Kant vs. Singer

November 29, 2012 Singer VS. Kant Duty can be defined in numerous ways but what is difficult to know is what our moral obligations are? Immanuel Kant and Peter Singer have attempted to find a more simple, rational, and supreme rule for what our duty is. Singer makes the distinction between charity and duty. He attempts to show that we, in affluent countries such as the United States, have a moral obligation to give far more than we actually do in international aid for famine relief, disaster relief and much more.According to the reading, Singer believes we need to drastically change our way of life in order to help others. He is making the argument that â€Å"if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it (231). † And he defines â€Å"bad† as â€Å"suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care (231). † The example he offers is a situation in wh ich a little girl is drowning in a shallow pond. One can easily rescue her, but doing so would wreck one’s new fifty-dollar shoes.Singer believes that morally, one needs to go in and save the girl. Anybody who would walk by and refuse to save her would be considered a horrible person. Then, he continues and introduces a different moral situation. A little girl is starving in a poor country. One can easily spend fifty dollars to save her life, but then one cannot use that money to purchase a new pair of shoes. Again, one is faced with a choice; do you save the little girl or buy new shoes? He believes that there is no moral difference between these two cases.In conclusion, he is saying that as a moral obligation, you should save the little girl in Africa instead of buying the new pair of shoes. People in affluent countries can prevent people dying from starvation by giving more money to famine relief without sacrificing anything morally significant. Therefore, they should. He believes that no matter how close or how far someone is, if you know you can prevent bad without sacrifice, it is your moral obligation to do so. Sometimes, the excuse people use for not donating to charity is that they don’t have much money right now but when they do, they will.Plus, they acknowledge the fact that there are other people who do have extra money at the time, so it is their responsibility. On the other hand, they also know that a lot of these people have the money but choose not to help. And the fact that they don’t help does not justify a person with less means not to help. In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant is looking to find an understanding of morality that can be drawn from first principles rather than from empirical experience, which is knowledge that we gain from experiences.Morality needs to be established in pure reason and not gained form human experiences, but applicable to any and all rational beings. He is attempting to com e up with a rational supreme principle of morality. He begins by addressing the idea of duty. Kant says that the only quality that is actually good is good will. Any other quality can be accompanied by bad will. And good will is not good because of what it achieves, it is good for the reason to do it. He argues that reason must be meant to help us develop a good will.The purpose of having a good will is not to do good things, it is good in itself. And a person’s will is only good if they are motivated by duty, not any selfish wants. The idea of a good will is supposed to be the idea of one who only makes decisions that she holds to be morally worthy, taking moral considerations to guide their behavior. Kant believes that the fundamental principle of our moral duties is a categorical imperative. A categorical imperative is a command that expresses a general, unavoidable requirement of the moral law.Its three forms have universalizability, respect, and autonomy. Together they e stablish an action that would be considered â€Å"good† only if we can will everyone to do it, it enables us to treat other people as ends and not as the means to our own selfish ends, and it allows us to see other persons as mutual law-makers in an ideal ‘realm of ends. ’Kant believes that the difference between being motivated by a sense of duty in the ordinary sense and being motivated in his sense was that he thinks that motivation by duty is motivation by our respect for whatever law it is that makes our action a duty.Our respect for the laws that guide is qualified in the sense that we pick which is more or less important and which has more value. In contrasting and comparing Kant’s and Singer’s argument, I have come to the conclusion that Kant’s argument is more realistic than Singer’s. Singer is expecting everyone to accept the fact that helping others, whether they are close or far, is one’s duty and one must act upon i t. He is being too optimistic to think that humans will give away what is not necessary and help the people who are starving instead. His argument is weak because it achievable. Singer is asking us to sacrifice too uch and this makes it unattainable. Kant on the other hand is acknowledging that the human species is rational and is always progressing towards the good. He believes that it is one’s duty to raise ourselves from the unpolished state of our nature and move forward towards humanity. He also knows that our actions will be based on pure reason. And he knows that the motivation for duty consists on the bare respect for lawfulness. These laws he speaks about are established by the city or the state and they’re a guide for our moral compass. His expectation of us is much more attainable and real.

Hong Kong Moral and National Education

Do you think moral and national education should be abolished? Moral and national education had recently become a hot topic in Hong Kong. Moral and national education  is a school curriculum proposed by the  Education Bureau of Hong Kong, it s transformed from the current moral and civic education. The Education Bureau stated that it is to cultivate â€Å"positive values and attitudes† in students. Schools are forced to make it into an independent subject and teachers will teach according to curriculum given by the Education Bureau.However, the society suspected that it is brainwashing, they express their concerns through forming associations like Scholarism and marching. National Education should have included different perspectives for students to know more about their country and citizenship. Instead of letting students know about their country thoroughly, the information is carefully selected by the government. Of the 19 references, 18 of them were written by mainland Chinese. There are no references from local or foreign scholar, no diverse views and different interests.They are all one-sided view of China and neglected lots of important issues such as the development in human rights and democracy in China. Such references and handbooks are inappropriate to use as teaching materials. Hong Kong schools already have liberal studies, civil education and Chinese history, content of lessons are overlapped. Students are overburdened by homework, test and examination. Schools and teachers are rushing through the syllabus of HKDSE. Time is tight for both school and students, another compulsory subject is not needed. This creates more pressure and stress than the benefit it might have on the major stakeholders.The curriculum guide for the evaluation of student’s performance is also being worried. Students have to be emotionally touched in order to show their patriotism. It focuses students to dissemble or to fake their feelings in order to get hig her marks, it is not a proper way of education. Along with contents that praises the Communist China, â€Å"advanced, altruistic and united governing body† with characteristics that â€Å"ensuring stable governance, protecting wholeness of country†. Students are to be brainwashed and to love their country blindly. Extreme nationalism and patriotism can easily leads to war just because of a little conflict (WW1).In my opinion, a moral and civic education curriculum committee should be set to draw up guide lines and design the teaching materials. It should be consist of trained teachers, parents and people from different parts of the society. The curriculum committee can also monitor the implantation of this subject or whether it should become a subject at school. With all the rejections and disagreements from professional teachers, parents and even students themselves, the government should understand their concerns and go for a more opened approach.

The Effects of Overpopulation in the Philippines

The Philippines needs to deal with a major problem that poses a threat to economic growth. Overpopulation is the root of almost all problems in the Philippines and for the country to progress, it only needs to solve overpopulation and everything else will follow. The problem of overpopulation is one of the factors that causes unemployment. Existing businesses in the country can no longer provide jobs to all the workforce in the country. Jobs are available, however due to lack of educational expertise, which can also be traced from overpopulation, not many people are qualified to handle the available jobs. Even the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, which is currently booming in the country, cannot provide jobs to all Filipino citizens because not all Filipinos are well-versed in English. Overpopulation will not increase the collection of taxes if the country could not give jobs to its population (cited in Orbeta, Pernia and Sanchez, 1999). The National Statistics Office (NSO) indicates that population would be projected at 90. 4 million in 2008 with a population growth rate of 2. 3 percent annually, one of the highest in Asia. Due to the high unemployment rate, many of the workforce are not qualified as taxpayers which means that budget collection is low. This is considering the number of projects needed to stabilize poverty and other related problems. In short, overpopulation creates unemployment; unemployment creates poverty; and poverty impedes economic growth. If overpopulation could only be solved, the government could allot more of the budget needed for growth and development rather than shelling out huge funds for housing projects, feeding programs and other projects aimed at alleviating poverty. Overpopulation also results in abuse of the country's natural resources. This, in turn leads to different environmental problems. Pollution is also a factor associated with overpopulation. Waste disposal in the Philippines is a worsening problem which threatens the environment. The Environment and Natural Resource Accounting Project (ENRAP) indicated that households were found to be the major contributors to air and water pollution in the Philippines. (cited in Orbeta, Pernia and Indab, 1999) For air pollution in 1992, 64 percent of particular matter, 89 percent of volatile carbon and 90 percent of carbon monoxides come from households while 44 percent of biological oxygen demand, 61 percent of suspended solids and 76 percent of Phosphate contribute to water pollution (cited in Orbeta, Pernia and Indab, 1999). Population growth also affect education and health in such ways that there are close birth-spacing, lower levels of nutrition intake, poor nutritional status, higher infant mortality, smaller per capita health and food expenditures, poorer access to preventive and curative medical care, lower schooling expenditures per child, lower grades for children enrolled in school, lower child intelligence. It was also pointed out that this setup is more evident in families that are below the poverty line (cited in Orbeta, Pernia, Jha and Deolalikar, 1999). The relatively high fertility rate also indicated that it affects education. It was discovered that enrollment rates continued to increase despite rapid population growth and that per capita expenditure showed a decline even if enrollment rates were not affected by population growth (cited in Orbeta, Pernia and Schultz, 1998). These results were then compared using data from the Philippines and simulation results yield that while human capital expenditures rise, the increase does not suffice enough to sustain the level of per capita expenditure which gravely affects the quality of education (cited in Orbeta and Pernia 1999). On the other hand, overpopulation in the country still has a positive outcome. The dollar remittances coming from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), the Philippine Peso still trades well versus the US Dollar. One way to solve the problem, the legislative branch of the government must enact a bill that will limit the number of children that a couple may have. China is already doing this but the one-child policy that they are implementing was deemed too harsh. Having a limit of two children would be just enough to maintain the country’s present population. It may even be noted that those people who do no have a good standard of living are the ones that have less children while the well-off families have only one to three number of children. Another way of solving overpopulation is by holding family planning campaigns and disseminating proper information on contraceptives. However, being a Catholic country, the Church stand remains to be an impediment. Due to this, the promotion of such initiative remains to be debated by the Government and the Church for a long time. Addressing the challenges caused by overpopulation remains to be difficult for the Philippine government to address due to the complications and relative problems it gives to individuals and society. The Philippine government must act accordingly to these problems and promote mechanisms to tackle the issue accordingly. In the end, if people and the government will work hand-in-hand to combat the adverse effects of overpopulation, to foster continued growth and development.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION OF GCC COUNTRIES THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND Essay

REGIONAL INTEGRATION OF GCC COUNTRIES THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF GCC PERFORMANCE AGAINST ITS OBJECTIVES IN THE REGI - Essay Example However, the GCC did set a number of different economic goals. In addition to the goals set forth below, the GCC decided to adopt a common oil policy; coordinate industrial policy; promote joint projects by coordinating production chains; adopt a common legal framework to aid in regional investment and trade; and link transportation networks.5 Previous to the GCC, the Arab world, similar to other developing countries, has had high tariffs, heavy state intervention in production and industries that were uncompetitive. The previous attempts to liberalize capital, trade and labour flows were implemented inconsistently and did not have implementation or follow-up.6 Part of the reason for this is because the countries in the Arab world wanted to protect their domestic industries from competition from other countries that had similar products and services to offer, and each country wanted a discretionary trade policy. Therefore, previous attempts to integrate the economics of the countries in the Arab world were modest and unsuccessful, as they focused mostly on tariff reduction, while ignoring regional trade in services and cross-border investments. 7 The regional integration that was the GCC’s objectives consisted of many different prongs. First, in 1983, the GCC pledged to establish a free trade area (FTA). Under the FTA, the GCC eliminated tariffs on goods of national origins, while the countries in the GCC were able to keep their own external tariffs. While this is a positive measure, in that it encourages trade within the countries of the GCC, there is also a drawback. The drawback is that other countries will export to the country in the GCC that has the lowest external tariffs in order to access all the markets within that region.8 The FTA was only the first step. The next step, which occurred 10 years after the establishment of the FTA, was the agreement to set a common external tariff (CET) which addresses the problem stated above concerning countrie s targeting GCC countries with the lowest tariffs. Ten years after that, in 2003, the GCC established the Customs Union (CU), which was the culmination of the CET agreement. The CU mandated that the tariffs from all goods exported from outside the region would be 5% for the GCC as a whole, while exempting certain commodities.9 However, this apparently was never implemented.10 The CU would represent a high level of economic integration, as it combines the internal elimination of tariffs with the external trade restrictions and tariff harmonization, which cements the union of the countries, in that it requires the creation of a common regulatory body along with common policies regarding external trade. 11 The single market was implemented at roughly the same time as the FTA. What the single market concept does is that it enables individuals to freely move from country to another within the GCC zone for employment and residential purposes. Therefore, an individual can move from one cou ntry in the GCC to another and enjoy the same right of ownership, inheritance and bequest in

Considering Cases Of Bankruptcy And Reorganisation Of A Partnership Essay

Considering Cases Of Bankruptcy And Reorganisation Of A Partnership - Essay Example Bankruptcy is usually a legally declaration of individuals or organizations inability to pay their creditors. This request is done by the creditors in order for them to recoup a fraction of what they are owed by an individual or an organization. However, bankruptcy can also be initiated by the individuals themselves or organization in case they feel that they are not capable of paying their debts. In simple words, an individual or an organization is insolvent or bankrupt if it cannot pay his debts or discharge his liabilities on the due date. The creditors or the debtors themselves may present a petition to the court that a receiving order should be made. For this case, Beren took the correct step of filing an involuntary petition with the court of law to declare their partnership bankrupt as indicated in chapter 7. Indeed the partnership had exceeded their estimate of purchasing and renovating the office building to a point of accumulating debts amounting to $380,000 against the $200,000 they had set aside for this and effort by Beren to convince other partners to seek additional funds bore no fruits. On the other had Elliot and Mannino objected to Beren's idea of involuntary bankruptcy under Chapter 7. ... Under Chapter 7, there is an alternative relief for the debtors to avoid the issue of their partnership being liquidated and continue doing it business. For this case the involuntary petition filed by Beren may not be granted by the court which was done against the wish of Elliot and Mannino. (U.S Courts, 2006) Elliot and Mannino should file a petition under chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. The debtors may argue that they would pay the debts if the payment period is extended. They may also argue that they may have a comprehensive reorganization. 1 The main objective of bankruptcy is to give an honest individual a clean bill of life or a fresh start after discharging certain debts. Usually the there is no responsibility of liabilities already discharged on the side of the debtor. Question Two Explaining Whether the Bankruptcy Court Confirms the Debtor's Plan of Reorganization A voluntary petition was filed by Richard under chapter 11. He filed a reorganization plan that divided his creditors into three classes. The three classes were: administrative creditors which were to be paid in full; the second class were unsecured creditors which were to receive 50% on their claims and the third class was the IRS which was to receive $20,000 on confirmation and the balance in future payments. There was no creditor who voted to accept this arrangement and the unsecured creditors were impaired since their legal, equitable, and contractual rights were being altered. (http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter11.html) To keep the firm running, debtors propose a plan of reorganization in order for them to pay their creditors in a considerable period of time. A

Human Wisdom and Advertisements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Wisdom and Advertisements - Essay Example Advertisers are sophists. In any given advertisement, the main aim is to convince the buyer that the product is perfect in order for the buyer to buy it. Instead of most advertisers to advertise a product on the basis of the truth, most of them use persuasive tactics. Sophistic advertisements include power point presentations on TV, Web sites content which contain three-dimensional photographs of the products. Advertisements are sophistic since they aim at appealing to the target consumers. Unsophistic advertisements showroom presentations of products and newsletter advertisements (Craig 289). Lesson four Similarities between Stoics & AquinasTop of Form Bottom of Form . The development of natural law has been attributed to Stoic. Stoicism arose in Hellenistic period. Both Stoics and Aquinas believe human beings have a soul which is capable of perception.  Both philosophies agree that human beings have the capacity to assent or resent to presentations made (Craig 28). Both identify God with nature where nature hold cosmos together and cause terrestrial things. Both philosophies consider ethical goals as the kind of life which is consistent with cosmos. Both Stoics and Aquinas recognize that humans have intellectual capabilities which guide them in their moral choices. According to the two philosophies, society wellbeing includes acts which promote co-existence and human wellbeing (Craig 39). Lesson five Aquinas moral philosophy has strengthened my thoughts on personal philosophy. It has supported my thoughts on morality and ethics. According to my thinking, we cannot achieve total happiness in the world since happiness is supernatural and consists of union with God. In order to achieve happiness in life, we must have certain moral virtues which guide us in seeking it in a consistent way. Living things also comprise of matter and substantial form and seek their own perfection (Craig 90). According to my experience, members of the same species have different deg ree of maturity and ability. For instance, adults have more developed cognitive capabilities than a child who is in line with Aquinas philosophy. According to Aquinas, human wellbeing consists of doing acts that are in accordance to human nature and intellectual limitations may prevent us from doing what in good. For instance, mad men commit murder due to their intellectual limitation. Aquinas philosophy emphasis on need of prudence in judgments which is wisdom in human affairs and the reason for the actions. Lesson six Thought experiments are mental hypothesis which are used by philosophers to illuminate dense ideas (Craig 326). Most of them communicate in narrative form or in diagrams. Their role is to increase the man’s understanding of nature. The prisoner’s dilemma is one of the thought experiences I have used before. It analyzes who two individuals may refuse to cooperate when it is in the best interest of them to do so. In this thought experience, two men are ar rested by a police officer without enough evidence to convict them. The police officer separates them and offers them a good deal whereby one should testify against them other. If one betrays the other and the other remains silent, the betrayer is set free while the co-operator is jailed for one year. If both remain silent, they are jailed for

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 2

Human Rights - Essay Example (Fenwick, H.; â€Å"Civil Liberties and Human Rights†; 2007). The answer lies in the fact that Section 3 of the Human Rights Act, as also many other sections, hedges its bets by saying that, â€Å"so far as it is possible to do so†, primary legislation and subordinate legislation must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with the Convention’s rights. For instance, Section 12 of the Human Rights Act emphasises the role of courts in defending the right to freedom of expression, and states that this Section applies if a court is considering â€Å"whether to grant any relief which, if granted, might affect exercise of the Convention right to freedom of expression†. (Coppel, J; â€Å"Human Rights Act 1998: Enforcing the European Convention on Human Rights in Domestic Courts†; 1999) Moreover, it is considered unlawful for a court to act in a manner contrary to a Convention right â€Å"unless obliged to act in such a way by a provision of primary legislation†. (www.highbeam.com/doc/IP3-77629772.html). (www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts 1998/ukpga/19980042_en_1) Incidentally, discretionary increase in police powers has landed the UK Government at least once in the soup. Article 15 of the Convention states in Para 1 that â€Å"in times of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation, any contracting party may take measures derogating from its obligations under the Convention to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law†. However, in the case of Brogan and others v United Kingdom (1988; II EHRR 117) four persons were arrested on the suspicion that they were provisional members of the IRA, and detained under Section 12 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1984.They were released after four-to-six days. They claimed that Britain had violated several parts of the Article 5 of the

Audubon zoo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Audubon zoo - Essay Example Park personnel need new challenges and the zoo needs to be constantly improved to prevent falling into a pattern that could lead to a decline. The recent political decision to give control to the City of New Orleans offers an opportunity for reorganization towards a more learning organization which would be flexible enough to make future adjustments as needed. The organization is actually getting too large not to be flexible. Currently, the Audubon Park Zoo operates within the revenues it generates, which is actually a plus, since most such projects require more public support. Financial data is found on the graph below. A questionable suggestion to lease the concessions to third party vendors needs to be examined. The concessions operated at a tiny fraction of current volume before the Friends of the Zoo took it over. While the fact that the labor is volunteer may account for some of the profit, giving up control is probably not advisable. Financially, the zoo is doing well, but it any improvements or expansions are done the funding needs to be developed. New projects are needed in order to maintain momentum. Anything that does not move forward stagnates. The vertically hierarchical structure has worked for the park until now, but the park has grown and will continue to grow, and large organizations which stick strictly to this kind of structure sacrifice flexibility for a sense of stability due to the efficient nature of this organizational structure. In the beginning of a company or during the time when it is being revamped, efficiency is of prime importance. However, as an organization matures, it must become a â€Å"learning organization† so that it can make changes as needed in response to changes in the marketplace. Becoming a learning organization is essential to the bottom line, as Hanvanich et al proved in their study. â€Å"Specifically, under low environmental turbulence, learning orientation and organizational memory

Equal Liberty and the Establishment clause, then and now Research Paper

Equal Liberty and the Establishment clause, then and now - Research Paper Example The establishment clause has generally been interpreted through judicial ruling to do two primary things. First, to prevent the establishment of a national religion by Congress. Secondly, to prohibit the preference by the U.S. government of one religion over another. As a principle, the establishment clause came to be during James Madison's efforts to have the constitution ratified. Madison garnered support among the local Baptists by warning them that the constitution had no safeguard against creating a new national church. This was important because their free exercise of religion. Initiating the establishment clause occurred in a two step process. The initial step was the Supreme Court’s conclusion in 1940 that the Free Exercise Clause was made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The conceptual implications were the raising of few difficulties. The application of the federal governments jurisdiction over the states created the federalism framework tha t ensures each states actions are constitutional. Additionally, the Due Process Clause protects those rights in the Bill of Rights â€Å"implicit in the concept of ordered liberty,† which made the protection of the establishment clause necessary. Moreover, free exercise of religion is an extremely important individual right. The establishment clause has been used in many cases to draw the boundaries of state activities. Specifically, in terms of financial aid for religious purposes or to religious institutions. One key example of this is the 1899 Bradfield v. Roberts supreme court case. 4 The issue here was that the federal government provided funds to a hospital operated by a Roman Catholic institution. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the funding was specifically given to a secular organization i.e. the hospital and was therefore permissible. This is important because it established the precedent that the state could not fund a religious institution. Another critical case in this matter was the 1947 case of Everson v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court upheld a New Jersey statute that was funding student transportation to schools, whether parochial or private. Justice Hugo Black explained that the establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment means at least that  "neither a state nor the federal government can set up a church.5 Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor coerce an individual to attend or to remain away from church against his/her freewill or force him/her to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. Moreover, the ruling held that no person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs and ideologies or disbelief's, for church attendance or non-attendance. Another important precedent founded here is that fact that no tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Additionally, it is impermissible for either a state or the Federal Government to, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. As stated by Thomas Jefferson, th e clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect "a wall of separation between church and State."6 The infamous lemon test was developed in the 1971 ruling of Lemon v.

Ethical Dilemma- Analysis of the News Term Paper

Ethical Dilemma- Analysis of the News - Term Paper Example As discussed above, the primary ethical decision maker or EDM is Apple Inc., and the ethical dilemma concerns the plight of the workers in the subcontracting firms who manufacture Apple products such as the iPhone, Worker welfare is weighed against the benefits to the American and global consumer of the computing products themselves, and the value of Apple’s economic activity to the American and global economy. The dilemma springs from issues relating to worker welfare, including low wages, the repetitive nature of the work, long work hours, and low wages. The confluence of these and other factors drive workers to take their own lives. In Cooper (2013) we get a sense of the gravity of the condition from the presence of nets around the iPhone manufacturing facilities to prevent more workers from jumping to their deaths. This is in stark contrast to the large profits that Apple makes and the large market capitalization of the firm due to that. Because Apple is rewarded for profi ts and for great products, Apple has every incentive to keep costs down, and that drive to depress costs lead to subcontractors depressing wages and other worker-related costs on the other end. These are conflicting interests that are stacked against workers and their interests, especially considering that workers have little by way of leverage in the entire process. The supply of workers is large, relative to demand, and so Apple subcontractors are able to dictate wages and living conditions in the shops. Subcontractors in turn are pressured to depress wages in order to make margins out of low contract bids. In a most general sense, the entire market is involved, because market forces that have contributed to this state of affairs where workers are awarded the least wages possible to squeeze maximum profits from their efforts (Johnson, 2011). B. Possible Alternative Courses of Action In a perfect world Apple will settle for lower profit margins for their products and lower profits all in all in exchange for fairer wages for workers and higher costs for producing their products. Ideally, this translates to subcontractors being able to pay their workers higher wages, and secure better working conditions for them all in all, by being able to bid for the manufacturing work at higher overall bid prices. This translates to the

Mediation Advocacy and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Mediation Advocacy and Practice - Essay Example With the mediator acting to transform the relationship by honing in on the legal issues of contributory negligence on Josh’s part and the landlord respondent’s liability, the parties were able to see each side differently and settled the matter for US$65,000 (Resnick vs. Stevens Realty). The mediator used caucus sessions for the most part. The first session consisted of having both sides state their case with probing and questioning from the mediator. Once both sides presented their cases, the mediator moved into caucus sessions. He brought with him, 15 years of litigation in the area of personal injuries and let both sides know in his introduction that he was very familiar with how lawyers handled these cases, how judges ruled and how jurors responded to these kinds of cases. Even so, the parties were informed that there were no certainties with regards to outcome in civil litigation. This in and of itself created anxieties. By choosing mediation, they parties were in a unique position to remove the anxiety associated with outcome and they could control their proceedings and the outcome. I thought this was a good way to get the parties to commit to resolving the conflict themselves. The mediator’s evaluative and transformative approaches appeared to work out rather well. However, there were times during the caucus sessions where I felt he spoke too quickly and put significant pressure on both sides to move the negotiations along. The mediator emphasized that time was running out and they needed to move forward quickly. I’m not sure how long the proceedings lasted and what was the reason for the pressure to move along quickly, but I felt it might have pressured Josh to accept a settlement. I noticed that the parties were wearing the same clothing throughout the video and would assume that the mediations sessions took place in one day. Therefore I am not sure why the mediator pressed the parties to settle the case that day. I was part icularly concerned that Josh could not take the pressure since he had been previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. If I had been mediating this dispute, I would let the parties know that if they need time to think things through, they should be all means do so and not to feel that they had to reach an agreement right away. I think it is important that the parties feel comfortable with the settlement. I did like the fact that the mediator reminded Josh, that neither side would feel comfortable with the outcome. One party would feel as if he or she did not get what she wanted and the other party would feel that they got too much. However, if they went to litigation, it was quite possible that only one party would come away feeling cheated. This was a good technique for getting the parties to come to an agreement. If I was the attorney representing Josh Resnick, I would have had some concerns about the mediator’s neutrality at first. At the very beginning when Resnikck’s attorney was stating Josh’s case, the mediator appeared to be irritated or bored. His lips were pursed and he fidgeted with his fingers, at times tapping his fingers on his note pad. At one point he took out his pen and began to fidget with it. When it was time to listen to Steven’s lawyer, the mediator appeared to have suddenly become more relaxed. The fidgeting stopped and he appeared to be even more engaged. However, his lips remained pursed. However, the Mediator continued to remain engaged for both sides from here on in and his

Should Rewards and Punishments Be Used to Motivate Students’ Learning Essay Example for Free

Should Rewards and Punishments Be Used to Motivate Students’ Learning Essay I believe that rewards and punishments do play a key part in sustaining children’s interest and motivation to learn. However, I feel there are other key factors and methods that could be used to greater effect and am inclined to disagree with the question at hand. a) There are many educational theories on the topic of motivation but I believe the Self-Determination and Self-Efficacy theories cover some key aspects that deserve to be mentioned. The Self-Determination theory, in a nutshell, discusses the extent to which people validate their actions upon reflection and engage in them willingly. It assumes that every individual seeks personal development and undertakes challenges to build up their self-esteem (Rochester, 2008). According to Eggen and Kauchak, learners have three ‘innate psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness’. The need for competence suggests that learners have to feel confident in their ability to match up with their peer’s performances, with determining factors like praise and attributional statements regarding the reasons for their performance. The need for autonomy basically talks about learners wanting to feel in control over their learning environment; this can be achieved by pushing them to be committed to their goals and providing detailed feedback after assessments. Finally, the need for relatedness stems from learners wanting assurance with regards to their relationships with the people around them and feeling deserving of care and respect. Eggen Kauchak, 2007) The Self-Efficacy theory is similar to the Self-Determination theory in certain aspects; basically, it focuses on learners’ confidence in their capability to achieve success, which in turn determines how you tackle challenges. (Wagner, 2008) The four factors influencing self-efficacy are past performance, modelling, verbal persuasion and psychological state. Past performances, the most important factor of the four, determine a person’s initial confidence in handling the task at hand while modelling gives learners a sense of the benchmark expecte d from them, thus giving them greater confidence in their preparations. Verbal persuasion, when used appropriately, can help spur learners on when they are in determining their progress and, eventually, their success. (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) What impact do these two theories have on learners’ motivation to learn? To put it simply, both theories believe that by acknowledging their innate needs and boosting their confidence, learners will most likely be more motivated to learn. Learners aged 7-11 are in the concrete operational stage and are ‘increasingly conscious of cognitive capacities and effective strategies’ (Berk, 1999); this means that they are more aware of what they can do based on their current level of ability as well as what can be done to improve their performance. Hence, it would make sense that we should aim to build up their confidence such that they can truly perform to the best of their capabilities. There are, of course, some concerns about there being over-confidence as a result of being ‘overly-encouraged’. Also, there is a limit to the effectiveness of verbal persuasion in really motivating students to press on with the task at hand. (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) However, a crucial point to note is that any effort to boost their confidence is to increase their self-belief, to believe that they can succeed if they put in the necessary amount of effort; that way their mindset towards challenges will be a much healthier one. Thus, the Self-determination and Self-Efficacy theories show that rewards and punishments need not be the sole factor in motivating learners. ) The Self-Determination and Self-Efficacy theories discussed earlier were schools of thought belonging to cognitive theories of motivation. The use of rewards and punishments in classrooms is a behavioural view of motivation. It states that learning is a ‘change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience’ and thus, ‘an increase in studying or learning behaviours is viewed as evidence of motivation’. ( Eggen Kauchak, 2007) There is some debate over the effectiveness of using rewards in classrooms and whether it really boosts learners’ motivation to learn. On the one hand, some argue that using rewards can lead to a whole host of problems, the first being that rewards give learners the wrong impression about the true meaning of learning and undermines their ‘motivation to be involved in an activity for its own sake’, or intrinsic motivation. Others believe that behaviourism alone does not fully account for learners’ motivation as they rely on extrinsic motivators, or ‘motivation to engage in an activity as a mean to an end’, meaning that cognitive factors like learners’ expectations are not accounted for. Eggen Kauchak, 2007) According to Berk, ‘children think in an organized, logical fashion only when dealing with concrete information they can directly perceive’ (Berk, 1999); this indicates that using methods based on behaviourism, namely rewards and punishment, will not serve much purpose in helping learners deal with abstract concepts and higher-order skills. Rather, methods base d on cognitive development could be used to greater effect. Also, the presence of so many variables in today’s learning environment means that the success of using behaviourism-based strategies is quite beyond our control. All this only serves to affirm that the use of rewards and punishments would not necessarily be effective in motivating learners’ learning. On the other hand, Piaget’s explanation of knowledge acquisition shows that behaviourism does indeed aid cognitive development; Piaget himself believed that knowledge is ‘constructed or created gradually, as maturing individuals interact with the environment’, or constructivism in simple terms. By rewarding or punishing learners, their physical learning environment is affected, which in turn has an impact on their creating and re-learning of new knowledge. Indeed, by making use of rewards for tasks that learners do not find too intrinsically appealing, like word problems and emphasising greater competence as the reason for rewards, learners could indeed be more motivated to learn. Eggen Kauchak, 2007) Hence, it might be best to acknowledge that while rewards and punishments may not necessarily be the most effective way to motivate learners, it would not be ideal to eradicate them from teaching strategies too. Thus, the emphasis should be on appropriate implementation of rewards and punishments so as to motivate learning. c) There are many different strategies that can or should not be in place to facilitate the motivation of learners and they fall under different approaches: cognitive, humanistic and behaviourism. One critical cognitive theory known as the Expectancy ? Value theory suggests that learners feel encouraged to participate in a task only to the point where they believe they will succeed multiplied by the importance they feel this particular success is worth. The Expectancy ? Value theory has two influencing variables: expectancy for success and task value. To help learners be more confident about their chances of success, we can try to change their opinion of the challenge a particular task poses as well as their preconceptions of their own abilities. This can be done by nurturing expectations of success by providing just enough assistance for learners to make headway on challenges. Also, we can enhance the task’s value by increasing intrinsic interest, the tasks importance and utility value. To achieve this, tasks will have to be linked to real-world situations and appeal to learners in terms of its usefulness and novelty. A simple way of achieving this would be to make use of ‘concrete examples’ to raise enthusiasm and stress the specific usefulness of the task. (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) What should not be done, then, in the terms of cognitive theories? According to Eggen and Kauchak, there is another influencing variable that influences learners’ perception of a task’s value: cost. It is defined as the ‘negative aspect of engaging in a task’. There can be emotional and psychological costs that hinder learners performing according to their true abilities (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) and it is up to the teacher to be aware of the situation and help to the best of her abilities. Metacognition, the ‘ability to think about thinking, to play with thoughts and to monitor and deploy mental effort strategically’ (Forsyth, Forsyth, Schickedanz, Shickedanz, 2001), is almost like multi-tasking; learners have to juggle many different kinds of thought processes. It is crucial in the all-round development of learners and the presence of emotional or psychological costs in their learning environment can have an adverse impact on their motivation to learn. Thus, it is vital that teachers do not ignore the presence of these factors. The humanistic view of motivation has to do with our desire to achieve maximum potential as humans. (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) We look to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to help explain motivation from a humanistic viewpoint. Maslow believed that basic needs lower down the pyramid have to be fulfilled before needs higher up the pyramid can be fulfilled. (Hierarchy of needs, 2007) What this means is that teachers have to create a positive and secure learning environment to satisfy learners’ basic and growth needs. By treating everyone in the same positive manner by focusing on their ‘intrinsic worth’ and viewing them as ‘developing human beings’, one can be assured that learners will find the motivation to learn. However, critics of Maslow’s theory argue that insufficient research has been conducted to support these claims and that his hierarchy of needs does not always hold true as individuals can achieve higher needs, like aesthetic appreciation, without fulfilling their basic needs. With disability becoming an ‘emerging priority’ in Singapore, there is an even greater need to ‘succeed in valuing and practising a cohesive spirit’ so as to ‘meet future challenges’ (Lim, Thaver, Slee, 2008); which is why it is vital for teachers to ‘treat students as people first and learners second’. Eggen Kauchak, 2007) By striving to create an inclusive classroom, it will be easier motivating learners. Finally, we come to behavioural views of motivation. Earlier in the essay, rewards and punishments were said to be behavioural methods. This can be done in a learning-focused environment, which ‘emphasizes effort, continuous improvement and u nderstanding’. To do that, we can help learners to self-regulate their behaviour and structure the learning environment using climactic and instructional factors. When self-regulation takes place, learners will take more pride in their work and be more committed to the goals they set. Teachers can aid the process by modelling responsibility and help learners set guidelines in place. Climactic variables like encouraging success and handling challenges also play a key role in creating a motivating environment. By providing sufficient help in challenging tasks and highlighting the reasons for assignments, the learning environment will be better suited for motivation to learn. Instructional variables are key to capturing learners’ interest, which determines how much effort they place on the task in turn. Involving students in personalized tasks and providing detailed feedback helps to build their intrinsic motivation to learn and succeed. (Eggen Kauchak, 2007) In any classroom, there will always be distractions that threaten to impair any carefully-laid lesson plans. Thus, learners should not be left out of the drawing up of classroom rules and expectations; they would then be familiar with any signals from the teacher indicating a disturbance or lack of attention. Also, not every interruption needs to be addressed immediately; by ignoring minor disruptions occasionally, it serves as a subtle cue for the offender to not resort to similar tactics to gain attention. (Divaharan Wong, 2008) Teachers should not get into the habit of jumping into a new topic immediately too, as a novel introductory focus (an appealing and scaffolded structure of the lesson) will appeal to learners’ interest and prior knowledge, thus motivating them intrinsically.

Developing Consumerism through Design

Developing Consumerism through Design Consumerism All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume. Consumerism is a way of life and an ideology which is developed further by mass phenomenon. In Singapore, consumerism has become very much a way of life with the popular Great Singapore Sale, major IT Exhibitions, perpetual discounts in most retail outlets nations wide and many delicious restaurants with culture involved. Thus, it is important for us to recognize the value of consumerism that is within and around us. People are consuming in different aspects, and Food Beverage is taking a big part in the society. However, people need to consume, people consume also because of the thousands of designed space which attract them to go and explore more for their life. In another word, consumerism is becoming design driven. According to dictionary, the meaning of consumerism is that the movement seeking to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards; the theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is economically beneficial; and attachment to materialistic values or possessions: deplored the rampant consumerism of contemporary society. Consumerism is known as an action where people purchase goods, which are more than necessary for their lives, but it can affect more than buying habits and personal and family life. Sometimes, it may even make people less aware of their own emotional reactions, as they seek to buy yet another item that will distract them. On the other hand, consumerism also keeps people up-to-date and modern as consumerism globalized. In fact, consumerism has been around human civilization at the first place. It had a great turn in consumerism arrived just before the Industrial Revolution. In 21st century, consumerism is one of the arguments of scientists, and researchers, they try to find out how and why do people waste money in such expensive things, such as clothing, electronic items, cars, technological devices etc. One of many reasons that makes consumer spend lots of money for their consumption is advertisement. According to research, Billions of companies throw their commercials into market as many ways as they can. They will show their brand names on TV, magazines, in movie theaters, malls etc. To attract consumer, companies have million ways to entice people by advertising. If a company wants people know about its name or products, they then try to make an attractive poster or a nice page in magazine to advertise their products to the public. Containing a nice explicit picture and attractive colors, the poster is made to send an implicit message -the key- to consumers; this key convinces people to buy products. This has become a trend internationally. Indeed, a company advertised themselves is a way of designing themselves looks better and sounds greater to sell the product. From a design perspective, will a good design bring more consumers to the place? The answer is definitely yes. Designing a place is designing an experience, and how to leave people with a memory. It is the atmosphere that provides for the customers, which has a significant impact on them, and make them want to come back and hang out. Moreover, consumerism is not only happened in the fashion world as motioned before, Consumerism is also applied for other industries as well. For Singapore, tourism and food beverage are the most important industry which makes the income for the whole country. Food beverage industry is the basic needs for people, how good the basic industry is, and it reflects how well the country has developed. In another world, the fundamental shows all. However, food beverage is not lonely the food and drinks, it is a place where provides the feel of gathering; the atmosphere and the environment which design dress them up together. For some of Singaporeans, they consume on food beverage as a lifestyle to eat fine food at well designed restaurants. Based on research from Singapore Tourism Board, the busy life that Singaporeans have, the among of tourists come to Singapore keep growing year by year and the mixed culture background, all of these determine that there is a demand to open more fine dining restaurants. Singapore especially has a strong influence of western culture, the percentage of Singaporeans who drink wine has grown over 214 present during last 10 years, so that it is a potential to open a wine shop here as well. . As a result, the proposal for the Utopia project is to design a wine appreciation club and fine dining restaurant which aims to add on more value to the Singapore society, to adopt a wine culture to Singaporeans. According to the chosen site at South beach building which is located at the CBD area, the target market would be businessmen, tourists and local Singaporeans. The design intention is to create a space which carries the knowledge about the wine culture, the process of making wine and history of wine etc. The design concept is based on the process of making wine, the three key steps are harvest, crushing and ageing. The idea behind these three key words is that: harvest is a place to gather people and collection of grapes, it will become the reception and welcoming place at first when people get into the space; following by the crushing step, it is translated to the whole design language of the entire space, after reaching welcoming space, the crushing step forms a wine process gallery, normally, a gallery should be open and big space, yet in this case, in order to feel more about the crushing step of winemaking process, the space is designed to be narrow and low-volume space; Now ageing, this key word is designed as a journey in the space, why? The reason is ageing is a matter of time, a space that is changing or transforming like the wine making process, from grapes to wine, form sugar to alcohol; As people walking in the space, the space is able to speak and lead people through the designed journey. The space will be changing in term of volume, proportion, scale, lighting and different materials of the space. Through designing the space to bring peoples attention and draw people into the place to purchase and enjoy, it is a way of consumerism. Indeed, consumers come to the place not only to dine, but to also engage with new things, to experience the space, to add on value to them, to spend time with friends in the atmosphere of wine knowledge. Leave a wonderful memory to the consumers.

Employment practices of wal-mart

Employment practices of wal-mart Introduction In the current global business world, companies are required to take consideration about its employees values and to follow ethically sound practices. Business ethics is the term people use in dealing with proper business behavior and is related to being fully aware of the consequences of the companys actions. Being aware means two things: first, adhering to the rules, laws, principles of morality, and other concerns regarding fairness and the needs of others; and second, taking responsibility of the effects to the customers, employees, and the society as a whole of the processes by which the company uses in making and rendering products and services. Founded in 1962, Wal-Mart is the worlds leader in sustainability, employment opportunities, and corporate philanthropy. It ranked first in Fortune Magazines 2010 Most Admired Companies survey and is now employing 2.1 million people worldwide (Wal-Mart, 2011). With competitive prices it sets for its products, Wal-Mart was able to destroy competitors such as Kmart and thousands of small businesses. Moreover, through profit savings from their exceptional relationship with the suppliers and operational efficiency, Wal-Mart was able to pass on its cost savings to its customers, thereby attracting them and expanding their market share in the retail industry. However, to maintain its profitability and sustainable growth, the company needs to reevaluate its strategies through internal environmental scanning. This paper will deal with the business ethics of Wal-Mart particularly its employment practices and how its organizational leadership comes into play. The writer believes that Wal-Marts employment practices are unattractive to peoples minds and include discrimination, inhumane practices, and undocumented workers. The paper will touch these ethical dilemmas, provide evidences to support each practice, and identify the principles in conflict under the Global Business Standards Codex. The paper will come into conclusion by proposing strategies on how these ethical standards can be changed in order to resolve the problem. Arguments and Discussions The Global Business Standards (GBS) Codex is a benchmark for businesses wanting to develop their own world-class code (International Monetary Fund, 2009). It comprises of simplified picture of the expected conducts of todays corporations. The authors of GBS identified eight principles (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2008) that companies must follow in creating new codes of conduct or assessing existing ones, namely, the principles of fiduciary, reliability, fairness, dignity, transparency, responsiveness, and citizenship. The creating or assessment of the code of conduct is the preliminary step for companies attempting to deal with global business ethics. The first conflict of Wal-Marts policies with the GBS Codex is with regard to the principle of fairness. Individuals finding jobs in work organizations may find that some companies incorporate opportunities for advancement while others do not. Jobs lacking in career path are less likely to offer promotions and salary increases. The common people taken out from then managerial career path are the women and minorities (Konrad, 2006). The companys old-fashioned culture reflects to the store policies. Many policies have been implemented that somehow discriminate employees especially women and strict employee to employee relationships. Women are rarely seen in management positions and at most they are not allowed to be in the top management. The federal class suit Dukes et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Spangler et al. 2008). in 2001, is the largest civil rights suit regarding discrimination based on gender. It was represented by 1.6 million women workers of Wal-Mart who were employed from 1998-2001. The plaintiffs challenged the recruitment, promotion and payment policies of the company as a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, which prohibited workplace discrimination (Cq Researcher, 2009). The women claimed that Wal-Mart and its Sams Club division deny equal pay and promotions especially for managerial positions against women who were working on hourly and salaried bases. Moreover, according to them, during conversations about promotions or assignment to another department, they receive friendly and casual reminders or suggestions, yet in reality, these are discouragements. Despite the debates on the legality of the class suit, maintaining the ruling in Dukes will force Wal-Mart in complyi ng with the provisions of Title VII (Sherwyn, 2009). Other evidence of discrimination were the categorization of men and women into homogeneity by deciding on what is beneficial for them rather than asking them about their preferences (Bessen and Kimmel, 2006). For instance, the top management assumes that women employees would not be interested in the meat and sports goods department so they assign men on those departments instead. The departments where women are assigned at also consist of more walks and problems as well as lesser opportunities for advancement. Furthermore, most women experienced being assigned to a second shift for the reason that they have to continue the unfinished woks of their male colleagues. These practices of the company are not limited during work hours but also after in places beyond the companys premises which create anomic situations against women. The second unethical employment practice of Wal-Mart is the inhumane treatment of employees, a violation of the principle of dignity under GBS Codex. One instance of this was the locking up of two workers in order to clean the stores overnight (Mayhew, 2008). This issue was featured in the movie Wal-Mart and was written on the front page in New York Times.The justification of the company was to prevent these people from stealing goods since it is logical that when employees are locked off, it would be difficult for them to get away with the merchandise (Fishman, 2006). There were also reports that two nongovernmental organizations in the United States filed a suit against the company for subjecting factory workers to inhumane conditions and hazardous chemicals, and in Bangladesh for letting the factory workers work at 19-hour shifts (Kline, 2010). Other inhuman practice of the company involves forcing the employees to work even after they had punched out because according to the mana gement, they havent finished effectively their jobs yet. Critics view this as an excuse of the company to drive down overtime payment costs (Fishman, 2006). The third conflict against GBS Codex by Wal-Mart is with regard to the principle of transparency by failing to document the true names and numbers of workers. The U.S Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested 250 undocumented workers during their inspection in some Wal-Mart stores (Glicken, 2010). In 2003, the federal government arrested 300 undocumented workers and in March 2005, the company gave a settlement fee of $11 million for utilizing undocumented workers in its 21 stores (Atkins, 2008). Profit making is likely the primary motivation of Wal-Mart in hiring these undocumented workers (Hing, 2010). The use of these undocumented workers gives the company high labor savings since the former have lower wage rates and are not given fringe benefits. Conclusions Taking care of employees is more than giving them fair compensation. It also touches on the companys concern for the nurturing of their skills, mental and emotional health. In other words, the company should deal with the totality of their being as it strives to attain their financial goals. Wal-Mart failed these by practicing discrimination against women, employing inhumane practices especially to their factory workers, and utilizing undocumented workers. Women already won the debate over working equally with men. A lot of women are working as effectively as the men in the same job. To motivate Wal-Marts employees in terms of policies, the company should revise those policies that show discrimination and unequal opportunities. One way to resolve this is to increase the number of managerial positions or create a more stringent basis of promoting employees. With regard to the inhuman practices of the company, they should support and enhance unionism to give the workers stronger voice in enforcing their rights against such unethical practice. The company as well should revise its policy of giving low prices to consumers yet sacrificing employees welfare. There should be a balance between profit maximization and enhancement of employees well-being. On the issue of undocumented workers, the workers should first obtain a legal status in order to represent themselves. Moreover, the governments where Wal-Mart operates should have a more efficient documentation of the workers coming to and fro the country. In this way, the use of undocumented workers will easily be detected and addressed. On the part of Wal-Mart, it should review its delegation of tasks so that there would be no way to exploit undocumented workers.

The Role of Reflexivity in Ethnography Essay -- Anthropology Science E

The Role of Reflexivity in Ethnography Reflexivity, as I understand it, is very well named.It is the practice of reflecting upon oneself and one’s work, of being self-aware and self-critical. In anthropology, it is well exemplified by the work of Renato Rosaldo, Ruth Behar, and Dorinne Kondo, among others. In its most obvious form (or at least the form most obvious to me), reflexivity is manifest in the practice of an ethnographer including herself in her own ethnographic research---seeing herself not as an â€Å"unbiased, impartial† (Malinowski 18) observer, but as an essential and un-removable part of her study. The effect of reflexivity on ethnographic writing has been, however, much broader than just that. It signals â€Å"a departure from the ideology of objectivity [and] distance† which for so long pervaded ethnography (Marcus 189). For those who choose to employ it, reflexivity offers the (often daunting) liberty of not presuming to have all the answers. While this obviously presents logistical problems for anthropology (such as: If we can’t ever come to an answer, then what’s the point?), reflexivity has had a hand in producing some of the most compelling, unassuming texts that I’ve read. Anthropology is, in my opinion, not a science.It’s simply not that static. Culture is not something that can be understood the way one can understand gravity or electricity.It is open for interpretation, open for many different interpretations, and I like it that way. I’m immediately turned off by an ethnographer who claims to know the truth about his subject: frankly, I don’t believe it. And even if something is â€Å"true† for a given culture at a given time, who’s to say it won’t have completely changed in five years? I think that formulating a... ...e only one, and that no one ethnographer can prove that they’ve â€Å"gotten† a culture any more than any one else (197). Again, this brings me back to the â€Å"then what’s the point?† problem. In my opinion, what we need are more interpretations of cultures. In that case, there is even more of a need for the work that we do as ethnographers. The â€Å"point† is actually larger now than it was before. How much would critical thinking be facilitated if we had something compare with and be critical about? Any interpretation of culture is worth looking at because, since a human thought it up, it’s within our realm of study. As Rosaldo writes, â€Å"the truth of objectivism---absolute, universal, and timeless--- has lost its monopoly status† (21). The goal now is to find a reflexive, self-critical medium between objectivism and self-indulgence. I feel like we might actually get there.

Napoleanic reign :: Napoleon Bonaparte

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jason fish Napoleon Bonaparte was a genius, but above that he was a ruthless tyrant, who sought global conquest through waging wars against all of Europe, starting with the smaller European countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in 1769 to a family of nobles, he was in a position of power since birth. Perhaps one of the deciding factors in his thirst for military conquest was the fact that his father placed him in a military academy at the ripe age of 10, and received his officer’s commission. At roughly the age of 20 he was an officer in the French revolution. As the revolution came to a close, he was an acknowledged officer, and held much authority over the population of France. By giving the church more power he gained much prestige with the people of France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once he attained enough power he appointed himself the emperor. Under his rule all authority would be placed in the hands of paid officials. He also implemented a merit based payment system for the people. His rule of the Napoleon Code is well known for the many changes that it implemented. The Napoleon Code brought the recognition of marriages that were not preformed in the church, as well as divorces. It removed political rights of women that they had worked for over the last few centuries. Finally the code set a policy for the judicial system that convicts were guilty until proven innocent, which is the contrary of the stance in our current government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Up until this point he had the general public’s approval and was embraced by the majority of its citizens. His popularity fell as he began waging war after war on Frances neighboring countries. At the battle of Cape Trafalgar he attacked Britain with the aide of the Spanish forces. This was the first major loss for Napoleon as both the French and Spanish militaries were defeated by Heratio Nelson, the commander of the British army. This did not stop Napoleon from continuing his ongoing war with the rest of Europe. After his defeat at Cape Trafalgar, he began winning several wars against such European countries as Sweden, Germany, and Russia. While continuing to move his army throughout the eastern continent, he imposed his beliefs amongst all those he conquered, by abolishing serfdom in all areas which he had defeated. After years of war, even his faithful followers were becoming tired of the constant battles which he waged.

Project Management Plan Essay

Projects in a business are always set up to bring some beneficial change or add value to what the business already have (Knutson and Bitz, 1991). They are therefore set with goals that have to be accomplished. In a business organization, there are staff members given responsibility by the manager or the human resource manager based on their qualification and experience, on the kind of job they are assigned. Project management is always given to a project manager. A project manager has the responsibility to ensure that the planning, organizing and management of the project resources, comes to an end with the successful completion of the objectives (Knutson and Bitz, 1991). One of the roles of a project manager as has been noted is planning of the resources available for a specific project. Project Management Plan A project management plan answers the four W’s. Why, what, when and who (Kimmons, 1990). LRH product company (who), intends to present a trade show (what), in Kansas City as a marketing strategy for the benefit of the company (why), in the quest to increase company sales. The project is due in ten weeks (when) from the start of preparations to the show. The project manager has been provided with all the resources required. This paper aims at giving the rest of the steps needed in a work breakdown structure of a project management plan, that the objectives and the requirements of its completion, are already provided. Completing the Project Management plan The first steps of the project management plan have been done. They are, identification of the project goal, which is to participate in a trade show for marketing purposes and what the project requires to ensure that the goal is met, which is already done. The next steps in a project management plan that have not been completed and need to be done are scheduling and development of support plans (Spinner, 1992). Scheduling: What the project needs to deliver, should be accomplished in order to consider the project as a successful one. For delivery purposes, tasks on the appropriate selected deliverables have to be identified and written down on a list to guide the planner. The tasks are identified while considering the amount of time or effort needed to complete the task and the qualified person to complete the task (Spinner, 1992). In the description given, these tasks and the relevant people needed for the project to deliver had already been identified, but the next steps in scheduling had not been done . The next step is to calculate the effort required for each deliverable plus the delivery date. It is important for the project manager to select an appropriate software for this kind of calculation. Normally it is PERT that is used, which is a software used to evaluate the total time the project will take to be completed and the total time the tasks will take to complete the project (Spinner, 1992). If in any case the project manager finds out that the provided time for project completion is not enough, he/she has to inform the sponsor/manager to get more time. In the case of this assignment, the project manager could ask to start the project earlier if the time allocated is found not to be enough. Support plans: The next step in the management plan is to develop support plans. These include plans that should be involved in the project management plan either included in it or not. They are such as, the human resource plan, communication plans, that indicate who should be informed about the issues of the project and risk management plans, that give identified risks to the project and how to deal with each. When preparing a project plan, a project manager can decide to select a tool of project planning that he/she feels appropriate for formulating the plan. This is where the Gantt charts, which gives a project schedule from the start to the end, showing the terminal and the summary elements as well as the structure used for the work breakdown, is used (Spinner, 1992).

Readers Have Responded Differently to Being Told That the Story Happened Long Ago. How Do You Respond?

Readers have responded differently to being told that the story happened long ago. How do you respond?Initially ‘The Eve of St Agnes’ is set in a medieval period ‘long ago’, which you can determine from the distinct use of archaic language; ideas of chivalry and patriarchy are evoked at the use of this time period thus the ongoing theme of the supernatural, demonstrated by Madeline’s firm belief in The eve of St Agnes, serves to induce in the reader thoughts of an alternate immortal life, an idea that is further established through the way in which Madeline and Porphyro are able to escape the castle full of people who would kill and abandon the couple, which one would think to be impossible.Furthermore Keats’ describes the two focal characters as ‘phantoms’ of which one interpretation could be that life goes on and that death is a mere inconvenience, which again further adds to the concept of immortality in the poem. The references to supernatural folklore; ‘elfin grot’ and ‘faery land’ conceptualise the idea of Porphyro and Madeline idealistically untouchable. However, the final stanza, in which the beadsman dies, destroys the immortality image that Keats had previously built up; reminding the reader that death is for everyone.Furthermore, this idealism entering into realism is perhaps indicative of awaking from a dreamlike state in which the reader becomes more aware of the danger that Madeline is maybe in. Linking to this fear of Madeline that is newly instilled in the reader is the abrupt and ironic dismissal of love after the forty first stanza, which demonstrates the idea that love itself was ‘long ago’.The fact that previously in the Eve of St Agnes Porphyro’s heart was ‘on fire’ for Madeline leading him to risk his capture and death for her initially provided a positive image for the reader allowing one to trust his character, however the fort y first stanza utilizes a significant amount of cadaverous imagery through the Baron ‘dreaming of many a woe’ and the idea of Angela dying with ‘meagre face deform’ which simply dismisses the whole theme of love and is perhaps representative of Madeline’s resignation to her fate – either run away with Porphyro or stay and be disgraced and abandoned by her family – that is typical of a patriarchal society. The abruptness with which love is dismissed is a dramatic conclusion to the poem that leaves a foreboding atmosphere as to Madeline’s fate, and it is this ‘[ash] old’ atmosphere that perhaps attempts to capture the suppressed and ‘nightmar’d’ existence that women experienced in medieval times owing to being treated as possessions by men, another interpretation is that Madeline and Porphyro’s ‘[fleeing] into the storm’ is them escaping these social conventions leaving behind th e ‘dark, cold’ world. The baron’s dreams of ‘witch and demon and large coffin-work’ are perhaps symbolic of Madeline and Porphyro as characters, foretelling the formidable end that is to come to the couple, or more generally maybe the failure of escaping from patriarchal society. The negative outcome of her escape with Porphyro serves to contradict the so called escape that the two had from the castle. And in turn this is suggestive that whilst one can attempt to escape social confines and convictions – such as St Agnes herself attempted – these attempts always fail eventually, much in the way that St Agnes was later burned for heresy.

Test of English as a Foreign Language

English, the third most common language spoken after Mandarin and Spanish, is spoken by around 370 to 390 million people in around 50 different countries. Many renowned universities, require their students, in the undergraduate, graduate and post graduate programs to first prove their proficiency in the English language, as an entrance criteria. This created a need for a standard test, accepted and recognized by these universities, to be created. Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL as it is commonly referred to as, is such a test. This test is developed and conducted by the Educational Testing Service. TOEFL can be administered via the internet(TOEFL iBT) or can be written as a paper based test(TOEFL PBT). Written Tests are only administered in places where Internet Based Testing Centers for TOEFL are unavailable. This test score along with the applicant's other academical information becomes the foundation for their admission process. The test score scale ranges from 0 to 120, for TOEFL iBT, and from 310 to 677 for TOEFL PBT. The minimum test score acceptable, varies from university to university, depending on factors like courses undertaken or whether the applicant is an undergrad, grad or post grad.TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBT tests the four basic skills needed for effective communication namely- Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. They test the takers toread, listen, and then speak in response to a questionlisten and then speak in response to a questionread, listen, and then write in response to a questionThe test is 4 hours long and it is essential that all the four sections of the test be taken on the same day itself.Test FormatSECTION FORMAT TIMEREADING 3-5 passages(700words), 12-14 question each 60-100 minutesLISTENING 2–3 conversations, 5 questions each4–6 lectures, 6 questi ons each 60-90 minutes10 MINUTES BREAKSPEAKING 6 tasks which include 2 independent and 4 integrated 20 minutesWRITING 2 tasks which include 1 integrated task and1 independent task 50minutes(20 for integrated and 30 for independent)The time displayed above is not an actual representation, and may vary on the number of questions.Reading SectionThe reading sections tests the applicant's ability to, comprehend, learn and to find information from university level academic passages and texts. The questions asked in the reading section are of the following formatMultiple choice questions- asking the applicant to select a single answer from a given set of optionsMultiple choice questions asking the applicant to select an option to â€Å"insert a sentence† where it fits best in a passageQuestions with more than four choices and more than one possible correct answer.Listening SectionThis section tests the applicants ability to understand Spoken English, by testing his/her ability to un derstand lectures and conversations. The applicant is allowed to take notes while listening to the material provided. These notes will be collected at the end of the test and destroyed. Questions asked in the Listening section, are usually asked in the following formatsMultiple choice questions with a single correct answerMultiple choice questions with more than one correct answerQuestions that require the user to order eventsQuestions that require the applicant to match objects or text to categories in a chartSome questions replay a portion of the audio material provided, so that the applicant need not memorize the material before answering the question.Speaking SectionHere the applicant is tested for his ability to communicate, participate in casual conversations, respond to questions etc. This section includes six tasks that that the applicant must undertake before proceeding further. The first two task are independent speaking tasks, where the user is asked to express their opinion or idea on topics provided, or on topics that the applicant is comfortable with. The next four tasks are integrated tasks where the applicant must use more than one of their skills before responding. These skills may include reading, listening and speaking. The user is only allowed to spend 20 minutes in this section.Writing SectionThis section tests the applicants ability to present their ideas in a clear and well organized manner. Here students are required to undertake two tasks, one integrated and one independent. Independent tasks include writing essays, articles, expressing opinions etc. The student's range of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuations and layout are tested under Independent tasks. Under Integrated tasks students are required to summarize, paraphrase, and cite accurate information from the source material. The total time sanctioned for both these tasks is 50 minutes. TOEFL scores are valid for 2 years. These scores are visible,10 days after the exam on the TOEFL registration website. Printed Scores are mailed after 13 days. More than 10,000 universities in around 130 countries accept TOEFL scores for their admission process. So when you plan on an education abroad, Think TOEFL.

Food Important Aspect In Our Lives Essay

Food an important aspect in our lives has always been affected by the way we distribute it. With proper channels we will be satisfied by our actions; we will all either benefit or loose. In the event that there is food shortage followed by poor distribution of whatever is available it leads to persistent starvations and can lead to death. In December 27, 2002 Mason Booth a Red Cross Organization staff writer wrote and I quote â€Å"There is nothing growing. Looking around the entire land is dry and barren. We only have enough food for the most severely affected people†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ How many more are going to die until we have enough to feed you all? † From the report reading further we find out that the starvation at large results from lack of food situation. From this example of the report we discover that famine is a situation of chronic starvation and death. Like the conditions in Malawi, though several factors contribute to the situations are one and most important primary reason was a prolonged drought that withered harvests hence resulting to vast food shortages. The regions conditions at that moment were the worst, in the Southern Africa. Not only does the weather conditions affect productivity other factors have at large contributed to this situation. For instance, we get to know how famine is fueled by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In this region where at that moment HIV/AIDS prevalence rates were the highest and some countries more than 30% of the adult population was infected. It impacted on security where even if it’s a rainy season there is no good in preparation, nurturing and harvesting because there is no body to do this. There is also the question the rising demand for food between the population growth rates and death rate. There is more demand for food than the production rate or supplies can meet. In most cases natural calamities also are causes of famine and starvation as it is unfolded. 4Eugene Linden, The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006 58-67). Despite progress in taking up the right preventive measures the dire social and economic consequences are for a fragile nation-state felt in all aspects of life. 7(Poku, Nana and Whiteside Alan. The Political Economy of AIDS in Africa: Africa’s silent crisis / Nana K. Poku AIDS-related famine in Africa: questioning assumptions and developing frameworks / Alex de Waal Cultural hazards facing young people in the era of HIV/AIDS: specificity and change / Carolyn Baylies HIV/AIDS: the †¦ , New York: Publishing, Ltd. , 2004 38). We know that without food there is no peace of the mind hence many of the crises around. There is no end in sight to global food shortages and multiple crises from climate changes and energy and water scarcity. This has always intensified. 2William A. Dando, The Geography of Famine. (Haven: V. H. Winston, 1980 147-148) With the world’s population growing towards 9 billion by year 2050 demand for food is forecasted to rise to approximately 110% spread over the same period and beyond. At the same time due to global warming it has a negative impact in to the supply of fresh waters that are available to humans and for the crops. Poverty is also a factor to consider because of the developing world where people can not access or obtain adequate nutritional food for their families. Economically the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy of the people hence allowing less time to increase their productivity. 1Lisa Cliggett, Grains from Grass: Aging, Gender, and Famine in Rural Africa, (Washington, D. C: Cornell University Press, 2005). (97-99) With reference to the Asian, African and Latin American countries an approximate of 500 million people under what the World Bank describes as absolute poverty. In addition the breakdown in distribution mechanisms of food has also contributed at large. War situations have been a major factor. Citing an example of North Africa and Middle East it’s evident that war torn areas suffer greatly from shortages of food which eventually leads to famine and starvation. For instance massive human rights abuses in Sudan and most parts in that region have been reported as the major cause of famine. It is estimated that three million Sudanese food securities was destroyed by civil war and drought any they eventually became sufferers to this crisis. Due to human displacement, there are no serious agricultural activities and productivity reduces due to shift of focus in productivity to war. To date and more than two decades of civil clash and three years of severe drought, Sudan is still teetering on the brink of a severe food crisis. While the food stocks deteriorate and water boreholes drying up the conflict shows no signs of recovery. Countries are crippled by civil wars, drought, poverty, forced migrations, debt and poverty, forced migrations, debt and poverty. This in general has reduced the productivity rate due to labor shortages, volatile national security, erosion of the economic family bases and massive and insupportable demands on health and public services. 6Sorokin, Pitirim. Man and Society in Calamity: The Effects of War, Revolution, Famine, Pestilence upon Human Mind, Behavior, Social Organization and Culture Life. Toronto: E. P Dutton, 1942. 46-52). Moreover, using the example of Tibet during 1960-62 as a result of the Chinese invasion of 1950. There was food crisis. This is as a result of increase in the population and the changes imposed on Tibetan traditional agricultural production systems. The socio economic conditions in most regions or continent did not favor the Tibetians as a result of the Chinese government invasion. 3Frances, Joseph and Peter, World Hunger: 12 Myths, (Chicago: Earthscan, 1998 43-62) The Chinese Authority on their urge to develop Tibet economically required the peasants to switch crops to wheat, which never grew at 1200 feet height. As a result Tibetans died between 1959 -1961 as a result of persistent starvation. Failure of entitlements is a major cause of food crisis. For incidence as a result of Chinese invasions there were no humane relations due to Chinese policies. Although the traditional feudal system in Tibet seemed archaic to the Chinese who wanted to modernize the country and make use of it, it was in harmony with their environment. Resources can be scarce but famine and starvation can never be hard off if there are good distribution systems. The desire of the Chinese to wipe out the Tibet people lied to in equal distribution of food and resources. Citing another example of the My Lai Massacre that in the war in Vietnam. If compared to developing countries, at the moment developing countries are starving to death and the developed countries are getting worried of which kind of food should they buy or not, whether to eat or not. However, notable facts are that starvation results from both lack of food and from a continuous breakdown of distribution mechanisms. 4(Eugene Linden 194) Malnutrition and under nutrition which are the symptoms of starvation are generally caused by poverty. Globally if we compare massive surplus exists in Europe and the United States while the developing worlds have nothing. It is note able that there is lack of a proper distribution channel or mechanism. Developed countries have proper markets and produce high yields for their markets while developing countries agriculture is lacking from untreated diseases, food shortage, bad hygiene low capital and income inputs. This calls for a concern in the ways of productivity. 5Ronald E. Seavoy. Famine in East Africa: Food Production and Food Policies, (Washington, D. C: Greenwood Press, 1989. (82-84) Special attention has to be paid to the importance of increasing food production and productivity and open more clear distribution mechanisms without being controlled on other guidelines so as food can be made available affordable and quality. This in conclusion is to say the developed countries must pursue economic goals without the current levels of unacceptable environmental damage to themselves and other nations. Starvation resulted from both the lack of food and breakdown in distribution due to prevailing circumstantial situations. Further more, from history in Ireland between1845-1852 what in the modern world is called the great starvation of Ireland. Though the people of Ireland have suffered many hardships none could be compared to the devastation brought by the Irish potato famine. The disaster in the badly managed land was caused by the supremely wicked climate that the country was experiencing during that time, which had been fuelled by a mixture of social, political and the economic factors pushing it to the end. 4((Eugene Linden 196). The intentional by use of phytophora infestans from Europe and America led to these destructions. ((Eugene Linden 199). The following winter became unbearable for the already starving nation. The warranty of warmer air brought around by the westerly winds failed letting severe environmental conditions from Scandinavia and Russia and the severe cold failed, letting severe cold conditions from Scandinavia and Russia surpass the Ireland Island. Bad weather had its own share of bad effects ranging from malnutrition freezing temperatures aided in the spread of disease and ultimately death among the nation of Ireland. Diseases, starvations all contributed to more loss of manpower thus a reduction in productivity. 3(Frances, and Peter ,202-205) Death toll was on the higher side thus it was never recorded and the estimated number of deaths resulting from starvation was only estimated to be 1. 5 million people. Lack of proper medical administration and crop diseases control had resulted to this loss where mechanisms of distribution production have failed. This resulted to rise in the mortality rate up to 50% if there are no people who are going to be productive in future. This means there is no continuality hence more food shortages combining with other factors it would lead to starvation. During this disastrous time, the beginning of the starvation are said to be a â€Å"biometeorological phenomenon†. Developed countries like the British government who were expected to look upon the matter were slow and insignificant to no response. The economic policies that existed were unhelpful and the British parliament refused to make adjustments to provide for a national disaster. No food was offered to the starving people as along as there was food for sale. The economic polices that existed were unhelpful and the British parliament refused to make adjustment to provide for a national disaster. The relief food aid supplies from other countries could not reach their destination for the ships carrying them were intercepted before they could reach the badly hit situations. It emerged that there were divisions among Christians where Catholics were condemned by the peasants who had been forced to do so by the Protestants and could therefore not get food. Others were died of starvation due to water retention and lack of adequate nutrition. During this time of poor health living conditions promoted spread of diseases and all efforts were halted to finance improvements in long term seed distribution. Food storage entitlement was denied for the Irelands. Death rate during these predicaments had increased making the situations worse and by this time many had fled their country though came some kind of relief, and by this time another winter had come and gone, but in the year 1851 the famine subsided though majority remained at high risk. Social economic and political factors are that there were many repressive society conditions under which the Irish peasants were forced to hire with and as a result became dependant on one single source. Under colonialist each item that could be affordable became extremely expensive. ((Eugene Linden 202). Conclusion If the two major factors are combined using the various cited examples they are results to starvation and lead to other human death related conditions that cannot be avoided. In any case circumstances from one situation may change and could breakdown distribution channels of food or even land of proper healthcare. I feel that all factors and circumstances lead to one another with one result at the end. We should always watch our impacts in order to achieve a stable economy. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cligget, Lisa. Grains from Grass: Aging, Gender, and Famine in Rural Africa, Washington, D. C:Cornell University Press, 2005. Dando, William A. The Geography of Famine. Haven: V. H. Winston, 1980. Lappe, Francis M. , Collins, Peter and Rosset, Peter. World Hunger: 12 Myths, Chicago: Earthscan, 1998. Linden, Eugene. The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Seavoy, Ronald E. Famine in East Africa: Food Production and Food Policies, Washington, D. C: Greenwood Press, 1989. Sorokin, Pitirim. Man and Society in Calamity: The Effects of War, Revolution, Famine, Pestilence upon Human Mind, Behavior, Social Organization and Culture Life. Toronto: E. P Dutton, 1942. Poku, Nana and Whiteside Alan. The Political Economy of AIDS in Africa: Africa’s silent crisis / Nana K. Poku AIDS-related famine in Africa: questioning assumptions and developing frameworks / Alex de Waal Cultural hazards facing young people in the era of HIV/AIDS: specificity and change / Carolyn Baylies HIV/AIDS: the †¦ , New York: Publishing, Ltd. , 2004

Pilinut Essay

Our company engages into pilinut business. Pili tart is a very profitable product, it has the so called 3C’s of Bicol pili nut: Competitive (market); Capability (financial); and Capacity (production) (Melchor A Aguilar). Because the Philippines is the only country where the fruit has market. No other country process pili in commercial quantity, meaning, we have the monopoly of processed pili in the foreign market, this kind of business has a very high potential of being successful especially if it will engage in exporting. There are many producers and processors of pili tart in the Bicol region, but this will be very few compared to the world market. Only few of these processors are into exporting business. Pili are very nutritious even as confection. Nutritionally, the kernel is high in calcium, phosphorous, and potassium, and rich in fats and protein. (DOST), so there is no issue to health concious. Our products will be of superior quality associated with the right price so that almost every body can afford it. We will produce product using ingredients of high quality so that it is guaranteed to be tasty and delicious. We will provide products that are not health and environmental hazard but instead a pilinut product that everyone can enjoy and environmental friendly that undergo in the right procedure. We will produce different pilinut products that are best for export, which does not easily spoil, and remain fresh even on long period of time. Pilinut for ordinary people may not be so important, but for a business person like us, pilinut has a long way to go and has a very large market to serve. Profit from this business may be abundant due to the monopoly of the products. We can start at a small capital but the comeback will be great. In not more than three years, we will regain our investment from this business and still continue to grow.