Monday, September 30, 2019

Today’s Prejudice Racial Discrimination in Everyday Life

| Does it Still Exist? : Racial Discrimination in Everyday Life| Submitted By: Humphrey Osei Owusu| | | | Jo-Anne MacLellan SEC A 1000 Tutorial #09 | In the 1920’s, restaurants in the United States were not the same as the restaurants we visit today. Certainly there were servers to serve food and beverages expecting a tip as usual, but that is not what is different. Look toward the window, there is a sign written in big letters: WHITES ONLY AT THIS POINT. During this time, signs granting access to whites were common, but what does this mean for the races that are not white?Whether one can admit it or say otherwise, racial discrimination will always be part of modern society. The world has faced the issues of discrimination ever since the beginning of time. Discrimination can be defined as the prejudicial treatment based off of different categories. These different categories apply to religion, race, sexuality and gender. Since the earth was formed, the world has been brought u p by race. After the discovery of race, the issues of discrimination start. An example of this is with the settlers of Europe.They looked down upon Native Americans as inferior to them. The Natives have been beaten and raped and forced to convert to Christianity by the force of Europeans. Still to this day we still struggle on the topic of discrimination. As mentioned earlier racial discrimination still exists, but we fail to realize that it is happening. Many people believe that discrimination has gotten better, but is it really? In the media, we hear reports about the treatment of minorities in the law. One race can be turned away for job even if they are more than qualified for the position.This paper will argue out of all minorities that experience discrimination, African-Americans experience it the worst. This paper will also explain that although individual discrimination is at a minimum, institutionalized discrimination still exists at an all-time high but heavily concealed. This paper will explore the means of affirmative action through the workforce and education system. It will also explain how people are unaware racial discrimination still exists in our education system, the workforce, and law enforcement What is institutionalized discrimination?Institutionalized discrimination is the indirect treatment of individuals by government, financial institution, schools, hospitals and other large organizations. This kind of treatment includes unfair distribution of rights or opportunities to a specific group. This kind of bias targets a race or religion and is part of the way society is structured. These kind of bias were not implemented by some bigot government, they are implemented by people who believe they are doing what they are instilled to do. But the fact of the matter is institutionalized discrimination has a negative effect on minorities who suffer it.Discrimination in the learning environment is more evident than ever. Education is not solely ba sed on learning, but it is based on social learning, life experience and decision making. Unfortunately for one that is discriminated against, they may value the purpose less than one that is not a victim of discrimination. There are many stories where discrimination against African American students occurred and its effects on them. Ruby Bridges, the first black child to enroll in an all-white elementary school, is a prime example of this.Ruby endured shouting crowds spouting death threats and derogatory names plus the other children wanting nothing to do with her, making her feel isolated. Another modern example of discrimination is the well-known story taking place in Kentucky of a white teacher addressing a black student by the n word causing the teacher to lose his job. The discrimination that is brought on by teacher sends the idea to African Americans that they are not welcome in the school. Because of their past negative experiences in school it causes African Americans to d o poor in school due to their lack of motivation.It is also proven that teachers are harsher with discipline on African American students, particularly harsh on boys. In 2012, the New York Times reported a study backing up that claim. The study consists on gathering statistics from 72,000 schools. After that, the results concluded that one in five black boys as well as one in five black girls were more likely to receive and out of school suspension than their white peers. These statistics are reasons why black students have lower scores in contrast to other races. Affirmative action is another policy of discrimination that is as controversial as racial discrimination.This was back in the 60s when black men and women were denied access into public bathrooms, restaurants and even drinking fountains. They were also denied opportunity for employment and education. The policy came in effect back in 1964 when Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. The motive behind this po licy is to try to eliminate discrimination as much as possible by giving women and minorities a chance. After a few decades, affirmative action plays a role in college acceptances and employment offers.However the objective is now changed from its initial intentions of equality to now seeking retribution from how blacks were treated. This is how affirmative action can now be interpreted as reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination is a type of discrimination in a minority group is biased against a majority group. Imagine a white student, who is trying to get into an elite university. This student has a 4. 0 GPA and has all the qualifications into being admitted. On the other hand, there is a black student, trying to gain admission into the same school with a 2. 0 GPA.However here is a quota that needs to be filled and the percentage of white students is higher than the percentage of blacks and other minority. If the quota has not been filled, that means the black student gets a ccepted to the school while the black student does not, thanks to affirmative action. Just like with the education system, affirmative action was implemented for minorities to have equal opportunities. Perhaps in the past, Affirmative action was beneficial. But as of the present time, it seems to create more problems. The ones who are for affirmative action believe the purpose is to seek over compensation for inequality.However, affirmative action tends to do more bad than it supposed to be good. For starters, it leads minorities to believe that they don’t truly qualify for a job. Besides the skills but got it solely based on their race, leading to feelings of inadequacy. Another problem with affirmative action is that one who belongs into the majority is punished for something they have nothing to do with. The white man is responsible for the scrutiny blacks endured, but an individual white man is not. There should be no reason that an honest white man should not be punished for past grievances.Like the phrase says â€Å"two wrongs don’t make a right† The inequalities against racial minorities happen to be a thing of the past. It seems like a power trip for minorities to take advantage of this so called policy promoting equality. Racial discrimination is rampant all over the workplace. Surely it is not as extreme as it is from the 1960’s, but it is not ignored. In 1964, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 is signed by then president Lyndon B Johnson. The act outlaws discrimination based on one’s skin color, religion or sex while protecting the rights of African Americans as well as other minorities.It created the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. However according to statistics, it is been proven that 36 percent of minorities experience mistreatment due to their ethnicity. According to an article an example of racial discrimination on the job is can be based off a first name. An experiment done in Boston and Chicago deter mined the more â€Å"black† ones name sounded, the chances of getting a callback were slim. To prove this, researchers sent out resumes to possible employers. Despite being the exact resume, one copy had a â€Å"black† sounding name such as Lakisha, while another copy had a â€Å"white† sounding name such as Emily.This experiment determined that â€Å"Emily† had a 50 percent chance of getting a callback even with an interview included. Discrimination as unfair as someone’s name is often kept in the dark. No one would hear on the news reporting a case of discrimination against a name that is as ethnic sounding like â€Å"Lakisha†. But it epitomizes what is wrong with institutional discrimination. Names are chosen for different purposes. Some of those reasons can be for culture, meaning, uniqueness or simply because they like the name.A company should not turn away an applicant for a reason as arbitrary as their name. Therefore one should not bear the scrutiny of having a â€Å"black† sounding name. The use of racial discrimination and law enforcement is the most controversial subtopic out of all three and the most portrayed by the media that black males are usually the target. This is a strategic method police officers use to harass African Americans because of stereotypes associated to their race. This act, better known as racial profiling, is a method used to target individuals for suspicion base off of skin color.Most people are familiar with the scenario with an African-American male driving a luxury car. From the perspective of a police officer, this man does not look wealthy, he is not even wearing a business suit, and chances are his car is stolen. This kind of tactic is an injustice to society, an act of discrimination and it also goes against of the Bill of Rights stating free from cruel and unusual punishment. One of the famous accounts of racial profiling comes from the well-known, yet controversial ca se of the shooting of Trayvon Martin.An unarmed teenager victimized of racial profiling by the neighbourhood watchman targeting him of suspicious behaviour which after a confrontation eventually leads to Martin’s death. The case is a reminder that the world has not come a long way from racial profiling. This is an unarmed teen minding his own business, unfairly being labelled as a troublemaker or in the words of the shooter â€Å"up to no good† As much as it is claiming to be non-existent or a thing of the past, the evidence is placed right in front of our faces.I can recall a few times as a kid when I would step into a convenience store with the intention of buying an item, and being watched from the corner of the store clerk’s eye or being subtly followed as I am being unfairly labelled a perpetrator. In conclusion, part of the name of this paper is titled â€Å"Does it still exist? † a question which pertains to the topic of discrimination. Society has come a long way in comparison to society nearly one hundred years ago. But despite society’s changes the answer to that question is a definite yes..Racial discrimination, not only against African Americans, will always exist. It will always exist through institutionalized discrimination. Attempts can be made to lessen it, but it will always have its setbacks. Affirmative action is one of those setbacks, being disguised as a solution to racial inequality, but in actuality it should not be overly depended on. It is extremely hypocritical to claim that affirmative action promotes equality. When in actuality, the policy basically lowers standards for education and employment.Thereby giving an advantage to a minority group and that skin color is the reason why they have a college education or have a place in the workforce. Even though discrimination is wrong in the fields of education, the workforce and in law enforcement, it is still being practiced in certain countries. What I can take away from social science and race is that you cannot change the past but you can work on changing the future The source of discrimination is unknown, but as society continues to progress, the more open minded society becomes.One day, the future generation will learn not to judge whether one is good or bad based off of the color of their skin. Work Cited 1. Gerrard, Meg, Frederick X Gibbons, Ross E O'Hara, Ronald Simmons, and Chih-Yuan Weng. â€Å"Perceived Racial Discrimination as a Barrier to College Enrollment for African Americans. †Ã‚  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin  (2010): 77-89. Proquest. Web. 19 Mar 2013. 2. Krysan, Maria, and Amanda Lewis. â€Å"THE UNITED STATES TODAY: Racial Discrimination Is Alive and Well. †Ã‚  M. E Sharpe Inc. 48. 3 (2005): 34-39. Print. 3. Barksy, Adam, , et al. Subtle Yet Significant: The Existence and Impact of Everyday Racial Discrimination in the Workplace. †Ã‚  SAGE journals. 56. 11 (2003): 1299-1324. Pr int. 4. Bertrand, Marianne, and Sendhil Mullainathan. â€Å"Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination. †Ã‚  National Bureau of Economic Research. n. page. Print. 5. Sampson, William Alfred. â€Å"INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION. † Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. 2008. SAGE Publications. 6 Aug. 2011. .

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Hcr Week 8

Week 8 Checkpoint 1. Assault: When someone attempts to harm or threatens someone else. 2. Breach of Confidentiality: Is when information has been released to someone who is not authorized to have it, or without the patients consent. 3. Battery: Touching a person without their permission. 4. Burden of Proof: Is the responsibility to prove harm or wrongdoing. 5. Defendant: This is the person that is being sued, or needs to defend themselves in court. 6. Contempt of Court: This is when someone is not obeying court orders, which can be punishable by jail time and/or fine(s). . Confidentiality: Keeping information that is secret, and only the patient can give permission to release this information. 8. Coroner: This is someone who investigates a death that was not because of a natural cause. 9. Court Order: This is a written command or order that is issued by a judge or by the court. 10. Deposition: This is part of a discovery where both sides of a case can get sworn statements from a witn ess, and find out if the witness is credible. Also, to see where the other side of the case is weak so that they can use it against them to win the case. 1. Discovery: This is a legal process where lawyers obtain all of the information that pertains to a case including witness lists (and more) so that the other side can prepare for court. 12. Covered Entities: These are private or public organizations that must follow the HIPPA laws. 13. Privileged Communication: This is private information. 14. Negligence: This is when someone fails to provide reasonable care resulting in an accidental injury to someone else. 15. Plaintiff: This is someone who initiates a court complaint.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Ad-Words and Brand Confusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ad-Words and Brand Confusion - Essay Example The increasing effect of all these changes have almost wiped off the geographical borders of the nations and the entire domain of trade and business has become a transnational issue. Along with such developments and changes, one cannot deny the role played by the internet. In fact, it is the internet that has acted as the most important facilitator of change in the development of information technology. The witty business leaders of the world have used the internet as the medium of business and the truth is such an effort has changed almost the entire dynamics of the traditional way of doing business. As it is widely accepted fact that internet is the huge pool of information. In order to make internet convenient to use for the users, the search engines came into existence in the previous decade. The search engines facilitate the search of the relevant information for the user. For the purpose, the user has to type the keywords of the information that he wants to get hold of. But there is a major possibility that such keywords are already trademarked by certain organizations and those words cannot be used in such a way. Moreover, of late the search engines are ch arging fees for such keywords which have turned out to be one of the prime sources of revenue for such search engines. This way of doing business has resulted in major controversies all across the globe. The report provides deep insight into the matter and unfolds various interesting facts in the course of a discussion. The revolution of the internet business commenced with that of the search engines. In simple words, search engines help the end user with the relevant websites or the source of information as he enters certain keywords in the ‘search’ option. The search engines were first developed in the year of 1993 in the form of Aliweb and JumpStation. Prior to the developments of search engines, a complete and extensive list of web servers were used to locate the websites. In the year of 1993 itself, before the launch of Aliweb and JumpStation, Achie and Veronica were launched.     Ã‚  

Friday, September 27, 2019

Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD - Essay Example DVD or 'Digital Versatile Disc' or 'Digital Video Disc' has been round the corner for quite a while now, but Blu-ray is a relatively newer technique. With the arrival of every new technique, a debate starts taking place whether the immediate predecessor has lived its useful life or not. Similar debate is taking place in the IT industry with arrival of Blu-ray storage device. Advanced version of DVD is known as HD-DVD. This High Definition DVD or High Density DVD has more storage than a normal DVD. But with the arrival of Blu-ray question marks are being raised on its useful life as well. In fact there's lot more to these types of debates, other than technological issues. Now in the market driven economies, the newer versions of any product/ technology are being patronized by some big corporate house, therefore industrial rivalry takes a central stage on such matters. Similar is the case of Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD. Blu-ray technology developed by Sony and others has started gathering suppor t from companies like Phillips, while Toshiba is going ahead with newer experiments in the HD-DVD series. As always happens consumer happens to be the ultimate beneficiary of this cutthroat competition. In fact the speed of change in technology is so fast and furious that while on the one hand the HD-DVD, introduced in 1997, is still being experimented with for more storage, the Blue-ray Disc (BD) has arrived with a bang. Which way to go The name Blu-ray is in fact a combination of 'blue', for the color of the laser that is used, and 'ray', for the optical ray. It is worthwhile here to mention that the earlier disc recorders, readers use red laser ray. The letter "e" in "blue" was purposefully left off, according to the group of manufacturers, as an everyday word cannot be trademarked, thus Blu-ray was born. Blu-ray Disc (BD), a next-generation optical disc format is jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). This format too will support enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD) besides storing large amounts of data. There are basically three types of Blu-ray formats planned: i. BD-ROM for pre-recorded media such as software, games and movies ii. BD-R (recordable) for HDTV recording and PC data storage iii. BD-RE (rewritable) for HDTV recording and PC data storage Some of the distinctive features of Blu-ray are; This format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. That implies more than two hours of high-definition video or about 13 hours of standard video on a single sided BD while enough to hold about 4.5 hours of high-definition video or more than 20 hours of standard video on a double sided BD. BD can record high-definition television (HDTV) without any quality loss The listener/user can instantly skip to any spot on the disc Most interesting feature of this format is that we can record one program while watching another on the disc We can create playlists for quick access to our preferred data bank We an also edit or reorder programs recorded on the Blu-ray disc A BD automatically search for an empty space on the disc to avoid recording over a program. BD

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Hamlets Tragic Flaws Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hamlets Tragic Flaws - Research Paper Example The act ends with Hamlets assumption of an "antic disposition." He has realized that one may "smile and smile and be a villain." He has also corrected his friends skepticism: "There are more things, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (174-75). Claudius is a villain but a hypocrite; to seek his vengeance, Hamlet himself will have to pretend to be what he is not: mad. What does the act break here signify? Most obviously it marks the passage of time: "Laertes has time to settle in Paris, Hamlet to show in full his antic disposition, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be recalled to Elsinore and the ambassadors to go and return from Norway" (Brown, 2001). We certainly see the shape of the first act: the Ghost appears in the first and last scenes to make his demand. He has risen up from the earth to confirm his sons worst suspicions and to demand of him action. It is not unlike the plague in Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannos: the murderer of Laios has gone unpunished all these years, but the plague now demands that he be found. The irony that Oedipus, as king, takes on the responsibility of punishing the murderer, who is he himself, is not without parallel in Hamlet. In pursuing -- and not pursuing --vengeance for his fathers murder, Hamlet "finds himself." His last thought in Act I is characterizing: "The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right" (196-97). Circumstances beyond his control will force him to act in an uncharacteristic manner. Nothing could be more dramatic, more tragic. The conflict is not between two individuals but within one, or between what he knows of himself in the private world of his own meditation and the public role he must now assume. The assumption of the role of a madman is metaphorical as well as an aspect of the plot: it suggests Shakespeares primary philosophical concern, which is the nature of individual identity and how it is and is not

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Maritime law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Maritime law - Coursework Example This is the absolute duty that the ship or the vessel owner owes to the seamen who are involved in the voyage, for the protection of any risk that might face their lives emanating from the unworthiness or lack proper maintenance of the ship. Thus, if any event of collision or accident occurs in the sea, due to the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel, then the owner of the ship or the vessel is liable for the damage, and the appropriate liabilities shall befall the owner3. This includes the liabilities of all the damages incurred on the cargo, the seamen or the other ships or vessels that could have collided with the unseaworthy ship or the vessel, during the course of their voyage. Among the cardinal duty of the ship or vessel owner is to provide a seaworthy ship or vessel. The doctrine of seaworthiness is the cardinal principle of the Maritime law, considering that the issue of seaworthiness of a ship or a vessel directly affects the liabilities of various stakeholders in the Maritime Law, who may include the liability of the carrier, the marine insurance and the environment4. The concept of seaworthiness of a ship or a vessel is provided under the law, as the presence of all pipes, pumps, heater coils and all the other components of the ship or the vessel, which are in good working order. Thus, the law is further interpreted to mean that the fundamental responsibility of the ship or the vessel owner, which he owes to the seamen; both operating the ship he owns or the seamen operating other ships or vessels on the water body, is to ensure that the ship or the vessels are fit to undergo the hazards of the sea, or any other incidental risk that may occur along the voyage, which the ship or the vessel might be exposed in the course of the voyage, without necessarily having such risks being contributed in any way, by the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel6. This being the case, the owner of the ship bears all the liability in case of an accident, co llision, damage or injury occurring to the vessels, the ship or the seamen, which emanates from any aspect of the ship being unworthy for the sea voyage. However, as s reprieve to the owner of the ship or the vessel to be involved in a voyage, the concept of seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel was lessened only to include the worthiness of that ship or vessel, at the start of the voyage2. Therefore, while there are many instances that may arise where a vessel could be identified as being unseaworthy, the only liability that the owner of the ship or the vessel can bear, is that of the ship or the vessel being unseaworthy at the start of the voyage, while the other aspects of un-seaworthiness, which might occur in the course of the voyage, are deemed incidental and thus the liability is assessed differently3. According to the provisions of the Maritime law, there are several conditions that may constitute the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel in voyage. First, a stowage w hich may affect in any way the safety of the ship or the vessel is considered unseaworthy, and thus constitutes the un-seaworthiness condition of the ship or the vesse7. Secondly, any deficient systems ashore or on board the ship or

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Research paper of Afro-American Music Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Of Afro-American Music - Research Paper Example He started to sing about his freedom which was given to him after the proclamation of independence. Blues music rose from this period. During the earlier days blues was called folk-blues. Many blues singers got jobs in entertainment groups and troupes and shows. Later on country music gained popularity which resulted in blues singers integrating country music into their singing which later on developed into a country oriented blues style (Ruehl) Jazz music started its motion in New Orleans. Improvisation is the most defining feature of this type of music. Born in the south of America this music recognizes the pain of lost love, injustice, and gives expression to the victory of surviving a broken heart as well as facing down hardships. It was the great musical tradition of New Orleans that blended folk, African drumming, church music, ragtime, blues etc, jazz music was born (History of jazz ). Jazz and blues music have lots of similarities together. In fact both are tangled and it is very difficult to separate them. Both of the music has emerged from the southern part of America. It was very much popular with the Afro-American population of that region. The musical forms of both jazz and blues are as a result of the collision of traditionally African rhythms and with that of European classical and folk music. Both jazz and blues are beloved and uniquely American forms of music. The actual origins of both jazz and blues cannot be located precisely. They are quite shrouded. This is because these types of music were generated out of poverty and the persons who developed them did not know that the music would get popular in the future. But both these music forms can be related to African-American spirituals and with that of songs sung by slaves at work places. These music contained early blends of European -African music. .Both jazz and blues music were once considered music of the devil. These types of

Monday, September 23, 2019

Team Development Module 2 - SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team Development Module 2 - SLP - Essay Example This will result to increase in organization’s competence on a global perspective. Workers from varied background have different talents and skills which adds value to the organization. In a health set up, diversity may improve the healthcare offered to the patients (Friedman, 2012). This is because, patients feel psychologically contented to share their experiences with people from different cultures (Shipman, 2007). In most hospital organizations, patients come from different diversified groups. For example elderly patients may not be able to disclose their problems to young employees because of the age difference (Findley, 2008). Also, in some cases, some patients may be unwilling to share their experiences with employees from opposite sex. Therefore, it is essential for the healthcare organizations to hire diversified workers who will take care of the needs of diversified clients. Diversity in healthcare organization brings together employees with different experiences and skills. Therefore, the workers are able to share their knowledge and encounters (Findley, 2008). This is essential for the healthcare organization because there is no time they will run short of expertise. The manager of the healthcare organization should always ensure a balance between different groups as a way of creating harmony and success in the organization (Shipman, 2007). Multicultural teamwork in a health organization refers to a situation where the organization has hired workers from different ethnic background (Friedman, 2012). People from different civilization have varied attitudes to work and use different approaches to solve issues in an organization. They have divergent preferences and values which affect the overall performance of the organization. In the modern society, healthcare organizations are experiencing cross-cultural challenges because they receive clients from different

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Leadership Challenges in Organization Assignment

Leadership Challenges in Organization - Assignment Example As leadership challenges become more complex, leaders should also develop approaches to track the market requirements and evaluate the workers capacity to satisfy the market needs (Gill, 2011). Leaders’ awareness about the market needs and organizations’ capacity is of the essence because it will assist them to influence their teams in order to utilize the organizations’ capacity to satisfy the market requirements. Leaders in the 21st century have to take an active role in the overall organization activities and to act as ceremonial figures they used to be in the early time. Effective leadership is essential in all aspects of the organization and must establish a strong relationship between the workers, the organization and the market (Morse et. al., 2007). The organization leadership in the 21st century requires establishment of focused workforce, effective and well-coordinated market activities as well as ability to build personal leadership capacity to meet th e changing market needs. In the 21st century, leaders must help and encourage workers and the stakeholders to determine their interests and potential for growth. Leaders cannot force workers or stakeholders to pursue things that are outside their interests (Palestini, 2009). In the present time, workers and stakeholders in the organization have personal interests which they expect to be satisfied as they pursue organizations goals. They want to grow alongside the organization and they will be encouraged to engage in activities that have no likelihood to promote personal growth. Employees and the stakeholders at the present time have personal ambitions if they are not satisfied the success of the organization is put at stake (Gill, 2011).

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Personal creative coursework Essay Example for Free

Personal creative coursework Essay School has just finished and it is a dark and murky winter day, people were walking down the school hill having just had a chaotic day, as a result everyone was jus quiet. You could hear the sounds of the squirrels scuttling along the grass. Richard ran down the hill calling my name, he came up to me and called me an idiot in a joking way for not waiting for him. Richard is one of my good friends and when he is around he lets you know. He was well known in school by the teachers for his famous pranks. After we got down the hill we went to the sweet shop, Richard shared a joke or two with the shop owner then told me he was going to the chip shop and he would meet me at the train station later.(Richard is a chubby boy and gets wound up when people talk about his weight).  I was walking to the train station and checked the time, I saw that we were going to be late so I started to run .I saw Richard and told him to hurry up as usual he was eating. He started to run and as I looked around I saw people from my school with a look of shock on their face they have never seen him run before. We ran inside the train station then got on the train, the first thing I noticed was the smell of sweat, I saw Hugo and Thomas from my school and we all sat next to each other. We were talking and all of a sudden Hugo started shouting insults at Richard. Richard stood up and his faced looked like an oversized balloon .I could tell he was mad because his sentences were not coming out fully. I was thinking that the only reason that he stood up was because we were in front of people. (Richard is that kind of person he likes to make himself look big in front of an audience). Before I knew it we came to selhurst station and we exited the train. Thing first thing I saw was a boy stupidly sitting on the platform, I saw a train coming and I expected the boy to get up but he didnt. It was one of those fast trains that dont stop at any Station except for major stations like Gatwick. The train past the station and then the boy started to scream in agony. Richard looked at the boy and then started to laugh. (He never really took anything seriously).he looked again and then saw that the boy was not faking. Hugo stood there like a statue and I had noticed that Thomas had left the scenery. The boys right leg had been severed by the train and people just looked at him and decided to walk along like they had not seen anything. He was still lying there in pain as I looked at him I felt a cold shivers running down my spinal cord-I had never seen anything like it. Me Richard and Hugo then ran to the ticket office a told a man there that a boys leg had been severed by the train they called an ambulance then we left the station. The next day we went to school I had noticed that Richards attitude had change towards people I think the train experience has changed him.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Management In Retail Asda Information Technology Essay

Management In Retail Asda Information Technology Essay The wide spread growth of business which consists of several functionalities lead to the invention of Enterprise resource planning system with better customer management system.. Also the increased use of computers and internet has encouraged many organizations to do business online. Most of the businesses try to interact with their potential and existing customers through internet via opinions on blogs, online discussion forums, and consumer product review websites. Any organization with a close consumer base like the should think how to use web 2.0 applications to enhance the business. Especially the large retail companies with large customer base should use the latest technologies like web 2.0 to be competitive and to provide better customer service. Currently many large retail organizations like many large-scale supermarkets have managed to incorporate Enterprise resource planning in to their business. Further, the customer management plays a very critical role on the success of those businesses. The organizations, which are providing excellent customer service, have better competitive advantage over the others who do similar businesses. A brief introduction about Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer service management and Web 2.0 will help the readers to understand the research better. Firstly, ERP, which is an abbreviation for Enterprise Resource Planning, which is basically an integration of business management practices and modern technology. Information Technology (IT) is integrated with the other business processes such as Human resources, Finance etc in order to achieve the business objectives of the company. ERP consists of three most important components; Business Management Practices, Information Technology and Specific Business Objectives. Moreover, it is a huge software architecture, which helps to integrate information of the functional units of large businesses that are geographically scattered. . Customer management system aimed at improving the relationship between enterprises and customers. Many companies, to learn more about the customer needs and behaviors in order to build a strong relationship with them. This process also help those companies to gather information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends which will help them to be competitive in their businesses. This dissertation will critically analyse the impact of Customer Relationship Management in ASDA and to analyse the ways in which it can be successfully used to gain competitive advantage. The answer is sought through a comprehensive analysis of the retail companies such as large supermarkets that uses Information Technology and engaged in Customer Relationship Management to improve their businesses. . Further, Expert opinions in regard to this subject, through interviews and questionnaires, will be sought from those companies to suggest new ways to enhance the business opportunities by mitigating the potential risk with the use of these systems. Problem definition Based on the research done on current IT field, I found that web 2.0 is very popular between everyone. And to relate it to more practical scenario, I decided to do a research on how this can be successfully put in to practice for the improvement of information sharing. Further, customer Management, which plays a key role in those companies and to find a better method to improve the customer Management through the information sharing with the new technology like web 2.0. Research questions The following research problems and questions can be used to analyze this problem to find an effective way to solve the problems. Main Question What are the important aspects of Customer Relationship Management in a retail outlet and how Information Technology can be used to enhance its functionality? (Enterprise resource planning systems and the use of web 2.0 for information sharing) Sub Questions What is CRM and what it means to retail organizations? The use of Information Technology in a retail outlet? Opportunities and risks of web 2.0 to a retail organization and the ways in which it can be handled to gain completive advantage over other competitors? How can retail organisation like ASDA, can incorporate information technology in to the business to improve its customer relationship management? The CRM models that can guide to build successful leading retail businesses. Aims and Objective Based on the research done on the retail outlet such as ASDA were customer relationship management plays a key role in its survival. With the current technological advancement the Information technology plays a key role. With such requirements, I found that web 2.0 is very popular between everyone. And to relate it to more practical scenario, I decided to do a research on how this can be successfully put in to practice for the improvement of information sharing. Further, customer Management, which plays a key role in those companies and to find a better method to improve the customer Management through the information sharing with the new technology like web 2.0. And also in this internet age everything done via web applications and therefore the Web 2.0 plays a key role in the future development of Business like retail outlets were customer uses internet to buy goods and services. Framework The related research is structured in the following way: As a primary step of the thesis undertaken, I would like to focus on the literature review to undergo a thorough study in the field of CRM to find out the risks and opportunities exist for an organization to adopt these popular tools to the improvement and productivity of the business. As a secondary step, with the knowledge gained from these studies, the survey is to be carried out in two phases. In the first phase of the survey involve designing and distributing survey questionnaires among the friends and colleges who works or shops at a retail outlet like ASDA with in UK . As a second phase of the survey involve follow up interviews with the respondents to gather further information in the relevant areas which are covered in the questionnaires. At the end the data collected through these phases are analysed to come up with some suggestions that can help the organization to attain benefits through IT. Gantt Chart It is a tool developed by Henry Gantt in 1917, to provide a simple visual representation of the task or activities that make up a research project. In this the research time scale can be divided into sub stages and each main activity can be scheduled according a time limit. The time we estimated each task is represented by the length of an associated horizontal bar, whilst the tasks start and finish times are represented on the tile line.(Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill, 2009) (Refer Appendix -1 -Dissertation schedule) Literature Review 2.1 Introduction about CRM. Wikipedia defines Customer relationship management (CRM) as a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a companys interactions with clients and sales prospects (Wiki, 2010). CRM uses the technology is used to organize and automate business processes such as sales activities, marketing, customer service and technical support. But the ultimate goal of CRM is attract new clients, keep the existing clients happy and save cost in marketing and customer service. Many organizations build their own databases that describe about customer and their relationship with the organization that enable the management and sales people to offer products and services that suits the customer expectations. Generally the application architecture of the CRM has three important parts namely operational CRM, Analytical CRM and collaborative CRM. Operational CRM is to handle the front office business processes including customer service, marketing and sales, whereas the analytical CRM focus on analysing the customer segments based on the data collected within Operational CRM. Finally the collaborative CRM help the organization to interact with customers using all the available channels to find solution that bring all the entities together in order for the company to provide better service to its customers. The new technology inventions and the use of internet have brought new ways of doing business. The companys future success and its profitability is heavily depends on how that company treats its customers, that is why many companies including retailers invest heavily on improving the ways of doing business to improve customer satisfaction. Firms develop strategies and technologies for implementing better customer service management to be profitable in the current intensive and dynamic market environment (Pani and Venugopal, 2008). There are many current IT developments in the retail sector that can help the retailers to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Following IT systems such as Self checkout systems, new multimedia displays, electronic shelf labelling, and fraud detection systems, U-Scan (the worlds widely used self checkout systems), Loss prevention software and Corema (helping retailers to create deliver and track loyalty programs and targeted offers and promotions) are used by many retailers to gain customer satisfaction. Further, the emerging technology like intelligent agents can be used as a tool to achieve e-CRM in internet. 2.2 Evaluation of Digital Media The rise of the internet in 90s created a new mechanism to distribute information among people. In the PC era the physical data is stored in digital form in to CDs and flash drives but, with the wide use of internet the web 2.0 technology emerged to enable two way , many to many communication via internet in the form of feedback, ideas, reviews and recommendations which encourages the participation of the interested parties. The following four developments are the crucial milestones that the internet media has gone through in the past decade. The primary development can be stated as the development of website communities that can be considered as an originator of the current time wikis and blogs, which is followed by the introduction of rich site summery (RSS) which is used to manage the frequently updated contents. The next milestone of this development process was the introduction of search engine marketing where the advertisement is returned just in time. The Googles Ad Words is one such example of this which helps many small businesses to reach many new customers. The final developments was the introduction of behavioural targeting which creates a profile based on the user history and other information to target the customers according to their preferences. (Shih,2009) 2.3 Web 2.0 The web communication technology field has emerged through different innovations. The latest revolution in this field is called Web 2.0 . It was considered as the first phase of web evolution. This concept was first identified during a conference brainstorming session between OReilly and MediaLive International. Web 2.0 doesnt have a hard defined boundary therefore, It can be simply described as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core (O Reilly,2005). Finding a common definition for web 2.0 was a tedious task for the researchers. Therefore , we can come to a common understanding by analysing the definitions that are given by different researchers in this field. According to Tim OReilly: Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them. Former Vice President of Product Management at Google Adam Bosworth describes Web 2.0 as rich intelligent clients who share information across the web and deal with richer media (photos, sound, video). Although different people have different opinion about web 2.0, all of them agree that it is a better we communication platform which has the ability to harness collective intelligence, enhance the user participation and collaboration. Therefore, we all agree on the fact that it brings new cutting edge opportunity for the overall users. The second phase of the web evolution is emerging and it is called Web3.0 . During Web 1.0 era the contents are purely created by the producers for the users to share among them. But during the Web 2.0 the users have given the chance to participate equally in the content creation. Finally the Web 3.0 has brought the users more closely to the machines so that both the producers and users can create more interactive dynamic contents. Users and developers define Web 3.0 as personalization of the Web. The primary target of web 3.0 is connecting different set of data that is produced by different people in different places so that the limitations that exist in Web 2.0 can be eliminated to improve the benefits that it bring to the users (Pattal et al,2009) . 2.3.1 Characteristics of Web 2.0 Web 2.0 has created a new revolution in the field of internet technology. But still there is a big confusion exist among the experts about the nature of web 2.0. Some have the opinion that there is no significant different between web 1.0 and web 2.0 but, others believe that it is a unique and revolutionary thing. By looking at the characteristics of this technology one can agree that it is different from other technologies that are existed before. Let us look at the key characteristics which clearly differentiate web 2.0 services from earlier technologies :(Chaffey, 2009) Network as platform: Unlike web 1.0, the web 2.0 has the ability to run the software application through the browsers with out installing it locally. Here the network act as a platform which host those applications. Rich user experience and open culture: One of the key benefits of web 2.0 is that,, it allow the reuse of the contents that are contributed by the others which encourage the people to share their knowledge to create an open culture .This freedom in knowledge sharing will encourage the user participation that can create a collective intelligence which can be beneficial to the company as well as to the society as a whole. Always beta: One of the key feature of web 2.0 is a continuous improvement . The services are constantly updated to improve the functionalities that are available in those services. Scalability: Wiki defines scalability as a desirable property of a system, a network, or a process, which indicates its ability to either handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner. It also a key feature of web 2.0 that make it more efficient than its predecessors. Tagging: Rather than having to rely on use of formal classification systems (which may not be meaningful to many users) tags can be created by users. The tags, which may also be meaningful to their peers, provide communal ways of accessing Web resources. Embedding: Many examples of Web 2.0 services allow the content to be embedded in third party Web sites, blogs, etc. User interactive: Web 2.0 sites uses latest response technologies like AJAX , CSS in their sites which make them more user attractive and the use of these technologies make the website more dynamic which can incorporate more information in a given space. Simple design: Most of the Web 2.0 applications like social networking sites, photo sharing sites like Flicker etc are focused on single purpose which makes the users to understand the system quickly and the simple design enhance the usability of the system. 2.3.2 Web 2.0 Applications Web 2.0 contains variety of services and tools that enable the people to learn, communicate , and access information effectively. Here are some of the popular tools and services that are used to facilitate the collaboration among the users(Virkus,2008): del.icio.us: Users can bookmark their favourite sites and can share that with other users. RSS: RSS stands for really simple syndication feeds. RSS feed give a typical way of updating the wide range of web users with the list of headlines, notices and the most current information that are updated automatically by the publisher. (Myhill et al, 2009). Open access repositories: It provides a new way of publishing so that information is available for the large range of interested audience specially it is usefull in assessing research where the researchers need high level of publicity. (Myhill et al, 2009) Blogs: Herring et al defines the Blog as, frequently modified web pages in which dated entries are listed in reverse chronological order and he specify that it can create a close connectivity among the bloggers who are linked with each other to comment on each others blogs . Also, a blog can function as an online journal which is written by individual or by a group of people , and the people who has the common interest can use the blogs as a tool to share , reflect and debate about this common topic within the community of practice (Baumer et al,2008) Podcasts and Video blogs: Geoghegan and Klass define podcasting as audio content available on the Internet that can be automatically delivered to your computer or MP3 player. The core of the podcasting is of creating audio or video contents for the audience in order for them to listen to it whenever that is convenient for them. The convenience in acquiring these contents relieve the users from the time spent on searching and downloading, and they can utilize this time on something more beneficial for the company. The most current developments in portable information like the iPod and smart phones have increased the popularity of podcasting among young professionals (Ractham and Zhang, 2006). The information relevant to any tasks undertaken by the employees is essential for them to complete them successfully. Therefore accessing the information with less effort will motivate the employees to accomplish their task with less cost. Through podcasting the relevant information like latest conferences regarding the current technologies and developments can be made available to the IT professionals, for them to access the task relevant information which will help them complete their tasks more efficiently with no rejection. 2.4 Enterprise 2.0 The enterprise social software is a very important component of enterprise 2.0 also known as ERP 2.0. It is social software that is used by the organizations to manage their internal and external communication. According to Carl Frappaolo and Dan Keldsen the Enterprise 2.0 can be defined as a system of web-based technologies that provide rapid and agile collaboration, information sharing, emergence and integration capabilities in the extended enterprise.(Wiki,2009). Generally the Web 2.0 refers to the technologies that are used to share information via internet, but the term Enterprise 2.0 is a specialized version of Web 2.0 which focus only on those platforms that companies can buy or build in order to make visible the practices and outputs of their knowledge workers. The technologies of Enterprise 2.0 such as search, links, authoring, tags and extensions provide an easy usability for the knowledge worker and it consist tools that can the help the knowledge work emerge from the workers which is an essential source for the productivity of the company.( McAfee, 2006). Over the years the initial novelty stage of Enterprise 2.0 has passed successfully by learning new things lessons through the challenges faced. Now the new practical focus is emerged on creating and managing of business communities, finding ways to deliver measurable business value and learning best ways through collaboration and social software. Many organizations are implementing enterprise 2.0 for their business which includes the components like enterprise social networking, wikis, and social CRM which can bring the potential benefits. (Hinchcliffe, 2009) . Research Design and Methodology 3.1 Introduction The research can give different meaning to different people. But simply research can be defined as a process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors( Sekaran and Bougie, 2003) . Any research can be categorised as academic or business research. The academic research is performed on scholar purpose which is not client oriented whereas, the business research is performed to investigate a specific problems in the work setting which are client oriented. The business research can be further classified as exploratory, descriptive and casual research based on the purpose of the research. The exploratory research is conducted to find out about any business opportunities, whereas the descriptive research is to describe the characteristics of people, groups, organizations or environments. But the purpose of casual research is to identify the cause and effect relationships. (Zikmund,2010) 3.2 Research process or Research methodology The research methodology or research process is influenced by the purpose of the research undertaken. Therefore it is very crucial to select an appropriate research process to attain successful results at the completion of the project. The study undertaken here follows a cyclic research process that contains a sequence of highly interrelated activities. As shown in the below figure, any research is started by selecting a research topic from the subject area related to your degree. Then further information has to be gathered about the topic by searching the literature of previous studies and other sources. Using the information gathered the general interest has to be narrowed down to a particular research problem that can be used to define the research questions. The next important step in the research process is the research design which starts with the research paradigm which is the framework that guides the research. After designing the research the relevant data should be collected using different data collection methods. According to the research paradigm the collected data should be analysed and presented in the thesis at the end of the research process. Choose a topic and search the Literature Review the literature and define the research problem /Research questions Design the research and write the proposal Collect the research data Analyse and interpret the research data Write the dissertation , thesis or research report Figure 3.1: Overview of Research process, Source: (Collis and Hussey,2009) 3.3 Research Approach The research process can be compared to a map, because there is no single right path that can be defined for a journey. The path one wants to take depends on where he wants to go and the resources that are allocated. Accordingly the research process that needs to be followed depends on the research undertaken and the resources and the time allocated to the specific project. (Zikmund, 2010) 3.4 Data collection methods Data collection methods are an important part of research design. The data that are collected during the research can be categorized as primary and secondary data. Primary data can be collected through the data collection methods like interviews and questionnaires whereas the secondary data can be gathered through books , periodicals ,government publications , media and company annual report. The time and cost can be saved through the use of secondary data but totally rely on the secondary data can have a risk of being obsolete (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). 3.4.1 Interviewing Interviewing is one of the popular methods of collecting relevant data of the research undertaken. According to Kahn and Cannel the Interview can be defined as a discussion between two or more people. Interviews can be used to collect valid and reliable data which are relevant to the identified research questions and the objectives of the project. Interviews can be categorized as structured, semi structured or unstructured. Unstructured interviews dont contain any planned set of questions to be asked from the respondents. This will help to bring out some preliminary issues to the surface. Semi structured interviews are more flexible than the structured ones where the researcher got a theme of questions which can vary from one interview to the other. Finally the structured interviews are formal interviews which have identical standardized questions. A comprehensive study of CRM, CRM tools, Web2, ERP, and the importance of CRM in a retail outlet were carried through a literature survey. Questionnaire survey and interviews has been selected for the research methodology to conduct the selected research. The data that were collected through the questionnaires and interviews are recorded and the analysed under different criteria. At the end of the project time line, the findings of the research undertaken were presented in the final dissertation.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Eudora Welty:Worn Path, visit of charity :: essays research papers

Eudora Welty   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The are only so many ways an author may sum up the course of a human life within just a few pages. Eudora Welty has the awesome talent of being able to do just this. In her stories â€Å"Where Is the Voice Coming From†, â€Å"A Visit of Charity† and â€Å"A Worn Path†, Welty uses the reoccuring themes of characterization, confrontation, journey, and insight into ones mind to convey key aspects of her stories. Through characterization Welty shows individuals who experience confrontations, and as a result complete a type of journey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With a chillingly cold attitude, the protagonist of â€Å"Where is The Voice Coming From† takes it upon himself to take care of what he feels to be an inconvenience in his life, by murdering a local civil rights activist in cold blood. He later states, â€Å"I done what I done for my own pure-D satisfaction† (â€Å"Where is The Voice Coming From†482). This embodies the protagonist as a cruel, racist, self righteous murderer. One later is drawn to the conclusion that the only regret that the protagonist has is not getting the credit he believes he deserves for his crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the knowledge of her deathly ill grand son at home, Pheonix Jackson decides to head for town to receive medication for him. In her travels the reader is given a real insight into the person that Pheonix really is. While crossing over a fallen down log, Pheonix jovially remarks, â€Å"I wasn’t as old as I thought† (â€Å"A Worn Path†636). One must realize the amount of strength and determination it must take for this frail old woman to accomplish such a task, yet Pheonix takes it with a grain of salt and keeps on going. At this point the reader finally realizes the respect that Pheonix deserves for being the beautifully harmonious person that she is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In another work of Welty’ we are depicted the character of a seemingly kind, charitable young Campfire girl, named Marion, who is sent to an old age home. Yet what we do not know is that Marion has another side to her besides the bright, vibrant young girl that she is. We soon come to see this side of her as she sprint from the old folks home, â€Å" Under the prickly shrub she stopped and quickly, without being seen, retrieved a red apple she had hidden there.† (â€Å"A Visit of Charity). The reader now realizes the true conniving ways that Marion withholds in the beginning.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Facts That Lead To Poverty: Th Essay -- essays research papers

Poverty occurs in most parts of the world. Nevertheless, the more serious and problematical poverty takes part in the third world and the southern parts of the globe. First of all, we have to clearly define the word “poverty';. In a broad sense, it means that people within this “poverty'; region are poor or have a lower average income per capita than other regions. To a deeper approach, we refer “poverty'; as people have low educational backgrounds, lack of food supplies, or people with lower standard of livings, etc. According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary, the word “poverty'; can be defined as: 1) the condition or quality of being poor 2) deficiency; inadequacy 3) scarcity (Webster’s p.461). Generally in this essay, we will examine the facts that lead to the poverty of these third world and southern countries. The first and the most serious problem that causes by poverty are hunger, or preciously, malnutrition. We can find these kinds of problems almost all over Africa and some other underdeveloped countries. These were witnessed by thousands of people through TV, radio, newspaper, journals, etc. “In the early 1980s, the mass media dramatically brought us the picture of hunger from Africa – starving children, skin and bone, with their bloated bellies, too weak to even stand up.'; (Warnock p.1) At the same time, people living in more developed countries or wealthy states are enjoying different kinds of delicious meals and dumping whatever they don’t like. Why would this happen? Can we refer this to the government or economical policies that rise the problems? To further explore the problem of hunger in Africa, we can easily relate this to poverty. In fact, there may be some other problems that cause the hunger. For example, local drought in the African Sahel that damages t he cropping; which in turn shorten the local food supplies. The other factor is the rapid population growth in Africa. Increasing capita means an increase demand of food. People in Africa are rarely taught the knowledge of birth-control. “If you have money you eat well, no matter how fast the population around you is growing and no matter how short the supplies of energy or land or fertilizer.'; (Kent p.77) According to Kent’s view, we shall see that money can buy off th... ...ization.'; (Jackson p.440) Dependency theory actually suggests that LDCs should not follow the Western route to development. It also suggests that forcing the undeveloped countries to compete globally will only increase the gap between Third World countries and developed states. In other word, it increases poverty in those Third World countries. The existence of these Third World countries is only to provide cheap labors for the benefit of richer states. In the above case (Indonesia), government growed crops that are for sale on the world market for cheap prices rather than to provide food for the poor. This is a good example of benefiting the Western states while giving up the whole interest of domestic people. We can see that Third World and southern countries like Africa and Indonesia are still facing the problem of poverty. In order to work their way out, the governments should apply some appropriate policies and economic applications to overcome the problem. On the other hand, the richer states or more developed countries should provide the necessary financial aid to those poorer countries. They should work hand-to-hand in order to strengthen the global benefit and interest.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Quarrel About Historical Explanation :: essays research papers

The Quarrel About Historical Explanation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The discussion of the philosophical question of historical explanation is in reality a disagreement concerning the nature of the philosophic method.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are primarily two sides taken in this argument, those who agree with Carl Hempel and those that do not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Hempel a historical event is only sufficiently explained when it logically fits a set of confirmed pre-existing conditions along with some universal laws.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Certainly all things cannot easily be assigned to rules and laws. Political coups, assassinations and revolutions are too complex for such a rigid explanation. And who is to say what perquisites there are for situations. Certainly there is no one who can predict every instance of a given event, there are just too many variables.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hempel then notes that Historians are seldom able to stick to his procedure and at best can only make an explanation sketch. Hempel seems to be saying then, that the majority of explanations surrounding historical events are inadequate and incomplete.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three main divisions of anti-Hempelians. There are those that agree with Hempel to the point that there are rules and general laws that can be followed, but a historian's explanation is adequate if all he can provide is a sketch. The second group states that the general laws are not necessary and as long as the explanation provides an understandable narrative, it is complete. The final group believes that only one condition is necessary, and if more information is needed, one only needs to elaborate on that one condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hempelians and the anti-Hempelians both have common ground. They are both engaged in the philosophy of history, but this is where the agreement stops for even the groups starting points are different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hempelians give their explanations to answer the question of why something happened. Their objective is to replace curiosity with understanding. For this to happen both the laws and general rules given must logically agree. In other words you must be able to deduce the answer after given the laws and rules.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It would not be enough for a Hempelian to hear that conditions led up to an event. He must know himself that these conditions are causes, and he'll know this only if the conditions are widely known or confirmed causes of said event. These conditions must not only be confirmed but true or the explanation would merely be an exercise in futility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An anti-Hempelian's problem with all of this is summarized in that historians do not use such methods to do their explaining, even if they did an explanation may not result, and finally historians are doing a very fine job

Monday, September 16, 2019

Women in Advertisements

WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS In modern societies, women and men have equal rights to law in most areas such as education and employment. Howewer, there is an unuequality as gender between male and female. Because social gender is related with power and patriarchy, a dominance of man over woman, has to do power relations. Therefore, holder of power is men and women are regarded as opressed and sex object. A social unequality between men and women is being used women and female figures in advertisements mostly.There are severeal reasons why woman or female figures are used in advertisements The fist reason to this is visuality. Visuality is important because it is the most effective way to appeal to the senses in advertisements and for this, women are used mostly. These advertisements involve beaty of women, sexuality, their body and they show that women are sex object. In addition, having a beautiful and well groomed body is important for women in advertisements. Advertisements give messag es that women improve themselves and they look beautiful and thin. Therefore, all woman want to live same life, to wear and eat same things.For example, in Doritos advertisement, Megan Fox is used and it shows that if woman is beautiful and sexy, she deserve to draw applause. Therefore, these advertisements reinforce the idea that womens are sex object. The second reason that women give informations about gender roles in advertisements. In these advertisements, women are regarded as housewife and role of women is to serve children and husband, to cook and clean. Therefore, these advertisements reinforce social gender role. In addition they have functionalist perspective because women concentrate on domestic and family responsibilities while men work outside the home.For example, ACE is a bleach advertisement and it shows that womens are a symbol of cleaning and housework. Also, in Istikbal advertisement, although woman coming from work is tired , she serves to her husband. Another p oint is that sound of authority belongs to men in advertisements because men manipulate women mostly. For example, in Kolsa, carpet detergent, advertisement, man talk with woman and help her the cleaning and it shows that men dominate over women. In conclusion, women are shown by their body or housework in advertisements.

Latin America colonial times Essay

?4. How does colonialism engage with notions of spirituality, witchcraft, and/or (ritual) intoxication? You may analyze how the distinctions between orthodox and unorthodox practices were distinguished (and oftentimes blurred). You may look at Staden, the readings on witchcraft and â€Å"superstition,† etc. Beginning in 1492 when the Spanish under the crown of Castile invaded the Americas, where their first settlement was in Santo Domingo, their main motivations were trade and the spread of the Catholic faith through indigenous conversions and economic gain. Due to these objectives they intervened and attempted to change every facet of the indigenous way of life including their ‘notions of spirituality, witchcraft, and intoxication’. The indigenous population had formally been removed from the jurisdiction of the inquisition by order of King Phillip the second in 1571, however the native people of Mexico and other invaded lands of the Americas were still prosecuted on accounts of witchcraft or being Nauatil (witches). Colonialism engaged with notions of spirituality and witchcraft by asserting their dominance in attempts to completely annihilate these practices. They attempted to make sense of what they did not understand by attributing these happenings to witchcraft and condemning those prosecuted as witches. Further, as previously mentioned, they attempted to spread the Catholic religion by deeming the religious practices previously ‘inherited’ (treatise on Heathen superstition) by the indigenous population as acts of witchcraft. In his letter to Reverend Don Francisco Manso de Zunga, Hernando Ruiz de Alarcon a Spanish navigator of the sixteenth centaury wrote that the reasons behind attempting to completely eradicate the superstitious ways of the people he regarded as Indians was that some of their practices such as â€Å"drunkenness was not permitted to them even in their heathen state† and was punishable by death. (39) His reasons behind â€Å"scraping of drunkenness from the memory of humanity† (39) is that even to those who are believed to be Pagans or non believers (heathens) (39) it was prohibited, therefore once baptised and accepted as Christians it is was a sin to indulge in these acts. To increase the spread and conversion to Catholicism within the Indians, Alarcon, validates the eradication of their customs. Further in his letter Hernando Ruiz de Alarcon explains how by indulging in these superstition practices the Indians are harming themselves. He states â€Å"This (their drunkenness) is the cause of the total destruction of the health of their bodies, and consequently the sufficient and principal barrier to their preservation and increase† (39). Alarcon explains that the deepness with which these practices have fastened into the native American culture leads him to believe that â€Å"the ministers have entered late into their parishioners’ language. † (40). Here we get an indication that despite their conversion to Christianity, Alarcon believes there is no hope to change the Indians’ superstitious ways. In light of the Spaniards determination to spread the Christian faith they attempted to eradicate all other religious practices within the Americas. In his letter Alarcon states in his letter â€Å"others (superstitions) have a weak foundation, because a traditions of their false gods is hardly found among their stories† (39). He explains their previous religion had no concrete roots, they worshiped ‘false gods’ and it was illegitimate; therefore, all rituals and practices for this cause were superstitious. It is important for us to note that the work of finding and documenting the acts of superstition in Mexico was bestowed on Alarcon and therefore it was in his best interest to exaggerate the evidence he supposedly finds. Further, he admits that he is not fully capable to undertake this task because of his â€Å"defective intellect and small experience with writing† (40). In his Treatise on the Heathen Superstition Alarcon explores many aspects of the Mexican native population’s way of idolizing their god’s or goddesses, he attributes this act to an act of worshiping the devil. This is another example of how the Spanish used the notion of witchcraft to propel the spread of Christianity. In his treatise Alarcon states â€Å"and by this means they usually communicate with the devil, because he usually communicates with them when they are deprived of judgement with the said drink and deceives them with different appearances† (48). In this example we can see how Alarcon uses Christianity and the threat of the devil to abolish drunkenness. Alarcon also uses the Devil to explain phenomenons that were beyond the scope of the Spanish understanding. He states in his treatise, â€Å"they (the sages in Mexico) are always deceitful and ceremoniatic and seek to persuade people that they are consummate in knowledge, since they profess to know what is absent and to foresee what is in the future, which, it may be, is revealed to them by the Devil, who can, through knowledge and conjecture, foresee many future events. † (45). Due to the fact that Alarcon and other Spaniards at that time could not make sense of why the prophecies or futuristic readings of the native Mexican sages were holding true, they declared it an act of the Devil and therefore a form of witchcraft. Another example of the Spaniards condemning the unexplainable acts in the Americas is in the document â€Å"On her Deathbed, Maria de la Candelaria Accuses Michaela de Molina of Casting Spells† produced in Guatemala in 1696. In this text different testimonies of various people that witnessed the sickness of Maria de la Candelaria a girl servant. In the testimony of Dona Juana Gonzalez a Spanish woman and mistress of Maria, she states, â€Å"the reason that she presumes this (that Michaela de Molina had casted spells on Maria) is because her servant, Maria had some fights with [Michaela] and not with anyone else. † (170) The Spaniards and even the natives of Guatemala could not fathom why or how Maria was dispelling such large amounts of blood and various objects like stones, rags and hair from her mouth and nose therefore attempted to reason it by condemning Michaela in the act of witchcraft. It is important to understand why the Spanish were interested in Maria’s sickness. In Spain and other parts of Europe the acts of witchcraft were highly condemned. People were afraid of loosing their power and therefore they feared the unknown. They condemned it by illegalizing all forms of witchcraft. Further, the act of ‘drunkenness’ and other practices not coherent with the beliefs of Christianity were also attributed to witchcraft therefore abolishing witchcraft became a means to spread the Christian faith specially since the indigenous population had formally been removed from the jurisdiction of the inquisition by order of King Phillip the second in 1571.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Planning an Expedition to Antarctica

Pg 2 Pg 2 We as a team will be investigating the effects global warming is having on the Antarctic landscape, we will also look at the effects that the change in the Antarctic landscape is having on other factors such as the dispersion of animals. To look at the change we will look at the rate of contraction of the land, the rate of ice break up, the rate of which a lake is created, the flow rate of Moulins, the rate of sea level increase. As well as this we will try to determine how the reduction of white land mass will further global warming and at what rate. This will be hard to do but one of the many techniques we will employ will be to take ice cores. We will stay in Antarctica for 1 year so we can experience the effects of global warming over the different seasons we will then return to Antarctica in 5 years and study the change in data. To meet safety obligations we have created a training schedule in which the members of the team will learn skills needed for the Antarctic expedition as well as this they will learn first aid and what to do if situations get out of hand (situations such as severe weather, avalanches, snow storms, or separation of the group) they will also undergo rigorous testing and psychological assessment to make sure they will be suited to the weather, environment, and lack of social interaction. This is the training schedule it will span over 2 years and will allow them to begin to experience what it will be like in Antarctica. They will go to the training place per month for 1-2 weeks. Date| Place| Training| January 13| Snowdonia| Team Bonding, Scrambling, Walking| February 13| Scotland| Winter Skills Proficiency*, walking, ice climbing| March 13| Lake District| Winter Skills Progression*, walking, rock climbing| April 13| Scotland| Winter mountain days, avalanche awareness, graded routes| May 13| Peak District| Rock climbing, navigation| June 13| Snowdonia| Rock climbing, abseiling| July 13| Swiss Alps| 2 weeks, alpine mountaineering, crevasse rescue, avalanche, glacier crossing | August 13| Peak District| Rock climbing, navigation, first aid| September 13| Lake District| Rock climbing, navigation, first aid| October 13| North Wales| Rock climbing, avigation, first aid| November 13| North Wales| VHF*, competent crew (sailing), marine engine repair| December 13| Scotland| Winter skills, skiing, mountain days, ice climbing| January 14| Scotland| Winter skills, skiing, mountain days, mixed terrain| February 14| Scotland| Winter skills, skiing, Pulk Training (pullka)*| March 14| Norway| 2 weeks, ski touring, mountaineering| April 14| Lake District| Winter skills, walking, fitness, rock climbing abseiling| May 14| Wye Valley| Rock climbing| June 14| North Wales| Alpine skills training and Psychological assessment| July 14| Alps| 2 weeks, alpine mountaineering, crevasse rescue, avalanche, glacier crossing| September 14| North Wales| Communications training and Equipment checks| October 14| Devon| Advanced small boat training| November 14| Alps| Expedition Rehearsal, final practice of all skills and checking of each person’s specific role/job. | *Winter skills proficiency-these are things such as skiing, ice climbing, navigation etc. Winter skills progression- this is a course furthering skill and knowledge in winter skills proficiency (see above for further details) *VHF- very high frequency during this training they will be taught how to use radios in extreme conditions *Pulk Training (pullka)- is training the company in the use of the Scandinavian pullka a short, low-slung small toboggan used in for transport, pulled by a dog or a skier. Pg 3 Pg 3 We have decided to include marine training in case they are caugh t in a situation which requires small boats or ships as the way to evacuate the area. As well as this we understand that we have to follow strict guidelines during our visit to Antarctica but as these guidelines are many we have only been able to list a few to show we fully understand the responsibility we have to the environment. Article II Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end, as applied during the International Geophysical Year, shall continue, subject to the provisions of the present Treaty. Article III In order to promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in Article II of the present Treaty, the Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable: -a. information regarding plans for scientific programs in Antarctica shall be exchanged to permit maximum economy of and efficiency of operations; -b. scientific personnel shall be exchanged in Antarctica between expeditions and stations; -c. scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available. There will be three teams positioned at different spots in the Antarctic. This means that the results we get will be varied and will cover more area this way we can look at the effects over a vast area and see if global warming is affecting different areas at different rates or different ways. Each team will be made up of the same type of people (for example each team would have a photographer). Each team will consist of 9 people, a team leader, a navigator, a photographer, an ecologist, a potamologist, an oceanographer, a glaciologist, a meteorologist and a doctor/paramedic. Team 1| Team 2| Team 3| Reason| Team Leader/ Expedition Leader| Team Leader | Team Leader| You need the team leader to make sure that everyone is doing what they need to be doing| Navigator| Navigator| Navigator| You need the navigator to be able to provide the route needed and help if the team gets lost as well as this they will be able to mark your position on the map. | Photographer| Photographer| Photographer| To record the data photographically and to show the change in ice and to create a portfolio of the research data. Ecologist| Ecologist| Ecologist| To study how the change in landscape and temperature would affect the animals (how they would live and the dispersion of them)| Potamologist| Potamologists| Potamologists| To study the rivers, Moulin’s, lakes to see how global warming is affecting that area within the landscape. | Oceanographer| Oceanographer| Oceanographer| Would study the rise in sea level, the ocean circulation, and the physical and chemical properties of the ocean, geology of the sea. | Glaciologist| Glaciologist| Glaciologist| Would study the ice shifts, the rate of ice melting, and how quickly the ice is retreating. Meteorologist| Meteorologist| Meteorologist| Pg 4 Pg 4 The meteorologist would study the precipitation levels and how this will affect the landscape; will this create more avalanches etc. | Doctor/Paramedic| Doctor/Paramedic| Doctor/Paramedic| To help anyone suffering from frostbite and other related ailments. As well as this the doctor/paramedic would be in charge of the log book and making sure all the equipment is present. | The equipment and kit needed for the Antarctic expedition is numerous so the equipment list is provided after the initial document. The clothing needed for the Antarctic expedition comes in many layers the first/base core layer is light clothes the next layer is the mid insulation layer which is lightweight and traps body heat then the final/outer layer is the thickest layer and is a tough and breathable barrier. Then there are the accessories such as the gloves, hats, sock and boots. The expedition will fly from the UK to Santiago and then from Santiago to Ushuaia and will then sail across the Drake Passage from Puerto Williams in Chile, to the Antarctic Peninsula. Departure| Arrival| Company| Transport| Price per person| Price over all| London, Heathrow| Santiago, Chile| Iberia| Airplane| ? 560| ? 15120| Santiago, Chile| Ushuaia, Argentina| Lan| Airplane| ? 243. 76| ? 6581. 52| Ushuaia, Argentina| Puerto Williams, Chile| ————| Boat| ? 110| ? 2970| Puerto Williams, Chile| Antarctic Peninsula| ————| Boat| The boat will not be paid for it will be rented and we will use it to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula and to transport the other teams to the other research bases. | Total Cost:| ? 913. 76| 24671. 52| To be able to go on this expedition we need sponsors to fund it. We will use 6 sponsors. Society/Sponsor| Type of Sponsor| Reason for Sponsorship| Union of Concerned Scientists| Scientific community-non profitable organisation | They fund research and they are concerned about how global warming is and is going to affect the planet| European Science Foundation| Scientific community-non profi table organisation| They sponsor 11 different research areas one of the ones is polar science this means that they would benefit from this area of science. Secretariat of the Antarctic treaty| Scientific community-non profitable organisation| The information gathered during the research would be useful to all the research bases in the Antarctic and to all the countries within the Antarctic treaty. | WWF| Animal charity and a non-profitable organisation| Although the research we are planning to carry out isn’t directly linked to animals if we look at the animal dispersion aspect we could help them showing how global warming is Pg 5 Pg 5 ffecting the landscape and how that in turn is affecting the animals| Panasonic| A company, profitable organisation| They are sponsoring us because of the photography side of the expedition and due to this they are providing us with the photographic equipment. | Harris| A company, profitable organisation| They are a communication company so the y are helping us with the best transceivers and communicating devices. | The route we will take from arriving at the Antarctic Peninsula will differ depending on the team they belong to. The three places that we are staying are in the Antarctic are the Antarctic Peninsula, Queen Maud Land and the Transantarctic area. On the map below it shows the route each team will take. There is a research base here in which team 1 will stay and the other teams for the 1st week and then team one for the rest of the year. Research base-Rothera (UK) There is a research base here in which team 1 will stay and the other teams for the 1st week and then team one for the rest of the year. Research base-Rothera (UK) There is a research base here in which team 2. Research base-Novolazarevskaya (Russian) There is a research base here in which team 2. Research base-Novolazarevskaya (Russian) There is a research base which team 3 will stay at. In this area there are only two research stations. Research base- McMurdo (U. S. ) There is a research base which team 3 will stay at. In this area there are only two research stations. Research base- McMurdo (U. S. ) The research could be used both in the near future and in the far future; the research we arPg 5 Pg 5 planning to conduct in Antarctica could be used to determine how global warming is affecting other places and whether the rate of global warming has increased or decreased and by how much, as well as this from the data we collect we can try to determine how large a threat global warming is; for example if ocean circulation is changed by global warming then major changes in the climate are very likely. So if we could carry out research and find ou t whether the ocean circulation is changing then we could try to predict the effects. As well as this by repeating the same expedition in 5 years we will firstly get more accurate results and secondly we will be able to see if the levels of global warming within the aforementioned sections have increased or decreased and again at what rate. As well as this the research carried out would benefit not just our country but all other countries within the Antarctic treaty and possibly even further afield. Kit list-Clothing Clothing| Price | Layer type| Reason| Insulated base layer top| ? 20 each| Base core| These will form the basic layers and will be the thinnest and lightest of all the layers. This will help trap air between this primary level and the secondary level forming a good insulator. | Insulated base layer trousers| | Base core| | Fleece| ? 32. 27 each| Mid-Insulation layer| These will form the secondary layer and will be just slightly thicker and heavier than the previous layer. A well as they will trap air between the layers providing more insulation| Insulator trousers| ? 41. 96 each| Mid-Insulation layer| | Polar parka| ? 96. 99 each| Outer layer| These will form the outer layer and will trap air between the secondary and outer layer. These are the thickest and heaviest of all three layers this is because they have to be windproof and waterproof| Down or Synthetic trousers| ? 90. 99 each| Outer Layer| | Light weight gloves| ? 4. 99 each| Accessories| Depending on how cold the area is depends on how many layers of gloves you will need. The lightweight glove liners are the first layer, the lightweight gloves are the second layer and the ski mittens are the outer/final layer. They work on the same principles as the clothes this principle is that they trap air between layers| Ski Mittens| ? 14. 99 each| Accessories| | Lightweight glove liners| ? . 99| Accessories| | Balaclava| ? 20. 00 each| Accessories| You lose about 10% of your body heat from your head so this is essential. | Under socks| ? 7. 99 each| Accessories| The under socks are used as layers and like the lightweight glove liners are the first layer so they are light and thin. | Socks| ? 2. 00 each| Accessories| The socks are thicker and heavier thermal sock s so provide more protection against cold, wind and rain. | Mukluks| ? 155 each| Accessories| The mukluks are there as snow shoes they are thick soled and thick so it protects the foot from cold, wind and rain. Neck gaiter| ? 5. 99 each| Accessories| The neck gaiter or a scarf can be used to protect the neck from cold and traps the body heat| Ski glasses| ? 50. 00 each| Accessories| These have to be high UV levels they are there to protect the explorer from snow glare. | Equipment list Pg 6 Pg 6 Equipment item| Price | Type| Reason| Sleeping bag| ? 199. 99 each| Sleeping| This is thick and well insulated so keeps you warm as well as this most of your clothes will be kept in the sleeping bag when you sleep. | Closed cell foam sleeping mat| ? . 99 each| Sleeping| This is there so you are not sleeping straight on the snow and stops some of the cold from coming as well as this it is more comfortable to sleep on. | Mountaineering ice axe| ? 54. 99 each| Climbing| It is there to help the climber get up the mountain this as well as the crampons and ice hammer are essential for climbing. | Ice hammer| ? 54. 99 each| Climbing| It is there to help the climber get up the mountain this as well as the crampons and ice axe is essential for climbing. | Crampons| ? 9. 90 each| Climbing| It is there to help the climber get up the mountain this as well as the ice hammer and ice axe is essential for climbing. | Climbing Harness| ? 59. 95 each| Climbing| The climbing harness is there to stop the climber from falling when climbing the mountain or glacier. It is there as protection. | Personal crevasse rescue kit| ? 20. 00 each| Climbing| This is there in case some member of the team falls into a crevasse this will help them to get back out. | Right and left hand ascenders| ? 38. 0 each| Climbing| These are there to attach the rope to the climbing harness. | Skis with touring binds| ? 350. 00 each| Skiing equipment| The skis are there to help the explorer travel across the ice shee ts and snow. | Adjustable ski poles| ? 65. 00 as a pair| Skiing equipment| The adjustable poles are there so any one can use them and they are used to guide the skis in the right direction. | Transceiver| ? 65. 99 for 5| Skiing equipment| The transceiver is there to give and receive messages to other members of that team and other teams. | Avalanche probe| ? 29. 0 each| Skiing equipment| They are a crucial part of the avalanche rescue kit it is there to mark the spot of the person who is under the snowfall caused by the avalanche. | Shovel| ? 15. 00 each| Skiing equipment| These are there to dig you, your ski or the ledges out of the snow if they are buried. | Ski crampons| ? 26. 24 each| Skiing equipment| These are to help you grip in the snow or on the skis while you are walking or skiing. | GPS| ? 115. 00 each| Navigation | The GPS is there so you can determine where you are and the quickest route back if you’re lost. | Compass| ? 15. 0 each| Navigation| The compass is the re for those who do not hold GPS or the GPS has stopped working and so can be used as a navigational tool. | Altimeter watch| ? 90. 00 each| Navigation| Altimeter watch is an altimeter, barometer, and compass so can be used in many ways and is very helpful. | Spare batteries| ? 1. 93 for 8| Navigation| Spare batteries for the watch and for the GPS to be used as emergency and when needed. | Lightweight group shelter| ? 359. 99 for 9 people| Emergency| This will be used in emergencies if you are caught in a snow storm or if you need to camp out before you reach your destination. Personal first aid kit| ? 22 each| Emergency| This will be used in case you are separated or if Pg 8 Pg 8 you are on a journey and harm yourself. | Small repair kit| ? 9. 58 each| Emergency| This could be used to repair skis, boats, snowmobiles or any other equipment needed to be mended| Medication| ———-| Additional| This is only there for those who suffer from chronic of short term illnes ses as well as basic medication such as paracetamol, aspirin etc. | Food packets| ? 5. 00 for 10 packets| Additional| These will be used on journeys and in emergencies if there is no access to food. Water purifiers| ? 30 for 5| Additional| This is there if the water runs out and you need to melt ice then it will be essential to purify the water before you drink the water| Water| ? 10 for 3Ãâ€"1 litre| Additional| These will be there if you are on a journey, trek or are caught in an emergency as a form of liquid so as to stop dehydration. | Vitamins and minerals| ? 20 for 5 jars| Additional| Are there for any emergencies when the explorer is suffering from a vitamin and mineral deficiencies. | Sun screen| ? 20. 0 for 4| Additional| These are to protect the skin from the high UV level. | Lip screen| ? 20. 00 for 5| Additional| These are there to protect the lips from the high UV level. | By Francesca Steeples 9P All prices were correct at the time of printing Pg 1 Pg 1 How Is Global Warming Affecting The Antarctic Landscape? Contents Introduction pg 2 Training Schedulepg 2-3 Articles/Rules in Antarctic Treatypg 3 Team and Team Memberspg 3-4 Equipment and Kit Listpg 3 and 5-7 Route to Antarcticapg 3 Sponsorspg 3-4 Route in Antarcticapg 4 What the research could be used for in the futurepg 5

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Plato and Nietzsche on Authority Essay

Nietzsche and Plato have many similarities in their discussion of political philosophy. Both dislike and hold contempt for democracy, and both favour a meritocratically chosen elite holding authority. There are even many similarities between the characteristics that they require in the group. However, there are differences too. Nietzsche doesn’t outline a strict theory of authority, as Plato does. His governmental ‘system’, although it hardly is, could be interpreted, and has been, in many different ways. And, although both of them think that they have justified their authority, there have been several discussions on to whether they are, and in what society they would be relevant. These discussions are perhaps at the core of finding the key differences and usable elements of their philosophies. The notion of authority can be discussed in two main senses. For one, it can be used to discuss a person or group’s right to rule. The other is when you talk of someone being an authority on a topic. Both of these involve the subordination of personal judgement to that of another and most political theorists would consider this subordination to be binding. One of the main problems is if you should surrender your own personal judgement independent of the content of the authority’s ideas – both Nietzsche and Plato would say that one should, as their leaders are both an authority on a topic and have the right to rule. When authority comes from knowledge, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the authority has power, for example as in a teacher trying to control a class at a school. However, in politics, an effective authority must be allied to power. If the authority is recognised, then it is de facto authority. If it is justified, then it is de jure authority, and most de facto authorities claim that they are both de facto and de jure. Plato and Nietzsche both argue for a de facto authority (sensibly – who wants to impose an authority that is ignored?) and they both outline what they believe to be justification for this authority. This justification is at the centre of much of political philosophy, as it is important to discover if the justification works. Authority differs, therefore, from justified power, as justified power in itself does not involve subordination of judgement – if they’re not recognised, then they cannot require that people follow their rule. Legitimacy is also an issue. In a democratic state, electoral fraud would lead to a leader being illegitimate: there is also no guaranteed way to prevent electoral fraud. However, as Nietzsche and Plato are both anti-democracy, illegitimacy this way would obviously be an issue. However, if either of their desired leaders were to ‘seize power’ (either by force or just accidentally falling into power), there would be definite issues with people who didn’t believe their justification. In this case, their authority could be considered illegitimate. Plato, especially in Republic, gives epistemology and metaphysics substantial roles in political philosophy. In Plato’s ideally just city, philosophers would gain power, or, at the very least, rulers would have to engage ‘sincerely and adequately’ in philosophy. Plato also suggests a rigorous training program for his philosopher-kings – they must have their emotions properly trained. Would this lack of emotion make for a good authority? Many would say that you cannot be emotional about your leadership because then your judgement would be swayed by too many subjective factors. However, the thought of a leader without emotion is particularly daunting – how would they know what would affect the population, and more importantly how? Emotions are an important part of human life, and a great leader would have to understand (and this would usually be best understood by feeling the emotions oneself) human life to be effective. Plato argues that this would co me from knowledge of the Forms, the perfect example of something – there is one for every notion that exists on earth. The Form of tables, the Form of emotions, or even the Form of drinks are all said to exist. The meticulous training includes imparting knowledge about these forms and prepares the mind for this abstract thought by rigorously training the rulers in mathematics. The philosopher’s knowledge of the Forms would include knowledge of the Form of Good, which is the ‘keystone of the system’, and therefore is essential for order. If one takes the Forms to be a true (or even just realistic) idea then it is sensible for a leader to understand what the true notion of good is. If one knows ‘good’ then one can use this mould to create a ‘good system’, which is surely more reliable than basing it on subjective ideas. The Forms are like a religion, which makes Plato’s system almost a theocracy (unlike the authority of Nietzsche) – and this has been implemented as a political system before. In the past, however, people have become dissatisfied with the religion that they are ‘forced’ to agree with. Atheism is becoming more and more accepted than before, as many new scientific discoveries render God less and less plausible, and as Nietzsche would put it, less useful as a concept. All this taken into account means that knowledge of the Forms probably wouldn’t be useful for an authority (especially in a modern era), but it is not necessarily a bad idea for an authority figure to be well versed in philosophy. Philosophy introduces abstract thought (like Plato suggested) and calls for knowledge in logic. Abstract thought is useful when trying to find theories that fit with the real world – where would physics and chemistry be without abstract thought concerning the atom? Another key question on the subject of religion was raised by Nietzsche. Is there anything that can be taken from religion, even if one wasn’t to be imposing religion onto a state, as Plato does? Nietzsche believes that, although religion in itself is too dogmatic and God is useless as a concept, the passion behind religion is admirable, and would be one of the key characteristics of his ‘new philosophers’. Nietzsche’s ‘new philosopher’, as opposed to the more traditional concept of Plato, would be more like a contemporary artist than a contemporary philosopher. They would not even necessarily be searching for the truth. These ‘new philosophers’ are the Ubermensch – and coupled with this ‘think outside the box’ attitude, they have a strong Will to Power, which makes them the perfect leader. They crave solitude, when independence is not necessary or normally preferred, which Nietzsche says is an example of exercising the will to power over oneself – he also calls it a ‘privilege of the strong’. Plato agrees, and says that the ‘philosopher follows truth alone’. These new philosopher ‘overmen’ don’t follow the rules that are currently put in place by Christianity and ‘slave morality’ like ‘self-sacrifice for one’s neighbour’ and ‘self-denial’. Similarly to Plato’s philosopher kings, these Ubermensch/new philosophers are uncommitted to anyone or anything, and they are not afraid to break the boundaries currently put in place by political authorities. ————————————————————————————————————- Of course, these philosophers that are in power must be significantly different from those that we call ‘philosophers’ today. Nietzsche says that ‘every great philosophy so far has been just the personal confession of its author’ – meaning that philosophy is subjective and just based and what you want to believe and think. Here, social class, education, religion, parents and friends all play a part in what you write down as your philosophy. As previously mentioned, Nietzsche wants to use people who a free thinkers, someone that yearns to be ‘set free from the crowd’. Plato agrees when Adeimantus says that ‘people who study philosophy too long become weird, roguish creatures, useless to society’ – philosophers aren’t currently as useful to politics as they should be, according to both theories of authority. There are other examples of when a more metaphysical concept has been implemented by an authority. Religious people often hold God (rather than the Forms or the free thinkers of Nietzsche) as the ultimate authority, and although we have discussed briefly the problems with making this the law of a state (as in theocracy), this religious politics may not be a bad idea. For example, if those with authority look to God for advice on political matters, it gives them a chance to think about and ‘receive information’ (either from God, or simply thinking it through in prayer, or even through the morals in religious scripture – this needn’t be a discussion of religious philosophy) about what may be the better decision. Obviously, if we take the Forms to be incorrect (as most people do), then God would be the ultimate good, which means that those that ‘understand God’ would have to hold the power, rather than philosophers. Of course, there has to be a line drawn between looking to God (or another spiritual being) for advice and forcing views on other people. Plato would argue that the people don’t know what is good for them, and so should trust whatever the authority says, but this isn’t a realistic idea for people of today, who have fought for free speech for centuries. Nietzsche would both agree and disagree with this. He would agree in that the Ubermensch are the only ones that can be truly rulers, and that the vast majority of people don’t know what’s good for them. However, he wouldn’t necessarily say that this was a bad thing, as if slaves are happy being slaves, then they have less of the Will to Power and therefore do (in a sense) know what’s good for themselves personally. Of course, even if we convert Plato’s theory on Authority to be based around any religious ideals then it is still an argument against democracy in that if an Authority must have something to be a ‘good’ ruler, there is no point in asking the untrained masses to vote for a ‘good’ ruler. They wouldn’t, presumably, be able to understand the Forms, or God, sufficiently enough to choose an Authority (or even understand that there could be an Authority) that would do the job to Plato’s standards. Another Plato’s philosopher kings rely on their knowledge of the Forms to provide their moral code, which is then implemented upon the Republic. The Form of the Good provides the perfect moral code upon which to base the real (material) moral code. This is one of the main reasons why Plato requires his rulers to have philosophical knowledge – they need to know the moral code upon which to base their own. Nietzsche, on the other hand, believes that everything is subjective, based on experience and opinion of the individual. This means that his philosopher supermen don’t need to implement a moral code; their only morals are the will to power. Even if this seems like a good idea within the context of Plato’s Republic, this Authority wouldn’t make sense in today’s politics. For example, there are many various types of religion, and within those religions, thousands of sub-sets. This means that, even without using the Forms, that this theocracy idea couldn’t be imposed without some force (the implications of which will be discussed later). Secondly, using one type of morality based on dogmatic principles wouldn’t hold sway for a similar reason – there would be complaints (or even uprisings) about the lack of freedoms this gives. These are practical reasons for the change not to take place. However, there are implications even if this were to be used in an ideal society (where all good ideas based upon an interchangeable ultimate value would be easily implemented with consequences). It’s not ideal, from many viewpoints, to force everyone to hold the same viewpoint (although Plato would argue that there is only one true viewpoint) and Nietzsche’s subjectivism would agree. Human nature would be indulged in an ideal world, if happiness was the ultimate value, and this calls for freedom to be a central concept of any Authority. Freedom to vote, to those in the UK, seems to be a basic human right with few restrictions. This means that democracy would seem to be part of an ideal society in pursuit of happiness. There are good reasons for this – we all have subjective opinions (as Nietzsche rightly said) and these need to be reflected in the way we are governed by an authority. For example, in most other situations, we would consult someone who we believe to be an ‘authority’ on a subject. If we are ill, we talk to a doctor. If we want to dine out, we will consult a restaurant critic. Therefore, it seems sensible to leave governmental decisions to those with political knowledge. However, the teaching of medicine is universally taught in a similar (if not identical) way – there is little room for a subjective opinion. The more subjective something is, the less we can trust it. The restaurant critic, for example, will sway our views either way, but it probably won’t be the final judgment. The reason it will still sway us is that there is still ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food. Politics, however, is different. Everything in politics is completely dependant on moral views, upbringing, teaching, the media and even the way your brain works. We cannot trust teachers of politics to be completely impartial when teaching the political theories. Teachers of religious studies are usually biased towards Christianity in this country, and politics teachers would probably be the same. People wouldn’t be happy with simply ‘going along with’ what the politicians say – that’s why people have died for democracy. Everyone has different views, and democracy is the best way to incorporate all (or most) of these when creating a government. There is, however, a problem with the amount of democracy to allow. The current system in the United Kingdom is for people to vote in a representative that they trust to make similar decisions to those that they would choose. Of course, the representative cannot be trusted to have exactly the same views, and therefore, should the vote be more open? If people were allowed to vote on any topic that interests them, what would happen? The government may be forced to ban petrol cars. The main question is, is it really democratic once elected? The system in the UK is not fully democratic. Plato would argue that the only way for a government to make truly ‘right’ decisions (and therefore decisions that the public would have to agree with – there’s nothing to disagree with if something is ‘right) is for them to know ‘good’ – be trained in abstract thought and philosophy. So democracy, to be worthwhile, perhaps needs to be more democratic, or Plato and Nietzsche have the right idea. Jeremy Bentham famously associated utilitarianism with democracy – he believed that one vote per person would lead the ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’. This is because human nature naturally tends to lead us towards pleasure, as opposed to pain. And, because everyone has this same desire towards pleasure, democracy would effectively allow all of us to vote for pleasure, so to speak. This seems like a more feasible idea than relying on someone who, although in theory ‘doesn’t have personal interests’, probably would be biased. Humans do tend to avoid pain, so an open vote would lead us away from pain. Change Nietzsche quotes on asceticism! Another important feature that both Nietzsche and Plato mention in their political philosophy is asceticism. Nietzsche mentions that the tests of self-deprivation that (Christians mostly) pervade Western society are bad – â€Å"wherever religious neurosis has appeared on earth, we find it tied up with three dangerous dietary rules: isolation, fasting, and sexual abstinence†. However, further on in Beyond Good and Evil, he seemingly changes his mind. He advocates â€Å"appropriating, injuring, overpowering those who are foreign and weaker; oppression, harshness, forcing one’s own forms on others, incorporation, and at the very least, at the very mildest, exploitation† which would surely induce suffering, especially when considered with a modern mind. He then goes on to say in 270 that â€Å"Profound suffering ennobles; it separates.† Even earlier on, in 40, he says that â€Å"everything deep loves a mask† – surely a sign of internal suf fering is being hidden? Presumably, ‘deep’ is a good thing, as his description of his ‘new philosophers’ necessitates that they are ‘deep’ creatures. Plato, on the other hand, consistently advocates an ascetic lifestyle, especially when he is discussing his people in authority. They do not care for pleasures of this world: those of body or money. We can apply the same thoughts to asceticism as we can to Plato’s philosopher without emotion. If a leader doesn’t care for pleasures of this world, then surely they cannot truly understand the pleasures of this world – whether they are philosophers or not. If the authority was supposed to be similar to a Christian God, then it would be omnipotent, and therefore know and understand everything a priori. However, neither Plato nor Nietzsche advocates a Christian God as the best authority – and neither of them suggests that the leader would be omnipotent. Therefore, it would make sense to disagree with asceticism on the grounds that it would cause the perfect leader to have a lack of understanding about typical human pleasures. It will be evident by now that Nietzsche (and Plato, to an extent) advocates an oligarchy (albeit meritocratic) – both place small groups of people in charge of the general public. They both have similar attitudes towards democracy, as well. Plato dismisses democracy – he thinks that ‘liberty’ (557b) and equality (558c) lead to a break down of all the essential characteristics of a philosopher-king. Evidently the very existence of a ruling class of philosopher kings is controversial to the central themes of democracy. ‘liberty’ leads to a lack of self-discipline. He doesn’t believe in ‘equality’ as some humans are superior. Nietzsche has a similar idea – he mentions that â€Å"Every enhancement in the type â€Å"man† up to this point has been the work of an aristocratic society†, which shows that he believes that an ‘aristocratic’ society will further man’s development. Although Plato seems to advocate a meritocratic oligarchy (although he wouldn’t admit it), he doesn’t recommend that his republic be based around money (also known as a plutocracy) where a small group of rich people, similar to an aristocracy, rule the lower classes. This would lead to an economic inequality between classes, which would create an environment which leads to and breeds beggars and thieves. It could also lead to a revolution between the rich and the poor. Another argument against plutocracies occurs in chapter VIII, Socrates says that wealth doesn’t allow a pilot to navigate a ship, so wealth wouldn’t allow an authority to rule a republic. Money seems to be a key problem with many theories of authority. It is often said that money corrupts people, so it could be argued that in any governmental system where the authority gets paid or is chosen because of its wealth would be corrupt. However, it is not practical to impose this – most people associate power with money either subconsciously or consciously. The authority, even if chosen democratically, would want some reward for having to rule a country, and money is the usual and probably most desired reward. In ‘The Prince’, Machiavelli justified using force to gain and retain political power, and it, therefore, justifies any actions simply done to gain power. This may, of course, have influenced Nietzsche, who also advocates gaining power by force. In 257, he mentions that every ‘noble’ (not in the typical sense) civilisation has descended from ‘barbarians’, and that any decent (and therefore aristocratic) society ‘requires slavery’. Plato agrees with this, he says that the ‘most majestic society and man’ is ‘tyranny and the tyrant’. Although there are sections in The Republic where Plato seems to advocate violence, such as 465 where he says ‘Arguments can be settled with fists, there and then, as they arise’, when he discusses his perfect State he seems to believe that it will just come into being. For example, in 502, he mentions that the only way it could come about by a philosopher ‘wiping the slate of human habits and society clean’. This could, obviously, mean the annihilation of the human race, but it seems to mean just cleansing the mind of incorrect ideas. He then acknowledges that putting it ‘into practice would be difficult’ – which it wouldn’t, if they just forced people into obeying, which makes it seem like he hopes that one day, it will happen, but he is not going to force it. More examples of this anti-force opinion occur when he is discussing the types of government that he is against – timarchy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. He explains that oligarchy and tyranny can only come about by using force – ‘private wealth’ means that people feel that they have the right to ‘keep the populace down by force’. Democracy, he believes, causes excessive liberty, which then causes its own downfall. From this comes a tyrant, who ‘is not afraid of murder’ and ‘stirs up war’. Another point he makes is that ‘it is simply never right to harm anyone at any time’ – which obviously is a specific way of showing his feelings on violence and this would apply to taking a country or state by force. Of course, this helps to illustrate a key difference between power and authority. For example, we all have in us the physical strength to murder (although, obviously, we don’t usually have the mental state to want to do it) and this is power in one sense – just like a dictator killing thousands of people because he can. However, an authority differs from this in that it would be classed as capital punishment. So what is the difference? Why does an authority have the right and others do not? If an authority is de jure (with justification) – although it may be difficult for some to think when murder would be justified – then all its actions could be seen as justified by proxy, as if an authority is justified, the decisions they make would be somehow related to the reason they are in power. For example, Plato justifies his philosopher-kings by saying that they are the only ones who can have true knowledge of the forms, and, if this is true, then they know the Form of Good. So, if they murdered someone, then it would be based upon something they’ve seen in the innate Form of Good. The balance between freedom and authority comes into question when discussing issues like the above. Even though the authority may be justified on its own terms, it may not be necessarily right. Using Plato as an example again, the theory of the Forms is now commonly thought to be incorrect, and people wouldn’t accept that as a reason to allow capital punishment. Even if there was a truly irrefutable source of justification, people will always have differing views, especially on such an important topic. So how does an authority find the perfect balance between power and authority? Authoritarianism is a social theory popular with dictators and the like. It supports, at the totalitarian end of the spectrum, the total subjection of personal opinions (usually through oppression) and enforcing strict control upon those that live in the state. It often involves what many political philosophies would see as an erosion of civil rights and freedoms – lack of a private life and suppression of religious beliefs, for example. Obviously, there are differing degrees of authoritarianism and even the most democratic and liberal state must exercise its authority upon those within the state, but finding the right balance is important. Both Nietzsche and Plato advocate the subordination of those under the command of the philosophers, which means that their theories would be less easily accepted today than they would have been in the past. As previously mentioned, people have fought (and still are, particularly from the 20th century until today) for their civil rights and this includes their freedom, which means that an authoritarian government, like those advocated by Nietzsche and Plato, would be more difficult to impose today than ever before. This calls into question obedience to the state. The more democratic the state, the more free speech and dissent is usually allowed. However, as neither Plato nor Nietzsche advocate democracy, it is required to understand when disobedience would be allowed. Of course, both would say that their state would be obedient at all times, but this is unrealistic. In a theocracy, the state executes the law of God. In Plato, God can be easily exchanged for ‘The Forms’. However, what would happen if people were to disagree with Plato’s theory, as many do? Would they be justified in breaking the law of something that they don’t believe in? A true authority would mean that the law would either be unbreakable morally or that their authority was so powerful that people could not, or would not, break the law. However, as has been seen, it is difficult to see where Plato or Nietzsche’s arguments would lead to such an authority. Although disobedience of the law is obviously illegal, sometimes mass disobedience, in the UK at least, can lead to a change of law. Plato would disagree that this is even possible. If duty to the State is accepted, it is still possible to find examples when the law can be disobeyed. As the duty of the state is to protect the people (and, for my example, this includes their freedom), state infringement of this freedom could cause the person involve to break the law to retrieve their liberty. Another issue arises (in the case of democratic government and perhaps in Nietzsche’s subjective government) in that if the majority part enforces a law, should the minority who didn’t vote be forced to follow it? It wasn’t their choice for that law to be enforced. Of course, with major things that infringe on human rights, like murder and domestic violence, should be universally enforced, but what about poll tax and property protection? If it was enforced by a government of authority that imposed itself, this could be an issue in that it is unfair to enforce laws that almost all of the population disagree with. In some cases, it could be considered immoral, but Plato would disagree, as the Rulers are following the only moral code that exists. Plato’s philosopher kings rely on their knowledge of the Forms to provide their moral code, which is then implemented upon the republic. The Form of the Good provides the perfect moral code upon which to base the real (material) moral code. This is one of the main reasons why Plato requires his rulers to have philosophical knowledge – they need to know the moral code upon which to base their own. Nietzsche, however, believes that everything is subjective, based on experience and opinion of the individual. This means that his philosopher supermen don’t need to implement a moral code; as previously mentioned, their only moral is the will to power. Nietzsche never specifically argues for a government system like we have today. For example, he mentions that his free spirits should be in power, but also says that religion should be allowed for the common people. This shows, slightly patronisingly, that he is not expecting the ‘common’ people to understand the rulers (much like the lower classes today are note expected to understand politics) which is obviously a very sweeping judgement, and could be considered as harsh and pro-Big Brighter – in support of a tyrannical state. Although Nietzsche did support tyrant, he did appreciate the subjectivism of morals and opinion, and was not advocating forcing ones views upon others (unlike Hitler). His lack of respect for democracy is not the only thing that calls into question modern government. He doesn’t even specify if there should be a (totalitarian?) leader at all, merely that the free spirits would ‘hold power’ as such. His appreciation of subjectivity means that a leader would not strictly work: all views are different, so no leader would be truly right. The free spirit seems merely to be an authority to show others with the will to power what they can achieve. Conclusion Both of these systems involve elements of the totalitarian about them. Plato seems to advocate both communism in monetary matters and lifestyle and the complete opposite when it comes to defining differences between peoples. He argues strongly for different classes of people, like Nietzsche, and for an authority that is placed in power with no choice. It’s not as bad as it seems, if one agrees with the justification of the argument – however, it would be a long struggle for people to accept it. Nietzsche, on the other hand, has often been blamed for inspiring Hitler (which is untrue, as Nietzsche despised racism and anti-Semitism), and it is easy to see why, as he advocates gaining authority by force, relishes in aristocratic barbarianism, and believes that there are ‘levels of people’. This means that their theories on authority aren’t very practical, and neither de jure or de facto, particularly by modern standards. A preferable system, therefore, would be a mix of Plato’s equality for women, Nietzsche’s appreciation for the artistic nature, and †¦ (include other philosophers). Of course, it’s unforeseeable to be able to find a perfect authority, one who is justified, true, moral and recognised. As Nietzsche said, all philosophy to date has been ‘personal confession’ – if this is true (which it seems likely to be), then there will never be a perfect authority, justified and recognised by all.