The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey In recent centuries, China has been subject to many foreign powers even on its own soil. In times of low national pride, martial art masters such as Ye Wen and Huo Yuanjia became national heroes, inspiring the Chinese people to prove their worth to visiting foreigners and preserve their sovereignty. Through a comparative study of heroic martial artists in the recent Chinese films Ip Man( ) and Jet Li’s Fearless ( ), this paper will explore how the stories that they tell relate to and critically reflect the â€Å"Hero’s Journey† narrative pattern identified by American Scholar Joseph Campbell.Campbell’s 2008 book The Hero With a Thousand Faces provides a theoretical frame for this paper. We will study how these martial artists’ personal stories inspire their community and the nation to overcome great hardship and how the filmic representation of their images represents the self-image of China as a nation. Drawing a parallel between these heroic images and China’s own journey toward self-reliance and national regeneration, this paper will argue that the narrative pattern of â€Å"A Hero’s Journey† could also project a meaningful reading of China’s own trajectory of social and economic growth as a nation.The first film that this paper studies, Jet Li’s Fearless takes place in the early 1900’s, half a century after the Opium Wars have resulted in China giving up territory to Western powers as well as diminished their rule over foreigners in Chinese cities. In this historical period, Western powers look down on the Chinese as the weak men of Asia. Likewise, despite his father being a martial arts master, Huo Yuanjia is not permitted by his father to practice wushu because of his asthma.After his father’s death, Yuanjia is able to practice wushu openly and begins to build his reputation as the â€Å"best of Tianjin. † Huo Yuanjia’s call to adven ture comes after tragedy strikes his family. Yuanjia is led by one of his disciples to believe that another martial artist, Master Qin, has beaten him without provocation. In the ensuing confusion, Yuanjia kills Master Qin and Master Qin’s nephew in turn kills Yuanjia’s wife and daughter. This personal tragedy can be contextualized in the historical period knows as the Boxer Rebellion.China’s reluctance to accept western ideals, specifically its rejection of Christianity, led to irrevocable conflict across the country in which many innocent people lose their lives. As portrayed by the film, one of China’s major weaknesses was its inability to adapt as the world around it modernizes and westernizes. A hero is not without mentors and ultimately must work to gain a treasure, which can then be used to transform the world. Huo Yuanjia is humbled by the tragedy that struck his life and learns to accept guidance from many around him.In a small mountain village h e is taught how to live in harmony with nature. Upon returning to Tianjin, he visits his old friend Nong Jinsun with a changed heart. Yuanjia knows that China’s image is in desperate need of refreshing and asks his friend to pay his way to challenge O’Brien, the US boxing champion, in Shanghai. Huo Yuanjia then undergoes many tests, finding allies and enemies along the way. He is invited to dinner and tea on occasion. The first invitation comes, again, from his friend Nong Jinsun.The two agree that China must realize the gravity of their situation and reunite to take back their sovereignty. Jinsun knows that Yuanjia can unify the country through martial arts and is so dedicated to the idea that he sells his successful restaurant in order to help open the Jingwu Sports Federation. Later, Yuanjia has tea with an arranged challenger, Anno Tanaka. Tanaka is prideful of his knowledge and taste for differentiating various grades of tea. In perhaps the deepest line of the fil m, Yuanjia explains to Tanaka that the tea does not judge itself, but people judge it, placing one above the other.In contrast, Yuanjia believes that the all tea is made equal by nature and the taste of the tea will reflect the attitude of the drinker. As for martial arts, there isn’t one superior style, but varying degrees of skill in each style. This explains China’s endangered situation at the time of the movie. The Chinese style of government and nationalism simply couldn’t withstand the pressure of outside forces. Finally, the hero Huo Yuanjia must  be severely tested in order to be purified by a last sacrifice.According to the film Fearless, Yuanjia’s sacrifice is literal. In a contest against four opponents, he is poisoned, even as he is near victory. China has its own internal conflict. Although the internal struggle was largely put on hold during the Second World War, the Chinese Communist and Nationalist Parties divided China one more time bef ore it could finally be united under Mao Zedong’s communist government. Tanaka declares Yuanjia the victor as he dies and becomes a hero behind which the Chinese can unite to fight the foreign influence.Resonating the theme of heroism and nationalism, the movie Ip Man is a great tribute to Ip Man, a great leader of China by example of his determination to achieve justice. This story takes place in Foshan, Guangdong region before and during the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s. This invasion leaves a lot of Chinese people to be wrongly treated and also have an inappropriate and improper view of the actuality in strength that China has as a whole especially in numbers. What good can a high amount of people be if they aren’t all governed by the same organized and directive laws?The importance of effective and self-sufficient leadership is great and can be shown through the life of heroes like the martial artist Ip Man, a visionary leader of the Chinese people, who was able to bring hope, direction and most importantly greater unity to the local Chinese community Ip Man was a very important and influential master of Kong Fu in the history of China. Taking his heroic life and comparing it with the â€Å"Hero’s Journey† will allow readers to perceive what affects a Heroic figure had on a historical nation such as China.According to Joseph Campbell, there are various stages in the narrative pattern of â€Å"A Hero’s Journey. † The most important are: one, â€Å"The Ordinary World†; two, â€Å"The Call To Adventure†; three, â€Å"Refusal of The Call†; four, â€Å"Meeting with the mentor†; five, â€Å"Tests, Allies and Enemies†; six â€Å"The Ordeal†; seven, â€Å"The Road Back†; and lastly, eight, â€Å"Return With The Elixir†. In Ip Man, the first stage, â€Å"The Ordinary World†, is presented as the earlier life of Ip Man. He is extremely accomplished in t raditional Chinese martial arts and lives a quite life.As an ordinary person, he has no desire to become a master and teach others. Corresponding to Stage two, â€Å"The Call To Adventure,† Ip Man is brought to pass as the Japanese are introduced as invading China, which caused numerous Chinese to live in perilous conditions. Ip Man, as well, lost his home and many personal belongings. In a scene of the film, a Japanese General invites Chinese locals to challenge Japanese martial artists using their own styles of Kong Fu to judge which national martial arts are more powerful.The intersection between personal and national crisis is escalated in the third stage, corresponding to Campbell’s narrative pattern â€Å"Refusal of the Call†, when Ip Man chooses to fight against 10 Japanese fighters at once due to the very recent murder of his close friend. He triumphs at last, conquering his challengers. When he reviews this experience with his wife, he comments that his Kong Fu has no use in this current unfortunate situation for his country-men and friends since the whole nation is in a larger, much more dangerous and critical condition.Later a Chinese officer who later works as the interpreter for the Japanese brings the Japanese military to find Ip Man. This is when the fifth stage is visible, â€Å"Tests, Allies and Enemies†. Ip Man could see the apparent intentions that one Japanese officer had towards his wife. To save himself and his family from danger, Ip Man fights against all the soldiers and finally manages to flee. The story later progresses into stage six â€Å"The Ordeal†, when Ip Man dares to face the Japanese General in a fight to see whose Kong Fu can prevail.At this time Ip Man understands that whether he wins or loses, he is doomed to be unfairly killed. However, he knows that the dignity and glory of his nation rests on him and is dependent on his victory. Ip man then greatly triumphed in this match up, and the la rge crowd mostly consisting of Chinese locals cheered and chanted, â€Å"Ip Man, Ip Man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but then out of nowhere a Japanese Colonel shot Ip Man, and seemed to have killed him, but luckily he lived on.Finally, corresponding to Stage seven, â€Å"The Road Back†, the film shows Ip Man willingly sacrificing himself to protect the workers in the cotton factory, when revealing his genuine care for them, his countrymen. Lastly, stage eight, â€Å"Return with the elixir† is that Ip Man finally establishes his belief that Chinese martial arts is founded in Confucian spirit, the essence of which is benevolence. This corresponds to the eighth stage in the Campbell narrative pattern, the return with the elixir, which to Ip Man, is this spirit of benevolence. This, the elixir is a treasure that the Hero brings back from his journey.It can be physical or an idea. In most wushu films, the elixir can best be compared to attaining a zen-like state where the hero gains int ernal peace and harmony with the world around him. To conclude, as a part of the Hero’s Journey, the hero must obtain some form of treasure or elixir. For Huo Yuanjia, the treasure was discovering the essence of wushu. Before his journey, Yuanjia was certainly a strong martial artist, but through his journey, he realized that the true power in martial arts is the ability to avert conflict and better oneself.For Ip Man, the true lesson that he obtained was that you must cherish your abilities using them for good and that even one person can accomplish great things as an example to others, causing many people to unite and become great. As a nation with dramatic changes in the recent decades, China has recently learned this lesson power in unity and good leadership as well. In 1971, The People’s Republic of China gained a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Since then, China has worked peacefully to become a world power, with an average annual GDP growth rate of ne arly 10 percent in the last 20 years.And finally, Beijing had the honor of hosting the world’s athletes in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. China has grown into a world power, and as any hero knows, with great power comes great responsibility. Through this process that is found through a hero’s journey, the audience are also invited to explore the importance of these heroes and their entire process of becoming real heroes and draw lessons from them. The same is true for China as a nation that may grow and progress by learning from the empowering examples of heroes on screen such as Ip Man and Huo Yuanjia. .

Global Economy Essay

This paper sets out global scenario of state of affairs of different major national economies of the world. The emergence of a global economy indicates or presupposes interconnectedness of the different national and regional economies. The formal opening a global economy was started by formation of International monetary fund soon after the world war. Because of this, giving of surplus resources of the wealthy countries to the needy ones supplemented by free trade among nations became a reality thus fostering international brother hood and extenuating war possibilities. After all, wars were mostly for economic reasons though there were ideological excuses being argued for the wars so far held. After seeing that global economy is mainly to reduce regional imbalances, it has been concluded that because of some ideologies though may be real and inevitable due to natural laws, the present tempo of globalizing the economy should not be given up. Global Economy Global economy is what emerged as result of unified free markets of the world following the Bretton Woods Conference by which multilateral trading system characterized by banking regulation and dollarization of the monetary standards and Keynesian economics came into being. International Monetary Fund, International Reserve Bank and other international agreements of the Breton Woods Conference also paved way for growth of Global economy. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) also made Global economy an inevitable development. The world trade witnessed an increase of 15 percent each year during the period between 1953 and 1973 which resulted in betterment of individual national economies. Since there was a set back for the United States’ economy after the oil crisis in 1973, Bretton woods system and Keynesian policies lost their importance. After 1973, multinational business organizations started emerging all over the world thus making global economy an irreversible phenomenon. Subsequent revolutions in communications, emergence of computers and fiber-optic technology that facilitated instantaneous international transactions made global economy with practically no national boundaries keeping in view the cost-efficiency alone as the guideline. Globalization and Foreign Direct Investments made global economy as a concomitant feature. (Abrahams) Global Economy signaled transition from economic activity in agriculture to services. Because of this, GDP grew at a rapid rate for OECD and advanced counties. Before the advent of Global economy which gives power to market goods and services across nations, United States of America was controlling the entire economy of the world. Now the power of the U. S. A has been reduced to 25 % of what it was before the emergence of world economy. (economywatch) Hence Global economy is no longer driven by the U. S. though slow down of its economy will hurt some countries according to the economist Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research, New York. Many countries from China to Persian Gulf States have strengthened their economies by paying off their external debts and built up their huge cash reserves to boldly absorb any future shocks to their economies as opined by Maria-Laura, Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are busily engaged in acquiring consumer goods from Cell phones to Cars more than the U. S. as reported by Jim O’Neil of Goldman Sachs. This has been a blessing for Japan and South Korea that supply to these countries steel, heavy equipment and construction materials. In particular, China has been building steel mills and petrochemical plants reflecting in the order books of Seoul based Hyundai Heavy Industries. Europe is no exception. It supplies cars and machines tools to Asia and Middle East as observed by Daimler Chrysler’s Chief Executive. India which is not export oriented as China, however wants a stable global economy in general and a stable U. S. economy in particular as opined by the Chief Executive of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd who manufacture cars and tractors in India with $ 4. 5 billion annual turnover. In a way all-round growth in global economy would be good for the U. S. also in due course because of its earnings that come from its overseas enterprises. In fact the recession in the Housing sector of the U. S. is being offset by the 29% of its current trend of corporate profits as against the 20% at the beginning of this decade. Hence America’s reduced direct role in the global economy need not be viewed with dismay. (Reed Staley 2007) G8 Summit 2007 The Summit Declaration of 7 June 2007 by G 8 countries has announced its agenda for Global Growth and stability. Para two of the declaration says that though global economy is in sound condition, readjustment of imbalances has not been fully achieved as it would take equally longer time for readjustment as it took for building up. As in Para 3 of the declaration, the strategy of G8 for readjustment of global imbalances has resulted in the U. S having stepped its drive for augmenting domestic savings to reduce its federal budget deficit, Canada and Europe having been witnessing growth in employment, domestic demand and budget surpluses besides structural reforms in Europe in particular. In Japan too, there has been ongoing structural reforms and consolidation of fiscal measures for a sustainable economic growth. As for Russia, it has for the last seven years achieving domestic consumption resulting in sound economic development due to its macroeconomic policies and fiscal management. The declaration further says in Para 4, that outside member countries in Asia have also set in motion flexible exchange rate systems and financial strengthening conducive to readjustment of global imbalances. Oil exporting countries have stepped their investment on oil production and have considerably increased their imports also. The declaration states that as cross-border investments are the key to the development of global economy, the members are committed to maximizing the said investments. The G8 will meet again in 2009 to review the progress it has made towards achieving these objectives. Leaders from the countries of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa who had attended the G8 summit at Heiligendamm, were taken into confidence by G8 member countries that global imbalances should be rectified by their joint efforts recognizing that individual efforts will not yield results. The new partnership between G8 and the above said countries have agreed on a ongoing dialogue on four issues namely 1)promotion and protection of innovations, 2) making available an open investment conditions towards improving the freedom in investments couples with social responsibility commitments, 3) adopting a common responsibility towards development of Africa, and 4) knowledge sharing in the areas of reduction of CO2 emissions, tackling the effects of climate change in line with conference talks at Gleneagles and St. Petersburg. (G8 Summit 2007) Advantages Global economy enables achieving large-scale economies with the industrial sector enjoying the advantages of obtaining labour, capital and technology at low cost. Besides it has brought about global peace and peaceful coexistence. (economywatch) Disadvantages Because of proliferation of transportation across the world, environmental problems such as increased carbon emissions, noise levels have arisen. Domestic labours lose their jobs due to comparative advantage reasons. (economywatch global economy) Global economic trends This economy largely revolves round advanced countries such as U. S. , U. K. , France, Germany, and Japan. In addition neo-rich countries and emerging economies like China, India, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina have also been causing ripples in the world economy. Recession in the U. S. economy is still continuing though it is being down played. During the period of 1970 to 2001 agricultural activities fell by 2% in advanced countries and by 11% in developing countries. Though 55% of the population is engaged in agriculture in developed countries, due to excessive labour and low productivity, contribution to total output is low. On the other hand in the case of China, a developing country where though 45 % of the population is engaged in agriculture, contribution to the total output i. e. GDP is 12 %. ( economywatch-global economy)

American History Since 1900 week five Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American History Since 1900 week five - Essay Example Black Power appealed to many people because it was viewed a being more proactive than traditional civil rights protests. It was an empowering thought to say, â€Å"Let’s take care of ourselves and forget about White America.† That idea would have been especially attractive to poor individuals that believed their poverty was a result of unfair, discriminatory and racist policies enacted by the government and powerful individuals within American society. It gave them hope of a better future created by black people for black people. The idea behind Black Nationalism is that black people in America are actually a different group entirely from the White population. The institutions as they are constituted now do not represent the black nation. Therefore, black Americans should withdraw from the established institutions and create their own. They should establish their own businesses that provide jobs and services for black Americans. Black nationalism preaches that blacks sh ould take care of themselves and not worry about White America. ... He was offering a new way for black Americans. This new way was designed to lead to self-sufficiency instead of dependency. He taught that the devil would destroy the racist institutions of White America, allowing the Black Nation to rise to power in equity and justice. The Black Nationalists viewed the old civil rights movement as a failure. They noted that the civil rights protests were non-violent but that violence was used routinely against the protestors. This gave the Black Nationalists the proof that they felt they needed to label all of White America evil. They recognized that the civil rights leaders were good people trying to accomplish a worthy goal. The problem is the methods that they chose to employ. The views of the new militants were different than the old civil rights leaders in that they did not view America as a good place in any way. They believed that the whole institution of America, including the Constitution and governmental system, were developed to exploit t he Black Nation. Whereas the civil rights leaders believed in the foundations of America, many of the new militants disagreed with capitalism, democracy and even Christianity. The civil rights protestors wanted equal access to the blessings and benefits of being and American. The new militants wanted to wipe away the old White America and replace it with a new system altogether. This they believed was the best way for blacks to assert their power. The findings of the national Commission on Civil Disorders stated that racism and segregation were root causes of the rioting that occurred in the late 1960’s. Racism and segregation caused a variety of social ills that the black community was forced to deal with. Most prominent

Case 3-2 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

3-2 - Case Study Example Nonetheless, in order to meet such challenges effectively, many organisations in the current context are widely implementing IT governance practice. IT governance initiatives of many organizations are predominately directed towards reducing risks and cost control (Milne & Bowles, 2009). It is equally important that adequate funding is made available for the IT projects. Budgeting of IT projects needs to be made on the basis of prioritisation. In this regard, it has become essential for the organisations to effectively manage IT priorities and align them with business strategies and goals for ensuring desirable outcome (Teo et al., 2000; Berander & Andrews n.d.). At the same time, successful IT leadership is also an imperative factor for ensuring project success. The prime role of IT leaders in the current highly dynamic business environment is not confined to ensuring the effectiveness of the IT program but priority needs to be placed on the overall success of the business (Delisi et al., 2009). Correspondingly, the concerned case study, ‘Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities’ describes the endeavours that have been made by Volkswagen of America (VWoA), the US subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (VWAG) in order to achieve the goal of establishing IT funding priorities and determining the type of project to be funded. The first Volkswagen automobile was designed during the period of 1930s in Germany by Ferdinand Porsche. Initially, Volkswagen was engaged in the development of the low-mid range vehicles that were targeted at the mass market. The success of the company upsurge significantly and worldwide popularity was accorded by the company primarily during 1960s with the development Beetle that was accompanied with air-cooled engine feature. After witnessing rapid growth in the 1960s, the sales of the vehicles dropped dramatically during the early 1970s. The fall in the sales of the company was primarily due the failure of the managers

Disobedience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Disobedience - Essay Example It was during this time that the Western Tradition Law was formed and begun to develop. Sometimes, citizens felt that some laws are unjust hence result to resisting them. Most often, the resistance is non-violent and the citizens seek to disobey certain laws, commands of the government as well as new rules introduced by those occupying power intended to benefit themselves at the expense of the citizens. It is a respectful disagreement for the sake of what is fair and true. Edward Joseph Snowden is an American Computer specialist. He is a former agent of the Central Intelligence Agency as well as a former contractor of National Security Agency. Edward decided to leak some classified documents to the media outlets, these documents contained some information of global surveillance. The surveillance systems collected and analysed information on foreigners and Americans. Snowden did this because he felt that it was interfering with the privacy of the citizens. His action received varied o pinions besides tagged a patriot, traitor, whistle-blower as well as a spy. Thomas More was born at a time when school emphasized the value of authority, hierarchy, and social disciplines. He grew up with the belief that law went hand in hand with morality and morality corresponded with religion (Watson 8-10). According to More, morality was superior compared to law and that creation of laws had to base on the moral ethics. However, More believed in obedience of law and authority. According to him, law was uniform and there would be social disorder the leaders used their moral beliefs to rule. He calmed that it was a moral duty for individuals to obey the law. One of the famous quotes from him was that â€Å"I will give the devil the benefit of law, for my own safety.† (Watson 8-10) More served under King Henry VIII, he considered his way of ruling to be unjust and not wise. As much as he was not happy with the ways of the king, he still served the king and followed some

General Electric (GE) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

General Electric (GE) - Assignment Example There are numerous core competencies and capabilities of the company which act as the major drivers of success and sustainability of the business in the global corporate segment. The success of General Electric has been rooted to the use of effective corporate and strategic management systems in the business. The company has also been revitalised from time to time through the induction of adopting and self-confidence tools like Change Acceleration Process (CAP) to different types of business units in the various industries of operation for the segments of the conglomerate (Chaffee, 2005). General Electric was the first ever company in the global frontier which systematically applied multiple strategic and corporate management concepts and strategies simultaneously within the business verticals. The success and strong performance of GE has also been driven by other factors like strong corporate portfolio management functions, management of talent and movement of ideas (Cameron, 2012). The adoption of three key companywide performed and growth initiatives including Six Sigma Quality, services and globalization have enabled GE to integrate higher levels of sustainability in the business. Another core capability of the company is that many of the large business segments of the business are able to differentiate their outputs with the production of high quality goods and services while at the same time controlling the costs of operations incurred for per unit of the produced goods.

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that Essay

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that hospitality operations have on our environment - Essay Example Political rationality is based on the ability to solve problems and arrive at effective, collective decisions. Technical rationality is dependent on the value of efficiency. These modern environmental management methods require a rationality of both means and ends. They specify the means by which given ends can be achieved. Those ends are environmental goals such as less pollution and the conservation of water. There is a close relationship between hotels and the environment. Various features of the physical environment are an attraction for tourists. The environment covers all of people's natural and cultural surroundings. The natural environment is what exists in nature such as the land and its soil and topography. The built environment consists of man-made physical features consisting of infrastructure development. Tourist facilities and infrastructure constitute one aspect of the built environment. The ensuing tourism development and tourist use of an area generate environmental impacts. Hotels have signified their commitment to ensure a healthy and clean environment. There are three international hotels which have implemented very successful environmental initiatives. The Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts Hong Kong has initiatives on environmental management. In the area of environmental sustainability, the hotel's focus is primarily in five areas: climate change; ozone depletion; water use management; waste disposal management; and indoor air quality. Shangri-La is ramping up energy conservation initiatives so that it will reduce 2006 group-wide energy consumption figures by 12 percent by the end of 2008. Currently, the group practices a wide array of environmentally friendly measures such as fitting all guestrooms with water-saving devices in taps and showers as well as using energy-saving lamps in more than half of the group's guestrooms. Shangri-La was an industry leader in initiating environmental procedures even before its hotels began to receive ISO14001 certifi cation, the international Environmental Management System Standard. The group has an extensive list of internally developed environmental best practices that all hotels have implemented, with inspections to monitor for compliance. The inspection results affect each hotel's annual performance and development review scores. In addressing impacts on climate change, the group is working on reducing carbon dioxide emissions per room night by 6.7 kg., as compared to 2006 figures. Shangri-La has three broad methods for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases: through existing systems and processes; the use of new technologies and alternative energy sources; and by building more efficient buildings. In new hotels, Shangri-La seeks to save energy and resources through a variety of techniques involving rainwater harvesting, hot water production using solar panels or heat pumps, and improvements in building envelope design to reduce heat loss or heat gain as well as air filtration. (Shangri-la Company website). Another international hotel with a sterling reputation on environmental

Marketing plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing plan - Research Paper Example The UK has one of the most stable political environments. The political leaders have ensured that politics does not affect the performance of the business in the market as this aspect would lead to loss of job opportunities for the locals. This can be ascertained by the latest election which was concluded days ago. Despite heightened political activities in the country, business operations were running normally (Paley, 2007). In addition, political steered clear of any issues that might destabilize the business environment. As a result, the country provides a serene environment for Americana. The UK population has an adventurous culture. Therefore, they like to taste other people’s culture. In addition, they appreciate other people ways of doing things and diet. However, they like to be associated with products and services that are produced locally. This aspect will be significant because Halal will meet the interests of the target market. In addition, this will create an opportunity for the local population to taste Muslim delicacies. This will attract more non-Muslim customers towards the product, some of which will end up becoming loyal to the products (Malhotra & Sciglimpaglia, 2009). UK has a stable economy. Although the country was affected by the financial crisis in 2008, it has been able to recover slowly. Initially, people were more reserved with their spending. However, this has changed over the years. People are now spending on their food of choice. The pound remains strong and stable. In addition, the interest rates in the country remain low in comparison with the neighboring countries. Therefore, in case the business will decide to expand its operations in other European countries using UK as its main base, it will be able to enjoy favorable exchange rates (Shankar & Carpenter 2012). This will be significant in enabling the business to penetrate and segment other markets. The largest market

Assisted Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assisted Suicide - Essay Example A suitable way to deal with the matter is increased participation and involvement of the government in the cases of assisted suicide, to discourage the patient and the families from going for assisted suicide and provide them with medical help and resources to reduce the load on the patient and the family. Why Assisted Suicide should be Illegalized There are innumerable justifiable and reasonable arguments against assisted suicide. Firstly, it is a murder from the religious perspective. Secondly, there are many past cases in which the family members regret having led the patient to assisted suicide. Thirdly, there are always chances of recovery. Proponents of the assisted suicide criticize the illegalization of assisted suicide considering it driven by the religious beliefs of the people in power. However, â€Å"the most current opposition coalitions include many people and organizations whose opposition is based on their progressive politics. Among those are disability rights group s; many nationally prominent disability rights organizations oppose the legalization of assisted suicide† (â€Å"Why Assisted Suicide†). We live in a democratic society where everybody has a right to live. In this context, assisted suicide is subjugation of the rights of the person who is being killed. Even if the consent of the patient is involved, it mostly happens because of the family pressure upon the patient. In an attempt to get free from their responsibility, family members tend to induce negative feelings and emotions in the patient that lead him/her to opting for the assisted suicide. Brian Johnston is an anti-euthanasia activist. In his book, he writes, â€Å"In addition to their own emotional needs, it is the family and friends, more than anyone else, who will influence the mood and mindset of the patient. They may, even unwittingly, reinforce negative thoughts and attitudes.† (Johnston 17). In a vast majority of cases, assisted suicide of a family me mber leaves the rest of the family particularly the parents with a life-long trauma and guilt. They are not able to forgive themselves for being so selfish at a point in time back in their life when they got rid of their loved one when even the personal consent and will of the deceased was not involved. In certain cases, assisted suicide of one family members leads to subsequent suicides committed by the guilty conscious family members. According to a research conducted by the UK Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) in 2003, at least 30 per cent of the suspects of assisted suicide commit suicide. Deborah Annetts, the chief executive of VES says that the number of sufferers is much greater than the 30 per cent statistic of the suicide committers (â€Å"Impact of Euthanasia†). Proposal to Reduce the Cases of Assisted Suicide The government should form a committee to look after the cases of assisted suicide to make sure that most of the patients are saved from being killed. The go vernment should deem all such cases of assisted suicide illegal in which the consent of the patient is not involved. In cases where the consent of the patient is involved, once the family as well as the patient have given their consent to go for the assisted suicide, the case should be referred to the committee. The committee should extend help to the patient to make him/her aware of the possible effects of assisted s

Personal Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Statement Essay It is the intention of every individual to constantly improve and strive for betterment. Each one is motivated to create opportunities for them to enhance and reinforce their skills to remain competitive in their individual profession. Despite the immediate challenges posed by such endeavor, there is a willingness and dedication to persevere to reap a good outcome; a better future. It is with this enthusiasm and determination to progress that I express my intention to apply for a Masters degree in Construction Management at NYU. I believe that leadership is an essential facet of every work environment. It is considered to be an instrument that directs the particular organization and company towards the desired change. It is what bonds and keeps roles and functions together to achieve the particular objective. Likewise, it is what captivates and inspires workers to believe in the possibilities available within a particular framework. In the end, it this skill serves as a benchmark towards success and a vital determinant of my career. Looking back at my education, I finished my Bachelors degree in Management at St. John’s University. During my stay, I have had the experience of immersing myself to the various disciplines surrounding management. However, what captivated me the most was in the realm of construction. I had always a passion of seeing things being built and it inspired me to specialize in this field so that I can one day manage and lead projects. Due to this, I exerted extra time and effort to boost my abilities. Eventually, all this hard work paved off and became vital in my career. Currently, I am fulfilling my dream to be in the construction business for the past seven years. The first two years served as a stepping stone as I was an assistant of a project manager. Starting fresh from the University, it is in here that my capabilities were honed and strengthened. In addition, I came across the application of theories and concepts that I had learned in management. This training really helped me prepare for the upcoming challenges ahead. After that, I became project manager and held that position for five years. It is in here that I came across numerous challenges within and outside the construction realm. One must have the effective skills to attain the goal of the company. Due to this, I had to handle things such as pre-planning until post construction. Also, the initiative must adhere to several rules and requirements placed by the government and the city. Likewise, I have been tasked to communicate and manage the costing, time and scope of the project. Lastly, I must always put into consideration the safety of the people and alleviating the possibilities of risks. The Masters in Construction Management is a suitable program because it suits with my profession and relative experiences. The curriculum can increase my proficiency and competence in determining the optimal strategies and trends today in both local and foreign markets. Recognizing the increasing diversity in the workplace, there is a need to constantly equip myself with the appropriate training and foundation to remain viable from my counterparts. Also, this study can create a deeper background about the specialization I am into. Concepts and theories can be reinforced and I can effectively apply both the theoretical and actual elements of practice. With all of these, I hope that the admissions committee shall consider my application. The University and degree is another preparatory stage towards the attainment of my long term goals. Moreover, with the outstanding alumni that NYU offers, I can have the necessary contacts that will enable me to explore business possibilities. I believe that this program will not only enhance my management skills; but at the same time unravel talents and capabilities I never though I had.

Gender inequality in the developing world

Gender inequality in the developing world Gender differences in labour market outcomes affect whether women enter the marketplace, care for children, or partake in other labour activities. In the developing world, gender differences in political access and wages can have large effects on the well-being of females and their families. Discuss gender differences that exist in the developing world, why they are important, and what role they play in shaping outcomes of females and children. Are there policy prescriptions that would increase societal welfare? TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introductionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦3 On Gender differences and well-beingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦4 Gender Discrimination, Property Rights and Investment in Agricultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..6 Impact of Reservations in India on Policy Decisionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.8 Prevalence of adverse sex ratio à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.11 Where are all the Missing Women à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.12 Conclusionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..17 Referencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦19 INTRODUCTION: For centuries, women have played the role of a homemaker, caring for her children. While men were the breadwinners of the family. This stereotypical image of men and women, though less profound is still to be found in many parts of the world. This is especially true of the developing countries. Biologically, women and men are different, beyond the obvious. Their brains function differently. Hormonal differences make them behave in different ways. However, the sexist attitude towards gender differences has been forced not only by the government, but also by almost all the institutions of public life. In the developing world, we frequently find that women are discriminated against by men. In many countries, a girl-child is considered to be a burden, and may not receive the same care that a boy would. A woman is often forbidden to work outside the house as the society frowns upon such activities. And also women continually receive lower wages than men for the same work. In the past decade, the governments of many countries have put into place many policies to help empower women. Some policies have been successful, while others have not done much to reduce this gender gap. Various studies have been conducted to see whether the policies were actually implemented, and if yes, what impact they had on womens welfare. Many studies have been conducted to measure the impact of these biases against women, on the welfare of their families, on their well-being, and their status in society. On Gender differences Well-being One such study by Esther Duflo (2000) measures the impact of a cash transfer, specifically old age pension, on the nutritional status of a child, depending on the gender of the recipient. Policies targeted towards improving womens position relative to mens are desired not only for equity basis, but also for the effects they may have on childrens welfare. Being malnourished can affect a childs physical and mental health. Hence, receiving adequate nutrition at a young age is important for economic growth, distribution, and welfare. Thomas (1990, 1994) found evidence that income or assets in the hands of women are associated with larger improvements in child health, and larger expenditure shares on household nutrients, health and housing (Duflo, 2000; pg.1). Her paper investigates whether redistributing resources from men to women would increase investment in children. With the end of the apartheid the benefits and coverage of the South African social pension program was expanded in the early 1990s to include the black population. The program was successfully implemented with almost a universal coverage. This led to a permanent exogenous change in income, after household formation. Most families are extended households, and over a quarter of African children under the age of five live with a pension recipient. The paper takes into account the weight for height, and height for age of children below the age of five to see whether the pension recipients gender has any effect on these indicators. The South African social pension was started in 1928, but it was only after 1993 that the same amount was paid to all racial groups. Women over 60 years, and men over 65 years are eligible for pension, subject to a means test. During the Apartheid era, the system was racially discriminatory in many respects. Firstly, different means tests were applied to each race. For Blacks benefits were withdrawn for incomes larger than R700, while for Whites the limit was at R2250. Secondly, benefits for Whites were 10 times higher than those for Blacks. Thirdly, Whites received pensions through postal offices, while Blacks had to collect their pension through mobile pay points that didnt cover much area. Finally, officials often intentionally took people off the list, or limited access of legally eligible Blacks to save the cost of pensions. The weight for height of children reflects short run nutrition and illnesses and recovers quickly once proper nutrition is resumed. The nutrition in turn is determined by individual preferences, non-labour income, the weights given to members of the household, and child specific variables. Before controlling for the presence of non-eligible members over 50, the coefficient for girls is positive but insignificant. However, when the controls are introduced it improves the weight for height of girls by 1.19 standard deviations, if pension is received by a woman. For boys, the coefficient is positive, but insignificant. However, a pension received by a man has a small, negative and insignificant effect on girls weight for height. Also it seems that there exists an all female link, as the pension seems to be most effective if received by the mothers mother. Some problems which may bias upward the estimates of the effect of pension on weight for height are discussed and are as follows; Fir stly, being a three generation would mean that the household is relatively healthy. Secondly, the pension program might have led to a change in the composition of the household. For this Duflo examines the height for age of young children, as this reflects nutrition status over the life of the child. Height for age is different from weight for height, in the sense that it depends on accumulated investments over the life of the child. Nutrition at a very early age has long lasting consequences on child height. And the possibility of catch-up skeletal growth after an episode of low growth in infancy is limited (Duflo, 2000; pg.13). Her basic idea is to compare the differences between height of children in eligible and non-eligible households and between children exposed to the program for a fraction of their lives and children exposed all their lives. Results show that pensions received by women led to an increase of 1.16 standard deviations in the height of girls, and had a much smaller effect on boys. While pensions received by men didnt have any impact on the height of either girls or boys. Duflo concludes that the nutritional status of a girl improves significantly if the pension receiver is a woman, and has an insignificant negative effect if the pension receiver is a man. She tests for these by measuring the weight for height, and height for age of children between 6 to 60 months of age. Also this result rejects the unitary model of the household and suggests that pensions received to women may increase efficiency more than pensions received by men. Gender Discrimination, Property Rights and Investment in Agriculture It is often the quality of the economic institutions of a society that determine its economic growth. This is especially true of property rights, as investment incentives depend upon expectations of rights over returns to that investment. Goldstein and Udry (2004) conduct a study in Akwapim, Ghana and examine the connection between property rights and agricultural investment, and in turn to agricultural productivity. In much of Africa the Western notions of private property doesnt exist. Most of the land cultivated by farmers is controlled by the local leaders. It is allocated to individuals, and families based on their perceived need and political influence. In many African societies, agricultural production is managed by individuals or households. Soil fertility primarily depends on an individuals decision regarding the span of the fallow period, i.e. when the land is left uncultivated to regain fertility. Rights over a plot can be lost while it is fallow, and induces shortening of the fallow period. There also exist opportunity costs and transition costs associated with fallowing. They select four village clusters, and within each cluster they select 60 married couples. They measure productivity via returns to cassava/maize cultivation on similar plots of men and women within a household in a given year. Conditioning on plot characteristics and household fixed effects, they find women produce much less cassava/maize than their husbands. Hence, earn lower profits. They also find that education and age are not responsible for this difference in productivity. They do however find that duration of the last fallow period is strongly positively related to current profits. Gender of the cultivator has no effects on profits, once they condition for the duration of the last fallow. Tenure security seems to be closely related to fallow decisions. Due to the complex and flexible property rights women often rely on allocated household land, given by their husbands. Men are more active on the land market. A primary reason for uncertainty of tenure, especially for women, is that leaving the land fallow might weaken future rights over the plot. Leaving the land fallow, might signal a lack of sufficient need by the village heads. A second model is based on the idea that tenure security varies with the political position and method of acquisition of land. Their results reflect that tenure security depends highly on the individuals position in the political and social hierarchy. But even conditioning on the individuals position, it depends on the circumstances through which she obtained the particular plot. The complex and overlapping rights to land act as barriers to investment in land fertility. The difference in profits within a household, from similar plots can be attributed to the fact that women are generally not in a position of power. They tend to leave land fallow for a shorter duration, to maintain their rights over the plot. Impact of Reservations in India on Policy Decisions In a paper by Chattopadhyay Duflo (2004) they study the impact of political reservations on womens leadership and policy decisions. They show that reservation of seats for women impact the investment decisions on public goods and are biased towards the gender of the Pradhan. In 1993 an amendment to the constitution of India made it mandatory for all village councils (GPs) to reserve one-third of all positions of chief (Pradhan) to women. The paper focuses on two districts, Birbhum in West Bengal, and Udaipur in Rajastan, and compares investments made in reserved and unreserved GPs. The major responsibilities of the GP are to administer local infrastructure, and identify targeted welfare recipients. The main source of funding is the state, and the money is allocated through four broad schemes: the Jwahar Rozgar Yojana for infrastructure, a small drinking water scheme, funds for welfare programs, and a grant for GP functioning. The GP has full flexibility in allocation of these funds. The Panchayat is required to setup two meetings per year in which all voters may participate. Additionally, the Pradhan must setup regular office hours, where villagers can lodge complaints. In both Rajastan, and West Bengal the policy was strictly implemented. And women elected once due to the reservation system were not re-elected. A rationale for reservations for women is that, the cost of running for office is higher for a woman than for a man. These high costs can prevent women from participating in the political process in the absence of reservations. So the two candidates must have an equal chance of winning. The outcome will then be symmetric around the median voter. Also, when women run because of the reservation, this can increase womens utility and the median voters utility. Some limitations of this model are: Firstly, when the Pradhan is a woman it might be easier for women to influence policy process ex-post, moving policy in a pro-woman direction. Secondly, after reservation, relatively weak women with strong pro-women views will be as likely to run as strong women with more moderate preferences. Thirdly, the model ignores the possibility of strategic behaviour on the part of the elected official, which would exist in case of future elections. Chattopadhyay Duflo (2004) use the data on formal requests and complaints that are brought to the Pradhan. Since complaining is costly (time consuming), the complaints reasonably measure preferences of individuals. Women are more likely to have a higher cost of complaining given the social norms that limit their mobility, and conditions under which they can speak to a man. Hence, womens complaints will be more biased towards extreme preferences. In the model, allocations are made closer to womens needs in reserved GPs because of the selection of women candidates and possibly due to the reduced cost of speaking to a women, and not because women are more responsive to complaints of women. Authors find that in West Bengal, drinking water and roads were the issues most frequently raised by women. Next were welfare programs, followed by housing and electricity. Issues of roads, irrigation, drinking water and education were raised by men. In Rajasthan, drinking water, roads, and welfare programs were the issues most frequently raised by women. This pattern reflects the activities of both men and women in these areas. Women are in charge of collecting drinking water, and benefit from the welfare programs. In West Bengal, they work on roads. In Rajasthan, both men and women work on roads, and so have a common motive. But, men travel frequently in search of jobs and so have a stronger need for good roads. In both Rajasthan and West Bengal the gender of the Pradhan affects the provision of public goods. Individual women are not particularly more responsive to the needs of women and men in their communities. Rather it is because their own preferences are more aligned to the pr eferences of women that they end up serving them better. These results are unaffected when controlled for the Pradhans characteristics ( like education, experience, social status etc). This suggests that the allocation of public goods can be largely attributed to the gender of the Pradhan, rather than on its other effects. Prevalence of adverse sex ratio The aim of the paper by Khanna et al (2003) is to determine whether the skewed sex ratio in India can be explained by less favourable treatment of girls in infancy. They measure deaths from all causes in infants aged less than one year, in a community health project undertaken in urban India. According to the 2001 census in India, the sex ratio was at 933 females per 1000 males. Ordinarily, females outnumber males, possibly because the extra X chromosome makes them less susceptible to infectious diseases. However, the skewed sex ratio in India suggests the existence of sex discrimination. Despite the banning of sex determination tests, the practise of female infanticide has continued. Even after birth, mortality remains higher in females, and girls are more than 30%-50% more likely to die between their 1st and 5th birthdays. Various studies have shown that compared to boys, girls are often brought to health centres at a more advanced stage of illness, are taken to less qualified doctors, and have less money spent on them. The basis of their study is the record of deaths maintained by midwives working in St. Stephens Hospital in Delhi. The hospital caters mostly to the poor, who have an average per capita income of Rs. 600 per month. The combined population of the area is about 64000 people. The results find a significant difference in mortality between girls and boys for diarrhoea and unexplained deaths. But there was no significant difference between deaths from less preventable and less treatable diseases. For diarrhoea, the mortality for girls was twice that of boys. In the case of unexplained deaths, the parents werent able to give a satisfactory explanation for the cause of death. Most deaths were of females in this group, and were thrice as much as those in boys. Although the cause of these deaths is unexplained, improvement in access of health care, and education of health professionals to pay more attention to girls could be beneficial. Where are all the Missing Women In her paper Gender equality in Development Ester Duflo (2005) addresses the interrelationship between economic development and gender empowerment particularly in the spheres of education, health, employment opportunities and political power. Empowerment can accelerate development. It is estimated that there are between 60 to 100 million missing women in developing countries. The term missing women was coined by Amartya Sen to describe the observation that the proportion of women is lower than what would be expected, if women in the developing countries were not discriminated against. Economic development leads to a reduction in poverty, by relaxing the constraints faced by poor households. This suggests that economic growth, by increase opportunity and alleviating poverty, can lead to more equity between women and men. Studies find that women are most likely to be discriminated against when ill or when the household faces a crisis, such as food scarcity. Here, an improvement in health services, or free medical insurance for the poor would disproportionately help the women. Also increasing the ability of poor households when they face a crisis would improve the condition of women more. Hence, economic development reduces poverty. It insures the poorest against sickness and hunger. Thus, economic development, though reducing the vulnerability of the poor, helps women disproportionately. Similarly, the increase in opportunities in the labour market has led to change in households, moving it towards greater gender equality. Earlier, it was perceived that since women dont work outside the house, they dont need to as strong and health, and dont require formal education. Many parents believed that girls dont need formal education as theyre expected to only marry and take care of the house. The rise in employment opportunities for women has led to favourable outcomes for women in terms of equity. Duflo finds evidence that economic development isnt enough to improve the condition of women. The skewed sex ratio favouring boys has persisted and even worsened in China, despite rapid economic growth and reforms. This illustrates the fact that economic growth, and availability of technology, can have perverse effects on gender equality, if it reduces the cost of discrimination against girls. Another aspect is the disparity in earnings at all levels of qualification. There is a widespread implicit bias, shared by both men and women, associating men with career and sciences, and women with family and liberal arts. And this stereotype has persisted despite increased women participation in these disciplines. This bias reduces rewards for women participation in the labour market, or for higher education, by persuading them that they arent as good as men. As long as these biases exist, gender equality will not be achieved. Similarly, while various factors hinder the representation of women in politics, one of the strongest barriers to greater participation of women in politics is the notion that women are not competent leaders. This bias is most pronounced when the leadership role is typically considered a male role. And although many studies confirm that women are better policymakers, and are less corrupt, it seems theres a significant cultural barrier to recognizing women as competent policymakers. Evidence such as those above, support the idea of reservations or quotas for women in policymaking positions, as perceptions are biased and womens achievements arent recognised by the electorate. To achieve a balanced gender representation in politics it seems that policy action need to be taken. Yet, the gains from policies targeted towards women, come at an expense for men. This is evident in politics. The reservation of seats for women means that a man doesnt get the seat. The gains are less explicit in the measures taken to improve access of girls to schools, through say, scholarships, or proper bathrooms in schools. These are expensive, and in developing countries these transfers to girls come, at the direct expense of boys. This transfer spent on scholarships could have alternatively been used to hire more teachers, which wouldve benefited both boys and girls. Thus, policies which favour women need to be justified, not only to bring about gender equality, but also their desirability taking in account their costs. In the second part of the paper, the author (Duflo, 2005; p.10) examines the justification that the trade-off between various people in the short run is transitory; in the long run there is no trade-off between helping women more and helping everyone, because increasing the share of resources going to women will increase the amount of resources so much that everyone will be better off. The basic arguments that support active policies to support women are; Firstly, women are currently worse-off than men, and this inequality is offensive in itself. Secondly, women play a fundamental role in development. The gender gap in education, politics, and employment should therefore be reduced not only for equity, but also to increase efficiency. The argument that empowerment raises efficiency has shaped economic policies the world over. Micro-credit schemes, welfare programs, transfers conditioned on school enrolment, reservations in politics have all been directed towards women. The argument for efficiency proposes that sending girls to school, or improving their employment opportunities is good because the development outcome is higher for a given increase in the education and earnings of women than from an equal increase in the education and earnings of men. Although substantial studies find a correlation between a womans education and earnings with child welfare, she (Duflo, 2005; p.11) points out that there are two fundamental problems with interpretation of these results. Firstly, a womans education, earnings, and political participation may be correlated with unobserved dimensions of her ability, family, and community background. Secondly, the comparison between the coefficient of husbands and wives education or earnings might be obscured by a correlation between wives education or earnings and unobserved characteristics of husbands. To get around these problems, researchers analysed specific circumstances that changed the distribution of power, education, or earnings between husbands and wives and had nothing to do with their individual choices. Duflo concludes that womens empowerment and economic development are closely interrelated. While development brings about women empowerment, empowering women changes decision making, which directly impacts development. She suggests that in order to bring about gender equality, it might be necessary to continue taking policy actions that favour women at the expense of men for a very long time. And while this might bring about some benefits, the costs associated with such redistribution might not always be sufficient to compensate for the distortions. CONCLUSION It can be concluded from the above literature that in the developing world, gender differences exist, and discriminate against women. All spheres of a womans life, from the time she is in the womb to the time she dies, are affected by this bias against women. The study conducted in South Africa (Duflo, 2000) finds that a non-contributory cash transfer to an eligible female pensioner actually significantly increases a girls welfare, measure by weight for height, and height for age. And that given to a male pensioner has a small insignificant negative effect on girls welfare. Similarly when it comes to property rights, women have almost no power and have to depend on their husbands to secure land for them to cultivate (Goldstein Udry, 2004). In Ghana, property rights are complex, flexible and overlapping. There is no notion of private property. Women also have almost no security of tenure as they are not in a position of power in the political or social hierarchy. This leads to a shor ter fallow duration, which means lower productivity and hence, lower profits than their male counterparts working a similar plot. This leads to inefficiency and lower economic growth. In the political sphere, women are under-represented, which has adverse impacts on womens utility (Chattopadhyay Duflo, 2004). Reservations however have changed the picture, but is not due to women being more responsive to womens needs, but rather depends on the gender of the leader. The study concludes that the reserved GPs invest more in public goods important for women than the un-reserved GPs. This helps to improve womens utility, even if indirectly. Another aspect is the skewed sex ratio observed in India, and many other developing countries. This is due to the perception that girls are a burden on their parents (Khanna et. al. 2003). This can be blamed on the lack of access for women to health, education, politics, employments, and biased societal norms. Finally, it can be conclude that policies that benefit women such as reservations in politics, scholarships for girls etc. are necessary, even if they come at the expense of men. Not only because they lead to efficiency gains and economic development, but also because the discrimination between men and women is not acceptable in itself. The stereotypical image of women has continued, despite the fact that more and more women have forayed into supposedly male dominated areas and excelled. This discrimination is present not only in the developing world, but also in the developed countries, like USA where the wage-gap between men and women exists till today.

Use of False Analogies in Public Discourse Concerning the Iraq War Essa

" Iraq is no diversion. It is a place where civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and terror, we must not waiver," said President George W. Bush in favor of the Iraq War of 2003. When considering the rhetoric used by those to gain support for the war and by those to oppose the war, it is clear that both sides tried to use historical analogy to argue for their side. While the proponents of the war argued that the Iraq War was comparable to World War II, the opponents argued that it was comparable to Vietnam. Both of these sides used this kind of rhetoric among many other tools, to persuade people to support their side by asserting that if they want to avoid another Hitler, or another Vietnam, then they should support their side. However, both of these sides have used false analogies. When considering the historical facts of both World War II and Vietnam, neither of these conflicts compare to pre-war Iraq. Nevertheless, this kind of argumentation provides many implications about war and American society. In order to understand the basis of these implications, the idea of the analogy will be examined, then the World War II and Vietnam comparisons will be scrutinized, and finally, the implications of this rhetoric will be explained. Arguments from analogy seek to establish that two situations X and Y are alike (Trenholm, 2001). For example, the statement, "It worked for Canada, so it must work for the United States," is an analogy. The validity of this analogy, however, is determined by two criterion. The first criteria is that the two cases compared must be alike in all important respects. The other criteria is that any differences between the cases must be insignificant. When looking at the argument, "It work... ...ton Gazette ( West Virginia). 4 April 2003: Pg. P5A. Academic Universe. Lexis Nexis. Washburn University Library, Topeka, Kansas. 13 February 2005. Dunham, Charlotte Chorn. "Generation units and the life course: A sociological perspective on youth and the anti-war movement." Journal of Political and Military Sociology. Winter 1998. 4 April 2005. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3719/is_199801/ai_n8759989/print Rieger, Cheryl. Schuman, Howard. "Historical Analogies, Generational Effects, and Attitudes Toward War." American Sociological Review. June 1992: pg. 315(12). Academic Universe. Lexis Nexis. Washburn University Library, Topeka, Kansas. 13 February 2005. Barone, Michael. "The Long Shadow of Vietnam." US News and World Report. 12 April 2004: pg 21. Academic Universe. Lexis Nexis. Washburn University Library, Topeka, Kansas. 13 February 2005.

The Confederate Flag’s Heritage of Hate Essay -- Confederate Flag Sout

The Confederate Flag’s Heritage of Hate The Confederate flag has now become a hot issue for South Carolina, which is the last state to have the original Confederate flag still flying on its Statehouse. What got the State’s attention was the economic boycott of South Carolina that was announced on January 1992 by the NAACP to pressure the State to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The NAACP’s removal request is based on the fact that they, the anti-flag groups, claim that the meaning of the Confederate flag is one of hate and discrimination. On the other hand, there are other groups that believe differently whom are called the pro-flag groups. They claim that the Confederate flag is a sign of heritage and should stay on the Statehouse. The Civil War being about slavery is one of the first things addressed in both sides of the debate. Also a big part of the debate is the Confederate flag’s connection with racism. The Confederate flag’s connection with slavery a nd racial inequality makes it a negative symbol, which should not be flying on South Carolina’s Statehouse. Pro-flag groups claim that slavery was only a small issue in the Civil War, but if slavery was allowed to continue then there would not have been a Civil War. This quote out of a pro-flag article shows what Lincoln said about the idea of freeing slaves. I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.† In an 1862 letter to the New York Daily Tribune editor Horace Greeley, Lincoln wrote. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to sa... ... have to go to see it not somewhere were people have to see it. Work Cited Eric Foner. â€Å"Rebel Yell.† The Nation. 270.6 (February 14, 2000): 4. James F. Barker. â€Å"Clemson History Offers Perspective for Flag Debate.† The State. December 3, 2000. Stuart Taylor Jr. â€Å"The Confederate Flag and the Cost of Pandering.† National Journal. 32.4 (January 22, 2000): 215. Walter E. Williams. No: â€Å"Critics of the flag are Counting on a General Ignorance of History to Make Their Case.† Symposium. March 14, 2001. http://database.townhall.com/insight/printit.ctm Quick, Steven. â€Å"Lynching Lee† The Opinions. 2/27/2001 http://www.insightmag.com/archive/200002064.shtml Amy. â€Å"Even more on the confederate Flag vs. the â€Å"Xian† usage debates.† Parentsplace.com. February 02,2000 wysiwyg://4http://boards2.parentsplace.com/messages/get/ppcurrentdebates63/26.html The Confederate Flag’s Heritage of Hate Essay -- Confederate Flag Sout The Confederate Flag’s Heritage of Hate The Confederate flag has now become a hot issue for South Carolina, which is the last state to have the original Confederate flag still flying on its Statehouse. What got the State’s attention was the economic boycott of South Carolina that was announced on January 1992 by the NAACP to pressure the State to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The NAACP’s removal request is based on the fact that they, the anti-flag groups, claim that the meaning of the Confederate flag is one of hate and discrimination. On the other hand, there are other groups that believe differently whom are called the pro-flag groups. They claim that the Confederate flag is a sign of heritage and should stay on the Statehouse. The Civil War being about slavery is one of the first things addressed in both sides of the debate. Also a big part of the debate is the Confederate flag’s connection with racism. The Confederate flag’s connection with slavery a nd racial inequality makes it a negative symbol, which should not be flying on South Carolina’s Statehouse. Pro-flag groups claim that slavery was only a small issue in the Civil War, but if slavery was allowed to continue then there would not have been a Civil War. This quote out of a pro-flag article shows what Lincoln said about the idea of freeing slaves. I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.† In an 1862 letter to the New York Daily Tribune editor Horace Greeley, Lincoln wrote. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to sa... ... have to go to see it not somewhere were people have to see it. Work Cited Eric Foner. â€Å"Rebel Yell.† The Nation. 270.6 (February 14, 2000): 4. James F. Barker. â€Å"Clemson History Offers Perspective for Flag Debate.† The State. December 3, 2000. Stuart Taylor Jr. â€Å"The Confederate Flag and the Cost of Pandering.† National Journal. 32.4 (January 22, 2000): 215. Walter E. Williams. No: â€Å"Critics of the flag are Counting on a General Ignorance of History to Make Their Case.† Symposium. March 14, 2001. http://database.townhall.com/insight/printit.ctm Quick, Steven. â€Å"Lynching Lee† The Opinions. 2/27/2001 http://www.insightmag.com/archive/200002064.shtml Amy. â€Å"Even more on the confederate Flag vs. the â€Å"Xian† usage debates.† Parentsplace.com. February 02,2000 wysiwyg://4http://boards2.parentsplace.com/messages/get/ppcurrentdebates63/26.html

Essay --

1.0 Introduction We had selected Apple Iphone 5s as our for our Fundamental Of Marketing assignment. We select this product it because more and more advanced technology exist in the 21st century. Nowadays, more and more modern human like to pursuit the trend of technology, and there is also one of the main reason that we chosen this product for doing research on marketing strategies, marketing environment, marketing mix and proposal to analysing of this assignment. This product(Iphone 5s) is a touchscreen smartphone that produced by Apple Inc. Apple is one of the most famous and reliable brand in the IT world. Its logo is with a silver colour apple on the back casing of the phone. Iphone 5s has a chip with 64-bit architecture, fingerprint identity sensor, a better, faster camera, and an operating system built specifically for 64-bit in order to bring more convenience to consumer. We were focus on how Iphone 5s competitive with other's brand's smartphone company in Malaysia's consumer market. Company background Apple Inc. is an American corporation that design software, hardware and other consumer electronics. Apple Inc.’s product lines are iPhone (smart phone), iPad (tablet computer), iPod (portable media players) and Mac book (Macintosh computer). Apple or "the company" was established in 1977. Besides that, the company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government and creative customers. It was co-founded by Steven Wozniak and Steven P. Job in Cupertino, California. Apple really started in basement or garage not at the expensive business location. This is the one of the reason so many people intrigued to the brand and could be the reason that the computers were such a success, they wer... ...can send email and text, browsing the web, shooting and sharing great video and photo, getting direction easily. Lastly, the entrepreneurs can organize contracts, access contracts, and have a detail schedule. Not only IOS 7 and Ultrafast LTE wireless function can use by them, they also can use the Touch ID, this is a security system which is using their own fingerprint to set the password, so others cannot open their phone to steal the information and idea in the phone. Positioning Having done the above 2 steps which are segmenting the market and selecting specific target market, positioning is the final part of STP process. According the Apple Inc.’s selling point, ‘’iPhone 5S, the most advanced iPhone ever, with our most forward-thinking technologies.’’ The iPhone 5S is the best smartphone that contains the latest advanced features Apple Inc. has created so far.

Aid to Dependent Corporations-The Big Rip-Off

This article displays the double standard that the United States government lives by. Multi-billion dollar companies are given the world for free and the taxpayers pick up the bill. I cannot even believe my eyes. I knew that our government was screwed up, but I had no clue how bad things really were. I will list the most appalling infractions below and give a brief commentary. First, Mr. J.R. Simplot of Grandview, Idaho is handed grazing rights on federal lands for a whopping sum of $87,000 dollars. This is one quarter of the rate charged by private landowners. Lets line up the private business sector and chop off their collective legs. The difference between the going rate and what he paid would have covered the welfare costs for 60 families. What is wrong with this picture? Second, the Federal Office of Management and budget, (OMB) estimates that â€Å"wealthfare† tax credits, deductions, and exemptions called â€Å"tax expenditures† will cost $440 billion dollars in 1996. Does anyone remember the national debt? Imagine even cutting the breaks in half, that would be an extra $220 billion dollars that could actually pay for a decent computer in my children†s classroom. What a novel idea. How about giving some of this free money to build safe, subsidized housing for single women? Not every company in the United States can move to Mexico if they feel that they are not getting the monetary breaks they deserve. Lastly, lets look at McSubsidies. I have never read something more absurd in my life. $110 million dollars a year goes directly to companies that advertise abroad. Such recipients of this money are Sunkist, McDonalds, and M+M/Mars. Well I guess the government wants the rest of the world to get indigestion from eating chicken McNuggets too. After all, if they give perks for foreign advertising, some poor guy in Europe may eat some McNuggets. But I doubt it. This is a complete joke. I may never have disagreed with something more in my life. Major monetary breaks for billion dollar companies, free millions for advertising McMuffins in New Zealand, and tax breaks for the rich when our city streets are filled with homeless families. I can understand some consideration given to companies that are helping to substantially fuel our economy, But charismatic Mr. Simplot does not deserve to be using federal land (that was probably stolen from the Indian s anyway) for nothing in return. I find it very entertaining seeing politicians saying, â€Å"We must reduce the deficit. Taxes may be raised again.† when they could actually charge appropriate prices for services rendered by our great country. I hope our next article is more positive and uplifting. It sure would be nice to read about some good happening in the world.

Cell functions

Dealing with challenging behaviour is a high priority for people working in the health and social care sectors. In their day-to-day routines, workers encounter a wide variety of behaviour which can significantly, and adversely, affect the quality of the lives of those involved. It is important, therefore, that learners understand the contexts in which such behaviour occurs in order to develop their knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of challenging behaviour, and the range of methods used to deal with it.Health and social care workers are bound by professional codes of ractice and legislation which determine how they must respond in particular situations. Learners must understand these legal frameworks and the outcomes they can have for workers and service users. This unit aims to develop learner knowledge and understanding in these key areas and underpins other units in the qualification. It is essential in terms of preparing learners to get the most from any work experience they undertake.In order to complete the unit, learners must apply their learning by contributing to the development of a strategy for dealing with challenging behaviour. They will need to consider the skills needed to minimise the effects of challenging behaviour, such as recognising triggers', and appropriate methods of intervention. This unit enables learners to assess some of the difficulties involved in working in the health and social care sectors. It is suitable for all learners interested in a career in these sectors.

Maritime Law Essay

On January 6th, 2007 the vessel collided with â€Å"M. V Container† while approaching to pilot station. The cause of the collision was due to wrong plotting position of 3rd officer from â€Å"Never Struck† and wrongful act on COLREG 72 from â€Å"M. V Container†. Owners of the â€Å"M. V Container† claimed her damage cargo hold No 1. Cargo owner of fertilizer claimed to owner against delays. 4. general average vs. particular average (a) General average is incurred for the benefit of all interests but the particular average is in connection with just one of the many interests. b) General average is always voluntary and intentional but the particular average is an accidental or unexpected calamities. (c) General average is shared by all those who have benefited by the general average act. Particular average is paid by the insurer. (d) General average may include expenditure and sacrifice along with loss, whereas the particular average results from a loss or damage. 5. Conditions implying General Average In order for an act of sacrifice or expenditure to be considered an act of general average, six conditions must prevail. a) Common Maritime Adventure – More than one party must be involved in the adventure so as to be ‘common’ (shipowner, cargo owner). (b) Real and Common Danger – all parties must have been actually benefited by the sacrifice due to a peril that endangers the adventure. (c) Extraordinary – loss must be distinguished from ordinary loss because ordinary loss is not allowed for general average contributions. (d) Intentional – decisions must be made and the loss must be voluntary. (e) Reasonableness – unreasonable and unnecessary sacrifice or expenditure is not valid. f) Success – the sacrificial actions must be able to save the property involved in a common maritime adventure from a particular danger. Where the ship and cargo is totally destroyed altogether, there will be no quest ion of general average. 6. CASE ANALYSIS In the case of â€Å"Never Struck† and â€Å"M. V Container†, it was due to the negligence of 3rd officer in â€Å"M. V Container† who did not condone to Prevention of Collision Regulations 1972 which is a breach of international law, causing the two vessels to collide. Although â€Å"Never Struck† did have a fault of its own, it did not however breach the international law of sea navigations. In applying the rules of Prevention of Collision Regulations 1972, Part A, section 2(a) and section 2(b), referred to as the â€Å"General Prudential† rule and provides for non-conformance with stated rules in order to prevent a collision, because what is paramount is to avoid or minimize the damaging effects of a collision, as opposed to blindly following the rules to the letter. The overall intent is to minimize actual collision taking place rather than rule compliance in itself. Due to negligence on the part of â€Å"M. V Container† she will not be able to claim against â€Å"Never Struck† for the repairs of the cargo hold No 1. The cargo loss in the cargo hold No 1 which was lost due to the accident may however bring about an action in tort. If there was any further loss of cargo which was jettisoned in order to save the ship or expenses incurred after the collision in order to save the adventure may be liable for general average. As for â€Å"Never Struck†, the cargo owner may claim either â€Å"Never Struck† or â€Å"M. V Container† against delays. However it should and would not be considered in general average claims. Same as for the case of â€Å"M. V Container†, the cargo loss which was lost due to the accident may however bring about an action in tort. If there was any further loss of cargo which was jettisoned in order to save the ship or expenses incurred after the collision in order to save the adventure may be liable for general average. 7. CONCLUSION As a conclusion, collisions may lead to a series of claims and actions. These series of events may bring about the application a number of acts. It is important though to understand that General Average only exist if the act of sacrifice or expenditure is voluntary in order to save a common adventure from total loss at sea.

Plato, Descartes and the Matrix Essay

After obtaining knowledge from the Matrix, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave or The Republic and the first Mediation from Descartes, I see that there are a few likenesses and contrasts. I would need to say that The Matrix and Plato’s hole purposeful tale were more comparable because the individuals included in both stories, they existed in this present reality where they were being cheated about what the fact of the matter was. In the Matrix, once Neo saw this present reality and that all that he thought was true was really a hallucination, is very much alike to the shadows on the dividers of the surrender that the prisoners saw in Plato’s Allegory of the hole. In both stories, both characters could encounter reality as well as the phony world and was given opportunity to see reality and were confounded. Nonetheless, the detainee in Plato’s story in the wake of picking up this new information let others in servitude know of his recently discovered learning however felt that the first truth was less demanding to with the exception to. Then again Neo in The Matrix chose he needed to realize what the right truth was. Both characters were intrigued by figure out reality however they recognized reality in an unexpected way. Plato thought it was fundamental for the affixed man in the Allegory of the Cave required to escape from the hole to look for reality. Socrates portrays a gathering of individuals who have lived anchored to the divider of a buckle the greater part of their lives, confronting a transparent divider. The individuals watch shadows anticipated on the divider by things passing before a blaze behind them and start to attribute structures to these shadows. As indicated by Socrates, the shadows are as close as the detainees get to review the reality. He then clarifies how the savant is similar to a detainee who liberated from the hollow and comes to comprehend that the shadows on the divider are not constitutive of reality whatsoever, as he can see the genuine type of reality as opposed to the minor shadows seen by the detainees. Descartes considers and rejects the likelihood that my faculties could just lead me adrift. We research situations when we have been tricked by our faculties, through the activity of those extremely same faculties. However, wouldn’t I be able to be envisioning now, and not understand this? This theory is hard to negate, on the off chance that you permit that a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"fantasy† require not be disconnected and unreasonable. It is coherently conceivable to have an intelligible dream where, for instance, I am in Sheffield, at my machine, composition a consummately or at any rate sensibly mindful response to Ask a Philosopher, regardless of the fact that such dreams happen just seldom if whatso ever. Coherent probability is everything Descartes needs. This is what might as well be called the Matrix situation. As a general rule, while I form my answer, I am dozing in a â€Å"unit† having encounters sustained specifically to my mind by a super-machine. The Matrix speculation is hard to negate. However it still isn’t sufficient for Descartes’ reasons. Since, even on this speculation, certain key convictions stay unchallenged. Specifically, the conviction that there exists a universe of material questions in space. The presence of a physical world is one of the essential suppositions of the Matrix story. That is the reason Descartes makes the additional stride of imaging a capable, non-physical sagacity fit for creating the knowledge of ‘an universe of material protests in space’ in me, despite the fact that in all actuality no such world exists. A fiendishness evil spirit. Anyhow how â€Å"wicked† is this spirit, truly? Berkeley took Descartes’ contention for uncertainty and stood it on its head: nothing could possibly consider confirmation of the presence of ‘matter’, on the grounds that all we ever have is ‘experience’. All that exists, in extreme the truth, is God and ‘limited souls’ similar to us who have encounters that God delivers in us. – When you gaze out at the world you are taking a gander at within God’s thoughts. Ignorance is bliss of illusion when we have security in the unknown of danger. It’s when we establish the danger we want to return to the ignorance to regain the safety. The very nature of man is to need what he doesn’t have. All promoting was focused around that start. You have an auto; however, you don’t have another auto or that auto that was constantly publicized. The very nature of all creatures is â€Å"Fight or Flight.† When they exited the hole – they didn’t have the security of the cavern. So as I studied that story, they came back to the hollow. Security is a manifestation of solace however is not acknowledged until we have lost it – or expects that we will lose it-. The extent that obliviousness, the greater part of us does not feel we are uninformed. We are and need to be unmindful of something else we would go insane. For example, might you want to know the date and time of your  passing? In the event that you realized that, it would cloud any of your problems. You could presumably consider nothing else, irregularly. That information would overpower you. Study the passing line convicts. Obliviousness is most happy when we don’t know we are incorrect yet think we recognize what we are doing – or we think we are on the whole correct. We weren’t sheltered when we fail to offer particular knowledge of looming dangers, yet we feel safe when we don’t think about those risks. To be certain are beliefs are true to ourselves we must firs t pretend that they are not and then begin to question their truths. Descartes argued that our customary knowledge of the world can’t give the sort of ensured establishment on which all other information could be based. We are frequently disillusioned to discover that what we have been taught are simply biases, or that what our faculties let us know is erroneous. That ought to make us ponder about whether the various things that we think are clear may moreover be mixed up. With a specific end goal to test whether what we think we know is genuinely right, Descartes recommends that we embrace a strategy that will dodge slip by following what we know back to a firm establishment of indubitable convictions. Obviously, it is conceivable that there are no totally unshakeable truths. It is additionally conceivable that we may find that our partialities can’t be uprooted or that convictions we think are extreme establishments for all our different convictions are not so much extreme whatsoever. The purpose of our contemplations is to test those convictions, regardless of the possibility that we have held them for quite a while. Furthermore that assess toward oneself will take a true effort. In request to figure out if there is anything we can know with conviction, Descartes says that we first need to uncertainty all that we know. Such a radical uncertainty may not appear sensible, and Descartes positively does not imply that we truly ought to uncertainty everything. What he recommends, however, is that with a specific end goal to check whether there is some conviction that can’t be questioned, we ought to incidentally imagine that all that we know is faulty. This misrepresentation is what is known as a speculative uncertainty. To verify that we consider the affectation important, Descartes recommends that there may be great contentions to believe that such questioning is defended and along these lines more than just something we ought to put on a show to do. His  contentions fall into two classifications: those pointed against our sense encounters and our supposition that we can recognize being conscious and envisioning, and those pointed against our thinking capabilities themselves. http://philosophy.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/Notes/descar1.html

Explain the link between constitutions and justice in Aristotle's Essay

Explain the link between constitutions and justice in Aristotle's Politics - Essay Example It is through the social construction of justice that a constitution is then created to reflect those traditions, beliefs, and behaviours that define a nation. Swanson and Corbin (2009) suggest that the most important thing to do when discussing Aristotle’s work in political philosophy is to understand the context in which his theories were constructed. Aristotle was not merely observing and reporting on the politics within his world, but was examining the nature of politics through academic and analytical approaches. Swanson and Corbin (2009: 2) boil the discussions that Aristotle made down to a central theory that politics are based upon â€Å"the desire to live well†. This very simple desire from within the human experience has spawned a complicated set of boundaries within which life is structured. As Aristotle discovered, through these structures, the pursuit of a good life has developed, sometimes favoring one social group over another, but always in a struggle to find justice and fairness in an attempt to socially balance life. Swanson and Corbin (2009) combine the effects of both Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies in order to reveal one of the most important developments towards Western politics. ... Aristotle pointed out that justice within personal relationships was based upon the degree of obligation that one has to another person. As an example, to not help a brother is a much more severe violation of human interaction than to fail to help a friend or an acquaintance. Goodman and Talisse (2007: 58) state that â€Å"the core idea of justice for him is political. It involves citizens who live in some kind of relation of equality and is not a natural extension of other kinds of justice†. In approaching justice through reason and intellect, political justice is then achieved through an equality that is defined by citizenship. Goodman and Talisse (2007) compare the philosophies of Aristotle to those of Confucius. Confucius looked at the â€Å"benevolent rule of a sage king† (Goodman and Talisse (2007: 59) and did not explore the idea of a constitution. In these types of regimes, the rule of culture is supported over that of law. Aristotle, on the other hand, though a cknowledging the benefits of an aristocracy, believes that the practical approach is through a â€Å"constitution based on the rule of the middle class† (Goodman and Talisse 2007: 59). Blumenfeld (2003) discusses the nature of the constitution and the use of it in a general polity. The word constitution is defined as both referring to the middle class and to the polity. The middle class is the basis of justice and the foundational social group to a polity with a constitution. There are psychologies that surround each of the social classes within a society. Aristotle considered the rich classes to be violent and beyond the power of rule. Obedience is not in the