Gender and Cultural Differences in Communication Essay

Gender and Cultural Differences in Communication - Essay Example Verbal communication is best used to convey particular information and is especially suited for communication via technology and over longer distances. Non-verbal communication, on the other hand, is immediate compared to the former. This causes its meaning to be more ambiguous, despite the fact that various non-verbal communication forms, for example, the use of eyes and hand gestures, have the ability to convey the emotions with more effectiveness than verbal communication can. Various technological communication media such as a film can also convey many forms of non-verbal communication. Verbal Gender and Cultural Differences During verbal communication, men will normally tend to give solutions, whereas women will tend to focus more on empathy. This mirrors the fact that women are more oriented towards solidifying relationships while men in most occasions are more goal-oriented. Differences in communication across the gender divide also extend to non-verbal communication. Various gestures may be decoded one way by a man and differently by a woman. Persons from various cultures also differ in their manner of expression, even when the words and their literal meanings are translated to the listener’s native language. In some cultures, the word â€Å"yes† could really mean â€Å"maybe† while in another culture, â€Å"yes† could be considered a commitment that is binding. Women are usually better at the interpretation of non-verbal means of communication compared to men. Men also tend to be less accomplished when it comes to sending non-verbal and subtle messages.

Linking Aristotles virtue with character Essay Example for Free

Linking Aristotles virtue with character Essay Aristotles virtue ethics is often considered to be founded on character such that an individuals character defines his or her virtues. It is important to note that Aristotle gives emphasis to the idea that virtue is acquired through habit. In this regard, it can be presumed that there is a connection between character and virtue in the context of Aristotles philosophy. This is especially interesting to look into precisely because human beings think and act at least in terms of ones consciousness or idea of ethics, specifically through ones moral precepts. If it is indeed true that individuals think and act in ways related to ones moral inclinations in their daily lives, then it is a strong reason to contend that virtue and character are all the more important elements in the life of humanity. The point that I would like to raise—and agree with Aristotle—is the idea that our habits, the way in which we do things on a regular basis, form a large sum—if not all—of our character. And since character builds our very virtues, it can be presumed that the things that we do on a regular basis define our virtues. That is, if we continue to harbor the bad or evil elements in the society, then it is most likely the case that our character develops into something bad or evil. In the end, there will be little or no room for us to acquire virtues. The task of this assignment is to identify what is the connection between character and virtue in the context of Aristotle by providing Aristotles description of how we acquire virtues and why choice is an important component of these virtues. In the Book III of Aristotles Nichomachean Ethics, I found out that one basic notion in Aristotelian ethics that occupies a central significance is Aristotle’s belief in the role of man’s activities in order for one to acquire ethical knowledge. That is, for one to become virtuous or to obtain virtues one should not merely confine himself to mere studying of these virtues but rather one should, more importantly, actualize this knowledge of the virtues. Thus, for one to become good, one should do good. I also found out in the same work of Aristotle the doctrine of the mean. The essence of this doctrine dwells on the basic precept that one ought to avoid the extremes and, instead, settle for the â€Å"mean†. The actions of men, more specifically, ought to be framed upon the â€Å"mean† which is the virtue. For example, the virtue of courage rests on the mean between two extremes: cowardice or the â€Å"lack† of courage, and rashness or the â€Å"excess† in courage. All of these things answer the central question being asked, specifically the identification of the connection between virtue and character. For the most part, the thought of the acquisition of virtue requires a form of a good act which, when constantly repeated or enacted on a regular basis, forms the character of the individual. The individual should not only be inclined towards a theoretical understanding of these good acts but should also be inclined to enacting them, of living them on purpose and free will. It is not enough that the individual should simply live the theoretical perspectives of doing good acts for it does not suffice to forming the character of the individual. Moreover, these good acts are founded on the principle of the mean wherein the individual is supposed to be acting not within the extremes but between these extremes because they are the evils. Hence, character is connected to virtue through ones good—or middle—actions performed habitually. I figured out that Aristotle implies the idea that man is indeed a social being in the sense that one cannot sufficiently do good without the presence of other people. That is, without other people to whom our good deeds will be enacted to, our actions may hardly be conceived as good in the first place precisely because we may only be helpful if there are people to help, we may only be kind if there are people to whom we will be kind, or we may only be loving if there are other people to love just to name a few. Of course, my thoughts may be unacceptable to other people for they may also have their own thoughts about the ethics of Aristotle. But more to this, I figured out that those people who surround us have a large role in the formation of our character. Social isolation does not give room for the moral development of an individual. On the other hand, I have arrived at a question concerning Aristotles virtue ethics, especially with his doctrine of the mean. Exactly how are we to know when we are acting in the middle such that we avert from the extremes or the vices? Granted that we may be able to identify the vices that we should avoid, when can we say that we are truly in the middle path? How can too much knowledge be a vice or an evil when Aristotle gives a substantial account and importance to knowledge? While there may still a handful of questions that may have been left untouched, it can hardly be doubted that our actions share a significant role in defining our characters as human beings. Whether or not an individual believes in virtue ethics or in morality in general, it remains a fact that our actions have consequences to us and to other people. Reference Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. Martin Ostwald. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1962.

Jack Prelutsky - Recreations of his Childhood Essay -- Childrens Lite

Jack Prelutsky - Recreations of his Childhood Jack Prelutsky grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940. He lived in a fairly underprivileged part of town with his mother and father, who were both big influences on his work. Although he says his parents had a normal sense of humor, Jack’s has far surpassed theirs and Jack now writes wacky poems that delight children and adults of all ages. He says his sense of humor started early with his uncle Charlie. Charlie was a nightclub comedian and used to tell terrible jokes, a lot of them involving language and puns. Jack started to understand things you could do with language when he was very young, maybe four or five years old. (Prelutsky) Jack’s poems focus heavily on experiences he’s had throughout his life. He stays very close to his childhood and says he truly remembers what it was like to be a kid. He includes these good and bad experiences in his poetry, really relating with events that happen to today’s youngsters. He includes himself and others in many of his poems. Jack says if you are a friend or a family ...

dynamics of founder effect :: essays papers

dynamics of founder effect Populations are divided by geographic boundaries, confining a specific region/group of people to share and distribute its genetic traits within themselves without outward influence. The size of these populations is dependant upon whether certain mountains, rivers, deserts, oceans, or other extreme geographical, cultural, or technological conditions determine the tendency for isolation or migration. Most modern populations were originally settled by a relatively small handful of people that for whatever reason migrated to a new uninhabited area, and then multiplied. The genetic code of those founding individuals largely determines the genetic code of future generations, making that area distinctive having it’s future generations genetic code modeled after the original founders. Analyzing the founders of populations requires written or physical evidence to identify any possible founder of a population. So to analyze modern founding fathers is relatively easier in comparison to older founding fathers because of a lack of physical evidence for older populations. For a recently founded population such as the French settlers that migrated to the Chicoutimi region of Quebec, Canada in the 1940’s there is a collection of written knowledge about it’s inhabitants over that time. That information can identify the specifics person/persons that might have founded that population. Other populations that we have a large collection of knowledge regarding its founders include white Australians, African-Americans, as well as certain Caribbean populations. In contrast, trying to determine the founding fathers whom settled North America from Asia about fifteen thousand years ago is much more difficult because there is so little recorded evidence and knowledge o f that time period. This makes it difficult to determine the founders of the large populations we know today. Equatorial Africa was occupied by mostly Bushmen and Pygmies until about two thousand years ago, when the Bantu speaking people of the Congo region developed agriculture, iron, and domesticated animals. Following those advances the small number of Bantu multiplied until they overran half the African continent, pushing the Pygmies and Bushmen into areas unsuitable for farmland. The Bantu peoples thereby founded the entire gene pool of subequatorial Africa anew a mere 2,000 years ago. Europe’s founding fathers came largely within two migrations: one being farmers form the Near East about eight thousand years ago settling largely along the Mediterranean; the second being from Southern Russia about six thousand years ago populating northern and western Europe. The genetic traits of the founders of a population can be positive, negative, or neutral.

Virus- – Malicious Software – Introduction

Introduction This assignment will explain about today’s most dangerous challenges for computer users, developers, professionals and all, one common step of assault on computer is ‘malicious computer program called Virus’. They have many different types; some of them can do very devastating effect on system and cost fortune as well. Most of the organisations have big challenges to block such a data effecting viruses. Estate agency business is the one of the organisation which is always a treat because of there confidential data-transferring between clients and staffs, so it’s effecting companies network performances and productivity.We will see some of them and understand how we can protect systems. About There have been well said about viruses from Microsoft (2006) â€Å"Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk†. Computer viruses are some well written programs by programmers. They will upload on your computer or server without your information and execute without your knowledge.Some of them will corrupt or delete your important data as well as application files. An even more they will attack on your system files, networks. They will distribute your data form one computer to another. It’s depends on different kind of viruses and there own capability. History â€Å"There are times when people want to destroy computers. In a time of war, a country may want to hamstring their enemy by destroying their intelligence databases (Ludwig, 1996)†. According to Spamlaws (2010) ,There are plenty of malicious software ,which is effected on computers . ostly know as viruses, spywares, trojan hourses and worms, rootkits and many other dangerous program which effect on syst em . As per comparisen these are different to each other : Viruses : Comuter viruses make system halt or keep contatly shuting down and do damages to files so user have difficulties to access documents or any other applications. These type of virsues make such damages which can be seen. Spyware:These types of software is installed on computer without user’s knowladge. They will change computer settings, make computer functionality difficult to use. They will collect data from users computer and sendback to remote host.Capable to hack your password,financial information. Trojan hourse: According to Cicso(2010), it is harmful piece of software,after it is activated,it can irritating the user by popping up windows,changing desktops,damaging deleting files,staling data as well as activating and spreading viruses. Worms:Worms are damaging and irritating others network than host computer, it is dangarous to sending viruses to other computers without effecting host computer. Athors claim,(Ianelli,Kinder and Roylo,2007)â€Å"If attackers can get their malware downloaded on victims system,they can earn money by causing the system to run the pay-per-install software†.Causes to Estate Agency Bussiness : Unlikely other businesses Estate agency is always an attackers target because of ‘Confidential’ data transfering on Internet with its clients. By virus attack it can be posible to change in important documents or companies policy,as per McAfee (2000),In 2000 ‘ILOVEYOU’ virus had similarly damage to thousands of computer. Virus can make very devastating effect on Estate agencies e-mail system,which is always busy for transfering important application files (DOC,.EXL,PPT etc) between millions of computer,as per CERT (1999),In1999 ‘Melissa’ virus was so powerful that it forced Microsoft’s and other big organisation to switch off their Email systems. Similarly ‘Twitter worm’ has effected upto quarter of millions twitter accounts in Jan 2010. Suggetion for better use of computer systems in Estate agency : ? Manage and admin all data, email system and applications centralized. ? Keep backup regularly and easily. ? Add new clause in ‘Turms of use’ for fair use of data handling to all users. ? Install Anti-virus software that will update regularly to check all downloaded files and block new spywares.Show and prove more commitement to data security within organisation. ? Use more secure operating systems like UNIX, LINUX. ? Avoid downloading unsecured data software from third party web sites or unathorized CD, DVD or external memory stick’s. ? Provide technical support to staff about how to deal with such odd files or data. For example, never run executable files (. EXE) which comes with email attachments. ? It is an advantage to use malware analysis software with the email system. Conclusion : Investment into Companies IT infrastructure will help to block malicious software and improve security for online communication.It can be reduce cost on system maintenances and additional accessories like software, hardware. Staff can work more efficiently and more positively to produce better results. Customer’s as well more assured about data security with the organisation. They don’t be worried about confidentiality of sharing personal data with the company. Satisfied customers is the most important key factor to become a successful organisation.References used in this assignment : o CERT,1999, http://www. cert. org/advisories/CA-1999-04. html ( Last accessed 31/10/2010) o Cisco, 2010, What is the difference:Viruses,Worms,Trojans and Bots? http://www. cisco. om/web/about/security/intelligence/virus-worm-diffs. htm l( Last accessed 30/10/2010) o Ianelli,N. ,Kinder,R. and Roylo,C. (2007) The use of malware analysis in support of law enforcement (P. ) Carnegie mellon university o Ludwig, M. A. (1996) The little black book of computer viruse s (p. 11). Arizona: American eagle publication. o McAfee,2000, http://vil. nai. com/vil/content/v_98617. htm (Last accessed 30/10/2010) o Microsoft,2006, http://www. microsoft. com/uk/protect/computer/basics/virus. mspx ( Last accessed 30/10/2010). o Spamlaws ,2010, http://www. spamlaws. com/malware-types. html ( Last accessed 01/11/2010)

Gorgosaurus - Facts and Figures

Gorgosaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Gorgosaurus (Greek for fierce lizard); pronounced GORE-go-SORE-us Habitat: Floodplains of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 30 feet long and 2-3 tons Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; sharp teeth; stunted arms    About Gorgosaurus In many ways, Gorgosaurus was your garden-variety tyrannosaurnot quite as big (or as famous) as Tyrannosaurus Rex, but every bit as dangerous from the point of view of smaller, herbivorous dinosaurs. What really sets Gorgosaurus apart among paleontologists is that this dinosaur has left an unusually large number of well-preserved specimens (from Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada), making it one of the best-represented tyrannosaurs in the fossil record. Gorgosaurus is believed to have occupied the same North American territory as another fairly generic tyrannosaur, Daspletosaurusand some experts think it might really have been a species of yet another tyrannosaur genus, Albertosaurus. This confusion can be attributed to the fact that Gorgosaurus was discovered about 100 years ago (by the famous paleontologist Lawrence M. Lambe), at a time when much less was known about the evolutionary relationships and characteristics of theropod dinosaurs. One interesting analysis of the growth patterns of Gorgosaurus has concluded that this tyrannosaur had an unusually long juvenile phase, after which it underwent a sudden growth spurt (in the course of two or three years) and achieved its full adult size. This implies that juvenile and full-grown tyrannosaurs inhabited different ecological niches during the late Cretaceous period, and probably subsisted on different prey as well. (And if you have hungry toddlers at home, imagine what it means for a one-ton dinosaur to go through a growth spurt!)

Elderly Alcohol Abuse Treatmen essays

Elderly Alcohol Abuse Treatmen essays Statistics within the United States indicate that the fastest growing segment of the population is among older adults. According to the United States Census Bureau, in the year 2000, there were an estimated 35 million people in the United States who were age 65 or older (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, n.d.). This proportion of older adults accounts for approximately 13% of the total population. Within the United States, the number of individuals under the age of 65 has tripled within the 20th Century. During this same time frame the number of persons who are age 65 or older has increased eleven fold. There have been estimates that by the year 2030, older adults will comprise one-fourth or 25% of the United States population, more than double the current rate (Adams Fleming, Manwell, Barry, Adams, baby boom generation will begin to turn sixty-five in the year 2011, which will account for most of the growth between 2010 and 2030. According to the Census Bureaus middle series projections, the number of older adults will increase by an average of 2.8% annually during this time period (United States Department of Commerce, Economics, One major area of concern involves identifying and understanding the etiology and maintenance of alcohol use among the older adult population. Although alcohol problems tend to decrease with age and appear less prevalent among older adults than younger adults, there is increasing evidence that alcohol problems among older adults are growing and represent a significant public health concern (Adams & Cox, 1995). Gallo and Lebowitz (1999) suggested that alcohol consumption is common among older adults, with approximately 10 to 20% of the older adults drinking alcohol on a daily basis. Many researchers have reported that alcohol use among older adults may have more severe adv...

Amber Frey, Ex-Mistress of Murderer Scott Peterson

Amber Frey, Ex-Mistress of Murderer Scott Peterson Amber Dawn Frey was the mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson. Peterson was found guilty of killing his wife, Laci, and his unborn child in 2002. Freys six-week affair with Peterson was in the spotlight during the 2004 criminal trial. She was a key witness in his prosecution. Peterson is currently sentenced to death by lethal injection residing  on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison. The following accounts of Freys short-term relationship with Peterson come directly from Frey as she recounts the brief courtship and events leading up to Laci Petersons disappearance on the  Oprah Winfrey Show. Other details of Freys life have been disclosed mostly by family, friends, and opportunists.   Early Life of Frey Frey was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 1975, to Ron and Brenda Frey, who divorced when she was five years old.  She graduated from Clovis High School in 1993 and attended Fresno City College where she achieved an associates degree in child development. She pursued additional training in massage therapy from Golden State College in Fresno, California. Frey and Peterson Get Connected Peterson and Frey were connected through Freys best friend, Shawn Sibley. Sibley had met Peterson at a business conference in Anaheim, California, in October 2002. Sibley says that Peterson told her he was single and wanted to meet an intelligent woman to have a long-term relationship with. Sibley told Frey about Peterson. Frey agreed to get connected over the phone. Peterson contacted Frey in early November and they made a date  to meet later in the month. The First Date On November 20, 2002, Frey met Peterson at a bar. There they shared champagne and strawberries then left to have dinner in a private room at a Japanese restaurant. Their conversation flowed easily and Amber felt Scott was easy to be around. After dinner, they went to a karaoke bar, sang, and slow-danced until the bar closed. They returned to Scott Petersons hotel room where they became intimate and ended up spending the night together. Relationship Sparks Amber described Peterson as being very romantic and solicitous towards her and her 20-month-old daughter, Ayianna, by including her child on some of their outings together. With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Peterson explained to Amber that he would be on a fishing trip in Alaska. Up to this point, Peterson had not mentioned to Amber that he was married and that his wife was 7-months pregnant. Feelings Deepen The relationship continued to grow between Frey and Peterson. Peterson  made home-cooked meals for Frey and Ayianna. He took Ayianna Christmas tree shopping. The couple shared deep conversations about their lives and feelings.  Peterson bought presents for Frey that demonstrated his sensitivity toward thoughts she had shared with him. Frey recalled one such conversation that was centered on the importance of trust in relationships. During that conversation, Peterson told Frey that he had never been married. Marriage Exposed On December  6, 2002, Freys best friend, Sibley, discovered that Peterson was married and she threatened to expose him to Frey. Peterson explained to Shawn that he had lost his wife and although it was difficult for him to talk about, he would tell Frey. On December 9, he told Frey that he had been married and lost his wife but found it hard to talk about. Frey asked him if he was ready for a relationship with her, and Peterson enthusiastically stated that he was. Relationship Gets More Serious Frey and Peterson attended a formal Christmas party on December 14. Frey introduced Peterson to her friends as her boyfriend. Later that evening they had sex without using birth control. Peterson commented that he didnt want children and regretted not taking precautions. He told Frey that he would willingly raise her daughter as his own, but to prevent the possibility of Frey becoming pregnant, he was considering a vasectomy. Frey found his revelation disturbing since she wanted more of a family someday. Frey Learns of Petersons Deception Peterson told Frey he would be in Paris for New Years. He called her often during his travels. On December 29, Richard Byrd, a friend of Freys and also a Fresno homicide detective, informed Frey that Peterson was married and his pregnant wife was missing. Once informed of Petersons deception, Frey contacted the police and agreed to assist with the investigation by taping future phone conversations from Peterson. Petersons calls to Frey were sporadic over the holiday. One notable conversation occurred on December  31, when Peterson told Frey that he was in Paris at a bar with friends and described the awesome firework display at the  Eiffel Tower. Frey Maintains Contact With Peterson Meanwhile, Scott had reported  Laci missing at 6 p.m. on December  24, 2002, after he returned home from a fishing trip at the Berkeley Marina. On January 6, Peterson admitted to Frey about his marriage and his wifes disappearance. He talked about the investigation and his innocence in murdering his wife. The following month, on February 19, Frey told Peterson they should stop talking until things were resolved with the murder of his wife. Peterson agreed. On April 18, 2003, Peterson was arrested and  charged with two  felony  counts of murder with premeditation and special circumstances: the  first-degree murder  of Laci, and the  second-degree murder  of his unborn child. He pled not guilty. Media Catches on to Frey-Peterson Affair In May 2003, Frey hired celebrity lawyer, Gloria Allred, to help with the hounding news media. Rumors and speculations about Frey were running wild even though she was tight-lipped and in seclusion. David Hans Schmidt, a promoter, surfaced with a paid-subscription website of nude pictures of Frey taken at the Clovis modeling agency in 1999. Frey filed suit against him, stating that she never signed an agreement to give up her rights to the photographs. Eventually, Schmidt was barred from commercially exploiting photos of Frey. In August 2004, Frey testified at Petersons  trial. The intimate details of their six-week relationship were revealed by her and the contents of the taped conversations were made public. Frey Post-Script After her relationship with Peterson, Frey began dating long-time friend Dr. David Markovich in early 2003, a Fresno chiropractor, with whom she had a child, Justin Dean.   In 2006, Frey married Robert Hernandez, a member of law enforcement, in Fresno, California. The couple divorced in 2008. She works as a massage therapist and is a writer known for  Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution  published in 2005,  The Murder of Laci Peterson  in 2017. Source:Crier, Catherine.  A Deadly Game: The Untold Story of the Scott Peterson Investigation. ReganBooks, 2005. â€Å"Amber Frey Speaks.†Ã‚  Scott Petersons Mistress: Amber Frey Reveals Her Story To Oprah  , 5 Jan. 2005, www.oprah.com/relationships/amber-frey-speaks_1/all.

1800 to 1860 events that led to the outbreak of the civil war Essay

1800 to 1860 events that led to the outbreak of the civil war - Essay Example Various constitutions on the decision arose from the territory, including Lecompton constitution making Kansas a slave state. Despite the efforts of James Buchanan, the constitution received rejection (Ransom 126). Another significant event was the raid on Harper’s Ferry by John brown and his group of blacks. The primary objective of Brown was to capture weapons and initiate a slave uprising. Unfortunately, the troop led by Robert Lee captured the group and executed them for treason. This led to the open warfare from the growing abolitionist movement. Upon election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina and other states withdrew from the Union. South Carolina had issued a warning that it would withdraw from the Union if Lincoln won, despite his moderate views on slavery. However, Lincoln agreed with the dominant Republican Party concerning the growing power of the South, thus barring the introduction of slavery on new states and territories (Selcer 267). Another major root of the war was the events at Fort Sumter. On April 10, 1861, South Carolina demanded for the surrender of Fort Sumter, but the garrison commander refused. A fire battle ensued. This event opened the engagement of the Civil War, despite no casualties in the bombardments (Parrington

Deep analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Deep analysis - Research Paper Example The reverse is also true; meaning when the market demand slackens there will be a decline in capacity utilization. In the economic scene, capacity utilization is employed to track inflation pressures (Nelson 275). In United States, data on capacity utilization is released on monthly bases by the Federal Reserve Board. This helps in tracking the extent to which the country’s productive capacity is being utilized and also forecast likely growth or decline in various sectors. Capacity utilization is measured by deducting actual production from potential production. Capacity Utilization=Real actual output-Real potential Output The data released by the Federal Reserve Bank can be plotted in a graph to show historical developments in capacity utilization. Notably, capacity utilization is represented in percentages, 100% is considered a maximum level of production. Such a graph is represented in the next part; the data represented is from 1965 through to 2012 (Federal Bureau of Reser ve). Capacity Utilization in United States of America Year Question 3 One of the emergent findings is that the overall capacity utilization has declined over the years. In the 1960s capacity utilization averaged around 85 percent. ... In explaining whether these findings are to be expected it would be important to look at the general economic environment over the years. It is clear that in the 1960s, which was largely a postwar period, there was a massive growth in the economy. This massive growth was enabled by a growing demand for goods and services which prompted companies in various industries to increase their productive capacity. At the same time, companies sought to maximize on their productive capacity to meet the demand. The result was higher levels of capacity utilization. However, this scenario would falter with a general change in the economic environment. This is because the economic environment remains a major determinant of the levels of production. In times of great demand the production levels will rise and thence the capacity utilization of existent companies will also rise. Therefore, at times of slow economic growth, or recession in that case, the industries are performing below par and thence the capacity utilization is way below that of a thriving economy. Given this scenario, it is thus expected that the level of capacity utilization will falter every time there is a marked decline in economic growth. Looking at the plotted levels and matching this with the overall health of the economy, we are able to see a higher level in the 1960s. It is during this period that the United States experienced the longest period of uninterrupted period of economic expansion. At the time, the efficiency and production levels of the U.S improved markedly. However, these levels have since declined and the country hardly goes for two decades without a recession. This reality largely suggests that the findings would be

Physical Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Physical Science - Essay Example For instance, individuals who are severely suffering from incurable diseases and other deadly diseases; they should be allowed to choose between life and death since they endure much pain. Furthermore, motive of euthanasia is to "aid-dying" painlessly, therefore, the laws should consider approving it even among the children. This will reduce pain, suffering and even low esteem suffered by patient. By doing so, the rights of an individual will have been respected. It is true that killing oneself is a way of protecting yourself from other forces and hence a defense mechanism, but it is totally different from mass killing, law does find it worth approving. When providing medical care and emotional care, the doctor always gives the patient medicine no matter the gross effects. Putting that into consideration, pain and agony should be prioritized. Hence our terminally ill children should be given a soft way out from such problems; hence legalizing euthanasia will be the only way out. The medicine given may not help and they may finally die. Therefore, legalization of euthanasia helps to avoid wastage of resources when buying medicine and it should be legalized. Law should forbid Mercy killing. It is unaccepted and a taboo for one to kill or to kill themselves. Human life deserves exceptional security and protection hence we should all stand against euthanasia Family members may have ill intention into forcing the patient to commit euthanasia hence unaccepted in the society. To protect evil and personal gains euthanasia should be demolished and should not be legalized in the current society. Thirdly, killing of oneself is biblical and religious unaccepted hence it will be abuse to the existing religion when euthanasia is legalized. The whole world should stand and protect the existing religions. Personally, I would not support euthanasia law since it will cause recklessness in the society. People will just be thinking about euthanasia whenever they are ill

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Strategic Management - Essay Example With this concern, the prime target of this paper is to determine the significance of research based view for strategic management. This study would provide a brief overview about the conception of strategic management and its importance. Moreover, the role of strategic management in helping a university in the quest for competitive advantage and the illustration of certain real as well as relevant examples would also be discussed in this paper. Importance of Resource Based View for Strategic Management In order to determine the significance of resource based view particularly for strategic management, it can be stated that resource based view can be duly considered as one of the perspectives that provide a rationale concerning how the different facets of human resourcess (HR) support an organisation to accomplish a greater competitive advantage (Cornell University ILR School, 2001). According to the resource based approach or view, the characteristics of the employees seem to be cri tical issues in the arena of strategic management. ... Research-based view of strategic management gives a clear idea of why different sorts of HR practices lead towards raising competitive advantage of a particular firm (Von Pock, 2007). Conception and Importance Of Strategic Management The conception of strategic management is regarded as an effective and significant management tool which supports an organisation in performing better job tasks (Analoui & Karami, 2003). There are different models or procedures that are used in the strategic management process of any particular organisation. In a similar regard, the procedures comprise identifying, analysing, formulating the recognised problems in a more descriptive way and finally evaluating as well as providing solutions to mitigate the problems identified. In order to determine the significance of strategic management, an organisation can achieve its expected business targets through proper conduct of strategic management. In the context of strategic management, mission as well as vis ion represents the fulfilment of organisational objectives. Moreover, the notion of strategic managements provides a clear idea about the strategic mission and vision of an organisation. Through the approach of strategic management, an organisation can properly identify its strengths along with weaknesses. The importance of strategic management is that it allows an organisation to be more active in performing various operational functions. For various organisations, it is quite necessary to implement a proper strategy because it helps them to comply with the requirements of the customers and most significantly to mitigate any sort of problem or complexity. The aspect of strategic

The decisions of a council in regulating operations within its Essay

The decisions of a council in regulating operations within its jurisdiction - Essay Example The researcher states that subject to the Food Vending (control) Act 2009, local councils are empowered to regulate trade within their geographical jurisdictions through licensing. The act provides that local councils, within their localities, can authorize trade in food substances through licensing and ensure regulation through revocation of licenses whose owners contravene requirements of the act. Subject to section 2 of the act, licenses can be revoked for misconduct or on grounds that the food supplies offered by the licensee are not safe for human consumption. The cases are based on the principle of delegated legislation and authority, and the scope of such legislations and authority. As a source of law, subsidiary bodies such as local councils and other government agencies are permitted to make laws and facilitate implementation of the laws. Similarly, authority may be delegated for implementation of primary legislation through formulation of policies. One of the basic principl es of such delegated legislations and authority is that they are limited to provisions of their parent acts that mandated them and any other superior source of law. A delegated legislation or authority can therefore not exercise more powers than is provided for by its authorizing legislation. In order to check on the concept of ultra ‘viresness’, the courts, when called upon, review implementation of delegated legislations to ensure that the agencies do not misuse authority to undermine rights and freedoms of their subjects.1 The scope of judicial review involves examination of the policy or decision in question to either approve, reverse or propose amendments to it. In exercising its review of delegated legislation, the courts look into a number of considerations. The first consideration is the conformity of the delegated legislation or authority to the powers as granted by the parent act. The aim of the courts would be to determine that the decision made in formulatio n or implementation

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Strategic Management - Essay Example With this concern, the prime target of this paper is to determine the significance of research based view for strategic management. This study would provide a brief overview about the conception of strategic management and its importance. Moreover, the role of strategic management in helping a university in the quest for competitive advantage and the illustration of certain real as well as relevant examples would also be discussed in this paper. Importance of Resource Based View for Strategic Management In order to determine the significance of resource based view particularly for strategic management, it can be stated that resource based view can be duly considered as one of the perspectives that provide a rationale concerning how the different facets of human resourcess (HR) support an organisation to accomplish a greater competitive advantage (Cornell University ILR School, 2001). According to the resource based approach or view, the characteristics of the employees seem to be cri tical issues in the arena of strategic management. ... Research-based view of strategic management gives a clear idea of why different sorts of HR practices lead towards raising competitive advantage of a particular firm (Von Pock, 2007). Conception and Importance Of Strategic Management The conception of strategic management is regarded as an effective and significant management tool which supports an organisation in performing better job tasks (Analoui & Karami, 2003). There are different models or procedures that are used in the strategic management process of any particular organisation. In a similar regard, the procedures comprise identifying, analysing, formulating the recognised problems in a more descriptive way and finally evaluating as well as providing solutions to mitigate the problems identified. In order to determine the significance of strategic management, an organisation can achieve its expected business targets through proper conduct of strategic management. In the context of strategic management, mission as well as vis ion represents the fulfilment of organisational objectives. Moreover, the notion of strategic managements provides a clear idea about the strategic mission and vision of an organisation. Through the approach of strategic management, an organisation can properly identify its strengths along with weaknesses. The importance of strategic management is that it allows an organisation to be more active in performing various operational functions. For various organisations, it is quite necessary to implement a proper strategy because it helps them to comply with the requirements of the customers and most significantly to mitigate any sort of problem or complexity. The aspect of strategic

Global Communication Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Communication Law - Essay Example It is significant to note that the first amendment does not guard statements pronounced to insult, incite people to do an illegal action, or provoke violence. In addition, the U.S law prohibits utterance of words that aim to promote religious, racial or any kind of discrimination that might lead to violence and hostility. It is against the law for a person to behave in a certain manner otherwise in private if the behavior done due to national or race origin of the other party. Such act that aims to insult, intimidate, offend, or injure other people is prohibited by the law. Freedom of expression, speech, and right to privacy may be limited in cases where they pose a risk to public safety, national security, and territorial integrity (Huffman & Trauth, 82). 2. What constitutes â€Å"obscenity† differs in many nation-states when it comes to pornographic and obscene materials. Do you think that moral-religious censorship laws in non-western societies and freedom of expression in western societies can co-exist in the global village of today? Is there something in the foreign culture that can benefit or lead to improvement of our own system? According to the U.S constitution, obscenity is defined in reference to Miller v California case decided in 1973. Therefore, obscenity refers to a situation where the work shows or explains, in a patently offensive manner, sexual conduct defined by law. Further, obscenity involves a situation where the work described lacks serious scientific, political, literary, or artistic value. U.S states treat pornographic materials as obscene because they contain sexually explicit materials that go against societal moral standards. It is rational to understand that â€Å"Half of obscene materials available on the internet comes from outside the U.S and is thus prohibited by law† (Huffman & Trauth, 99). The foreign cultures provide that no sexually explicit materials should be available or accessible to the public because it contradicts

Public transport Essay Example for Free

Public transport Essay Public transport can be described as a shared service of passenger transportation readily available for public use. Modes of public transport in many modern cities include trains and trams, buses, trolley buses, ferries and rapid transit. Public transport is necessary to economic and social development, with easy movement of people, goods and services. Increased number of motor vehicles in the modern cities carries both economic and social costs evidenced by increased air pollution. Air of poor quality can serious affect the health of the public and can result to premature deaths. Public transport is said to be the key of reducing air pollution in the urban cities in the following ways: reduced emission of carbon monoxide, reduced emission of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emission, reduced emission of the volatile organic compounds and minimized fossil fuel consumption. Studies have shown that private vehicles, which are mainly petrol-powered, emit carbon monoxide, lead, benzene and lead which are detrimental to the air in our cities (European Environment Agency 2010). Still, due to the large number of this private vehicles, they are bound to emit this pollutants in high amounts compared to public transport. It is clear that, in order to reduce the air pollution and especially the concentration of carbon monoxide in our cities, there is need for people to rely much on public transport rather than the private vehicles. Nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted on the environment. Study conducted by the American enterprise institute and Brookings institution in 2002 showed out that the quantity of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted by the private vehicles was about double the amount emitted by the public transport for every mile traveled by a passenger (European Environment Agency 2010). Use of public transport can reduce carbon footprint of an individual. Another study in the year 2005 showed that the use of public means rather than the private means could have reduced the carbon dioxide emission in the United States by 3. 9 million of metric tones. So it is much possible that, reducing air pollution in our cities can be achieved by depending more on the public transport. On other organic volatile compounds, the same study showed that the private vehicles could emit 92 percent more organic volatile compounds than the public vehicles as compared to mile traveled by each passenger. Efforts of reducing air pollution in our cities should focus on how to minimize usage of private vehicles in transport and also encourage use of the public means in transport. The same studies by the same two institutes showed out that in United States, public transport only used half of the fuel which was required to fuel the private vehicles. The more fossil fuel is used, the more emission of pollutant air is likely to emit in the environment, so in order to reduce the air pollution in our cities, there is need to encourage use of public transport. Public transport is very vital in our cities especially in achieving the global war on reducing air pollution which can result to global warming. Efforts need to be put in place to ensure that people use much the public means in most of their traveling because it will reduce air pollution in our cities as well as reducing the urban congestion of vehicles and also reduce the overdependence of energy imports. Bibliography European Environment Agency, 2010, Sources of Air pollution, Viewed July 27, 2010 http://www. eea. europa. eu/publications/2599XXX/page010. html

The Controversial Childrens Novel Junk English Literature Essay

The Controversial Childrens Novel Junk English Literature Essay Whilst violence and evil have long appeared in childrens literature, it is only recently that widespread violence, such as the treatment of the Holocaust in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Boyne), has been accepted as important in teaching children and young people about the more sinister aspects of human nature. In his 2005 essay, Kenneth B. Kidd explains that the treatment of such events in childrens literature is now necessary because we no longer have the luxury of denying the existence of or postponing the childs confrontation of evil (Kidd 121). Moustakis (1982) argues that reading literature containing violence can help children to come to non-violent solutions to obstacles in their own lives. She claims that in fairy tales, for example, the monsters represent a childs own inner monsters and can allow them to vicariously master them (Moustakis 30); she also echoes Favats beliefs, stating that the fairy tale handles justice and retribution in a manner that young children unders tand (Moustakis 29). Kristine Miller (2009) supports this view, attesting that war fiction can also communicate a healthy way to deal with conflict. War is an undeniable part of our world, always relevant, and war fiction, Miller argues helps readers to think constructively about a world being destroyed (Miller 273). The realities and consequences of war and political oppression are key themes of Beverley Naidoos The Other Side of Truth (2000). After the assassination of their mother, Sade and Femi are forced to flee Nigeria to seek asylum England. Separated from their journalist father, and abandoned in London with no money and nowhere to go, Naidoo claims her novel aims to reveal the impact of the wider society and its politics on the lives of young characters (Naidoo). After a traumatic series of events, the children are placed with sensitive foster parents, only to discover that their father has been arrested, detained and is facing deportation. Written in the third person, and told from Sades perspective, the novel contrasts the childrens experiences in London with their old life in Nigeria and their expectations of England based on BBC World Service broadcasts. The contrasts between the two countries are reflected in the treatment that Sade and Femi receive at the hands of the children at s chool, the strangers they meet in London, and the welfare and social systems; and support Naidoos belief that the world of refugees in Britain is largely submerged under public indifference and increasingly overt hostility (Naidoo, Carnegie Medal acceptance speech). The major theme of the novel is suggested by the title and has a number of interpretations; an individuals view of the world based on their own context; the contrast between Sade and Femis middle-class perspective of themselves in the politically oppressed Nigeria versus the racism that they face in England; and perhaps the most significant within the novel Sades moral struggle between her received understanding that Truth keeps the hand cleaner than soap (Naidoo 74), and the realisation that her fathers truth-telling led, inadvertently, to her mothers death, and their consequent struggles in England. As the oldest sibling, Sade has to assume the parental role, making the decisions regarding what information she will share with the authorities to get help, whilst at the same time trying to protect herself, her brother, and her father. Her surrender to deception and lies weighs heavily upon her, and is particularly evident in her fear and disgust after her theft of the lighter from M iriams uncles shop, particularly in light of Mariams revelations about her past. It is not until the children discover that their father is alive and in London that they begin to experience some sort of peace, although their hopes are quickly dimmed by the knowledge that he is on hunger strike and faces deportation back to Nigeria. The novels conclusion, whilst not the simplistic happy-ever-after is nevertheless, optimistic, and is a direct result of Sades determination and decision to tell her truth. As Jana Giles notes, the message of the novel appears to be that non-violent solutions are the answer, quoting Folarins comment in his letter to his children that We must dare to tell. Across the oceans of time, words are mightier than swords (Naidoo 193). With her novels, Naidoo attempts to encourage children to examine the the historical, social, [and] political context, hoping that they will begin not only to question What will happen next? but Why is this happening' (Naidoo, An Int erview with Beverley Naidoo). Naidoos comments on her books appear to reflect Falconers beliefs, though on a more world-wide scale; while Falconer seems to limit her comments to the reality of the intended reader, Naidoo aims to address the wider reality of the moral human universe (Naidoo, A Writers Journey: Retracing The Other Side of Truth 340). The debate over what is suitable material for childrens literature is one of the oldest and most active (Reynolds 88). Previously highly conservative in content, recent years have seen an increase in the number of books deal with sex, death, sin and prejudice, and good and evil are not neatly separated but mixed up in the confused and often turbulent emotions of the central characters themselves (Appleyard 100). In his essay, Melvin Burgess admits that Junk was an experiment, explaining that he felt there to be a lack of literature that would speak to real teenagers (Burgess). Like Naidoo, Burgess strived for authenticity, knowing that the book was likely to have a rough ride (Burgess), and despite the criticism, Junk went on to win the Guardian Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal. Junk is certainly very different from the portrayal of adolescents by earlier writers like Ransome. The novel focuses on two 14-year-old heroin addicts; David, who has for years, been protecting his alcoholic mother from his abusive father, and Gemma, who yearns for adventure and escape from her oppressive parents They had no doubt at all that unless my life was made as miserable as possible, Id be a junkie whore by midnight. (Burgess, Junk 65). Gemmas attitude is in stark contrast to for example, Wendys confident belief that her mother would always leave the window open for her (Barrie 4.1). Both Gemma and David crave freedom, but not the freedom of an innocent childhood, rather the perceived freedom of early adulthood; It wasbeing on my own, having an adventure. Yeah. It was life. A big, fat slice of life. (Burgess, Junk 69) That Gemma is only able to experience this adventure by leaving her parents is sadly ironic, and, implies that perhaps such adventure cannot be found within ch ildhood, only by leaving it behind. After a brief third-person narrative in the first chapter, Junk is composed of the individual testimonies of the characters, with Gemma and Tar taking approximately half of the chapters. This form of first person narrative, referred to as immediate-engaging-first-person narration (Schwenke-Wyile 185), enables the narrative to become more intimate and revealing because the narrating agent and the focalizer are the same (Schwenke-Wyile 188-189). Whilst Junk doesnt openly condemn drug use or prostitution, Burgess use of irony and the contradictions between the individuals testimonies, reveal the truth about the events of the novel and the effects those events have on the characters. Burgess relies on his readers ability to make a moral judgement (Burgess, Sympathy for the Devil 319), rather than lecturing, which he says young people get enough of at school (Burgess, Sympathy for the Devil 319). Whilst Burgess wants to avoid lecturing his readers, his desire for authenticity in his novel s, and his reputation for honest writing (Burgess, Sympathy for the Devil 316), suggest that he still wants to educate them. This is reminiscent both of Beverley Naidoos intentions when writing The Other Side of Truth, and of Rachel Falconers belief that childrens literature should address the reality of their lives. There is some debate over whether or not historical fiction can address contemporary issues; Coram Boy however, is an example of historical fiction that deals with issues such as race, abandonment, and even teenage pregnancy. As Ringrose points out, in showing that children of the past suffered injustice, it implies similar injustices are suffered by todays children, and furthermore, in reading the novel, a child would find out much about eighteenth-century England (Ringrose 359). Coram Boy exposes readers to the stark differences between the lives of the children of wealthy aristocrats, those born to the lower classes, and the bleak reality of the lives of orphaned children. Through Gavins characters, the social injustices of eighteenth-century England are revealed; children abandoned to die, sold into slavery or the military; the contrast between the opportunities available to children of the wealthy aristocrats versus those of the lower classes; the mistreatment of mentally-challe nged individuals; racial discrimination. Slavery may now be illegal, but most of these issues continue to be relevant today. Gavin claims that historical fiction can enable writers to explore events, issues, relationships or situations, which sometimes can be easier to deal with when removed from a contemporary context. (Gavin 363) Coram Boy allows readers to compare their own culture with that of England in the eighteenth century and in doing so implies that whilst society may have advanced; there are still many things that need to be achieved. As Ringrose attests, Jamila Gavin brings to Coram Boy a modern interest in difference, race and justice (Ringrose 361). One of the issues with historical fiction, particularly for children, is historical accuracy. Gavin believes that First and foremost, a writer of fiction is telling a story, so sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, accuracy may not be as thorough as it would be in non-fiction (Gavin 365), and uses this to justify some of her stretched truths and distorted facts (Gavin 366). The use of narrative telling in Coram Boy is also significant in relation to evaluating how the historical period is portrayed. The majority of the events are narrated in the third-person, and indirect speech is favoured over direct speech. These techniques enhance the reliability and objectivity of the narrative, implying that the novel is an account of an historical event rather than a work of fiction. The minimal use of direct speech may be an attempt to avoid the problem of characters period speech which can result in inconsistencies, such as Melissas contemporary usage of the phrase hanging around in c ontrast to Isobels previous comment that Otis has such a lack of respect in his bearing (Gavin, Coram Boy 129). The consequence of such inaccuracies in a novel is open to debate; if, as Falconer believes, literature should focus on the reality of childrens lives, then is poetic licence justified as a means to an end does it matter if the history is accurate as long as the issues are relevant? Much of the literature produced for children today has moved away from the Romantic notion of childhood, and this change is largely due to the way the world is today; increasingly urban, with a rise in crime rates (House of Commons) and decline in familial support networks. Childhood is an umbrella term and does not reflect the individual, as Peter Hunt argues that it is vital that the inevitable variety of childhood and childhoods is acknowledged in its real readers, and it variability as a social and commercial construction is acknowledged in the texts (Hunt 23). With such variety and variability then, the reality of young peoples lives must surely be subjective, since each individual child experiences things, and reacts to these experiences in their own way. Whilst I agree with Rachel Falconers statement, and believe that children should be told the truth about the world in which they live, I think that Slayton has better conveyed my opinion: to avoid in childrens literature anyth ing that children fail to avoid or cannot avoid in their own lives is to do them a considerable disservice (Slayton).

Vivisection: Is it for you? Essay -- Animal Testing Papers

Vivisection: Is it for you? Animal Research has become a heated debate over the past few decades, reaching a high point around the end of the twentieth century yet it still continues through today. There are two main ways to look at this topic: the logos pro side and the pathos anti side. Those who are for animal testing realize the amazing benefits that can come out of such research while those against animal testing stand up for animals’ rights and try to find ways to better such research without killing so many innocent, defenseless animals. While both sides seem to carry their argument well, those against animal testing ruin their ethos by making their argument an emotional one while those who are for animal testing build their ethos by giving logical reasoning for testing animals. Exploring both sides deeper should help provide a clear stance for each one. Those who stand behind animal testing usually tend to be groups of scientists as well as animal testing companies. One such company, Huntingdon, argues that animal testing is a necessary evil. While nobody enjoys killing animals, Huntingdon suggests it is necessary by showing us that millions of people have been saved through various operations that would not have been able to have been preformed if it had not been for animal testing. On one if its web pages, Huntingdon stated: [H]ere is a list of the average number of operations performed in the UK in a year: 3,000,000 operations under general [anesthetic], 90,000 cataract operations, 60,000 joint replacements, 13,000 coronary bypasses, 10,000 pacemakers implanted, 6,000 heart valve repairs or replacements, 4,000 heart defects corrected, 2,500 corneal transplants, 2,000 kidney transplants, 400 heart/lu... ...mbine our ideas and use computer simulations when possible and animal testing only when necessary, miracles can happen. Works Cited Michael, Mike. â€Å"Views From Behind the Barricade: Animal Rights Campaigners Have Left Researchers Feeling Under Siege.† New Scientist 134 (4 April 1992) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A12410157. Sandler, Jessica. â€Å"PETA Says No to Testing.† Earth Island Journal 17.3 (Autumn 2002) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A89392654. Lewis, David. â€Å"Molecular Modeling as an Alternative to Animal Testing.† Manufacturing Chemist 63.12 (December 1992) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A13522944. Huntingdon Life Sciences: Working for a better future: The benefits of animals in scientific research. 31 March 2003. . Vivisection: Is it for you? Essay -- Animal Testing Papers Vivisection: Is it for you? Animal Research has become a heated debate over the past few decades, reaching a high point around the end of the twentieth century yet it still continues through today. There are two main ways to look at this topic: the logos pro side and the pathos anti side. Those who are for animal testing realize the amazing benefits that can come out of such research while those against animal testing stand up for animals’ rights and try to find ways to better such research without killing so many innocent, defenseless animals. While both sides seem to carry their argument well, those against animal testing ruin their ethos by making their argument an emotional one while those who are for animal testing build their ethos by giving logical reasoning for testing animals. Exploring both sides deeper should help provide a clear stance for each one. Those who stand behind animal testing usually tend to be groups of scientists as well as animal testing companies. One such company, Huntingdon, argues that animal testing is a necessary evil. While nobody enjoys killing animals, Huntingdon suggests it is necessary by showing us that millions of people have been saved through various operations that would not have been able to have been preformed if it had not been for animal testing. On one if its web pages, Huntingdon stated: [H]ere is a list of the average number of operations performed in the UK in a year: 3,000,000 operations under general [anesthetic], 90,000 cataract operations, 60,000 joint replacements, 13,000 coronary bypasses, 10,000 pacemakers implanted, 6,000 heart valve repairs or replacements, 4,000 heart defects corrected, 2,500 corneal transplants, 2,000 kidney transplants, 400 heart/lu... ...mbine our ideas and use computer simulations when possible and animal testing only when necessary, miracles can happen. Works Cited Michael, Mike. â€Å"Views From Behind the Barricade: Animal Rights Campaigners Have Left Researchers Feeling Under Siege.† New Scientist 134 (4 April 1992) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A12410157. Sandler, Jessica. â€Å"PETA Says No to Testing.† Earth Island Journal 17.3 (Autumn 2002) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A89392654. Lewis, David. â€Å"Molecular Modeling as an Alternative to Animal Testing.† Manufacturing Chemist 63.12 (December 1992) Online. Expanded Academic Index. Article Number: A13522944. Huntingdon Life Sciences: Working for a better future: The benefits of animals in scientific research. 31 March 2003. .

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

â€Å"All the characters in â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† are to some extent living an unreal existence†. Agree or disagree with this statement about the characters and be sure to use quotes to support your comments. Not all the characters in â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† are living an unreal existence, however some are, in particular Blanche, Stella and Stanley. Blanch to some extent is living in her own fantasy world plagued with delusions and outbursts. It is quite obvious that she is living an illusion. Stella is living an unreal existence in regards to the way in which she likes to pretend she is living in a happy home. Stanley is also however to a much lesser extent living an unreal existence. He is very self-centered and towards the end he seems to be living a life nearly devoted to breaking down Blanche. We can see why and in what way these characters are living an unreal existence through exploring the major themes of this play and their relation to the characters in regards to â€Å"living an unreal existence†. These themes which will be discussed later on include reality versus illusion, confronting reality, male domination and truth versus lies. Reality versus illusion is one of, if not the major theme of the play. It also has the most relevance to the way in which Blanche, Stanley and Stella are living in their own fantasy world. Perhaps the reason Blanche chose illusion rather than reality is because of her somewhat troubled past. When Blanche was 16 she married Alan who was 17. The impression we get of Alan is that of an attractive, gentle and kind young man. However, he had a somewhat feminine quality about him. Blanche soon finds out that he is involved in a homosexual relationship by catching him in the act. Blanche expresses her disgust and soon after Alan commits suicide by shooting himself. Already traumatized, the situation grew quickly worse when Blanche looses Belle Reve, the family estate. This proves only to worsen Blanche’s mental state to an all new low. This coupled with other events led Blanche to living with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Perhaps the events which had occurred led her to the edge of insanity which she was resting on during her time living with Stanley and Stella. It was easier for her to create her own fantasy world rather than to face up to reality.

A Visit to Toys’ R Us

| A Visit to Toys’ R US| How Toys are Affecting Gender Roles in Growing Children| | Ji-Young Kim| | 2012-05-21| | Today’s toy store is the Mecca for children. Although many traditional toy stores have died out due to the advent of electronic toys, big stores like Toys’ R US have survived by flexibly by absorbing its new adversaries. Now, they sell a very wide arrange of toys, from orthodox toys like dolls and action figures to toys that followed technology’s evolution, like electronic book readers and of course, video games.However, while toys have evolved, it became clear from my observation that the buyer’s attitudes about what toys are appropriate for each sex has not changed much. Also, although many previous masculine themed toys have become gender-neutral, still many more gender-biased toys carry messages of what boys and girls are expected to grow up. Still, I could see signs of improvement overall, and believe that as long as there is room f or improvement, gender bias amongst children will gradually disappear.As I coursed through the aisles, I noticed that the store divided itself into several parts: boys, girls, electronic games, and gender neutral. I found it amusing that the section for the girl’s toys was in the very back of the store. I assumed that this would result in girls getting a taste of the boy’s toys, but not vice versa. It would be profitable for the toy store to place the girl’s section in the front, because ignored products are often placed in the most valued spots (e. g. shelves that meets eyelevel), but I guessed that the toy store assumed that it would hear complaints from the parents if they decided to place toys that way.The front of the store, excluding the girl’s section, was divided into half by gender-neutral toys and toys for boys. Interestingly, the section for boys and gender-neutral sections were not marked ‘boys’ but only the types of the toys (e. g. action figures), but the section for girls was clearly marked as ‘girls’. Firstly what I see was the gender-neutral area contained mainly storybooks, board games, Lego, sports and musical instruments. I noticed that many toys that were traditionally considered masculine, like drums and skateboards, were now in the gender-neutral area.However, some toys we consider traditionally gender-neutral like sports equipments, had no pink colored items (lacrosse sticks), while some other equipments, like tennis rackets, which were placed right next to the lacrosse sticks, came out in both pink and blue. I assumed that there was no market for pink lacrosse sticks, or it wasn’t significant enough to fit into a toy store. Board games almost always showed ageism and reinforced sex stereotypes on their cover when depicting men or women. It is also worth noting that toys that are completely free of gender bias are based on themes completely unrelated to social activities (e. . rubber dinosaur models). One interesting board game for small children, named Battle of the Sexes by Imagination, was about testing the opposite sex about the interests of the player’s sex (e. g. The number of football players in a team). Outwardly, this seems like an excellent game which allows you to get to know what the opposite sex is like, but is in fact reinforcing ideas about the norms of the opposite sex into children. The gender-neutral section also included the well-known Lego series.Although I call this a gender-neutral toy, it is only so because it has a small amount of pink-colored sets containing pieces that are mostly women. Despite the Lego series’ seemingly gender-neutral concept of building blocks, most of the toys are themed around mostly masculine activities. Many, if not most, depict warfare, a theme based on violence, which is mostly considered masculine. Adventure themed Lego toys have no women characters involved; it always depicted men who are digging up a desolate landscape and fighting mummies with, of course, pistols and swords.Maybe, as shown in a video â€Å"Different but Equal†, boys will have a better initial ability to construct Lego blocks creatively due to their superior space recognition skills, but they will be able to further reinforce their abilities by playing with the blocks frequently, and ultimately resulting in reinforcing the idea that this ability is male-oriented. However, as recent studies show, women have just as much potential to do as well as men do on those areas. Sadly, parents who have daughters may be ignorant of these facts and may be intent on getting their daughters’ dolls rather than block toys.Still, the fact that there are Lego toys aimed for girls can mean things have improved such as Lego Friends, for only a decade ago it was even hard to find women figures in Lego products. It may be that some parents are shifting their paradigms and starting to get children what they wish for. The electronics corner was filled with toys that included characters symbolizing the peak of masculinity. For instance, the famous Super Mario series from Nintendo that has lasted for more than 30 years as a bestseller series, almost always depicts Mario, the main hero of the series, rescuing Princess Peach, the traditional helpless princess from danger.Mario has mustaches and grows in size and power when he consumes mushrooms, symbolizing the masculine features of a man, while Princess Peach wears pink frilly dresses, is always helpless and carries an umbrella, not to mention wearing makeup and jewelry. I believe that the video game company is unwilling to discard this facet of the game, because it has sold well for more than 30 years by creating games that live up to gender stereotypes.In rare cases the main character was a heroine, the female is either wearing a robotic outfit that covers the entire body and has a gun in the place of her hand (Metroid, Nintendo) or dres sed up in formal dresses (The Island Princess, Nintendo). It was clear that the former was meant for boys and the latter for girls. Most video games for boys were about destroying or somehow vanquishing the opponent, reinforcing the idea of ‘control’ and ‘power’, and ultimately in aggressive behavior.The section with toys for boys was filled with items that emphasize masculinity, especially action figures. Figures of men (especially superheroes and professional wrestlers with bulging muscles and tattoos) show boys from an early age how an ‘ideal’ man should look like. These toys will very likely lead to respect of power from a very early age, and will affect their speech style and ultimately reinforce differences in gender roles. Other than action figures, other notable toys were racecars and other automobiles, especially fighter planes.These toys would most probably give boys the idea of what would be ‘cool’ or what a ‘cool job’ looks like. These jobs have a thing in common: they are all risk-taking, and therefore toys are teaching boys to be risk-takers from an early point of their lives, as described in the video â€Å"Different but Equal†, although we have outlived the stone age. On the other hand, the girls’ toy section was the polar opposite: the whole area was an oversized dollhouse covered from start to end with pink. Merchandises included basic make-up, small frilly dresses for children and of course, dolls.All dolls were very slim and tall, and mostly had makeup on their faces, showing contrast to the tattooed and muscular action figures. These dolls will help keep future women in line by building an image of an ideal woman within a girl’s head, from a very early age. One interesting feature was that while there were Caucasian and African American dolls, there were none depicting Asians, perhaps because Asians have a longing for whiter skin, and prefer Caucasian ove r Asian dolls. It explicitly shows the place of Asians in American society: a race that aspires to become Caucasians, both in and outwardly.That clearly affects Asian girls, or Asian mothers, as there seems to be no market for Asian dolls, and thus reinforces the ‘traditional female sex behaviors’ white girls are often encouraged to follow (Lips, 203). On the day of May 19th, 2012, I got a chance to interview Berj, one of the managers of the store. He had short black hair, dark shiny eyes, and was wearing a uniform of white pants and a shirt with the ‘ToysRUS’ logo stitched into it. Every time before he started to speak, he cleaned his throat with a weird sound. Our short ten-minute interview began in a small manager’s room at the corner of the store.The interview with Berj revealed that the directions for the positioning of the toys came from higher up, specifically from a manual distributed from the main company. This showed that the positioning of toys were carefully planned to make the most profit possible, and was considered a major factor in profit-making. Such systematic planning showed that the company was much more willing to cope and follow the current set system of sexual assignment, rather than challenge it. I could not fault them much; companies are profit-driven, and it is only natural and easier to follow the ules rather than challenge them. In the toy store I could see a whole generation repeating the footsteps of its former. Parents will buy for their children what they think is right and appropriate, and will enforce those regulations on them if necessary. And so, children who grow up accustomed to those restrictions and bonds will naturally repeat the former generation. Most, if not all boys will play with action figures depicting machismo men, and most girls will always prefer dolls over toys. It was like seeing a never-ending cycle; in Buddhist terms, samsara. Fortunately though, I could see signs of hope.B y the works of countless feminists beforehand, we can see children’s movies like Mulan, where the heroine actually takes his father’s place in war, or skateboards created for girls. Although these examples aren’t completely free of gender bias in that Mulan is still a slim and beautiful girl and those skateboards come in pink, I believe that girls (and boys) who grow up experiencing these new changes will become adults who won’t enforce their views as strongly as their parents did, and maybe someday Americans will be able to overcome this typical bias as we can never imagine.It won’t be anytime soon, but someday they will. Reference â€Å"The Human Sexes (Part One) – Different But Equal. †Ã‚  The Human Sexes (Part One) – Different But Equal. Web. 20 May 2012. . Hillary Lips, â€Å"Gender role socialization: Lessons in femininity. † Pp. 197-216 in Jo Freeman (ed. ),  Women: A Feminist Perspective. Mountain View, CA: May field, 1989.

Opening Act of Othello Essay

Othello’s opening scene has an overall negative impact on the audience in the form of shock as some rather crude language; such as †zounds†, â€Å"tush†, â€Å"’Sblood†; opens the play. This scene sets the premise for the play and tells us of Othello and Desdemona’s elopement, and the betrayal of Brabantio. The opening scene occurs at nightfall to a conversation between two men; Roderigo and Iago on a street outside the house of Brabantio, a man who, unbeknownst to his, has just lost his daughter to a man, a general, he does not approve of. The nightfall of the opening scene created the air of mystery and darkness and is quite expository in regards to the character, Iago. The night is a time where most tragedy occurs and Iago distorts the truth and begins his crusade against Othello by revealing his plan to Roderigo, a man who is infatuated with Brabantio’s daughter, Desdemona. The night also exposes Desdemona’s wrong doing in the betrayal of her father by marrying someone who has not asked her father, and therefore has not been given permission, to marry her. When Iago and Roderigo tell Brabantio of Desdemona’s betrayal it is done so in a rather cruel and dramatic manner and shocks the audience. This creates a sense of pity in regards to Brabantio who, not only learns of this betrayal, but also suffers because of the way in which he was told. Iago ‘orders’ Roderigo to summon Brabantio to â€Å"poison his delight,† and he is summoned to the street in a form of disruption coming from Iago and Roderigo shouting that he has been robbed. â€Å"Awake! What, ho, Brabantio! Thieves, thieves! // Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags!† The reveal is conducted in a crude manner especially within the language used by Iago: â€Å"Zounds, sir, y’are robbed! †¦ an old black ram // Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!† these lines can be seen as the most striking of many animalistic images into which Iago’s speech habitually lies. It can also demonstrate Iago’s views on aty pical human desires as well as relationships. Although Iago appears to despise the Moor and any thought regarding a union between he and Brabantio’s daughter, there is also an impression that Iago is relishing in the betrayal as well as despising the action. And this open’s the audience to this despising regarding the Moor. Roderigo refuses to believe Iago once told of Desdemona’s, the woman he is infatuated with and even asked her father for her hand in marriage, elopement with the Moor and reveals that he is quite naà ¯ve. He doesn’t believe any body else is fit to marry her and therefore does not believe that Othello is good enough. Brabantio is angry in a different way as he feels betrayed and ‘robbed’. In Elizabethan times, marrying a man’s daughter without seeking his permission was seen as a crime as equally wronged as rape as that was essentially what it was. If the father had not given permission then she was not eligible for anything past marriage. However, Brabantio should be happy for Desdemona as she has, independently, found a man she loves who happens to be that of great power and honour rather than being racially biased against the Moor. However his anguish is understandable considering the severity of the act and no matter how much of a charismatic man Othello is, he says â€Å"words are words. I never did hear // That the bruised heart was pierced through the ear.† This translates to mean that she has betrayed him and she will most definitely betray Othello. Iago uses this to his advantage with regards to his diabolical plan. Words cannot bring consolidation to a man who has been betrayed so defiantly. Othello’s marriage is a result of his pride and arrogance, his tragic flaw or ‘hubris’, something that causes him to escalate to violate an important moral law, later on in the play. Also, his confidence is part of his hubris as it is an escalation of his pride and arrogance and this can be demonstrated in his speech defending his marriage to Desdemona and why he didn’t ask for permission in Act 1 Scene 3. His tragic error, or ‘hamartia’, is not revealed to the audience in so many words, however, the audience knows that Iago cannot be trusted and he is referred to, in Act 1 Scene 3, as â€Å"A man he is of honesty and trust:† by Othello himself so therefore, the audience can conclude that this is his hamartia. Iago is introduced as a confidant amongst the hierarchy, including Othello, who has not yet been physically introduced, and isn’t until Act 1 Scene 2, but is verbally referred to in a racial and disrespectful manner â€Å"mere prattle without practice† and isn’t referred to by name but by him or he. This is the first time we see Iago as a sinister and two faced, much like Janus, the Roman God with two faces mentioned on line 32 of Act 1 Scene 2. His short monologue at the beginning of the scene shows his first contraindication as he doesn’t respect Othello the way he claims to â€Å"off-capped†. Othello’s introduction in not physical but is referred to indirectly but Iago and Roderigo. Neither mentions him by name but do, however, mention him through his status and their complete disregard for his authority. This is due to Iago being passed over for the promotion to be Othello’s lieutenant in favour of Michael Cassio, â€Å"a Florentine //, (A fellow almost damned in a fair wife). A quite obscure, misogynistic comment, in the sense that Cassio does not appear to be married and if ‘fair wife’ were to mean ‘pretty woman’ then Iago may simply be suggesting that Cassio’s fondness of women could be his downfall. A tragic element in regards to Othello as this later results in Cassio’s murder at the hands of Othello; this is seen as Universalism or Apocalyptism where everything seems to fall apart. Othello’s physical entrance in Act 1 Scene 2 is described as having a â€Å"Calm dignity† and is in deep contrast to his verbal introduction in Act 1 Scene 1. This seems to establish him as a hero and prepares the audience from his tragic ‘fall from grace’. Therefore the protagonist is established. Unfortunately, racism was an issue in Shakespearean times and Blacks and Whites weren’t seen as the equals they are today. Roderigo demonstrated the difference between times by being deliberately offensive in a racist comment about Othello â€Å"think-lips†. Throughout the opening act there are many monologues given by Iago. These put fear into the audience as we know what he is going to do but how will his plan come fruition? These monologues give us as an audience an insight into the future and allows us to create our own theories regarding Iago’s plan. There’s a kind of irony within the fact that he reveals all of this to the audience as in the first scene of Act one he says the infamous line â€Å"But I will never wear my heart upon my sleeve // For daws to peck at; I am not what I am.† This biblical reference to exodus shows us that what he portrays is not his true nature. He has specifically said that he would not ‘wear his heart on his sleeve’, a metaphor for being too open and caring yet, his soliloquies are eloquent and revealing. This is an important clue into Iago’s true nature and quite early in the play, however, he remains elusive and is an ever-changing mystery within the play. This is a tragic element used by Shakespeare to keep the audience on their toes, something he was particularly good at as seen in Macbeth; Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy whilst sleep-walking. Iago’s monologues also give us an insight into his mind that would not be shared with another character. It lets us in to the deception and his wanting revenge over Othello. Insight is given into his intentions, motives and desires regarding his plan and we learn that he is going to accuse Cassio of wooing Desdemona and vice versa to sabotage the marriage of the man that rejected him. He is going to inject the jealousy of Cassio into Othello that will later lead to Othello murdering both Cassio and Desdemona. Iago still, however, retains his hold over Roderigo throughout the opening act as he is easily influenced. Domestic tragedy can be found within the marriage reference in Act 1 Scene 3 where Desdemona is first introduced and where Brabantio gives his blessing for her nuptials. The love can be seen as tragic and the whole scene is a rebuttal in regards to Iago’s slander of this union. It is revealed that â€Å"Desdemona was half the wooer† which means that she did half of the chasing. There is also a rebuttal of the accusation of witchcraft from Brabantio, as he believed that Desdemona â€Å"feared to look upon him†. Shakespeare uses a number of tragic elements in order to both shock and excite the audience. These include the Hamartia, Hubris, soliloquy and domestic tragedy. These are incorporated amongst the language in which the dialogue is written and also has a lot to do with the actors chosen to portray the roles of each character as each has their own flaw or quirk. Shakespeare incorporates these in numerous ways but most cleverly with Iago.

Why is euripides hate woman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Why is euripides hate woman - Essay Example Women in this era were expected to be homemakers, and make good wives and mothers, under the rule of their husbands. Therefore, a deviation from this norm would lead to strict sanctions against the women (Powell 4). In Euripides’ Medea, Medea serves as an ancient feminist, denouncing the strict gender roles imposed on women by the society. However, Euripides brings out the â€Å"feminist† as a lunatic, who even kills her own children. To an extent, Euripides portrayed women in negative light to emphasize that women should stick to their place in society, and not seek equality with men, as this makes them outcasts (Powell 8). Euripides’ hatred for women can also been associated with the events in his personal life. Euripides’ personal life was characterized by considerable controversies, judging from the different rumours about his parentage, youth, and marriage. For instance, it is believed that Euripides broke from his first and second marriages because of the infidelity of his wives (Powell 5). This successive unfaithfulness by his wives might have led him to perceive all women in the context of his wives, and therefore, portray them negatively in his plays. Therefore, Euripides hatred for women was influenced by the circumstances he faced in his personal life, the interactions he had with women, as well as the social conditioning from the society in which he

FACTORS THAT CAUSES THE BREAST CANCER IN YOUNG WOMEN Essay

FACTORS THAT CAUSES THE BREAST CANCER IN YOUNG WOMEN - Essay Example Various signs and symptoms are used in the detection of breast cancer. Self examination to feel for lumpy swellings is the most common method of self examining. Breast cancer may not be avoided, but it can be treated early if detected early without any serious damage to the young women. Statistics show that approximately 7% of young women are diagnosed with breast cancer and with early detection, 90% of those women are able to heal completely (Yankaskas, 2009). Identification of the research question is the first step towards conducting a solid research. In this case, the research question is to identify the causes of breast cancer in young women (C.T.B., 2013). Understanding breast cancer, its definition, symptoms, causes, and risk factors will help cover the research topic extensively. Understanding the age limit for the women considered as young in the case of breast cancer prognosis helps narrow down the causes. In this case, the young women are considered to be aged 40 years and below. Knowing this helps eliminate some causes and risk factors that lead to breast cancer that are associated with old age. The research study would also include a categorization of the different types of breast cancer. This will help clarify which type of breast cancer is responsible for the prevalence numbers of breast cancer in young women. This can be realized by reading widely. There are many ways that can be used to obtain reading resources. These incl ude, use of libraries, archives, and the internet as an academic source. In choosing the materials to use for research, understanding the topic helps narrow down the materials to use. The first thing is to understand what breast cancer is. There are many academic journals that have the definitions and terms associated with breast cancer. The use of a library can be very beneficial in this topic. Librarians have extensive knowledge on what books and journals can be beneficial to your research (SUNY, 2012). Inquiring from the

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MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING - Essay Example external and internal factors. These factors have redefined how management practices or functions are performed across business organizations. In the writings by Burgstahler et al. (2007), they stated that the transformations have largely affected the decision making process since there is a change in the management structure, which has integrated new roles as well as position holders. In addition, technology is also been increasingly applied in performing management functions. Despite the continuous transformation in the field of management, the constant variable has been the fact that accounting figures have consistently played a key role in the decision making process or rather they have consistently been used to decide the direction that the company should take. The strong reliance on accounting figures to perform management functions has led to the development of management accounting or control systems that were specifically designed to help the management of business organizat ions in the process of control, product costing and evaluation of management’s performance. However, in a seminal article, published by Johnson and Kaplan (1987) they both argued that management accounting systems had lost their relevance since they were inadequate for the modern accounting environment. In particular, they succinctly summarized the inadequacy of management account systems to cope with the demands of modern management by stating the information they generated was â€Å"too late, too aggregated, and too distorted to be relevant for managers’ planning and control decisions (Ezzamel et al. 1990). This present study mainly seeks to discuss the above statement in relation to today’s environment. It will begin with a literature review of the main topic of discussion and even a review on Johnson and Kaplan’s criticisms. Secondly, it will state the methodology that was applied in collected secondary data that were used in this study. In the third part before concluding, the study will conduct a critical analysis on the Johnson and Kaplan’s argument. 2.0 Literature review 2.1 Accounting With reference to the writings by Alkaraan and Northcott (2006), they stated that accounting as a practice focuses on recording, measuring, and communicating financial facts to concerned parties who use the facts for varying reasons. Roslender and Hart (2003) noted that in the present business environment, accounting largely focuses on the preparation of accounting reports and less on bookkeeping, which has been reduced to fairly a routine process because of the increased computerization and introduction of more effective systems of internal control. The users and uses of

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example bility and performance of the product and services are sustained and improved so that firms are not only able to retain existing customers but also attract new consumers. Thus risk management through effective governance, innovation, knowledge management and value addition become critical elements for protecting and sustaining the value of the products for consumers. All people directly or indirectly associated with the company are called stakeholders. Thus, customers, employees, shareholders, creditors, debtors, suppliers, regulators action groups etc. all become stakeholders in the company as they are, one way or another, affected by the business’ activities (Solomon, 2007. The identification of various stakeholders is important they are linkages that significantly impact the performance of the firm and promote development of society in general. In the contemporary environment of competitive business, the firms are not only motivated by financial benefits but play wider roles in the development of the society as a whole. Various stakeholders ensure that the business is having positive impact on the wider imperatives of social causes like environment, better HR practices, effective CSR practices etc. The analysis of stakeholders also helps the firm to proactively support the community welfare and at the same time, meet the changing preferences of the customers, thereby significantly impacting it productive outcome and improving its image and credibility amongst the stakeholders. The corporate governance gatekeepers are people who are in position to influence the decisions and activities of the management for improved and ethically delivered objectives and goals of the company. The main gatekeepers of the firm are: independent and competent board; independent and competent auditors; objective and competent legal council; and competent financial advisors. The responsibilities of different gatekeepers is to ensure that board is given the right advice regarding

Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing - Term Paper Example Branding strategies enables companies to charge a premium price (Kotler, 2003). Michael Kors built his retail empire by joining forces with some smart investors that had lot of experience and success in the retail industry. In 2003 Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou bought a controlling interest of 85% in Kors brand for $100 million. These two entrepreneurs invested in Tommy Hilfiger in 1989 and three years later they turn his company into a publicly traded corporation. The process to turn a company from a private business into a public firm that can sell its stock in the open market is known as an initial public offering (IPO) (Investopedia, 2011). Kors has implemented a lot of smart marketing strategies that have allowed his brand to differentiate from other designers. The firm recently introduced a new collection of clothes that has the same prestige of the Kors line, but at a lower price point. Another strategy that Kors utilized to increase the profitability of the company was produ ct diversity. The utilization of a product diversification strategy enables companies to expand their market (Theproduct, 2011). Kors began selling perfumes, handbags, and watches. These products have a higher profit margin than clothes. These new products are considered cash cow products. A cash cow is a product that produces a constant dependable source of income (Answers, 2011).

Person Centred Therapy Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Person Centred Therapy Evaluation Essay In order to evaluate the claim that Person-Centred Therapy offers the therapist all that he/she will need to treat clients, one must look at the theoretical concepts of person-centred therapy (PCT) and its underlying philosophical influences. The PCT approach was developed during the 1940’s and 1950’s by an American psychologist Carl Rogers, now known as Rogerian counselling; he proposed new humanistic ideas for counselling which moved away from the doctor/patient relationship. PCT emphasises person to person relationship between the therapist and client and focuses on the client’s point of view; through active listening the therapist tries to understand the client’s presenting issue and emotions. In PCT the client determines the direction, course, speed and length of the treatment and the therapist helps increase the client’s insight and self understanding. Rogers and Abraham Maslow, another psychologist, were the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology. â€Å"Humanistic theories of personality maintain that humans are motivated by the uniquely human need to expand their frontiers and to realise as much of their potential as possible† (Sanders 2002 p22). A humanistic approach is based on all human beings having an inbuilt ability to grow and achieve their full potential known as â€Å"actualisation†. If this quality can be harnessed then human beings can resolve their own issues naturally, given the right conditions. Rogers and Maslow believed in a person’s potential to reach self actualisation. Maslow however referred to the ‘psychology of being’ and that self actualisation was an end in itself at the top of the hierarchy of needs whereas Rogers considered the ‘psychology of becoming’- the process of being able to take charge of your life and become the person you want to be a c ontinuous process. Maslow felt that human beings are always striving for self improvement which goes beyond that of the basic needs for survival. He believed that a person’s behaviour stems from the way in which people strive to meet different needs. From 1943 to 1954 he developed the 5-level Hierarchy of Needs: * The first, lowest level, concerns a person’s physiological  needs: survival, food, water and shelter. * The second addresses safety: protection from danger and need for security, order and predictability. * The third covers love social behaviour: for love, friendship and acceptance by peers. * The fourth addresses self respect and esteem: the need for status, independence, recognition, self confidence and respect from others. * The fifth and highest level concerns self-actualisation: the need to fulfil one’s personal potential. His theory states that each need must be met in turn starting with the lowest concerning the need for survival and only when the lower needs are met is a person able to move on to the higher needs. However if something should happen and any lower needs are no longer satisfied then a person will concentrate on regaining them before attaining the higher ones. The lower four levels are known as ‘deficiency’ needs which a person will strive to fulfil thereby satisfying the deficiency. However behaviour relating to self actualisation is known as a ‘growth’ need, governed by the person’s inborn need to grow and realise his full potential. Maslow felt most people only ever achieved the first four needs, and he wanted to help clients to obtain ‘Self-Actualisation’ in order to really become themselves. â€Å"The higher up the hierarchy we go, the more the need becomes linked to life experience and the less ‘biological’ it becomes.† (Gross 1996 p.97) It is a fact that people achieve self actualisation in many different ways, related to experience in later life rather than biology. If a person has a deficiency in one of the lower levels of needs then self- actualisation cannot be achieved, resulting in anger, frustration, unhappiness and depression. Rogers trusted in people and viewed them in a positive and optimistic way, believing all human beings naturally strove to achieve their potential; mental health issues arose when barriers to personal growth were present. Accordingly a person’s behaviour is down to self perception or interpretation of a situation and as no one else could know how something was perceived, the perceiver would be the best person to help themselves. PCT looks at how the client is currently interpreting and perceiving their  situation, the moment to moment experience and what is being thought and felt. Rogers viewed psychological development as the process of a person following the path of actualisation and so becoming oneself. A fully functioning person was someone on his way to self actualisation and he identified certain qualities that enabled that person to realise his potential. A person needs to have:- Openness to experience: he can accurately perceive his own feelings and experiences in the world; Existential living: he lives in the present rather than the past; Organismic trusting: know what is good for one and trust thoughts and feelings as accurate, doing what comes naturally; Experiential freedom: the feeling of freedom when making choices and taking responsibility for personal actions; Creativity: a person will naturally socialise and participate in society through work, social relationships or through the arts or sciences. A principal element of Rogers’ theory is the concept of self, described as being a set of self perceptions and beliefs, including self awareness or image, self esteem and worth, and Ideal self. Human behaviour is driven by people attempting to maintain consistency between their self image and esteem; sometimes this consistency is not achieved and a person’s self image may differ from their actual behaviour and how it is perceived by others. A highly successful and respected person, may see themself as a complete failure: as their actual experience is not consistent with their ideal self, an incongruent condition. People experiencing incongruent feelings, because of conflict with their self image, feel threatened and may block or deny these feelings. It is these defence mechanisms which prevent the self from growing and changing; widening the gap between reality and the self-image until the latter becomes more unrealistic when the â€Å"incongruent person† will start to feel vulnerable, confused and suffer psychological disturbances. A congruent person’s self image is flexible and changes with new experiences, the self image matches the thoughts and actions allowing for the opportunity to self-actualise. A person’s self concept develops through childhood. Rogers believed that  humans developed conditions of worth: the conditions where positive regard would be given. In order to maintain this conditional positive regard a person will suppress or deny actions and feelings which are unacceptable to people who are important, instead of using those thoughts, feelings and perceptions as a guide to behaviour. It is this denial that causes the difference between the organism and the self, the organism being everything a person does, feels and thinks, and the self being the part that is accepted liked and respected by others positive regard. As people have an inherent need to be loved and accepted and therefore a need for positive self regard, they behave and act in ways that meet approval so in turn think of themselves as good, lovable and worthy. In order to experience positive self regard a person’s behaviour and condition of worth must match; sometimes conditions can force one to behave and act in ways that prevent self actualisation, thus living life by someone else’s standards. This can cause conflict between experience and self concept, leading to the development of psychological disorders. Congruence and self actualisation can only be reached if a person is functioning as a whole organism so conditions of worth need to be substituted with organismic values. Rogers maintains that the human organism has an underlying â€Å"actualising tendency† which drives a person to develop and become independent. When a person is acting under conditional positive regard which prevents realisation of full potential, these conditions need to be removed. The difference between the self and organism then becomes minimal and the person more closely aligned with his natural values: more relaxed and happy with life. PCT aims to provide the right environment to enable the client to grow and develop, and work through any problems by utilising the ability for personal growth. Rogers believed that the therapy should take place in a supportive environment created by a close personal relationship between the client and the therapist. It allows insight into the client’s feelings and behaviour whilst the therapist’s function is to offer warmth and empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard toward the client, accepting what is said in a non judgmental way. Rogers felt that the most important factor in  successful therapy was the therapist’s attitude. A key element of the PCT is to reflect the client’s feelings without judgement and by doing this the client will relax and express inner feelings. It also lets the client know that the therapist is listening, trying to understand, as well as clarifying what the client is communicating. Clarification arises when the therapist picks out the key points, uses the clients own words to develop an atmosphere of trust, enabling rapport to develop leading the client to feel able to appreciate current feelings and past experiences. Rogers believed that in order to create this environment for growth and change three core conditions need to be provided for a therapeutic relationship to be formed. Empathy. The therapist must try to enter the client’s inner world and understand how the client is feeling through sensitively listening and reflecting back what the client is saying. â€Å"Carl Rogers described empathy as the ability to sense the client’s world as if it were your own without losing the â€Å"as if† quality† (Sanders 2002 p68). Congruence. This involves the therapist being â€Å"real† open to the expressed feelings and being genuine with the client. There should be no air of authority, enabling the client to feel the therapist is being honest and responding as a real person not analysing what is being said and trying to fit it to a therapeutic model. Unconditional positive regard (UPR). The therapist must provide non judgmental warmth and acceptance of the client, regardless of past behaviour, as a worthwhile person free to explore and discuss all thoughts, feelings and behaviour positive and negative without fear of rejection or judgement. The client must not feel the need to earn positive regard; many people seek help because of disturbances caused by unreasonable harsh judgements. It is very important to ensure that experience is not repeated during therapy. If the client feels an evaluation is being undertaken, a false front may be put up or the therapy stopped altogether. It is these three core conditions that form the foundation of the therapeutic relationship. However, Rogers also believed that fundamental to providing the right conditions for change the helper must make psychological contact with the client. â€Å"Client and therapist need to be simultaneously aware of  each other before anything therapeutic can happen† (Sanders, Franklin Wilkins 2009 p 39.) Psychological contact, the relationship between therapist and client; the client is vulnerable or anxious; and receives empathy, UPR and congruence. All of these conditions are necessary and the core conditions must be used sufficiently for helpful change. These core conditions are believed to enable to the client to grow and develop in his own way to become the desired person. PCT focuses on the client’s own thoughts and feelings, not those of the therapist and provides an environment where the client can explore personal experiences to strengthen self structure which in turn helps to reach actualisation. The two primary goals of PCT are to increase a client’s self esteem and openness to experience. The therapy also helps to bring the clients self image and ideal self closer together and allows the client to have a better self understanding. The client’s levels of defensiveness, guilt and insecurity are lowered resulting in more positive and comfortable relationships with others and an improving ability to experience feelings and emotions when they occur. The results of studies carried out using this approach show that clients maintain stable changes over long periods of time, and that the changes are comparable with changes achieved using other types of therapy. It is a very effective way to treat people suffering from depression or relationship issues but PCT does appear to be less effective than other humanistic therapies where the therapist offers more advice. Rogers originally developed his PCT in a children’s clinic as ‘play therapy’ and his theory has been used to help people suffering from depression, anxiety, alcohol disorders, cognitive dysfunction and personality disorders and has been proved successful when used on an individual basis as well as in group and family therapy. In the later part of his career he worked with people suffering from schizophrenia. Although PCT is popular and does achieve a level of success, a key criticism in this approach is that the core conditions should always be provided by a good therapist before moving onto different theories and strategies to help make the client better. This criticism shows there is a degree of misunderstanding of the real problems of constantly providing UPR, empathy and congruence in the therapeutic setting, as these can clash and cause  conflict. Purely being able to maintain these core conditions requires much work on the part of the therapist, given that everyone has values and beliefs which are hard to suppress and ignore, so it may be more real for the therapist to own their own values and beliefs whilst not judging others. PCT does not require the counsellor to undergo any specific training or self development in any particular way through personal experience, other than to provide the core conditions. Rogers believed it is the relationship between the therapist and the client that brings about the therapeutic change. Further criticism, of therapists demonstrating the core conditions, is that it can lead the client to believe that the therapist is supportive of the situation and viewpoint to such an extent that the client no longer feels the need to change. This is due to the therapist offering no alternatives as there is no position of authority in the PCT to guide the client to make constructive changes. PCT has also been criticised for its lack of structure and insufficient direction to help people in real crisis. Some therapists would argue that this type of approach is not suitable or effective for clients who are inarticulate or poorly educated, whereas other feel that this approach can be applied to anyone. Although this approach is positive is it enough to solely create a good relationship between client and therapist and provide the clients with a safe space to feel valued and supported in order for change to take place? If a client is experiencing real difficulty and is unable to see a way forward and has lost all hope then it is important for the help to come from the therapist. Clients who have experienced this type of therapy often feel that is does not provide the desired solutions they are looking for and have become bored, frustrated and annoyed with the Rogerian style. In summary, although the person-centred approach is clearly a highly effective method of helping and is widely accepted and used by clinical psychologists today, I do not feel that it offers the therapist all that he/she needs to treat clients. I believe that no one therapy can claim an absolute success rate in treating clients, as human beings are inherently different due to differing cultural backgrounds and life experience and  hence each therapist and client relationship will be unique, producing differing results. I feel that one theory that suits everyone is not the approach a good therapist should adopt. Some people may find it easy to talk about their feelings and be able to help themselves in a PCT environment whereas to another this type of approach would be completely bewildering and unproductive. I believe PCT is an effective therapy for treating self esteem and relationship issues however it does not go nearly far enough to help those with deep rooted psychological disorders. A client in crisis may not have the ability to self-help and the nondirective approach can be unhelpful and ineffective when a client is seeking clear guidance from a counsellor. Therefore I believe it is the job of the therapist to determine which theory would help the client best to resolve their issues and be prepared to be flexible in approach. The skill set of a good therapist would have a variety of different strategies and therapeutic approaches to offer the client and although a person-centred approach is a good place to start, the therapist should be prepared to progress to more structured approaches as appropriate.