decrease by escalating the risk of doing so. Finally, I believe that my ideas provoke a deeper understanding of what is behind the public’s superficial vision of sports competition. They emphasize the lack of respect by those who dope, the obvious absence of ethics, and the insufficient structure and support to incoming athletes, making us view and understand that what drives people is not being the best, but coming first – which are two completely different things.

Jacobean Reading of King Lear Essay

King Lear was written around 1603-06. A contextualised political reading interprets King Lear as a drama that gives expression to crucial political and social issues of its time: the hierarchy of the Jacobean state, King James’ belief in his divine right to rule, and the political anxieties that characterised the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign: fears of civil war and division of the kingdom triggered by growth of conflicting fractions and a threatening underclass. Like all writers, Shakespeare reflected the world he knew. The ancient Britain the pseudo-historical Lear lived in contained anachronistic references to aspects of Jacobean life, such as eel pies and toasted cheese. Kent calls Oswald a ‘base football player’, evoking the class assumptions of the times. More significantly, King Lear reveals the conditions and preoccupations of Jacobean England in terms of politics, social change, justice, religion, madness, and the natural order. Politics Watching the play, Jacobean audiences would detect many resonances with their own socio-political climate: troubled and uncertain times as Elizabeth’s reign draws to a close and James ascends the throne – as the Tudor dynasty gave way to the Stuarts. Poverty, food shortages and unemployment were commonplace; Bedlam beggars were troublesome, roaming the countryside pleading for charity. These social features are explored by Shakespeare via Lear’s madness and the character of Edgar-turned-poor-Tom. The Cordelia-led French invasion may have sparked memory of the Spanish Armada of 1588. Lear’s character contains parallels to King James’s. James, like Lear, believed in his own divine right to rule, and deemed it blasphemous to question the King’s action. The divine right of the King was the prevailing sentiment reinforced by law, and Lear’s unwitting decision to abdicate  ruptures the divine and natural order Shakespeare makes subtle allusions to James’ profligate behaviour – which held significance for Jacobean audiences. James had proved susceptible to the flattery of ambitious courtiers. Lear’s belated recognition of the conventions, flatteries, and corruptions by which he has long been deceived provides sharp reminder to James that a king is only man like other, subject to the same human frailties: â€Å"they told me I was everything; ’tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.† James, with his intention to unite England and Scotland, would have welcomed the play as a validation of his unionist views. The doomed Lear shown to have â€Å"divided in three our kingdom†; this brusque cutting-up of a kingdom would have appalled the audience (who would share Kent’s horror), warning against partitioning of a state. Monarchs have a sacred duty to keep their kingdom intact, it was a sin to abdicate or divide their country. The divided coronet is a striking visual image, symbolising the political dysfunction, chaos, civil war and personal tragedy that follows the division of the kingdom. Social Change Both Lear and James rules societies characterised by its distinct hierarchical order – but also in the process of social change. A stable feudal society wit its strong allegiances and rigid hierarchy had crumbled in the wake of new scientific discoveries and global exploration. Increasing wealth from commerce fostered new ideas about value and status, as James made social mobility a reality with the selling of knighthoods for cash. A prosperous commercial gentry challenged the King’s power and divided the aristocracy, giving rise to difference political fractions – reflect in the rivalry between Albany and Cornwall. Newly acquired power and property gave rise to a new kind of individual – those who felt no obligation to the old feudal loyalties, filled with the spirit of radical individualism, driven by self-interest. Edmund,  Gloucester’s unscrupulous illegitimate son, refuses to â€Å"stand in the plague of custom† and seeks to thrive by his own cunning – mocking the superstitious beliefs of his father (an upholder of the old feudal loyalty to the king). Another is the corrupt, self-serving Oswald, who is ridiculed by the nobleman Kent. But he represents the emerging class of thrusting individualists in Jacobean England, motivated by self-interest, not loyalty to the traditional order. In their acquisitiveness, Goneril, Regan and Edmund flaunt the â€Å"offices of nature, bonds of childhood, effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude† within the old order of human relationships. Social Preoccupations/Values: How Jacobeans would have responded to these themes/motifs Justice – King Lear reflects the passionate interest of the Jacobeans in justice – both process of law (human justice) and justice meted out by gods (divine justice). The play’s many trials would strike a familiar chord in its contemporaries. There are five trials: 1. Love trial 2. Trial of Kent, whose bluntness earns him instant punishment 3. Improper trial of Gloucester by Cornwall and Regan 4. Lear’s hallucinated ‘mock trial’ of Goneril and Regan 5. Trial by combat where Edmund is destroyed. In each case, the play raises questions as to whether justice has been done. In his madness, Lear becomes obsessed with bringing his daughters to justice, while losing faith in human justice, asking â€Å"which is the justice,  which is the thief?† He reveals the inherent hypocrisy in judgement itself as he imagines a beadle (Jacobean figure of legal authority) punishing a whore despite how he â€Å"hotly lusts to use her in that kind for which thou whippst her†. The concluding lines â€Å"through tattered clothes great vices do appear: Robes and furred gowns hide all† – is a damning indictment of human justice, where possession of power is more important than fairness, where the fallibility of judgement present itself as a searing criticism of Jacobean society. Divine justice, although unmotivated by tangible influences, is equivocal – and their effects equally devastating. Although Albany claims Cornwall’s deserved disgrace of being killed by a servant as proof of divine justice, the death of Cordelia is a bolt from a sky cleared by the vanished storm, demonstrating that there’s no simple scheme of rewards or punishments, earthly or divine. Both are equally wanton, confirming the bleak views of human predicament expressed in â€Å"like flies to wanton boys are we to th’gods; They kill us for their sport†. Religion – Adapted from old play: King Leir, which is pre-Christian. Shakespeare gave his play a pagan setting, which allowed greater freedom for him to present ticklish theological issues, in particular the question of providence, without falling foul of the strict Jacobean censorship. Jacobeans would be shocked by the image of a son assisting his father to attempt suicide, which is a sin. Audience may detect the Christian theme of a journey through pain, suffering and humiliation to love, forgiveness and wisdom. There are obvious biblical echoes, like as Cordelia’s â€Å"O dear father, / It is thy business that I go about†, and the apocalyptic nature of the storm. Thus, its bleak, almost sadistic ending diverges from Jacobean expectation. It doesn’t fit the tragedy trajectory that moves from order to disorder and eventual restoration and fulfilment – Hence, a modified version by Tate containing a happy ending had replaced Shakespeare’s original on the stage for few centuries. Madness – Jacobeans’ attitudes to madness were harsh and unsympathetic (bedlam beggars were believed to be possessed by devils). They may have been startled by the proliferation of madness within the empowered individuals of society: Lear’s madness is that of a selfish, autocratic old man whose will is thwarted, whose moral blindness, misjudgements and lack of understanding of himself and others inevitably lead to breakdown: â€Å"O Fool, I shall go mad† Cornwall and Regan seem to become mad in their obsession with Gloucester’s punishment. Gloucester thinks it better to be ‘distract’ and lose his sorrow in ‘wrong imaginations’. He views madness as a privilege, bestowing innocence upon the insane person. Ironically, the madness of Poor Tom, and archetypal image of insanity, is put on. The Fool’s ‘madness’ is professional, witty, exposing the weakness and folly of his ‘reasonable’ superiors. Human madness is reflected as disturbance in nature and society. Lear’s inner torment is externalised by the violent storm. Lear’s tearing up of the kingdom is political madness, kindling a storm of social frenzy that precipitates cruelty, blindness, madness and death. These incidences of madness demonstrate the vulnerability of those in whom we entrust power, and thus how fragile the fabric of Jacobean society was. The Natural Order – Jacobeans would have viewed the play, especially its characters, through notions of what’s ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ instilled into them by their paradigm. This paradigm advocates hierarchical order enforced by God – with King fixed at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, and the father at the family’s – both charged with the duty to maintain their state in harmony. The perversions that occur to this order are unnatural: Lear’s division of the kingdom according to daughters’ protestation of love violates a monarch’s duty to keep his kingdom unified. This act allows evil to breed, resulting in personal and social madness in the form of suffering, civil war, self-destruction. Children revoking their filial duty also violate natural order. Being female, Goneril and Regan’s usurping of the patriarchal status quo induce particular shock and horror in Jacobeans. Their self-destruction is expected repercussion of their double felony against the natural order. A Jacobean reading interprets King Lear as a vivid social portrait, featuring aspects of social conditions, depicting social change, and voicing the beliefs of its contemporary audience. Its story teaches a moral lesson against the shirking of responsibility and division of one’s state. Its characters represent social groups- their actions and interactions parallel the ebb and flow of social forces.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION TO THE MULTINATIONAL Essay

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION TO THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION - Essay Example Josephine Bromme (2010) takes globalization to another level by relating to it as a compression of the social society. He suggests that globalization is the expansion of a company’s offering to other parts of the world and it takes international strategies for companies to expand their business at global level. Jorn Kleinert (2004) proposes that globalization has opened up a gateway for companies to flourish both on home and host countries. This has also helped society develop on cultural terms because when a product of one country is introduced to another country, distances and stereotypes are reduced and people become more open to acceptance. Globalization has helped multinational companies tap resources in host countries which have been unknown to the general society. Moreover, it has helped people fight in terms of competencies and skills in order to fulfill the standards set up by the multinational giants. Also it has made society a better off place. Globalization provide s an excellent outsourcing opportunity for multinational companies. When multinational companies make the most of the phenomena of globalization, they improve the economic, social, welfare and political condition of the countries where they invest. Research Method Sekaran, U. (2000) proposed primary research and secondary research as the most common and authentic methods of carrying out research. As mentioned in earlier sections of this research proposal, the purpose is to investigate how globalization has made it easy multinational companies to expand business and exploit resources. In order to do so, Coca Cola has been selected because this is one of the many trusted companies. Also it is one of the oldest multinational companies which has gained topmost image in the world of food and beverage business. For the purpose of carrying out this research, data is required from the internal as well as external customers of Coca Cola so that authentic results are obtained. I will be colle cting primary data from the employees as well as the customers of Coca Cola in the form of questionnaire. The questionnaire will be based on certain number of closed ended` questions which will be aimed at globalization and multinational companies’ relationship. It will be distributed to random customers at shopping marts and employees at various levels in the company. The sample size will be two hundred approximately because the more is the sample size of any research, more are the chances that the results obtained will be close to the term authentic because whenever researched through questionnaires is being conducted, large sample is gathered; a sufficient margin should be left for those respondents who fail to provide accurate information. It will not be difficult to gather data from customers present in marts because there are plenty of them and if not many, few will definitely show willingness to respond. The employees will be busy so it would take sometimes to get an a ppointment from them. After collecting the data, it

Aging in Western Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Aging in Western Society - Essay Example Something that is intrinsic to every individual in the world we live in, be the person a he or she, white, black or brown from whatever gender, language or age. This inherent dignity of men and women behooves us to treat all of them as equals. Why should the elderly therefore not have the care, the services, or privileges that children, youth and younger men and women have? The case could be made out that they should have more as the majority of them have already served society by caring and working in various ways. Even if they have been mere consumers they have contributed in untold ways to the profit of conglomerates and the existence of generations after them. There is a debt of gratitude that is owed to them which cannot be ignored or swept aside because they have aged. Because they were, we are. Mental ascent alone that the elderly should be cared for alone will not do. We should put our money where our mouth is. We must ensure that there is adequate care for the elderly. A tho rough investigation has to be undertaken as to the resources enjoyed by this segment of society compared to other demographic segments and the affect it has on their welfare or poverty. There is a moral responsibility for us to ensure that the aged enjoy there freedom of choice as long a possible which preserves their endowed dignity and lets them live in the security of their homes up until the day that it is simply impossible. It is imperative therefore that the number of geriatrics who are serving the aged populace must be increased, the poverty levels faced by them must reduce the stabilizing right they enjoy staying in surroundings familiar to them must be protected. The most consistent thing about aging is that it occurs throughout the person’s lifetime. The complexity arises out of the fact that aging in a person is multifaceted. It can occur in a macro sense in a sense of his whole being in somewhat

Critically discuss the historical-cultural context of human rights Essay

Critically discuss the historical-cultural context of human rights. Does their context differ across cultural boundaries and if - Essay Example In academic literature, the school of thought that who argued against universality in relation to human rights are today establishing new perspectives regarding human rights. This school of thought, now incorporates cultural elements within a universal concept related to human rights, instead of directly criticizing the idea of universality (Hey 2000, p.17). This approach taken in regard to human rights paves way for a focus on various issues affecting the society and the implications in terms of establishing human rights that are recognized internationally. Further, there is a likelihood of a new universalism being born as a result of globalization. This new universalism related to significant developments that have occurred globally in terms of theories and politics related to human rights. In practice, various rights that exist within the society are now viewed as being interdependent. However, there is also an increasing recognition of cultural diversity thus resulting in varying concepts related to rights in regard to a new universalism. For example, the establishment of the internationally recognized criminal tribunals in countries such as the Netherlands or Tanzania, reflect on a consensus for international responsibility, and also accountability in regard to serious crimes that are against humanity. In essence, this paper explores the historical-cultural context related to universality of human rights. (Hey 2000, p.19). Universality is an important characteristic related to human rights and by definition, human rights denotes the rights available to every human being and hence, considered universal. Each human being is considered a holder of human rights that are independent of their origin, their daily activities, where they reside and their citizenship or community. Universality in regard to human rights is often influenced by other factors associated with human rights, and human rights are categorical, egalitarian and indivisible (Onuma 2001, p.33). In essence, a review of universalism and relativism reveals a build-up of two different terminologies, however; the counterpart of the former term is particularism and for the latter term is absolutism. The main reason for the misconception revolves around an assumption identifying universalism as being only legitimate through absolute justification. As a result, a relative means of legitimization can establish only a justification considered relative. The result in this sense related to the proponents advocating for human rights tends to establish an absolute justification in terms of the set human rights. This assumption is influenced by the view that relative justification is not appropriate to establish universality related to human rights (Onuma 2001, p.42). On the other hand, it could be argued that this two terms lack direct association, which creates consequences in regarding to developing an understanding of the universality related to human rights, and also attempt to esta blish a justification. Human rights often struggles as a result of particular interests among states that place priority for sovereignty over universality related to human rights. In addition, the private sector also impacts on human rights as a result of focusing on self-regulating approaches and capitalizes to establish their influence relative to certain limits. Further, this challenge forms part of

Spiritual Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spiritual Assessment - Essay Example From this report it is clearc that a man's whole being is mostly moulded by spirituality and religion. These signs of well being can be seen by the clothes and accessories that a person wears, ones spiritual practices and rituals, participation in religious community and beliefs and philosophy in life. Some religious practices can even be seen on how a person grow and style their hair. Spirituality speaks of ones personal growth and awareness. It is a recognition of something outside of one’s self that cannot be defined. It is a personal quest for seeking the meaning of life.This study highlights that religion on the other hand, is a dogma and the existence of a higher power. It is the belief of sacredness, moral codes and values being supported and practised by an organization. Even though spirituality and religion are different, it can or can’t be interrelated. Religion can be practised with spirituality. Spirituality can be practised without being so religious. Spiri tuality and religion can be addressed in different ways. In the nurses and doctors point of view, the idea of the role of spirituality in a patient’s life will help them understand the patient’s response to an illness. In an article by Cancer.gov a spiritual assessment may help the doctor understand if a patient will use religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with the cancer diagnosis and treatment.  In a world where many different religions exist, it is important that a nurse should know the patients spiritual beliefs before conducting spiritual assessment to the patient.... There are many different kinds of medical treatment beliefs applicable to different kinds of religion. Mary Ellen Zator Estes (2002) had differentiated the medical treatments applicable for different religions. In Judaism, medicines and physician were held in high esteem. Patients also seek care for oneself through prayers and proper visitation. For an Islam patient, medical care is encouraged; however, female bodies should remain covered during treatment. Roman Catholic patients are encouraged to seek medical care and once confined in the hospital, visitation, anointing of the sick and prayer is practised. Same with Roman Catholic, Protestant patients also seek medical attention and anointing of the sick as well as prayers are being practised. Jehovah's Witness patients seek medical care when they are ill, however, during operations or when blood is needed, ingestion of blood nor any other blood products are prohibited. Upon knowing these beliefs, spirituality and nursing processes can now be applied. It is important that spiritual assessment be applied in nursing and giving care for a patient. SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT George Fitchette (no date) described spiritual assessment as the process of discerning the spiritual needs and resources of the person with whom nurses are working with. Unlike diagnostic models in some medical fields, the assessment model in spiritual care should not simply focus on problems, but also includes the resources that people brings to help them cope with those problems. In short, it is gathering of information with regards to the patient's spiritual status. Spiritual assessment is important for it gives a comprehensive assessment of a patient's spiritual needs. With

Political Ideologies of American Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Political Ideologies of American Law - Essay Example Communism on the other hand, as defined by West Encyclopedia for American Law is â€Å"a theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common.†. The purpose of communism is to have common ownership of properties. The government regulates access to labor and its produce on to what is satisfactorily needed by each individual in the society. There are different kinds and forms of communism developed by several philosophers such as Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. But we shall focus on the economic reforms that both Libertarianism and Communism wish to offer.   Communism believes that the working class is the solution and that giving more power to the working class, dissolving any division in the society and avoiding any possible exploitation from the capitalist class can eliminate a division in society. This is why the government chooses to regulate the economy, and abolishes private ownership. Communism sees capitalism as a mere exploitation of the working class.   Rousseaus (1978) origin story of the bourgeois political order holds that the ideology of communism, evolves through a pledge by the citizenry, a social pact to establish equality among each other, that they will place themselves under the same conditions and enjoy the same rights (p. 76).   Libertarianism and Communism are two opposite ideology, put it simply, the first gives importance and the sanctity of an individual’s freedom, separate from any control by society. It is the free will and independence of man and his own volition that controls his fate. On the other hand, the Communist is ruled by the society, as a working class, co-equal in everything without any other class or division. It is unity between every man, without having one man better than the other.

HR Analytics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HR Analytics - Essay Example Analytics mainly focus on the trend with respect to performance, results, behaviour, growth and development, which further draws management’s attention to specific areas unlike reporting tools that only focus or gather historic data and performance. Contemporary businesses and management lay strong emphasis on measurement of all aspects related to the business and management. Lundgaard (2009) emphasizes the significance of HR analytics in enabling the establishment of HR as a strategic organisational function and credits this to the high competition in business environment which is further pressurizing achievement of greater performance, productivity and profits for business/organisational sustenance. For this, firstly HR initiatives must be made quantifiable through appropriate measures. Lundgaard (2009) suggests a six-domain framework that identifies six key areas for HR: staffing, training/development, appraisal, rewards, organisational governance, and communication. Obtain ing HR analytics based on these six core areas makes measuring HR function feasible. Application of this framework to HR initiatives still depends upon the measurability of these areas, for which Hunter et al (2005) have suggested the Balanced Score Card (BSC) system. First proposed by Kaplan and Norton, this framework allows linking strategy to value creating processes. As stated by Kaplan and Norton (1996; p.2), ‘the BSC translates an organisation’s mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for a strategic measurement and management system.’ The BSC measures organisational performance across four balanced perspectives: financial, customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. It helps in capturing the critical value-creation activities of skilled and motivated employees. All activities that an organisation needs to perform in order to achieve its goal can be categorized according to these perspectives, which include categorization of all initiatives by the HR department into these four core areas. The BSC helps in assessing the total business value derived from particular department. To assess the total business value of HR initiatives, they must be made or converted to measurable objectives (Hatry, 2006). For measurement, Lawler and Boudreau (2009) advocate the use of efficiency, effectiveness and impact for measuring HR programmes, where efficiency refers to resources used by HR programmes such as cost-per-hire; effectiveness refers to changes produced by HR programmes such as learning from training; and impact refers to business or strategic value created by the programme such as higher sales from better-trained product developers or sales people (p.61). All three, efficiency, effectiveness and impact are equally important to assess the actual weight of any activity/programme. For instance, measuring the monthly/daily sales without measuring customer satisfaction will be of no use for the business in long run. Similarly, paying out more incentives to staff for over performance without assessing employee satisfaction may or may not yield any improvement in employee satisfaction. Efficiency and effectiveness of HR initiatives can be measured by assigning specific measurable objectives to each initiative. Paladino (2007) emphasized Managing by Objectives (MBO) as an effective tool to enhance organisational efficiency at

Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Development - Coursework Example At the 1995 women’s conference in Beijing, so many promises were made on gender mainstreaming. The most important one was to get more women into leadership positions in private and public organisations and the government, as well as involve them in scientific and industrial development initiatives. This was to be done to bring about gender equality, not at the expense of men as some people have reported (Fischer, 2012:569). The ultimate goal of gender mainstreaming was to bring gender equality at all levels of private and public sectors. The aim was to enter the millennium with significant progress having been made in terms of putting women in key positions in the society and cultivating and a better understanding of gender mainstreaming and equality among men (Razavi, 2009:146). However, this has not happened. A 2013 research cosponsored by the US department of education and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) showed that despite the hype and hullabaloo surrounding the topic, men still dominated major positions in the government and the private sector (Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa, 2010:14) In fact, most governments created a front for gender mainstreaming and equality but their underbellies were rife with gender inequality and imbalance. The Obama Administration, for example, has made several attempts to include as many women as possible in its policymaking and leadership positions (Kantola, 2010:54). However, this is what the public and some naà ¯ve NGOs see and think that progress is being made. For example, the study showed that in departments which were headed by women, there were still more male employees working in senior and influential positions that women should have according to gender mainstreaming advocates. In addition, the findings of the study showed that men’s perception of women has still

Pure Hatred Essay Example for Free

Pure Hatred Essay Introduction It is so depressing to say that hate, the most powerful of human emotions is still rampant in today’s world. Despite decades of struggles for civil rights, sad stories of hatred are still being told. A lot of individuals have to walk the streets of cities, the halls of schools and offices, and even the rooms of their own houses in fear. Around this world people are still being attacked because of their race, their sex, or their religion. In this new millennium, is it going to be possible to create a safer environment for all people? Can each country become the â€Å"Land of the Free†? Sadly, individuals and groups that espouse hate are still active in the country. The horrific events of September 11, 2001, and the terrorism that has followed in its wake have made it even more important now than in the past to understand the nature of hate. Given the overwhelming displays of hate currently being displayed in the world, we have a responsibility to seek an understanding of hate, its causes, and its consequences and how to combat it and achieve a culture of peace (Brenes Du Nann Winter, 201; Brenes Wessells, 124). Typical Definitions of Hate The typical formulations of hate, those by Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hume, and Darwin are notable for their contradictions. For Descartes (1694/1989), hate was an awareness of an object as something bad and an urge to withdraw from it. For Spinoza (1677/1985), it was a case of pain (sadness) accompanied by a perception of some external cause. For Aristotle (trans. 1954), the distinguishing phenomenological fact about hate was that it is pain-free (in addition to being incurable by time and striving for the annihilation of its object). Hume (1739-1740/1980) argued that neither love nor hate can be defined at all, because both are irreducible feelings with the introspective immediacy of sensory impressions. Darwin (1872/1998) also saw hate as a special feeling, one that lacks a distinct facial sign and manifests itself as rage. Hatred is causes of bitter sorrow. We find ourselves in repugnance and anger in the presence of one we hate. The joy of hate is being caused by the suffering, loss of power and reputation of the hated person. Shand (192) described hate as a syndrome, or a bundle of episodic dispositions united by a common emotional object or a common category of such objects. The key feature of such a syndrome is that a person may be legitimately characterized as having it without being imputed any corresponding episodic state. Modern Conceptions of Hate Sternberg (123) recently proposed that both disgust and contempt are special kinds of hate, cold hate and cool hate, respectively (see also Oatley Johnson- Laird, 87, for a claim that hate is a derivative of disgust). Steinbergs proposal is part of a broad theoretical typology based on the principle that, like love, hate can be characterized in terms of three action-feelings components: (a) intimacy (more precisely, the negation thereof), (b) passion, and (c) commitment. The feelings and actions associated with the first (negation of intimacy) component include revulsion-disgust and distancing, respectively. Fight-or-flight is the action pattern, and anger-fear are the feelings attending the passion element. The last (commitment) component involves an attempt to devalue the target of hatred through contempt. On the basis of this triangular structure, Sternberg posited a variety of hates. There is, for example, the already mentioned cool hate, composed solely of disgust, and hot hate, composed solely of the anger-fear combination. There are also cold hate (devaluation through contempt alone), boiling hate (disgust + anger-fear), simmering hate (disgust + contempt), seething hate (passion + commitment; also called revilement), and, finally, burning hate, which includes all three action-feelings components. True hate, he argued, is an emotion of intimacy, respect, and strength—There can be no hatred in weakness (Solomon, 326); he saw this equality of power as part of hates special mythology, ensuring that the antagonism involves an element of mutual respect. Though Solomon referred to hate as an emotion, the general affective construct that appears to fit best his own characterization of hate dynamics is that of a syndrome. Types of Hate Hate as an Emotion The hate as an emotion occurs based on the individual emotional experience. It is an emotion where people have to experience that affect the way they live. People come to hate other people whom have mistreated them. Hate that we learn as an Idea It is a long-standing hatred even of people they have never met, simply on the basis of belonging to groups in conflict or as an idea. Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority. People who have an obvious difference make prejudice easier. If you resent your roommate because he or she is sloppy, you are not necessary guilty of prejudice. However, if you immediately stereotype your roommate on the basis of such characteristics as race, ethnicity, or religion, that is a form of prejudice. Prejudice tends to perpetuate false definitions of individuals and groups. One important and widespread form of prejudice is racism, the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. When racism prevails in a society, members of subordinate groups generally experience prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation. In 1990, as concern mounted about racist attacks in the United States, Congress passed the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. This law directs the Department of Justice to gather data on crimes motivated by the victim’s race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. In 2000 alone, more than 8,063 hate crimes were reported to authorities. Some 54 percent of these crimes against persons involved racial bias, whereas another 18 percent involved religious bias, 16 percent sexual orientation bias, and 11 percent ethnic bias (Department of Justice 2001a). A particularly horrifying hate crime made the front pages in 1998: In Jasper, Texas, three White men with possible ties to race-hate groups tied up a Black man, beat him with chains, and then dragged him behind their truck until his body was dismembered. Numerous groups in the United States have been victims of hate crimes as well as generalized prejudice. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, hate crimes against Asian Americans and Muslim Americans escalated rapidly. Prejudice is also happening against Arab Americans and Muslims who live in the United States (226). The activity of organized hate groups appears to be increasing, both in reality and in virtual reality. Although only a few hundred such groups may exist, there were at least 2,000 websites advocating racial hatred on the Internet in 1999. Particularly troubling were sites disguised as video games for young people, or as â€Å"educational sites† about crusaders against prejudice, like Martin Luther King, Jr. The technology of the Internet has allowed race-hate groups to expand far beyond their traditional southern base to reach millions (Sandberg, 105). Hate causes Violence Hate is the most powerful human emotion exists that causes violence. It is a disease like tuberculosis. It may infect others, but it inevitably destroys the hater, diminishing his humanity and perverting the purpose and promise of life itself.   A special case of ostensive formulation might be found in the concept of the so-called hate crime. Hate crimes can be defined as criminal offenses in which the defendant’s conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group of individuals. A more extensive definition can be found in the California Penal Code, which says that: â€Å"Hate crimes . . . means any act of intimidation, harassment, physical force, or the threat of physical force directed against any person, or family, or their property or advocate, motivated either in whole or in part by the hostility to the real or perceived eth nic background, national origin, religious belief, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation, with the intention of causing fear and intimidation.† Hate crimes are not separate offenses, however, and it is important to realize that many types of felonies can be prosecuted as hate crimes. Hate crime laws, which have developed during the past decade or two, simply enhance or increase the penalties associated with serious offenses that fall into the â€Å"hate crimes† category. At the 1994 is typical of such legislation. The act provides for enhanced sentences where a federal offense is determined to be a hate crime. The federal Hate Crime Statistics Act, signed into law by then-President Bush in April 1990, mandates an annual statistical tally of hate crimes throughout the country. Data collection under the law began in January 1991. Yearly statistics show approximately 10,000 reported instances of hate crimes, including about a dozen murders. Most hate crimes (approximately 65 percent) appear to be motivated by racial bias, while religious hatred (15 percent) and sexual orientation (12 percent) account for most of the remainder. Many hate crimes that are reported fall into the category of â€Å"intimidation,† although vandalism, simple assault, and aggravated assault also account for a fair number of hate crime offenses. Notable in recent years has been a spate of church burnings throughout the south where congregations have been predominantly African-American. A few robberies and rapes are also classified under the hate crime umbrella in any given year. Hate crimes are sometimes also called bias crimes. One form of bias crime that bears special mention is homophobic homicide. Homophobic homicide is a term that refers to the murder of homosexuals by those opposed to their lifestyles.   Some hate crimes are committed by organized hate groups. According to the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center (457) organized hate groups operated in the United States in 1999. Another so-called â€Å"patriot† organizations, many with separatist leanings based on race or ethnicity, existed throughout the country. Some hate crime laws have not passed constitutional muster, often because they have run afoul of First Amendment concerns over free speech. In 1992, for example, in the case of R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a St. Paul, Minnesota, city ordinance designed to prevent the bias-motivated display of symbols or objects, such as Nazi swastikas or burning crosses. Also in 1992, in the case of Forsyth County, Ga. v. Nationalist Movement, the Court held that a county requirement regulating parades was unconstitutional because it also regulated freedom of speech—in this case a plan by an affiliate of the Ku Klux Klan to parade in opposition to a Martin Luther King birthday celebration. Some writers have noted that statutes intended to control hate crimes may contravene constitutional guarantees if they: (1) are too vague, (2) criminalize thought more than action, (3) attempt to control what would otherwise be free speech, and deny equal protection of the laws to those who wish to express their personal biases. Examples of effective hate crime legislation can be found in a Wisconsin law that increases penalties for most crimes when the offender â€Å"Intentionally selects the person against whom the crime . . . is committed or selects the property that is damaged or otherwise affected by the crime . . . in whole or in part because of the actor’s belief or perception regarding the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry of that person or the owner or occupant of that property, whether or not the actor’s belief or perception was correct.†Wisconsin’s penalty enhancement statute was upheld in the 1993 case of Wisconsin v. Mitchell. In that case, the United States Supreme Court held that Mitchell, a black man whose severe beating of a white boy was racially motivated, could be punished with additional severity as permitted by Wisconsin law because he acted out of â€Å"race hatred.† The Court called the assault â€Å"conduct unprotected by the First Amendment† and upheld the Wisconsin statute saying, â€Å"[since] the statute has no ‘chilling effect’ on free speech, it is not unconstitutionally overbroad.† In 2000, however, the Supreme Court, in the case of Apprendi v. New Jersey,struck down a New Jersey law that allowed judges to sentence offenders to longer prison terms for crimes motivated by racism or other bias. The law did not require that prosecutors prove to a jury that an offense was a â€Å"hate crime† under state law. Are there Any Cures for Hate? There is no magic bullet cure for hate. There are several possible steps, however. Indeed, Staub (240, 124) devised a program for intervening in cases of mass killings and violence (see also Veale Dona, 147). At the very least, one can start by modifying negative stereotypes, which can be done with some success (Blair Banaji, 219; Mackie, Allison, Worth, Asuncion, 156). In general, people need to: †¢ understand the triangular nature of hate and its escalation with successive triangular components so that one can recognize its often subtle presence; †¢ understand how hate is fomented through stories, often by way of propaganda; †¢ understand how hate can lead to massacres and genocide through the translation of feeling triangles into action triangles; †¢ combat feelings of impotence with constructive rather than destructive responses, and act against hate and its consequences rather than stand by as passive observers, as the world so often has done; †¢ realize that passive observation and often attempts at reason enacted in the hope that hate-based massacres and genocides will go away are perceived as weaknesses and tend to encourage rather than to discourage violence; and †¢ combat hate with wisdom. There is no complete cure for hate. Cognitive comprehension of a destructive psychological process does not insulate people from experiencing it. But given the destruction hate has caused over time and geography, there is a need to understand it, its consequences, and ways to at least try to combat it through understanding and especially through action. Indeed, there are few areas of psychology for which it equally can be said that action speaks louder than words. Many of the ways of combating hate are the same that one would use in resolving conflict situations and achieving peace (Christie, Wagner, Du Nann Winter, 238), including creation of win-win situations, building trust between groups, sharing information, each side asking questions of the other, generating multiple alternative options, and seeking understanding of groups to which one does not belong (Boardman, 149; Isenhart Spangle, 259). Sometimes when a group communicates to the other the story of what its members have experienced, they can come to an understanding of each other that is not possible when people stay silent and fail to communicate (Albeck, Adwan, Bar-On, 162). When wrongs have been committed, no solution may be possible unless both sides are willing to forgive (Azar Mullet, 95). Building tolerance and creating a culture of peace and a society in which people share equally in rights and in participation in the society can go a long way toward resolving problems of violence and hate (Christie Dawes, 2001; Miall, Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, 199; Montiel Wessells, 221). The question is whether people have sufficient good will to achieve this goal. Combating hate requires, first and foremost, taking responsibility for it, its perpetrators, and its consequences. Ultimately, the best way to combat hate may be through wisdom (Steinberg, 198). Intelligent people may hate; wise people do not. People like Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and Nelson Mandela had the same human passions as any of us, but in their wisdom, they moved beyond hate to embrace love and peace. The balance theory of wisdom (Sternberg, 198) defines wisdom as the application of intelligence, creativity, and experience toward a common good by balancing ones own interests with others interests and institutional interests over the long and short terms. By definition, wise people do not hate others because they care about the individuals (or groups) wellbeing as well as their own or that of their group. They seek solutions that embrace the legitimate interests of others as well as of themselves. Someone who cares about anothers interests and well-being cannot hate that person, in part because he or she cannot dehumanize that other. Schools typically teach children knowledge and to think intelligently. But they rarely teach for wisdom. Indeed, in many schools across the globe, they teach hate for one group or another. Ultimately, if society wishes to combat hate, its schools and institutions need to teach students to think wisely. They then will realize that hate is not the solution to any legitimate life problem. Indeed, it foments rather than solves problems. But to teach for wisdom requires wisdom, and so far, the possession of that wisdom is a challenge that many fail to meet, not because we cannot meet it, but rather, because we choose not to. It is to be hoped that, in the future, people will make the better choice—for wisdom rather than for foolishness and the hate that can arise from it. Conclusion To sum up, despite much recent attention to hate as a topic of discussion and intervention, there currently exists no generally accepted definition and cure of hate. More grievously, there is nothing approaching a consensus on how to delimit the domain within which such a definition would fall. Meanings of hate differ both across and within contexts. Thus, it remains unclear if different authors are indeed discussing or intervening against the same thing. The situation raises a number of questions: Why this cornucopia of meaning? How are psychologists to characterize the underlying disagreements? How they to decide which disagreements are are substantive and which are purely semantic? How are people to decide who is right and who is wrong? What would it mean to be right or wrong in this context? These are just some trying questions about hate, to which the answers are still unclear. But one thing is clear, definitely hate is not the answer and we have to control ourselves emotionally and change our minds for the better. WORKS CITED Albeck, J. H., Adwan, S., Bar-On, D. Dialogue groups: TRTs guidelines for working through intractable conflicts by personal storytelling. Peace and Conflict: journal of Peace Psychology, 8, 301-322, 2002. Aristotle. The rhetoric and the poetics o fAristotk (W. R. Roberts, Trans.). New York: Modern Library, 1954. (Original work written ca. 340 B.C.) Azar, F., Mullet, E. Willingness to forgive: A study of Muslim and Christian Lebanese. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8, 17-30, 2002. Blair, I. V., Banaji, M. R. Automatic and controlled processes in stereotype priming. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1142-1163, 1996. Boardman, S. K. Resolving conflict: Theory and practice. Peace andConftict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8, 157-160, 2002. Brenes, A., . Du Nann Winter, D. Earthly dimensions of peace: The Earth charter. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 7, 157-171, 2001. Brenes, A., Wessells, M. Psychological contributions to building cultures of peace. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 7, 99-107, 2001. Christie, D. J., Dawes, A. Tolerance and solidarity. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 7, 131-142, 2001. Christie, D.J, R. V. Wagner, R.V. Winter, D.D. 2001, Peace, Conflict and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.,106, 2001. Darwin, C. (1998). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. (Original work published 1872) Department of Justice. Hate Crime Statistics, 2000. Washington, D C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001a (Accessed October 16, 2002). Descartes, R. On the passions of the soul (S. Voss., Trans.). Indianapolis, IN, 1989. (Original work published 1694) Hume, D. A treatise of human nature. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1980 (Original work published 1739-1740). Isenhart, M., Spangle, M. Collaborative approaches for resolving conflict. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000. Mackie, D. M., Allison, S. T., Worth, L. T., Asuncion, A. G. (1992). The generalization of outcome-biased counter-stereotypic inferences, journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 28, 43-64, 1992. Miall, H., Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T. Contemporary conflict resolution. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press, 1999. Montiel, C. }., Wessells, M. (2001). Democratization, psychology, and the construction of cultures of peace. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 7,119-129, 2001. Shand, A. F. The foundations of character (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan, 1920. Solomon, R. The passions. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Spinoza, B.Ethics. In E. Curley (Ed.), The collected works of Spinoza (Vol. 1, pp. 408-617). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985. (Original work published 1677) Staub, E. (1989). The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other group violence. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Sternberg, R. J. Why schools should teach for wisdom: The balance theory of wisdom in educational settings. Educational Psychologist, 36, 227-245, 2001. Sternberg, R. J. A duplex theory of hate and its development and its application to terrorism, massacres, and genocides. Review of General Psychology, 7, 299-328, 2003. Veale, A., Dona, G. Psychosocial interventions and childrens rights: Beyond clinical discourse. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8,47-61, 2002.

Christianity And Buddhism | Comparison

Christianity And Buddhism | Comparison The homogeneity in religious beliefs is characteristic of most societies in the entire world. This paper critically examines and explores the advent of Buddhism and its comparison with Christianity. It intends to explore these two forms of religion by discussing some of their fundamental beliefs and practices and their aspects that are incompatible. The outline of these differences should therefore enable one to distinguish Christianity from Buddhism. The practices and principles of Buddhism are founded on such virtues as peacefulness, loving kindness and wisdom. Among the fundamental Buddhists beliefs is their conviction and belief that a happy life full of fortunes is actually possible to attain by all humanity irrespective of ones age, race, gender or social status (Netland Yandell, 2009). However, the fundamental beliefs in Christianity are purely founded on ones faith in the Messiah and ones conviction in Him as the savior. A happy life is purely the reserve of those who walk in the ways of righteousness and holiness. Fortune is not existent according to the biblical principles. The only fortunate people are those whose names have been written in the book of life having overcome the world of sin by believing in the only son of God, Christ the Messiah. Thus, in Christianity a happy life is considered a blessing from God that one enjoys when he/she lives a righteous life. Thus in this, Christianity remains incompatible with Bud dhism (Netland Yandell, 2009). A close examination of some of the fundamental differences between Christianity and Buddhism revels that whereas Buddhism is founded on the principles of coolness and tolerance and that there exists certain truths in Buddhist doctrines, it is not compatible with the truths enshrined in Christianity (Archibald, 2009). The Buddhists do not believe in the existence of the almighty God. Therefore they do not have any discussions about rewards and punishments on the judgment day. However, Christianity and even contemporary science assert that there is actually one almighty God the creator of the heavens and the earth. According to Christianity, the God who created everything has absolute authority to administer justice to all people because he is a just God. Therefore, god punishes all injustice and sin because He is righteous and holy. Punishment and reward that is not outlined in Buddhism exists in Christianity and these are associated with judgment and accountability for ones sins (Net land Yandell, 2009). Buddhism is basically a religion that is not practiced in the context of faith and loyalty to a supernatural being. It is based on deeds that help to lighten suffering so that one can attain a state of enlightenment. Buddhism is thus founded on faith where creation and not the creator are worshiped (Archibald, 2009). The cycle of re-birth outlined in the teachings of Buddhism lacks evidence and is the cause of a shifted attention towards creation. Contrary to this, Christianity believes that man is not out rightly good but is born a sinner and therefore needs to be saved. Whereas Buddhists believe that one can save himself, Christianity refutes this on the basis that one can never save himself. According to Netland Yandell, (2009) salvation is only receive through Christ the messiah through the divinely given grace who reconciles all that have received him back to the father, who is the creator. Because Buddhism does not recognize sin, the concept of the savior is conspicuously lacking. Even though those practicing Buddhism seek refuge from Buddha, they do not believe that such refuge in Buddha makes one pure (Archibald, 2009). In Christianity however, the only way to salvation and for purification is through believing Jesus and accepting Him in ones life for eternal life. The relationship that exists between Buddha and the followers of Buddhism can be likened to that of a student and a teacher. This implies that Buddha is thus not an incarnation of God as some Hindu followers assert, but in Christianity, Jesus is the incarnation of God Himself (Netland Yandell, 2009). Therefore while Buddhists try to purify themselves through meditations, giving up of worldly materials, Christianity maintains that all these can never make one right or save one (Netland Yandell, 2009). In the discussion of the destiny man, it is widely believed in Buddhism that upon death, one will later come back to live as another human being on earth. Archibald, (2009) cites that this cycle of birth and re-birth thus continue until one is eventually set free. In Christianity it is believed predestined that one dies physically once and after this death comes judgment. After judgment has been passed there is life after death. Them that overcome judgment shall resurrect and the spirit and the body shall then re-join. In this there seem to be some compatibility between the two religions. However, in Christianity the conditions of life after death are wholly based on once ability to maintain and lead a holy and righteous life. Such predisposition lacks in Buddhism. Wickedness thus leads to everlasting punishment and indignation. Buddhists devotedly worship their gods although none of these gods is a true god. Christianity on its part however, has a different understanding God. So whereas Buddhism is polytheistic, Christianity believes in one sole supreme God (Netland Yandell, 2009). Buddhists believe that they can attain the same level as Buddha once they reach a state of enlightenment. It is conspicuously clear that the beliefs and practices of Buddhism are full of pessimism while Christianity is founded on the principles of optimism. While Buddhists consider life as full of distress Christianity is always optimistic and devotes itself to the service of humanity. The more one serves in faithfulness the more one glorifies God and thus gains access to the blessings of God. The incompatibility between Christianity and Buddhism is further postulated in the beliefs and practices about food and eating. On this the doctrines of Buddhism appear to be too strict while Christianity is more liberal (Netland Yandell, 2009). In Buddhism, one is strictly required to be a vegetarian. Christianity presents all types of food as having been sanctified and fit for human consumption. Eating of chicken or eggs is believed to have the power to make one behave like a chicken. Further, eating of such creatures is considered to make one subject to retribution in the life to come. In this therefore Christianity appears superior to Buddhism as it gives one liberty to use all the creations for his needs (Archibald, 2009). In fact man was given complete authority and dominion over all the creation in the beginning of Gods creation. While these two religions appear incompatible in many ways, there are certain aspects of both Christianity and Buddhism that seem to be consistent. Most religions world over including Christianity and Buddhism has the ethic of reciprocity. This principle seems to be governing authority on interpersonal relationships. It defines how one should treat one another (Archibald, 2009). For example, Christianity is based on the golden rule that dictates that one should do unto others what he would wish to be done to him/her. Morality as a theme appears conspicuous on both Christianity and Buddhism. The only difference and probably where Christianity is doing better than Buddhism is the fact that in Christianity morality is enforced by the requirements for eternity. Moral decadence in Christianity thus leads to judgment and punishment on the last day while this is not conditioned in Buddhism. Enforcement and adherence to the conditions of morality is thus strict when compared to Buddhism (Net land Yandell, 2009). When the two accounts are compared it is apparent beyond any reasonable doubt that Christianity clearly gives a detailed and unambiguous account of God and the creation. Such an account has even been proved by modern science (Netland Yandell, 2009). Christianity postulates that there exists one true and supreme God who created everything in existence. Buddhists however, do not believe in the existence of one God but rather worship many gods. Christianity is founded on Biblical principles that are more comprehensive than Buddhism (Archibald, 2009).Thus there are far reaching reasons as to why one should consider Christianity than Buddhism. Whereas both religions are centered behind some historical figures; Jesus and Buddha, only Jesus is presented to have conquered death (Netland Yandell, 2009). Discussions of cycles of birth and re-birth thus lose ground in Buddhism because the central figure did not conquer death but is an image. It is only through Christ that one is cleansed of sin and purified. Good deeds wealth as presented in Buddhism does not make one right with God. In Buddhism, atonement of sin is believed to come when one adheres to karma that is impersonal and amoral. Thus whether one sins or remains righteous karma is not offended because karma is not a person. Only God reconciles one to Himself through the blood of Jesus who was crucified for the atonement of sins of those who believe in Him. The way to eternal life is to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and not being morally upright (Archibald, 2009). Conclusively, Buddhism and Christianity are two distinct religions with beliefs that are peculiar to each other. Generally the beliefs and practices in Christianity are informed and treasured because compliance to the doctrines makes one right with God. Furhther, the principles of Christianity are supported and easy to explore and follow contrary to those in Buddhism.

John Steinbecks East of Eden - The Gift of Free Will :: East Eden Essays

East of Eden - The Gift of Free Will An excellent benefit of choosing to major in English is that it has allowed me four years to dig deeply into my love of the written word. This involves looking beyond the surface of literature and studying its effects in the course of my everyday life. Some books are easy to read quickly, enjoy, and forget, but others exert an influence that is not easily discarded or forgotten. In my mental library, the classic American novel East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, falls into this category. I believe East of Eden has helped shape me morally by illustrating the power of free will in a world caught between a constant battle of good and evil. I decided to read East of Eden after hearing a friend share a short passage from it in his valedictory address. Although I do not remember the contents of that particular passage anymore, I remember that it was the power of Steinbeck's simple, direct language that urged me to take it on as my next big foray into what my high school English teacher called "real literature." The Cain and Abel story, possibly the most enigmatic story of good and evil in the Bible, is the basis for East of Eden. Although allegorical elements are scattered throughout the whole novel, the most evident theme struck me as three of the main characters discussed the ramifications of God's words to Cain after Abel's death. Lee, a Chinese servant to one of the novel's main families, explained to his two companions a little-known conflict between the translations of Genesis 4:7 in two versions of the Bible. In one translation, God tells Cain that "thou shalt" rule over sin. In another, God says to Cain, "Do thou" rule over sin. The first is a promise, and the second is an order. Lee concluded that the ambiguity presented by the two translations is at the heart of the universal human story. I agree. I know some people who surrender themselves to the fatalistic belief that everything in life has been mapped out by God. I also know people who believe that God is a harsh drillmaster who issues demands under the constant threat of damnation. Until I read this book, however, I never wondered where the dispute originated. As the characters in Steinbeck's novel discussed the discrepancy of Genesis 4:7, I also wondered at the intended meaning of the verse.

Ethics and the Advancement of Military Technology Essay -- Philosophy

I. Introduction: Technology in the light of military weaponry has been one of the growingly controversial issues that the world faces today. Among the top weapon types that have advanced greatly over the past recent years are nuclear, chemical and biological weaponry. Though the United States government and military has been enthusiastically involved in the evolution of these weapons, their enthusiasm dwindles when responsibility must be taken for the consequences that result. Consequences that are left unresolved or postponed only bring about more doubts and questions that all branch off of one basic issue: Is it ethical to continue the advancement of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare when the results cannot be controlled? II. Basic History of Military Weapons: "Don't one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes."- Colonel William Prescott, Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775 Military weaponry has developed over the ages branching from three main keys of destruction: nuclear, chemical, and biological attack. In order to understand the capabilities each hold in the present day, basic understanding is needed of how each was initially developed. Nuclear power was first introduced into the world of weaponry on July 16, 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico when the United States tested out their first nuclear bomb named ‘Trinity’.7 Following Trinity’s blazing entrance came the testing of similar bombs by the governments of the Soviet Union, England, France, China, and India.7 In order to compete with these mirrored foreign bombs, on November 1, 1952, the United States entered into the Thermonuclear Age, as they exploded ‘Mike’, their first thermonuclear bomb, in the Pa... ...u. 5 Dec 1990. 562 words. <http://www.washtimes.com/> 7. Nuclear Weapons: The High Energy Weapons Archive. 6 July 2002. EnviroLink. 26 Feb 2003 <http://nuketesting.enviroweb.org/hew/> Image Bibliography: P1: http://www.darwinmag.com/read/110101/weapon_content.html P2: http://www.darwinmag.com/read/110101/weapon_content.html P3: http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/trinity.jpg P4: http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/trmap2.gif P5: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/4239/chemweapons/history.html P6: http://www.aofiles.net/main/Images/planes.jpg P7: http://bifido.net/html-data/micro/Anthrax%20(IBacillus%20anthracis-I).htm P8: http://www.immed.org/ P9: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/aaav.htm P10: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/aaav.htm P11: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/aaav.htm

Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs :: Adult Education Minors Youth Essays

Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs Wherever adult educators gather, whether at conferences, meetings, or in e-mail discussion groups, a topic on many minds is the challenge of increasing numbers of teenagers enrolled in adult education classes. (Smith 2002, p. 1). The increase in the number of youth under the age of 18 enrolling in federally funded adult basic and literacy education programs is a trend that is putting increasing pressures on programs designed to serve an adult population (Hayes 2000). A number of questions and issues surround this trend and administrators and teachers view it from different perspectives (ibid.; Smith 2002). After reviewing some of the trends and factors that are contributing to an increase in youth enrollment, this Digest provides an overview of how programs are responding to the challenge of serving young adults. Documenting the Trend Much of the evidence related to the trend of youth under the age of 18 enrolling in federally funded adult education programs is anecdotal in nature. Documenting the extent of the trend is difficult due to the way in which federal statistics on age of program participants have been compiled and variation in state policies (Hayes 2000). Fiscal Year 2000 was the first and most recent year that the number of participants aged 16-18 is shown as a separate category in the state statistics compiled by the Division of Adult Education and Literacy in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education; in that year, 16% of the total participants were in that category (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/2000age.html). Prior to FY 2000, youth aged 16-18 were included in the category "ages 16-24"; in 1999, 35% of participants were in that category. In 2000, the number of participants aged 16-18 (16%) combined with the number aged 19-24 (25%) totaled 41%, indicating t hat, overall, the number of younger participants is on the increase, but it is not possible to tell if the increase is among youth aged 16-18. State policies regarding at what age individuals may take the General Educational Development (GED) test as well as who is eligible to be served by adult basic and literacy programs vary: some states have more liberal policies that allow 16-18 year-olds to enroll in programs as a way of preparing for the GED so that they can complete high school (Beckwith 2002; Hayes 2000; Smith 2002). Figures from the GED Testing Service reveal something about the number of youth who potentially may be enrolled in federally funded programs.

McDonald’s: Customer Driven Essay

What does it mean to be customer driven? One Fortune 500 Company that lives to please and satisfy their customers is, McDonald’s. According to the article The Ray Kroc Story (2012), McDonald’s passion for quality and customer service all began with a man named Ray Kroc (p.1). In 1954, Ray came across a restaurant in San Bernardino, California run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald. He was immediately captivated by how effective their small operation was. Ray found that the restaurant only offered a limited menu, which consisted of burgers, fries, and beverages. Due to the limited variety, the brothers were able to focus on what was really important, which was quality customer service. Ray Kroc had formed a vision. The article The Ray Kroc Story (2012), he pitched his vision of McDonald’s restaurants all over the United States to the brothers (p. 2). In 1955, one year after discovering the small restaurant in California, Ray Kroc founded the McDonald’s Corporation. Five years later, Ray bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name, and by 1958 McDonald’s has sold its 100 millionth burger. According to the article The Ray Kroc Story (2012), Kroc’s unique philosophy was that he wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for its food consistency, its uniform methods of preparation, and that was customer driven (p. 3). He wanted to be able to serve burgers in Alaska that would taste the same in Alabama. To make this a reality he persuaded franchisees and suppliers to buy into his vision. This was that they were not working for McDonald’s, but rather for themselves, for McDonalds. Ray Kroc never stopped working for McDonald’s. He worked there right up until  he passed away on January 24, 1984 (p. 4). He worked out of his wheelchair in his office, nearly every day, in San Diego, California. Ray Kroc’s legacy and passion for quality, service, and efficiency continues to still be an integral part of McDonald’s today. McDonald’s has more than 33,500 restaurants worldwide. It also has 1.7 million employees, throughout 119 countries. McDonald’s mission statement and list of values truly shows how they are customer driven and what they focus on, to continue being successful. The article McDonald’s Mission and Vision (2010-2012), their brand mission is to be their customers favorite place and way to eat (p. 1). They operate around seven core values every day. The first value is that they place the customer experience at the core of what they do. They say that their customers are the reason for their existence. They show their appreciation by providing every person that walks through their door, and drives through their drive thru with high quality food. Their goal is quality, service, cleanliness, and value for each and every customer. Second, they are committed to their customers. McDonald’s provides ample opportunity, they nurture talent, and they develop leaders. This company believes that a team of well-trained individuals, coming from diverse backgrounds, working together fosters respect, and is key in their continued success. The third value according to the article McDonald’s Mission and Vision (2010-2012) is that they believe in their system (p. 1). McDonald’s has a business model that Ray Kroc compared to a three legged stool. His philosophy was based on the simple principle of the three legged stool: one leg was McDonald’s, the second leg was the franchisees, and the third leg was McDonald’s suppliers. Fourth, they operate their business ethically. This company believes that sound ethics is good business. They strive to hold themselves and to conduct their business to a high standard of fairness, honesty, and also integrity. McDonald’s believes that they are individually accountable and collectively  responsible. Fifth, they give back to their communities. McDonald’s is serious about the responsibilities that come along with being a leader. They try to make the world a better place by helping their customers build better communities, supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities, and by leveraging their size, scope, and resources. Sixth, they grow their business profitably. This company is a publicly traded company. Being that they are publicly traded, they work to provides sustained profitable growth for their shareholders. In order to do this they have to focus continually on their customers and the health of their system. The last and final value that McDonald’s lives by is that want to continuously improve. They consider themselves a learning organization. One of the goals under this value is to anticipate and respond to changing customers, employees, and system needs through constant innovation and evolution. Ray Kroc (2010-2012) once said, â€Å"McDonald’s is a people’s business† (p. 1). One major way this company shows that it cares about its customers, can be seen through the company’s involvement in their customers communities. McDonald’s is a part of a global network of local family restaurants, and they are proud to give back to the communities they serve. They demonstrate this by supporting local sports teams, helping talented young athletes, and taking steps to improve neighborhoods. Two example of this can be seen through McDonald’s involvement in the McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games, and Camp Mickey D’s. Every year the company brings the top high school basketball talent in the nation together to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Camp Mickey D’s was created by Sybel Pici, owner of three McDonald’s franchise in Texas. This program helps students come to terms and grips with the challenges of the workplace, while making a connection between school and work. One of the most widely recognized ways that McDonald’s shows it is customer  driven is through its support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities. According to the article The Ronald McDonald House Charities (2010-2012), the Ronald McDonald House Charities was founded on the idea of strength through numbers (p. 1). Through this customers and families find strength from staff, donors, and each other. The Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home for families whose children are in hospitals or need medical treatment. Since 2002, McDonalds has brought together its franchisees, suppliers, employees, and customers to take part in a worldwide annual fundraiser. This fundraiser has brought in nearly $170 million for the Ronald McDonald House Charities and other various charities. McDonald’s has many strong suits. First, they rank high on the Fortune Magazine’s food service companies that are most admired. They have global operations all over the world. McDonald’s has cultural diversity in the foods that are provided based on the location. This company has great locations in theme parks, airports, Walmart stores, and along well traveled roads. They have efficient operating guidelines in the assembly line fashion. One weakness is that they are failing the pizza test market therefore limiting the ability to compete with fast food pizza providers. Their training costs are high due to high turnover. They have minimal concentration on providing organic foods. McDonald’s has large fluctuations in the net and operating profits making impacts on investors. There are quality concerns due to franchised operations. Last, they focus on burgers and grease fried foods and not on healthier options for their customers. One opportunity that McDonald’s has is they are opening more joint ventures with several different retailers. They have become more responsive to the social changes and healthier options. They are advertising the capabilities of WIFI. The company has been expanding on the advertising in regards to being more socially responsible in the environment. They have expanded in to newly developed parts of the world. They have opened products up to allergen free options such as peanut free and gluten free foods. Last they have ventured into more enticing beverage choices. One threat is that their marketing strategies are enticing people all the way from small children to adults and they take criticism because of it. McDonald’s has lawsuits for offering unhealthy foods with addictive additives. They have contamination risks. One threat is that there are a large amount of other fast food places that are open and serve as competition. The competition is focusing on healthier dieting by consumers. Last there is a downturn in economy which limits people to going out to eat. Through the vision of Ray Kroc, a Fortune 500 company was formed. Through McDonald’s mission statement and seven core values, this company has had continued success over the years. The success of this company is a direct result of being a truly customer driven company. References McDonald Mission and Corporate Values :: AboutMcDonalds.com. (n.d.)._† Official Global Corporate Website :: AboutMcDonalds.com_. Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mission_and_values.html Ronald McDonald House Charities :: McDonalds.com. (n.d.). _Home :: McDonalds.com_. Retrieved March 23, 2012, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_communities/rmhc.html The Ray Kroc Story :: McDonalds.com. (n.d.). _Home :: McDonalds.com_. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history/the_ray_kroc_story.html

Dramatic situations Essay

Examine carefully your chosen scene and discuss how well in your view Shakespeare succeeds in presenting good theatre with a variety of dramatic situations in order to entertain his audience. Shakespeare wrote ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ towards the end of the 16th century. The play was aimed at all social classes, meaning that there had to be humour in the play to suit everyone’s taste. The scene that I have chosen to examine is Act 5, Scene 2. Which is the last scene of the play. This scene follows on from Act 5, Scene 1 where Katherina has just reluctantly kissed Petruchio and Petruchio feels very pleased with the way everything has turned out. It then enters Act 5, Scene 2, where Lucentio is welcoming everyone to the banquet, which was being held to celebrate the three marriages. I chose to do this scene because I think that this scene rounds the play off nicely as nearly all of the characters are there in it and there are a variety of dramatic situations. After Lucentio has finished welcoming everyone Petruchio says â€Å"Nothing but sit and sit, and eat and eat! â€Å". If I was directing the play I would make Petruchio butt in with that straight after Lucentio has finished talking because I think that he is saying it quite sarcastically, as he was wanting to draw attention to himself because previously in the play we learnt that he is quite mad character, for example when he turned up at the wedding he was wearing crazy clothes. I found that quite amusing but in the Royal Shakespeare production that we saw I don’t think they made him say it with enough expression, I thought that they would have made a bigger deal about it. To draw even more attention to himself I think he should say it quite loudly and stand up because the audience would be focused on him. I think that Shakespeare made Petruchio’s character quite a quirky one because all through the play he brings humour and it leaves the audience wondering what strange thing he will do or say next and it is all very unexpected. After that, on line 14 and 15 I think that the tone gets a bit more serious. On line 14 Baptista says â€Å"Paudua offers this kindness, son Petruchio† In the text there is no exclamation mark so if I was directing it I would make him say it in a stern, serious voice. Petruchio says after that â€Å"Padua offers nothing but what is kind† I think that when he says that he should again say it quite quickly and immediately after Baptista did because that brings out his ‘cheeky’ character and it is entertaining because there is an argument and this is an amusing way to start off quite a formal event.

Hamlet (Free Will) Essay

Your father dies, you are left with emptiness and many things to ponder, months later a ghost appears and he delivers insane news about your uncle that makes you want to kill him; you have just entered the mind of Hamlet. When listening to superstitious people or relying on intangible objects to predict a future outcome, this raises the question of whether we are living by free will or forces larger than ourselves. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, The Ghost is a character that does not spend much time on stage but has a very meaningful position in the play. When coming to the conclusion of whether or not Hamlet lives by free will, or controlled forces larger than him; we must analyze the concept of being responsible for our own actions, whether God controls what happens, and if Hamlet is actually controlled by other forces larger than him. As we grow older, we are taught to be responsible for our own actions. We are told that there is no one to blame but ourselves when we make a mistake. Hamlet is a tragedy; in a tragedy, the hero has to possess a tragic flaw. Tragic heroes are not supposed to be driven by outside forces, but they must already possess the flaw within themselves. It can be inferred that Hamlet’s flaw is indecisiveness. He could not decide what to believe for himself, therefore, this causes him to make poor decisions. Hamlet had many plans which are executed in a bad way; no one is responsible for that, but himself. Hamlet says, â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question:/whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/ or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/ And by opposing end them. To die to sleep-/no more; and by a sleep to say we end/†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 1. 56-61). This soliloquy portrays one of the many times within the story where Hamlet has no idea what he wants to do with the situations placed before him. He debated his actions and this proves that he is the only person responsible for his decisions. It is easy for the reader to believe that the larger force could be God as well. There are parts in the play where Christianity is relevant, which could make the reader believe that the larger force is God. Everything happens for a reason; though, at many times people are clueless as to what the reason may be. Everyone has a conscious; we constantly carry the angel of good on one shoulder, and bad on the other. â€Å"Not a whit, we defy augury. There is special providence in a fall of a/ sparrow. If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (5. 2. 185-187). In this quote, Hamlet expresses that God controls everything, even the sparrow’s death. This goes with the saying; there is a time and place for everything. If something happened at a later time, it is because it was meant to happen that way. It is evident that Hamlet believes God controls the fate of men and everything else as well. Our fate is predetermined, but the way upon getting there is not. Now, many people could blame God could for not showing us the way more clearly. This aspect is left for interpretation, because it could also be inferred that the person didn’t stop to hear what the good and bad devil on their shoulders had to say. Not taking accountability for your own actions is a part of human nature. We tend to blame our surrounding for our actions, which is why the reader could blame Hamlet’s action on other forces larger than him. The ghost in the story is very significant and can be seen as the reason why Hamlet chose to make bad decisions. The ghost says, â€Å"I am your father’s spirit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1. 5. 9). According to this quote, the ghost is Hamlet’s father. Growing up, we learn our values from our parents; they teach us right from wrong and we know that no matter what they say we simply have to do what they tell us. Since the ghost is Hamlet’s father, he feels obligated do something because he loves him dearly. Our parents have an effect on us. As human beings, we never let someone do something to a person we love. If someone close to us is hurting, we tend to be hurt as well. In the story, we can see that Hamlet has a very close relationship with his dad because he is willing to do anything for him, even kill people. Hamlet’s automatic instinct is to take revenge; the ghost clearly has a powerful effect on his actions. Whether it is free-will, the power of God or other larger forces, Hamlet makes decisions that result in the loss of many lives; Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius, and himself. Hamlet is proof that many things have an effect on our lives and that he lives by free will. Things that affect you are only influences; it is your decision if you chose to bring them into action. No one has the will power to make you do anything. Sometimes we are misled by certain influences but it is up to our mental strength to help lead us down the right path. This play should make every reader realize that there is a consequence for every good or bad action, and we are not the only ones affected by our decisions.

Summary for the article ‘Mortgage Mess’

Steve Gass, a woodwork enthusiast, lawyer and physicist was able to come up with a safer saw that prevents accidents. Although, on his own effort, he was able to sell these innovative tools quite well, few people in the business are willing to adapt it into the mainstream because according to them, â€Å"safety doesn’t sell†.The writer starts by sharing the experience of a foreman in using the â€Å"safe saw†, showing that it was effective in preventing accidents.The writer then uses statistics by saying that 40,000 Americans are injured by power saws every year and 4,000 of them are hurt badly enough to require amputation.She then gives Gass’s explanation on how the saw works. Whenever it the saw’s blade was touched, its body would absorb some of the shock like a circuit breaker and it will instantly activate the brake.Afterwards, she would talk about how surprised Gass was about the slow response to his new technology in spite of the fact that â⠂¬Å"Everybody in woodworking knows someone who’s lost a finger or had an accident.†Finally, she points out that power saw accidents can leave you with very high medical expenses and it would be best to use this new technology to ensure safety and to lower costs.II.  Ã‚   New VocabularyTinkering (n.)   – an act of fiddling with something in an attempt to repair it.Amputation (n.) –   to cut off a limb or other appendage of the body, especially in a surgical operationPrototype (n.) – something having the essential features of a subsequent type, and on which later forms are modeledLiability (n.) – anything for which somebody is responsible, especially a debtPlaintiff (n.) – somebody who begins a lawsuit against another person (defendant) in a civil court

The Beginnings of Feminist Oppression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Beginnings of Feminist Oppression - Essay Example The transgressions of sexual behavior have been attributed to Eve and have resulted in the subjugation of women for 2,000 years. The story of the Garden of Eden has been characterized by sexual overtones and depicts sex as sinful. Yet, it has forever been the greater sin for the woman. Eve was the temptation that Adam succumbed to. Paul writes in Corinthians that, "Let those who have wives live as though they had none" (17). Paul preaches that marriage and therefore women are a necessary evil. According to the original scriptures as taught by Paul and later Augustine, woman's only purpose is procreation. Laws were written and the foundation of the church was based on this institutional bias against women.The monopoly on morality has been used by individuals as well as the church to maintain power. Augustine declares that Adam's sin, the sin of the carnal knowledge of Eve, transformed the "structure of the universe itself". The eventual result was the punishment of death. To validate its authority the Catholic Church adopted Augustine's belief that "death comes to us by will, not by necessity" (145). The continued belief that sex equates to sin, and henceforth death, has been handed down and promotes the church as the only moral authority and our only hope for salvation.Elaine Pagel's book, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, is a straightforward explanation for the bias we see in our laws and prejudices towards women. It helps to explain why a woman's sexuality may be condemned.

Consumer Behaviour College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer Behaviour College - Essay Example This term, central to any understanding of consumer behaviour, refers to how consumers view a product/service, its price and its quality, among others. It focuses on subjective consumer interpretations of a product's attributes versus its price, what its possession and use will contribute to a consumer versus its price. Within the context of consumer theory, personality has two meanings. The first is consumer personality and the second is brand personality. Ideally, correlation between the two motivates the consumer market to purchase the brand in question and exhibit loyalty towards it. In both instances, personality refers to perceived attributes and characteristics. Consumer market segmentation is integral to focused marketing and the identification of potential consumers. The elderly refers to the consumer market segment which is comprised of the aged, generally those at, or above, pension age. This type of segmentation is restricted to age. The second type of segmentation is concerned with economic status. It effectively refers to consumer income and, more specifically, to those in the upper income brackets. The affluent are the rich consumers, irrespective of gender and age. The ever-increasing popularity, both national and global, of plastic surgery is amply evidence in the appeal of television shows and serials such as "Extreme Makeover" and "Nip/Tuck." Plastic surgery is now openly discussed and is no longer confined to emergencies or to the female market. In other words, plastic/cosmetic surgery is regularly performed for beautification and anti-ageing purposes and not out of necessity and is now being undertaken by both males and females, not just the latter. 3.1 Industry Facts and Figures The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (cited in Ruiz, 2007) estimates that the number of cosmetics surgeries performed per year has increased by almost 50% from 2000 to 2006. Market researcher, writing on the size of the industry and market, assert the impossibility of gauging the size of the industry/market as statistics are based upon procedures performed in hospitals and not those carried out in private clinics (Davis, 1995). Hazarding a guess, nevertheless, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (cited in Ruiz, 2007) asserts that it is a multi-billion pound industry. Indeed, tens of billions of pounds are spent on the global plastic surgery industry per annum (Jeffreys, 2005). It is, in other words, an extremely lucrative, constantly growing market. 3.2 Consumer Characteristics Several

DELACROIX Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DELACROIX - Essay Example In London, Delacroix studied various works of English painters who he greatly admired and inspired some of his later works (Villarreal par. 25). The trip to London brought Delacroix closer to mimicking the works and colorful style of Reuben’s paintings. Such influence of English paintings and artwork was evident in his later work in 1930, July 28: Liberty Leading the People. The painting Liberty Leading the people commemorated the recent French revolution as this canvas was a reflection of the artist’s change of style. Delacroix fascination for the work of English painters started early in his career pushing him to visit London. Various elements of artistic migration are evident in Eugene Delacroixs works especially after a visit to England. Most of Delacroixs works between 1820 and 1830 were greatly influenced by the English painting particularly after visiting London in 1825. Delacroix visited England accompanied by his artistic English friends Thales Fielding and Richard Parkes. Even early before 1830 and before the visit to England, Delacroix had great interest in English paintings especially the use of watercolors and oil techniques evident in English landscape paintings. The artist’s friendship with English friends greatly influenced the love and interest in English works. Delacroix’s works when during the time he was in England show great influence from the English painter, Sir Thomas Lawrence. Most of the artist’s works depend on his interpretation of the British portraits according to his understanding and personality. One of Delacroix’s most outstanding works during the period he was in London was the portrait of Louis-Auguste (Baron) Schwiter in 1826. The painting is similar to most English portraits from the time by trying to capture schwiters character as he is posing and standing in a park. Delacroix does not portray a relaxed attitude of Schwiter but chooses to emphasize on