Ethical Dilemma Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Dilemma Nursing - Assignment Example As doctors, their duty is to save the life of the patients. Moreover, the sanctity of life is an important factor that should be respected by one and all. The second dilemma is the ethical issues involved in the patient’s consent with regard to his treatment. Patient’s autonomy to decide about his medication and his welfare has increasingly become a critical issue within the medical field. Medical paternalism is also a strong issue here. Dr. House is famous for his brilliant but unconventional methods and therefore, his beliefs that he knows more than patients, reveals his paternalistic attitude. Last but not the least important dilemma is that of non-maleficence which dissuades doctors to deliberately harm the patients. These are crucial issues which pose serious challenges for the medical team that is treating Dr. Ezra, especially when they are asked to stop the test and put him to sleep. Answer 2 Dr. House ignores Dr. Ezra’s request for stopping further tests and his demand for euthanasia. The two main ethical principles that can be applied to support Dr. House’s actions are medical beneficence and Kantian’s theory of deontology. The principle of beneficence and non-maleficence are important ethical issues within the medical field that support Dr. House’s actions. ... Kantian’s deontology promotes the concept that the motives of actions always be right and towards the wider benefit of the people (Schneewind, 1990). Acting appropriately at all times, therefore, becomes a key issue that is not concerned with the consequences but the acts which are carried out with good motives. In this case, the House’s major concern was to diagnose the cause of the worsening medical condition of Dr. Ezra. Therefore, his insistence on the tests was aimed at giving relief to Dr. Ezra through diagnosis. House believed that the test would help him to find the cause and equip him with knowledge and information to start the right treatment and correct medication which would help the patient to fully recover. Answer 3 As a nurse, I would not condone Dr. House’s actions mainly because of two ethical principles: the patient has a right to make a decision about his treatment. Patient’s consent is very important that not only shows that he is aware of the pros and con of the treatment and therefore, but his agreement or refusal is also an empowered decision. In this case, Dr. Ezra himself was a renowned medical professional who knew the futility of tests and therefore had asked the team to stop the treatment. Dr. House’s contention that he knows best, defy the basic module of the patient’s autonomy. Furthermore, House was not sure of the diagnosis and all his test were just blind guesses for coming to a definite conclusion. The test could also have an adverse impact on Dr. Ezra’s conditions. Hence, my belief that Dr. House’s actions were not right. Secondly, the utilitarian theory of Bentham proposes that actions should give happiness to the maximum number of people (Rosentand, 2002).  Ã‚  

Homelessness of Veterans Essay Example for Free

Homelessness of Veterans Essay The threat of homelessness amongst veterans has become an increasingly growing issue. Through my extensive research I have found multiple reasons as to why this threat has occurred. Some examples of these are things such as the transition from military to civilian life, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and poverty. I am going to apply the functionalist and conflict perspectives in explaining the problems of homelessness amongst veterans. The first institution that fails veterans is the military. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of the military is to train and structure a person into what is necessary to protect and serve their country. The latent functions of the military are to educate and to receive benefits such as health care and housing. Although these latent functions for the most part only apply to those currently enlisted. The dysfunctions of the military include abuse, corruption, lack of social support, and lack of training on how to function and survive when placed back into civilian life. As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as competition, constraints, and power struggles. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to competition in that the military is always trying to excel to superiority at any cost. The fate of its soldiers is not a top priority. The constraints of these functions are ones set by the standards of the military. The good or the bad is not achieved unless the military allows for it. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to power struggles in that the militaries ultimate goal is to become as powerful as can be. This includes power over its soldiers. This power can limit the benefits that a soldier may receive and also the point to which a soldier is pushed. The second institution that fails the veteran is family. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of family is to provide a structure in which means of living are met. The latent function of family is love and a social support. The dysfunction of family is abuse and neglect which can lead to the lack of money through divorce or abandonment. As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as constraints, coercion, and powers struggles. The constraints of the manifest, latent, and dysfunctions are created by the lack of money or the ability to find a job or even affordable housing. The coercion of these functions are fighting which can lead to divorce. The power struggles of these functions may be stress and pressure applied to the members of the family from other members. The third institution that fails the veteran is the government. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of the government is to provide stability and safety. The latent function of the government is a source of social support through programs for when there are dysfunctions in other institutions. The dysfunctions of the government are things such as popularity competition when electing government officials and profiting off of the poor. As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as competition, constraints, and power struggles. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to competition based on that it is a constant competition between programs for which the government will fund. The programs that are unfortunate enough not to receive government funding may fail as a result. The constraints of these functions in government are the limitations that are placed on people due to many things such as social status. The coercion of these functions in government are theft and fighting which in some cases are done in order to survive. Homelessness amongst veterans results from a complex set of circumstances due to the failure of these institutions which in turn force them to choose between even the basic needs that any human must have in order to survive. By using the functionalist and conflict perspectives I have demonstrated in what ways these institutions, military, family, and government, have failed veterans causing them to become homeless.

Andrew Carnegie Essays -- essays research papers

A man of Scotland, a distinguished citizen of the United States, and a philanthropist devoted to the betterment of the world around him, Andrew Carnegie became famous at the turn of the twentieth century and became a real life rags to riches story. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie entered the world in poverty. The son of a hand weaver, Carnegie received his only formal education during the short time between his birth and his move to the United States. When steam machinery for weaving came into use, Carnegie’s father sold his looms and household goods, sailing to America with his wife and two sons. At this time, Andrew was twelve, and his brother, Thomas, was five. Arriving into New York on August 14, 1848, aboard the Wiscasset from Glasgow, the Carnegies wasted little time settling in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where relatives already existed and were there to provide help. Allegheny City provided Carnegie’s first job, as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory, working for $1.20 a week. His father also worked there while his mother bound shoes at home, making a miniscule amount of money. Although the Carnegies lacked in money, they abounded in ideals and tr aining for their children. At age 15, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in Pittsburgh. He learned to send and decipher telegraphic messages and became a telegraph operator at the age of 17. Carnegie’s next job was as a railroad clerk, working for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked his way up the ladder, through his dedication and honest desire to succeed, to become train dispatcher and then division manager. At this time, young Carnegie, age 24, had already made some small investments that laid the foundations of his what would be tremendous fortune. One of these investments was the purchase of stock in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company. In 1864, Carnegie entered the iron business, but did not begin to make steel until years later. In 1873, he built the Edgar Thomson works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, to make Bessemer steel. He established many other steel plants, and in 1892, he merged all of his interests into the Carnegie Steel Company. This act from Carnegie is fitting with one of his most famous quotations, "Put all of your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket." This firm became one of the greatest indu... ...fiting from Carnegie’s charity include various Carnegie museums of history, science, and art, Carnegie Hall in New York, and other public spirited organizations. Before 1919, when Carnegie died, he had given away $350,695,653, and at his death, the last $30 million was likewise given away to foundations, charities, and pensioners. He left a mark on society not only through his enormous monetary provisions, but also with his own literature. Carnegie loved to promote his ideas and opinions in print, and has written many works outlining these philosophies, including Triumphant Democracy (1886), The Gospel of Wealth (1900), The Empire of Business (1902), Problems of Today (1908), and an Autobiography (1920) (Mitzen 182). Although Carnegie only stood somewhere between 5’2" and 5’6", he "had to be a great, tough, disciplined giant of a man." His commitment to others is not only seen through his many munificent works, but in the way he lived, including his tombstone in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery of North Tarrytown, New York, where the epitaph reads, "Here lies a man who was able to surround himself with men far cleverer than himself."

Comparing Cinderella and Ever After Essay -- Movies Film Ever After Ci

Comparing Cinderella and Ever After When most people think of the movie, "Cinderella';, they think of the animated Disney version with the little mice and the happy ending where Cinderella marries the prince and they live happily ever after. While the movie "Ever After'; is based on "Cinderella';, it is not animated, but still has many of the same characteristics as the Disney version. Of course it is not exactly the same, and since it is not animated there are many differences. In "Ever After';, Drew Barrymore portrays the character Cinderella, who in the beginning of this movie is called Danielle. In the very beginning, it shows how Danielle's father died and how she went off to live with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. In "Cinderella';, both of the stepsisters are wicked, but in "Ever After';, her sister Jacqueline is not so wicked and usually sides with Danielle. In "Ever After';, Jacqueline is the not so pretty and quiet sister and Marguerite is the loud obnoxious pretty one. One similarity is that in both movies, Cinderella and Danielle are servants to their stepmother and stepsisters. They are also not allowed to eat with them, only serve them. In "Ever After';, Danielle's only friends are the other servants of the house, this is similar to how Cinderella is friends with the mice that live in her house. In both cases their friends are always protective and willing to help. In "Cinderella';, Cinderella doesn't meet the prince before the ball, she doesn't even really expect to be going to the ball. In "Ever After';, Danielle meets the prince in a confrontation where the prince was actually stealing one of their horses. Danielle starts pegging him with apples, but just as she realizes that he is the prince, she kneels down before him. She apologizes, but the prince is lenient and says he will not punish her. He also gives her money to keep quiet about the whole situation. In "Ever After';, Danielle repeatedly bumps into the prince. Whenever she does meet up with him, she makes sure she is dressed like a courtier, so he doesn't think that she is a servant. They start to fall for each other and they spend more and more time together. In "Cinderella';, the stepmother tries to make sure that one of her daughters is chosen for a wife by the prince at the ball. At first she tells Cinderella that she can go also even... ...nce and Cinderella live happily ever after. In the end of "Ever After';, the wicked stepmother is called to the palace. She doesn't know that Danielle and the prince are married. The king and queen question the stepmother of lying to the queen. They tell her that if she doesn't tell the truth, she will be killed. She confesses that she lied to the queen about Danielle. Just then Danielle comes in dressed as the princess she has become, and her stepmother kneels before her. The only punishment that she gives her is the punishment that she had to go through herself as a servant. The stepmother and Marguerite are brought down to the washroom and they are put to work. Jacqueline the other sister is not punished because her innocence had been noted. Of course "Ever After'; is a little bit more realistic because it is more like real life. "Cinderella'; is animated and there is a lot more make believe, such as talking mice. "Cinderella'; is also probably aimed at more of a younger audience and "Ever After'; can appeal to a little bit older crowd. "Cinderella'; is one of my all time favorite movies, and know that I've seen "Ever After';, it ranks right up there with "Cinderella';.

Mobile Phones Essay

Scheme 1: A payment of 15 per month for the line rental, plus 50p per minute for each call made Scheme 2: A payment of 24 per month for the line rental, plus 20p per minute for each call made Scheme 3: A payment of   31 per month for the line rental, plus 10p per minute for each call made. I am going to investigate which scheme is best for people using mobile phones. I will also vary the line rental, vary the cost of each call, make comparisons, and make generalisations. I will show graphs, tables and a conclusion to my investigation. Scheme 1: A payment of   15 per month for the line rental, plus 50p per minute for each call made. My conclusion to my investigation is that all 3 schemes are cheap in there own way. Scheme 1 is good for people who like to make the odd call for a very short period of time in a month. Scheme 2 is good for people who maybe are more likely to use there mobiles more often but not for long in a month. Scheme 3 is good for people who want to and need to use it frequently and make long periods of calls per month. So there is no real best scheme for people to use, it depends on who the person is and how often and long they will use the mobile phone in a month. The 3 schemes could be used for a family who has 4 members. Scheme 1 would be ideal for there kids who would just need it for the quick call to get picked up from school, scheme 2 would maybe suite the mother because she would want it to keep in contact with her kids and her husband, and scheme 3 mite benefit the husband who could use it for keeping in contact with his family and also to use it for clients at work.

who has seen the wind essays

who has seen the wind essays Brian's Search for the Meaning of Life in W.O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen the Wind By Rodrigo Goller Through the brilliantly written book Who Has Seen the Wind, Mitchell is able to very effectively describe the tale of one boy and his growth on the Saskatchewan prairie. Brian's childhood revolves around aspects of everyday life, and in it he attempts to explain that which has evaded and mystified even the great minds of our times: the meaning of life. He is able to somewhat understand the meaning of life though his experiences with birth, particularly that of a pigeon, and a rabbit. His up-close-in-your-face learning of death, at an early age, when his dog, and subsequently his father dies. Lastly Brian's realization that it's all just sensations, and feelings complete his search for the meaning of life. Early in his life, Brian has many experiences with birth. The first of these comes to him at an early age when he sees newborn pigeons. When his father explains how these pigeons were made, Brian understands that birth is the beginning of life. Four years later, a similar conversation comes up when Brian asks his father how rabbits are born. With this new found knowledge, Brian also sees another newborn. But this time it was a two-headed calf, who dies at birth. Because of this, Brian comes to the realization that "God isn't very considerate"(166), for sometimes he lets things like the two headed cow come into this world, only to suffer and then die. The Second instance in which Brian is confronted with the meaning of life, comes to him when he sees death, and asks himself why. When Brian's pigeon died, he asked his father why it had happened. "Why?" said Brian. "It happens to things," his father said. "Why does it happen to things?" He turned up his face to his father, cheeks stained with drying tears. "That's the way they end up." Brian looked down at the baby pigeon in his hand. "It was an egg. Now it's stopped." "Yes Spalpeen, it's s...

Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Essay Example

Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Essay Example Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Paper Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Paper The internet has become an everyday part of life for the majority of the contemporary society who have the technology and knowledge to access it, and as such new groups known as cyber or virtual communities have developed, living and growing on the world wide web, expanding simultaneously as is evident with real physical societies found in our everyday lives. Is it ok then to discuss these in the same context as each other, or are they entirely different incarnations of human interaction that should be separated and therefore discussed at different ends of the equation that is community? I want first to take a brief look at the history of the Internet, and how it offers the chance for cyber communities to develop. I will hopefully identify a framework for these cyber communities, which I will use to compare them against real life communities and then discuss the similarities and differences and so be able to draw a conclusion as to whether the two types of communities are able to be discussed in the same context. The Internets first appearance was in 1969 with the ARPANET computer network, run by the US Defense Department. The US Government was interested in creating a network that could withstand a nuclear attack. This system was the primary component of the super network that would eventually become the Internet. The first event of the Internet that we know today was in 1974, when Vint Cerf and Bob Khan defined the transmission control protocol (TCP) and Internet protocol (IP) by which information could be packaged addressed and sent to various destinations along a computer network. In 1983 this TCP/IP based Internet was launched across the USA, and has since developed to todays standards, of a global network of 43 million interconnected computers (Gauntlett 2000). Presently, Internet technology enables several forms of interactive networking among users, including traditional activities suggestive of geographic communities, such as town meetings, exchanging information, discussing problems, and informal chatting. Forms of these communities include; Email, Multi-user Dimensions (MUDs), Chat channels (rooms) Conferencing systems/ Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)/ Information Services. These are just a handful of the most popular communication techniques widely available on the Internet. Access to the Internet and these services is provided through commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as America Online (AOL) that offer a range of member services in addition to Internet access. The WELL provides a vivid example of the capability of online groups to facilitate sustained and meaningful interaction among members. ( harvardlawreview. org/issues/112/7_1586. htm#fn35 Accessed 23/04/03) The WELL is a large conferencing system, centered in the San Francisco Bay area; it was established in 1985 and has grown to become a vibrant online community where many topics and aspects of everyday life are discussed (Gauntlett 2000). Howard Rheingold has been actively interested in the topic of virtual (cyber) communities since the early days of the Internet and especially the topic of the WELL, I will use examples taken from his book The Virtual Community and other scholars of the subject to help analyze the idea of the cyber community and its links to real communities. At this point I would like to clarify exactly what I mean when talking about community, and what the definition of a community is in the context of this essay. I will use a simple definition, often accustomed to the debate about virtual communities. Aaron Davidson states When Internet critics speak of community, they refer to the definition of community as a group of people who live together in close physical proximity, I will refer to this type of community as a Classic Community. The more general essence of community is a group of people, which share a common interest. This more flexible definition encompasses both physical communities as well as more intangible communities such as special interest clubs and online communities (http://spaz. ca/aaron/school/online. html Accessed 20/04/03). This definition of community translates that a classical real life community is a group of people who are geographically local to each other and so form bonds due to location and not necessarily interests, such as street parties, or communal bonfires and firework shows. The non-classical internet community is when people group together in a non-physical text based platform due to a common interest on a certain subject, such as a military vehicle web ring or music group discussions. Taylor (1982) states the core attributes that are (or should be) possessed by all communities to some extent are, common beliefs and values, direct and many-sided relationships between members, and reciprocity and communication. While shared values and beliefs generally promote communication, the presence of communication does not necessarily result in shared values. This has a key implication for the creation of cyber communities as unlike real life communities people accessing them do so for the topic, such as health, music or films and through this shared affinity for the subject communication is initiated, while some might access purely for communication and not information, they are going to try and generate conversation within the topic range they are interested in (Rheingold 2000). I will now try to categorize a framework of characteristics that would be associated with a cyber community, and how these differ from their real life counterparts. I located several definitions from different writers on the characteristics, which an online community has, but they all seem to be able to be grouped together under five headings. The first is that they are spatial, in that they are not restrained by geography, the community is able to be built and developed not only on a national scale but more on an international scale now, and not just within the close geographical proximities experienced by real world communities. They are developed around an understanding or appreciation of a topic, which brings people together, which may or may not have known each other prior to the discussion, while real life communities are often forced together either through the location of residence or through working ties. Virtual communities such as the WELL for example grew within a region of America (San Francisco Bay) but to become a member you dont have to live in San Francisco to participate in the community and the building of bonds within it (Rheingold 2000). The second is that virtual communities are asynchronous, in that communication doesnt have to take place in real time, unless the community is built within a chat room environment, but even in this environment they often facilitate the use of a message board for users to access. Messages and information can be posted and replies received days later (Castells 2001). For sustained communication to take place in the real world at least two people are needed at the same time, even if not at the same location via telephone. Third due to the lack of data able to be sent the communities are predominantly text based. For decades, online communities were built with nothing more than unformatted text. Web-based media bring inline graphics, animations, video, sounds, formatted text, and links into the conversation, creating a more dynamic ability to communicate with other users, and therefore enhancing the community being developed (Jones 1997). Real life communities are able to be built not just on text (speech) but also through the use of paralinguistic features, these non verbal gestures help to add meaning, and the impact of a face to face discussion is amplified due to facial features which are not evident in the computer world, but can be expressed as text (Jones 1997). The Fourth characteristic is that they are astigmatic, in those physical attributes such as race, gender, and physical impairments, which would often locate an individual in certain social standings in real life, are not present on the c yber communities. Religion is also not an important issue in virtual communities. These aspects not only shape our social standing but can inhibit our involvement in social gatherings and communal events simply because we are not aesthetically matched, but in the virtual world these impairments, and characteristics do not affect our acceptance and do not need to be made public unless the individual chooses to do so. People whose physical handicaps make it difficult to form new friendships find that virtual communities treat them as they always wanted to be treated as thinkers and transmitters of ideas and feeling beings, not carnal vessels with a certain appearance and way of walking and talking (or not walking and not talking) ( eff. org/Net_culture/Virtual_community/slice_of_life. article Accessed 22/04/03). The fifth key feature of a virtual community is that the members of a virtual community are anonymous from each other, unless they choose to meet in person. Unlike in real life where face to face interaction leads to people being able to recognize outside of the community environment, while community members on the virtual plain would not recognize each other if passing in the street. This ability to remain anonymous from other users offers virtual citizens the ability to create their own virtual identity and mold their appearance as they see fit, playing out fantasies online (Castells 2001). This can be seen with a quote from the blockbuster movie The Matrix where Neo and Morpheus are discussing the Matrix and how it offers Neo and the users the chance to portray their residual self image, the mental projection of your digital self as Morpheus quotes to Neo. This is the same in a virtual community where members are able to portray themselves as they wish others to see them; whether truthful or false the anonymity provided by the virtual community allows freedom from physical flaws present in their real life personas (Jones 1997). That was the five key characteristics identified by many people as to what makes a virtual community different from a real life example. Another characteristic that is evident with online communication is the fact that it can be conducted on a many to many basis. This is different from the format of few to many associated with a broadcast, or one to one such as telephone conversation. Virtual communities offer groups of people the ability to communicate with many others simultaneously. A brief over view of the characteristics of a virtual community shows as that they are not bound by geography, but are bonded together by interests and bonds formed through these interests. Communication doesnt have to be undertaken in real time, and is predominantly text based. No physical or religious pre conceived prejudices are experienced as members are able to remain anonymous from each other in the real world and so any physical attributes or religious beliefs are made public to fellow members through the free choice of the individual. Finally communication can be carried out on a many to many interaction with lots of people contributing to the discussion if and when they feel they should. The difference between real life and cyber (virtual) communities are evident then, but is this the end of the discussion as to whether they should or shouldnt be classed as real? Possibly the most significant aspect of these more mainstream uses of the Internet is not their status as alternative communities, but the opportunities they offer for individuals to supplement their lives in real world communities ( arvardlawreview. org/issues/112/7_1586. htm#fn35 Accessed 20/04/03). Cyber communities are often seen and categorized in this way as an extension of our communal lives and that they extend our real life communities to new levels. Ray Oldenburg (1991) states that there are three essential places in every persons life, the place they live, the place they work, and the place they gather for conviviality. Virtual communities can fulfill the role of the third place re-matting the fabric of community spirit, which has been lost in the modern real world where community bonds are being eroded. The ability to network, gain knowledge, or find communion within cyberspace is, according to Rheingold (2000), the social glue that binds formerly isolated individuals into a community ( well. com/user/hlr/texts/VCcivil. html Accessed 22/04/03). I tend to agree with this finding that cyber communities do not stand-alone but are interwoven with our real life communal experiences, and so I feel to a certain extent they should be discussed as real communities, but with an air of caution when doing so. The key difference between the cyber and real community is the context of the plain they are built on, whether it being physical or virtual. They both exist together with real world topics being the basis for many of the interactions experienced within there cyber counterparts, further leads me to the view that they presently only fulfill the role of enhancing or communal lives in real life. The key similarity between the two community environments is the constant communication, forming links and bonds, however the initiation process in cyber communities is also different. In traditional kinds of communities, we are accustomed to meeting people, then getting to know them; in virtual communities, you can get to know people and then choose to meet them. In some cases, you can get to know people who you might never meet on the physical plain (Rheingold 2000). The point that cyber communities can exist as asynchronous is contested by Jones (1997), saying that synchronicity when users interact at the same time such as in a chat room, the occupants are less interested in the topic but more so in the individual doing the talking, less interested in text than in community. This offers the argument that not all communication on the internet is communal, and only the real time chat room environments when people discuss and form real time bonds with one another in quick fire conversations does the feeling of community really exist. From my experiences on the Internet and especially in chat rooms I would have to agree with this. When I post a message on a guest book or message board, I dont get a feeling interaction with others, but within the environment of a chat room I am able to build bonds, and return to them at later dates with a sense, if only small at first of knowing the other users of the room. Jones (1997) also accounts for this and the issue of free riding, where he quotes Ostrom (1990) identified free riding as the key threat to community formation and well-being, free riders being surfers of the Internet who do not participate in the community but simply use it for its resources. I have outlined here some of the theories and thoughts offered on the subject of cyber communities and I want to know draw them all together and conclude this writing. For cyber communities to be discussed in the same context as real world examples there is the point that they offer the user a sense of belonging, albeit a different one from the real world. They also incorporate a large amount of people, all communicating and sharing experiences with each other, which is the same as in the traditional physical communities. Cyber communities are built around a shared value or interests, you are able to choose to join the community or not, you are not forced into it through work or residence. This point offers the question of how strong the bonds are between the people, simply because they have a shared interest in a certain topic, the commitment to one another in the cyber realm compared to the real world is a lot weaker, as Jones (1997) states, in the book, Virtual culture. People who communicate via words on a screen dont necessarily share the same level of commitment to each other in real life as more traditional communities. Communities can emerge from and exist within computer-linked groups, but that technical linkage of electronic personae is not sufficient to create a community (Jones 1997). Howard Rheingold states brilliantly one of the key advantages of partaking in a virtual community, life will be happier for the on-line individual because the people with whom one interacts most strongly will be selected more by commonality of interests and goals than by accidents of proximity(Rheingold 2000). For the feeling of community to exist the key attribute identified through my study is the need for sustained communication between the members. I will use the following quote from The Electronic Frontier Foundation website to sum up the conclusion of this study. When a group of people remains in communication with one another for extended periods of time, the question of whether it is a community arises. Virtual communities might be real communities, they might be pseudocommunities, or they might be something entirely new in the realm of social contracts, but they are in part a response to the hunger for community that has followed the disintegration of traditional communities around the world ( ff. org/Net_culture/Virtual_community/slice_of_life. article Accessed 20/04/03). Therefore cyber communities are real communities, they are very similar, where links and bonds are formed in a non-physical environment, and that these cyber communities should be discussed in the same context as real life examples but not separately but as an extension of our physical communal lives.

10 Amendments - First Changes to the Constitution

10 Amendments - First Changes to the Constitution The first 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. Those 10 amendments  establish the most basic freedoms for Americans including the rights to worship how they want, speak how they want, and assembly and peaceably protest their government how they want. The amendments have also been subject to much interpretation since their adoption, particularly the right to carry a gun under the Second Amendment. A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference, said  Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. The first 10 amendments were ratified in 1791. History of the First 10 Amendments Before the American Revolution, the original colonies were united under Articles of Confederation, which did not address creation of a central government. In 1787, founders called a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to build a structure for a new government. The resulting Constitution did not address the rights of individuals, which became a source of contention during the documents ratification. The first 10 amendments were predated by the Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by  King John  to protect citizens against abuse of power by the King or Queen. Likewise, the authors, led by James Madison,  sought to limit the role of the central government. Virginias Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason immediately after independence in 1776, served as a model for other state bills of rights as well as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Once drafted, the Bill of Rights was quickly ratified by the states. It only took six months for nine states to say yes - two short of the total needed. In December 1791, Virginia was the 11th state to ratify the first 10 amendments, making them part of the Constitution. Two other amendments failed ratification. List of the First 10 Amendments Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. What it means: The First Amendment is, to many Americans, the most sacred of the first 10 amendments because it protects them from persecution over their religious beliefs and government sanctions against the expression of opinions, even those that are unpopular. The First Amendment also prevents the government from interfering with journalists responsibility to serve as watchdogs. Amendment 2: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. What it means:  The Second Amendment is one of the most cherished, and divisive, clauses in the Constitution. Advocates for the right of American to carry guns believe the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms. Those who argue the United States should do more to regulate guns point to the phrase well regulated. Gun-control opponents say the Second Amendment merely allows states to maintain militia organizations such as the National Guard. Amendment 3: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. What it means: This is one of the simplest and clearest amendments. It forbids the government from forcing private-property owners to house members of the military. Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. What it means: The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of Americans by prohibiting the search and seizure of property without cause. Its reach is indescribably broad: every one of the millions of arrests made annually is a Fourth Amendment event. So too is every search of every person or private area by a public official, whether a police officer, schoolteacher, probation officer, airport security agent, or corner crossing guard, writes the Heritage Foundation. Amendment 5: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. What it means: The most common use of the Fifth Amendment is the right to avoid incriminating oneself by refusing to answer questions at a criminal trial. The amendment also guarantees Americans due process. Amendment 6: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. What it means: While this amendment seems clear, the Constitution doesnt actually define what a speedy trial is. It does, however, guarantee those accused of crimes a decision on guilt or innocence made by their peers in a public setting. That is an important distinction. Criminal trials in the United States take place in full public view, not behind closed doors, so they are fair and impartial and subject to judgement and scrutiny by others. Amendment 7: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. What it means: Even if certain crimes rise to the level of being prosecuted at the federal level, and not the state or local, defendants are still guaranteed a trial before a jury of their peers. Amendment 8: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. What it means: This amendment protects those convicted of crimes from excessive jail time and capital punishment. Amendment 9: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. What it means: This provision was meant as a guarantee that Americans hold rights outside of just those specified in the first 10 amendments. Because it was impossible to enumerate all the rights of the people, a bill of rights might actually be construed to justify the government’s power to limit any liberties of the people that were not enumerated, states the Constitution Center. Thus the clarification that many other rights exist outside of the Bill of Rights.   Amendment 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. What it means: States are guaranteed any power not delegated to the U.S. government. Another way of explaining it:  the federal  government holds only those powers delegated to it in the Constitution.

Is nursing an art, a science, or both Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is nursing an art, a science, or both - Essay Example ctitioners, stated that â€Å"Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive a devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work, for what is having to do with the living body - the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the fine Arts; I had almost said the finest of the fine Arts†1. The lexicon defines art as, "both a human creative skill or its application"2. Further, the renowned Plato once asserted that, "Art is the things which are acquired or reduced craft or skill"3. The art and science of nursing permit it to attain its objectives in respect of providing for the health care needs of patients in home, community or institutional health care delivery environments. This entails the use of the nursing process to promote and maintain health, prevent illness, diagnose and manage potential or actual health problems, facilitate adaptation to health impairments, assist rehabilitation and maximize the opportunity for dignity in living and dying. Some authorities were of the opinion that, â€Å"Nurses are faced daily with clinical decisions making. They carry the spirit of caring through the ages as patient’s advocates but now they are being forced to examine ethics to an even greater degree from a world wide point†4. Moreover, nursing, throughout its history was concerned with caring, despite the fact that the concept of care varies according to societal events and needs. This requires the use of the scientific methodology. Furthermore, nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals and nurses operate from a unique disciplinary perspective and they view each patient as a person in relation to their environment and the social, economic, and political forces that shape this environment. This makes it imperative to recognize that a nurse’s duty consists of maximizing the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of patients’ health after giving due consideration to the infinitely complex

Magic, Superstition, and Fetishism in the Movie The Natural Essay

Magic, Superstition, and Fetishism in the Movie The Natural - Essay Example The researcher states that fetishism is clearly depicted right from the start of the movie. As such, this character has a craze for success in baseball. This is evidenced by Hobbs designing a wooden bat and naming it â€Å"WonderBoy†. He ensures that he carries it with him to the city. Despite the mysterious shooting by the woman, Hobbs goes under and according to the events; he re-emerges, from baseball leagues unknown to anyone, and surprisingly, appear in the lineup of a fictional baseball team in the name New York Knights. It happens that he turns up with his boyhood â€Å"Wonderboy† This is a clear evidence of fetishism and as such, it is undeniable. Furthermore, he has an obsession with women. This starts from the point where he decided to pursue his dreams. He first fell for a mysterious woman, Harriet Bird, who sidetracks his dream. A further manifestation of the craze for women is where, after becoming a star player, he is attracted to a beautiful woman called Memo Paris, and a niece to the manager of the team he plays for. He is aware that, the woman is a mistress to a character acting as a gambler. Once again, the crave attempts to destroy his career. This introduces another character of whom we come to know that he had a relationship with since his boyhood. There are events entailed in this movie that a critic can consider as superstitious. For instance, Hobbs falls in love with Memo. As such, he puts more concentration on this woman in an effort to solidify and further this relationship. In response to this, Memo’s Uncle, guided by an aspect of superstition, issues a warning statement to Hobbs that, Memo imparts a bad luck on any person who seems to associate with her. In reality, a belief is a subject to superstition and if taken into account, it is deemed to happen. This is evident as this belief by Pop resulted in a slump hit. As such, after ignoring this warning, he tried to resolve this slump and no matter how many instanc es he tried to do so, none of his efforts succeeded.

Housing discrimination of new immigrants in Toronto and Ontario Research Paper

Housing discrimination of new immigrants in Toronto and Ontario - Research Paper Example As many immigrants would say, racial discrimination is a fact that ills many societies and is not only a problem in Canada. In essence, minorities attract ratings according to their racial origin, religious background, ethnic language, and their sources of income influenced their living conditions (Patrias, Savage & CCLH, 2012). This tends to be a matter that is of exceptional human concern as discrimination of any kind is against the human rights provisions (OHRC, 2007). Often, immigrants tend to be last in the consideration list for possible occupancy in residential areas resided by those who are economically able in society. However, the grimiest housing blocks play host to immigrants who have poor economic background in Toronto and Ontario. This happens irrespective of the education level of an immigrant but because of their skin tones that make them appear unable. Is discrimination according to ones race justifiable in determining whether one can have decent living conditions? T herefore, this essay will delve on the housing challenges that new immigrants encounter in Ontario and Toronto. Background and current status Ideally, racial prejudice arose mainly because of international slavery that saw millions of minority racial groupings move to the western nations. In essence, slave trade in the early centuries was a trade that many viewed as contravening to human nature principles. Subsequently, slaves increased in numbers making their descendants remain in the foreign lands. However, immigrants find themselves working for minimal pay as it happened in the past where slaves worked for lesser pay packages. In addition, housing conditions for many immigrants are demeaning as they cannot afford to house themselves decent housing because of their jobs (Reitz, Phan & Banerjee, 2009). In the past, slaves lived in poorly ventilated rooms as per the wishes of their masters. This aspect of inferiority has existed to date as Canadians do not opportunity to immigrants from other continents the opportunity to live in their expensive houses. Ironically, even for immigrants that have better income levels still find it hard to occupy houses in the up market as many Canadians are prejudicial to race and ethnicity (Anisef & Lanphier, 2003). This attribute creates an avenue for inequality as no one has more entitlement to living than immigrants residing in Canada. As per the view of many house owners in Canada, immigrants tend to have low education levels meaning that they may not be able to access quality work opportunities (Reitz, Phan & Banerjee, 2009). These landlords turn them away despite the availability of a vacant room in their premises as they view as unemployed and troublesome. In many instances, this may not be the actual case as these immigrants have made intense strides in ensuring that they acquire education that is the required quality. Therefore, immigrants may not necessarily suffer from unemployment but tend to work in deplorable work stations. Arguably, slavery seems to have set the standard to which immigrants could not surpass in terms of wages or salary levels. This means that no matter how hard immigrants in Toronto and Ontario try to access better housing conditions, their past will forever drag them in to misery (OHRC, 2007). On the contrary, visible discrimination against immigrants of minority descent is a contravention of the Human Rights Code existing in Ontario. Key considerations Over the years,

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 9

Strategic management - Essay Example Some of the strategies used by hospitality enterprises to achieve competitive advantage include Strategic Planning, Market Research. Business Planning, Retail Growth Strategy, Meal Plan Strategy, Sourcing and Procurement Strategy, Concept Development, Health and Well-Being Strategy, Information Systems Strategy, Food Facilities Planning and Design. Accommodation and food services makes up about 8.1 percent of all employment. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Employment in the accommodation and food services industries is predicted to grow 18% between 2002 and 2012, adding more than 1.6 million new jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Of the 8,740,000 total workers employed in the accommodation and food services industry in 2003, 5,343,000 works full-time (61%), while 3,397,000 work part-time (39%). (Annual average for 2003, according to the Current Population Survey, a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau). The Total Industry Investment is $1,765,000 and the total leveraged resources are $5,900,000. Profit and average room rate at the UK’s chain hotels continued to increase in November, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting. Across the total UK sample of 462 hotels, income before fixed charges (IBFC) – also known as gross operating profit – rose by 5.6 per cent to  £52.81 per available room. Average room rate increased by 7.4 per cent to  £95.03 in November, a similar rate of growth to the 7.2 per cent achieved during the year so far. In London, profit grew by 7.9 per cent to  £82.19 per available room. London’s hoteliers continued to achieve rate growth at near annual levels with an 8.9 per cent increase taking average room rate to a new high of  £125.85. The capital outlay needed for starting up the operation in this industry is huge ($60 – $70 million), since the leasing expenses and the taxes are high. The capital

Chicago a place to see Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chicago a place to see - Speech or Presentation Example Magic Chicago where magicians gather to revive the hallmark art form of Chicago, the Chicago River, which is a long eyesore that attracts large numbers of tourists while the Sears tower is a complex architectural structure in the city where people come to watch other states from the city. These and many other sites makes Chicago the place to be, hence the phrase, â€Å"Chicago the place to see† The Viola is a four-story monolith standing on Bryn Mawr Avenue that was built before the depression. What makes it a major tourist attraction site is the irony of the purpose of the reason for its construction, and its structural design in its interior. The building was built as a church by the Edgewater Presbyterian church, making it an unlikely place for some of the world’s most renowned magicians to appear and foreshow their talent. The architectural design of the theatre is what is even more spectacular, with the audience members having to walk up a long flight of stairs and wait in the hallway, making them feel like they are attending a Sunday school (Pang, 2009). Once the audience is inside, they discover the revelation of the city lit theatre, with its ornate, charmingly old-time performance space with wrap-around and an elevated seating for a hundred people. Nobody would expect such a theatre in a place like that. There is a monthly showcase of magicians and novelty acts that occupies the theatre on the first Wednesday of every month unlike the norm that was in the city about 50 years ago when magic used to be performed in restaurants and bars, Chicago nowadays sees less of such jostle due to the few options available, with comedy performances having taken over the performance arts stage. The Viola thus fills this gap and gives people a treat of magic performances by the worlds’ most famous magicians. What is even catchier about these performances is the difference in the setting to that of popular magic performances. Actually, â€Å"There is no glitzy Vegus production with tigers and industrial circular saws. More often than not, minds are blown in the audience, and the performers are close enough to catch the splatter† (Pang, 2009). The Chicago River is yet another tourist attraction site, with its long eyesore waterways turning to be a centre of tourist attraction, which are being reclaimed. Tourists have to walk past abandoned warehouses, cross-dusty railroad tracks and side step trashed mattresses in order to follow the course of the river (Valente, 1992). Dwellers of the city and concerned citizens have come up together to pull efforts together in order to rehabilitate the river, a wave that has spread across America with campaigns and initiatives to rehabilitate urban rivers. The river attracts some of the most passionate fans, which include a class of devoted poets, artists and writers. Although some of the river art have been met with a lot of problems, artists’ still believe that the river is a great place to show art. The coming into existence of the river in the city is what attracts more numbers of tourists to the city. The story is told of how for years, Chicago built a tourist attraction as being the city on the lake. Then without a warning, the underground tunnel collapsed and water came gushing into the basements of downtown offices, causing businesses to shut down for days. The course of the river is similar to most of urban waterways, where part of it flow alongside trash dumps

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 9

Strategic management - Essay Example Some of the strategies used by hospitality enterprises to achieve competitive advantage include Strategic Planning, Market Research. Business Planning, Retail Growth Strategy, Meal Plan Strategy, Sourcing and Procurement Strategy, Concept Development, Health and Well-Being Strategy, Information Systems Strategy, Food Facilities Planning and Design. Accommodation and food services makes up about 8.1 percent of all employment. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Employment in the accommodation and food services industries is predicted to grow 18% between 2002 and 2012, adding more than 1.6 million new jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Of the 8,740,000 total workers employed in the accommodation and food services industry in 2003, 5,343,000 works full-time (61%), while 3,397,000 work part-time (39%). (Annual average for 2003, according to the Current Population Survey, a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau). The Total Industry Investment is $1,765,000 and the total leveraged resources are $5,900,000. Profit and average room rate at the UK’s chain hotels continued to increase in November, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting. Across the total UK sample of 462 hotels, income before fixed charges (IBFC) – also known as gross operating profit – rose by 5.6 per cent to  £52.81 per available room. Average room rate increased by 7.4 per cent to  £95.03 in November, a similar rate of growth to the 7.2 per cent achieved during the year so far. In London, profit grew by 7.9 per cent to  £82.19 per available room. London’s hoteliers continued to achieve rate growth at near annual levels with an 8.9 per cent increase taking average room rate to a new high of  £125.85. The capital outlay needed for starting up the operation in this industry is huge ($60 – $70 million), since the leasing expenses and the taxes are high. The capital

Final Reflective Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final Reflective - Assignment Example Cascio (2006) defined human resource policies as the process of organizing the resource planning, performance management, employee relations and supporting administrative roles. This report will focus on identifying the process and importance of human resource policies within in the organizational framework. The researcher will also try to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies within the organizational context. The process of developing human resource policies depend on the specific needs of a firm and its employees. Most of the firm try to develop their human resource polices by relating them to their organizational objectives which provides an explicit direction to the workforce (Adeniji & Osibanjo, 2012). The influence of the policies can either be negative or positive based on the effectiveness of implementing them. For instance, Microsoft Corp.’s HR policy of stack ranking is criticized as one of the worst policies (Burstein, 2013). The policy was focused on ranking the employees based on their performance which took an ugly form and emerged in the form of organizational politics and decreasing productivity (Burstein, 2013). Focusing on the process of policy making, the basic aspects of policy framing and drafting will be referred in the report. The first step for policy making is to identify the need. This step involves all the HR personnel of the company. The line managers will collect the data on the progress, performance and productivity of the employees and forward it to the senior managers (Cascio, 2006). The senior managers analyze the data and identify the gaps in the work culture and work structure. Based on this, a basic framework for the policy is developed and further forwarded to the higher management of the company. This is where the policy framework is compared and aligned with the strategic decision making process (McKenzie & Wharf, 2010). The second step is to assess the scope of the

Olympian Destiny vs. Personal Choice Essay Example for Free

Olympian Destiny vs. Personal Choice Essay An Analytical Essay on the Tragedy of Oedipus in Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus the King† Debates on whether men control their fates or whether their fates are already dictated by another force are not new and has definitely not ended. Still, even if arguments on the subject has been exhaustingly discussed, there is still no conclusion formed of whether humanity really make their own choices or if there is a greater or heavenly force which deprives humanity of that choice. Such circumstance is depicted in Oedipus the King, one of the trilogies in a famous Greek tragedian’s plays. Sophocles, who is known to be one of the pioneers of tragedies (as a drama) in the world, writes of the sad and terrible fate of Oedipus who is the ruler of Thebes after he saves the people of Thebes from a â€Å"monster†. The play revolves around a prophecy that Oedipus wants to kill his own father and make his own mother as a wife. This leads to this essay’s purpose which is to discuss on whether Oedipus was destined to have such end or whether he was the one who actually made his own fate. In Oedipus the King, trouble brews in Thebes as the people are in pandemonium over a sickness that spreads over the city. Oedipus who is the present ruler of the city after defeating the Sphinx asks help from an oracle to decipher why Thebes if suffering such fate. The oracle reveals that Olympus is angry over the murder of Thebes’ past King and the city can only be restored to its proper order when the King’s murderer has been caught. This rather ominous scene sets the play in motion as the court of Thebes starts to investigate and prod on who is the possible murderer of the dead King. Through much explanation, interrogation and prodding, it is found out that it is Oedipus himself who has killed the King, making the prophecy of Apollo true—that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his own mother. Because Thebes needs to be saved and because Creon cries out for Oedipus to respect the desires of Olympus, Oedipus willingly exiles himself from Thebes and eventually (in the next and last part of the trilogy, Oedipus at Colonus) dies alone. The trilogy that Sophocles has written is known to be the Oedipus plays even if one of the plays played out with the King already dead. However, it is quite evident that in all the plays, Oedipus plays an important part because his fate serves as background of all the plays and his fate becomes a catalyst for all the other scenes in the plot. This fate that brings down such grief to Oedipus and his family is connected to Apollo’s prophecy that was predicted by an oracle in Delphi. Oedipus recounts this prophecy when he talks to Jocasta, his queen and wife (and unbeknownst to him, his mother) over the reason why he self-exiled himself from Corinth: And so I went in secret off to Delphi. / I didn’t tell my mother or my father. Apollo sent me back without an answer, / so I didn’t learn what I had come to find. But when he spoke he uttered monstrous things, / strange terrors and horrific miseries— it was my fate to defile my mother’s bed, / to bring forth to men a human family that people could not bear to look upon, / to murder the father who engendered me. (Sophocles 945-954) This excerpt points to the fact that it is Apollo who passed the knowledge of the prophecy and Oedipus is well aware of the said prophecy. Thus, it would seem that the fate of Oedipus is already determined but there is a possibility that although he made unconscious and innocent choices and decisions, Oedipus is still well aware that all the things that he will do leads to something greater and sadder. This something greater and sadder is his tragic fate that would result in the death of his own father and would result in an immoral relationship with his own mother. This premise neither proves nor negates whether Oedipus’s life was created out of the decisions, actions and choices he made or whether his life was already created by another force for him. Both arguments may be correct but the other holds more weight based on the text itself. With regards to the tragedy of Oedipus’ fate created by his own choice, it can be shown in how the Chorus of the play described Oedipus that he was a man who had his own power from his mental strength which resulted in his ability to be very cunning: You residents of Thebes, our native land, / look on this man, this Oedipus, the one who understood that celebrated riddle. / He was the most powerful of men. All citizens who witnessed this man’s wealth / were envious. Now what a surging tide of terrible disaster sweeps around him. (Sophocles 1805–1811) The Chorus described Oedipus as having feats that he alone did without the help of any other force or power—this would of course show that Oedipus’ total worth as a character and individual was not just created by the Olympian gods alone. Oedipus also had a hand in the making of his own totality as a person. Thus, his characteristics which lead to his â€Å"crimes† were the culmination of all these characteristics. For example, he is cunning and that is why he was able to defeat his father in battle and he was able to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. Because of these two circumstances, he killed his father and he won the queen of the city who is his mother. Apollo merely prophesised Oedipus’ fate—the sun god did not provide the weapon which would kill Oedipus nor did he provide the answer to the riddle. Thus, Oedipus was able to the things he has done based on his own judgement and discernment as a person. On the other hand, the premise that Oedipus is the victim of the tragedy of fate manufactured by the Olympian gods still holds more weight compared to whether he is a victim of his own misplaced judgements and actions. This can be proven by the following lines delivered by the Chorus of the play: In everything / our loftiest traditions consecrate, those laws engendered in the heavenly skies, / whose only father is Olympus. They were not born from mortal men, / nor will they sleep and be forgotten. In them lives an ageless mighty god. (Sophocles 1034-1040) The lines explain that men’s laws and the traditions that they exalt, whether good or bad and advantageous or remiss, is created by the heavens. Therefore, men are but putty in the hands of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Whatever human beings do, it is determined already by the hands of the gods. If this supposition is correct, it just means that Oedipus’ entire life was created by the gods and it is up to the gods on how his life will end; even if the Queen Jocasta believes otherwise: â€Å"Fear? What should a man fear? It’s all chance, chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to live at random, best we can† (Sophocles 1068–1078). When the queen declared such judgement, she was not able to consider that even if chance rules humanity’s lives; chance is also something which the heavens also control. Though men make decisions in certain circumstances, those circumstances were also created by pre-determined fate: Oedipus had to be there at the exact same time his father was at the crossroads; Oedipus had to take the path going to Thebes; Oedipus had to solve the riddle by the Sphinx, etc. Thus, although Oedipus can make his own decisions which lead to his tragic fate, his tragic fate was already determined by his hands not his own. It was determined, based on the Greek mythologies, by the Fates. Works Cited Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Ontario: General Publishing, Ltd. , 1991.

Social and Economic Impact of Tuberculosis

Social and Economic Impact of Tuberculosis Introduction Overview Tuberculosis is a common and infectious communicable disease that is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is of two principle kinds: pulmonary TB, which usually attacks the lungs, and extra-pulmonary TB, which attacks any part of the body, such as: the lymphatic, pleural, bone and/or joint, genitourinary, miliary, peritoneal, meninges and/or central nervous system (CNS), and all other sites combined. Pulmonary TB sometimes combined with extra pulmonary tuberculosis (Parimon, 2008; Sreeramareddy et al., 2008; Friedman, 2001). Tuberculosis is spread in form of droplets which are expelled when the infected persons cough, sneeze, speak, or sing. Close, prolonged, frequent, or intense contacts are the main ways that leads to 22% of the infection rate. Other resources include: foreign-born from areas where TB is common, residents and employees living in plagued congregate settings, health care workers who serve severely infected clients, low-income populations, highly inflicted racial or ethnic minority populations, children exposed to severely infected adults, and persons who inject illicit drugs. Extra pulmonary TB that occurs outside the lungs may spread through lymphatic or hematogenous dissemination to any tract or through coughing and swallowing to the gastrointestinal tract. Such a type of bacteria may remain dormant for years at a particular site before causing the disease. Since extra pulmonary TB can affect virtually all organs, it has a wide variety of clinical manifestations. A matter which causes difficulty and delay in its diagnosis (Mehta, 1991; Gonzalez et al., 2003). Though, it is said to be more often diagnosed in women and young patients (Rieder et al., 1990; Gonzalez et al., 2003; Yang et al., 2004; Noertjojo et al., 2002; Cowie and Sharpe, 1997; Antony et al., 1995; Chan-Yeung et al.,2002). In the United States, extra pulmonary TB is associated with ethnic minorities and with those born in other countries (Rieder et al., 1990) while in Asia, lymphatic TB occupies the front position of the risky infectious diseases (Cowie and Sharpe, 1997, 1998; Moudgil and Leitch, 1994; Nisar et al., 1991; Ormerod, et al., 1991). A study of Somali TB patients in Minnesota showed frequent lymphatic TB as well (Kempainen, et al., 2001). In HIV-infected patients, the frequency of extra pulmonary TB depends on the degree of decrease in cellular immunity (Huebner and Castro, 1995; Barnes, et.al., 1991). While in patients with

Ernest Hemingways Life and Image :: History

Ernest Hemingway's Life and Image Ernest Hemingway was born on a July morning in 1899. Born at home in Oak Park, he was raised a conservative with strong values. While his father taught him to hunt and fish, his mother taught him music, her former profession. Though his mother’s music lessons helped him throughout his life, he didn’t particularly enjoy the lessons and spent as much time in the woods as he could manage. Nature became Hemingway’s world, the place where he could go and pull from it the essence of his writing. No matter what happened in his life he could always find refuge in a quiet meadow or a lulling forest. Inspired by nature, Hemingway used it to form a force that became both a backing and almost a character in his books, that would speak to a reader and tell them that a story wasn’t over, simply because it never truly ends. People look back at Hemingway’s life as if it was one of his novels. He is not seen as a writer but as a personage of writing. At a young age of 18, in 1917, Hemingway enlisted as an ambulance driver in World War I, after quitting his job at the Kansas City Star. Hemingway didn’t make it three weeks into his service. While in Schio, Italy, he was injured by an exploding mortar, perforating his legs with shrapnel. In spite of this, it is said that he carried a wounded Italian to a first aid station; this earned him an Italian Silver Medal. For the next year, Hemingway used his insurance from the war to avoid work. He would spend his time at the library or speaking about the war. Eventually he met Harriett Connable while speaking, who saw Hemingway’s confidence and control. Connable asked him to tutor her son. He accepted, as her husband introduced Hemingway to the editor of the Toronto Star Weekly, who he wrote for even when he moved to Paris. While in Paris he covered the Geneva Conference, and the Greco-Turkish War. Hemingway and his first wife Hadley moved back to Toronto though, when she became pregnant. In 1925, two years after his son John was born, Hemingway wrote In Our Time, and a year later The Sun Also Rises. These two novels were great successes, and led to his Farewell to Arms, which is considered by many a paramount to all World War I novels.

Euthanasia and Religion Essay -- Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia and Religion      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the world today, medical technology is so advanced that a terminally ill patient can be kept alive for months or even years - sometimes against the will of the patient. When did suicide become a sin, and who decided that it was? "Opinion polls consistently show a majority of people professing all varieties of faiths support a change in the law for voluntary euthanasia. Even amongst Roman Catholics, more people support euthanasia than oppose (a poll in Scotland showed over 50% support), in spite of the church's opposition" (Religion and the Right to Die 1). And still in the United States assisted suicide is illegal in all but one state, Oregon.    "Official church policies usually oppose euthanasia. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest single funder opposed to euthanasia. It invests more money in its fight against euthanasia than all the combined resources of right to die societies around the world many times over" (R&RD 1).    In today's society, few churches prohibit passive euthanasia - where the patient refuses treatment or medication. The Evangelicals, Islam and the Mormon Church are faiths that restrict any type of euthanasia - passive, active or voluntary and involuntary. The most liberal of faiths Episcopalian, Unitarian, Methodist, Presbyterian and Quakers allow at least individual decision making in the choice for active euthanasia, as do the Hindu and Sikh religions. "Suicide (self-deliverance) is accepted by a number of faiths. There is the Jaina ethic of voluntary death through fasting. It is often thought that the Roman Catholic Church absolutely prohibits suicide, but Catholic theologians have confirmed that the prohibition, whilst being the Vatican's current ... ... would make if I were faced with the issue.    In my opinion, euthanasia is a moral grace to end the pain and suffering of terminal illness.          WORKS CITED Pavon, Father Frank "Brief Reflections on Euthanasia" April 2, 2001   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/euthrefl.html.>  Ã‚   1- 8.    Euthanasia: The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, April 2, 2001   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/e/euthanas.htm.  Ã‚   1-4 Euthanasia. April 1, 2001 http://islam.org/Science/euthanas.htm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1-3.    Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: "All Sides of the Issue" April 2, 2001   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm.  Ã‚   1-17.    Religion and the Right to Die. March 22, 2001.   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.euthanasia.org/religion.html   1-4 Roy, Vance. Personal Interview, April 15, 2001. Via Internet email.

John Keats’ “Lamia” and The Romantic Era Essay

The Romantic era, which was the period of time following the Enlightenment, existed to eradicate the idea that innovation, produced from research and reason, was the basis for truth. Writers of the Romantic era, such as John Keats, believed that imagination, not rationalization, was the foundation truth was built upon. Of this Keats says, â€Å"The Imagination may be compared to Adam’s dream–He awoke and found it truth† (Rodriguez, Keats, 49). Even though the duration of his life was lacking, Keats must have recognized that some deductions and philosophies had a profound affect on the world. In one of his later poems, Lamia, Keats addresses this question of truth and its application to his concept of Negative Capability. It is from Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy that Keats forms the plot of Lamia (Stillinger, 359). A young man Lycius falls in love with the beautiful Lamia, whose body has been transformed from that of a serpent to that of a woman. Lamia, with little effort, convinces Lycius to flee with her to an enchanted palace, where they live and love happily until they decide to marry. At their marriage banquet Lamia withers and dies, as Apollonius, Lycius’ â€Å"sage† and â€Å"trusty guide† (II-375), is able to see through her illusion. Lycius also dies, his â€Å"arms were empty of delight† (II-307), as his dream is also shattered. Keats multifaceted concept of Negative Capability is best understood as the following: â€Å"that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.† (Rodriguez, Keats, 40) Directed to a colleague, and perhaps an extension of the previous idea Keats says: â€Å"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart’s affections and the truth of Imagination–What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth–whether it existed before or not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Rodriguez, Keats, 48) If imagination is as Adam awoke to find the truth, and beauty is truth and truth is beauty, then Lamia is both beautiful and true. Although the narrator describes her attractive physical qualities as both a serpent and a maid, Lamia is as she imagines herself, which is how she’d like Lycius to imagine her. Regarding Lycius, Lamia â€Å"won his heart More pleasantly by playing woman’s part† (I-336-337). Toward the end of the poem, when Apollonius accuses Lamia of being a serpent, her human body starts to deteriorate, as she acknowledges his view. Apollonius, the â€Å"good instructor,† â€Å"robed in philosophic gown† (I-365), embodies all that Keats’ Negative Capability is working against–the things â€Å"known for truth by consequitive reasoning† (Rodriguez, Keats, 51) instead of imagination. Lycius also, in questioning Lamia, â€Å"Sure some sweet name thou hast† (II-85), â€Å"Hast any mortal name† (II-88), prov es his own susceptibility to the narrow truth of rationale. Although Lamia begins to wither under Apollonius’ stare, it is only when Lycius considers his teacher’s thoughts as truth, that she is actually destroyed. In attempting to define and confine Lamia’s nature to their record of common things, they destroy her imagination–her own perceptions on beauty and truth, â€Å"Do not all charms fly at the mere touch of cold philosophy† (II-229-230)? The dream that was Lamia’s, the reason for her to become a woman, was Lycius, the young Corinthian she was in love with. When Apollonius inflicts his philosophy on Lamia, her dream is destroyed, and with it Lycius.

Pressco Case Study Essay

In reviewing the proposal presented by Pressco, Inc. to provide new mechanical drying equipment at a cost of $2.9 million I have considered the cash flow implications of the purchase in terms of present value of the investment and estimated resulting savings, as well as possible alternatives to purchase, and the current political climate as it affects the business issues of taxation and energy policy. Following this review, it is my recommendation that we enter into a contract for the purchase of the equipment in question before the end of the year for the following reasons. Currently, our tax rate is not particularly favorable. We have experienced some small reductions in the late 1970’s, however the introduction of Supply-Side economics into mainstream policy indicates more favorable rates as rumored are on the horizon, making this a better time to spend money and reduce our taxable income. The projected cost savings will not begin until we are likely to be benefitting from a more favorable tax rate, letting us make more money when it costs us less in terms of taxation. We are spending when spending is cheaper and making more money when making money is cheaper as well. I have provided additional detail on the options and my rationale below. Assessment of Investment Cash Flows: Assuming purchase of the equipment for cash, at a total cost of $2.9 million, there are several possible scenarios to consider: tax and depreciation rates remaining as they are or changing and the loss or continuation of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Without providing an excess of detail here, those scenarios include: a possible tax rate decrease from the current level of 46% to 34%, possible extension of depreciation to 7 years, and the possible repeal for the ITC tax credit, as well as the possibility of â€Å"Grandfathering† the last two options. Additional detail on these calculations and the possible permutations considered is available in Appendix A. To summarize my findings, purchase options resulted in net present values ranging from $1.4 million to $1.9 million for a return on our investment over the next 10 years. Assessing the likelihood of each option and assigning weight to each possibility is an inexact science, but I believe it in unlikely that in the current political climate we will not see both a reduction in the tax rate and an increase in the length of time over which we are required to depreciate capital assets. I have assigned weights  to each option with this in mind, and have come up with an average weighted estimate of the net present value of the investment of: $1.7 million. Alternatives to Purchase: As opposed to purchasing new equipment, we could opt to maintain the equipment we currently have, which has an estimated service life of 11 years remaining. We could retain all of our claimed Investment Tax Credit for this purchase, which has two years of depreciation left, and would not be required to invest in any new training for our employees. We would recognize $31,000 in depreciation in present value terms, as well as save an estimated $200,000 in training costs and losses due to lower production during the â€Å"learning curve†. I estimate these savings to be approximately one month of payroll to include both the time spent on training, and our reduced production as employees learn how to use the new equipment. Additional detail of this option is provided in Appendix B, C, & D. In conjunction with keeping the existing equipment, we would have the opportunity to make a different investment with the $2.9 million. Current Taxation Environment: The current Congress and Presidential administration have made a number of changes to the business environment through taxation and associated regulations in the past several years. As such, it is important to consider as many likely and reasonable options as possible when evaluating the effects of taxes on capital purchases. With the election of President Regan, the previously more fringe notion of Supply-Side Economics has begun to be implemented, starting first with the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which in addition to other business incentives, accelerated depreciation for capital expenditures to 5 years. This provision was repealed the following year as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. We saw the back & forth over reducing tax rates and providing spending incentives to businesses again with the failed Tax Reform Act of 1983 which ultimately was rolled into the Tax Reform Act of 1984. It has become clear that the one thing we do know about the future situation of business tax is uncertain. Because of the strong bias of the current Presidential administration towards lowering tax rates, I believe that it is likely we will experience a certain degree of relief in that area. However, it is more important than  ever at this time that we not depend to heavily on benefits derived from more favorable tax treatment. As such, it is in our interest to also determine if a given project will produce a positive financial result, even in less favorable taxation scenarios. Fuel Efficiency Considerations: Of the $560,000/year savings Pressco, Inc. has estimated we will enjoy as a result of purchasing their equipment, $360,000 (or 64%) is allocated to fuel-efficiency. Therefore, we must closely examine the current climate surrounding fuel efficiency. There are two components to considering the effect of fuel economy: the possibility of future tax incentives and/or penalties for fuel efficiency in manufacturing, and the price of fuel. The most likely scenario for tax incentives to increase fuel efficiency will be in the form of credits for purchases, which through buying now we will likely not be able to take advantage of. Penalties for higher fuel consumption may be levied at a point in the not-too-distant future as the Federal Government strives to both more comprehensively address environmental concerns, and regulate the price of fuel. We saw both of these in The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, and with the Highway Revenue Act of 1982, which temporarily increased the gaso line excise tax by $0.05 (an increase from $0.04 to $0.09). The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 established reserves of crude oil and gave the President the authority to order maximum domestic production as well as rationing and conservation measures in times of crisis. This is important because these measures are clear indicators of the interest the Federal Government is taking in reducing and stabilizing fuel prices. When looking at the history of fuel prices, I see that we are in a period of unusually high prices. It is of critical importance that we evaluate the likelihood of prices remaining this high for the life of the equipment in order to consider how much of the $360,000/year savings is credible in the long-term. From 1948 through the 1960’s, the price of crude oil was fairly consistent with the price of inflation, but in 1973 as a result of the oil embargo, crude oil prices increased four-fold. Prices remained fairly stable at this level through the rest of the decade, increasing three-and-a-half-fold again with the war in Iran again disrupting production. Most recently, OPEC has been  unsuccessful in setting production quotas low enough to stabilize prices, and they have again begun to drop. While we cannot expect prices to drop back to their 1971 levels, it is wise to examine the effect of lowered fuel prices on the overall investment value. Reducing the savings attributed to fuel efficiency by 25% ($270,000/year) reduces the weighted average net present value of the investment to $1.5 million, and reducing those savings brings the net present value to $1.2 million. Still arguably viable, but less attractive. See Appendix E & F for additional detail. Conclusion: While the savings proposed by Pressco, Inc. may not be as great as anticipated by their marketing representative, we are still in a strong position to make this purchase with cash available and take advantage of the cost savings. Even if the savings attributed to fuel efficiency are  ½ of what is projected, the equipment will still provide an investment value of over $1 million in excess of the purchase price. Additionally, even if our tax rate were to stay the same, we would continue to realize financial benefits, making this investment one that is based o more than mere speculation or salesmanship.

Academic Honesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Academic Honesty - Essay Example This means that plagiarism is the act of copying an submitting the work of another author and claiming the work to be the efforts of the person who is submitting the work and not giving any credit to the author who had originally authored that piece of work. One of the most modern ways of detecting plagiarism is the use of plagiarism checking applications such as Turnitin. When using this software, the teacher submits the work on the website of Turnitin and the website compares the work from various academic and internet databases for similar content that have been submitted by some other individual. According to Green one of the consequences of plagiarism is that â€Å"it is the breach of faith in the social contract between the reader and the writer† (Green, 2008, p.112). Furthermore, students who indulge in plagiarism may have to suffer severe consequences such as being graded as failed in a particular subject or course and may even be expelled from their educational instit ute. One of the way through which plagiarism can be avoided is that the writer gives credit to the original author of the content through the use of references. Another way is that the writer paraphrases the content while giving credit to the original author. I promise that throughout my educational period as well as professional life, I will never indulge in the act of plagiarism and any form of academic

Design a pay structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Design a pay structure - Essay Example The three main compensable factors that are identified are responsibility, Skill, and effort with each compensable factor having two sub-factors or degrees (Burke, 2008). For instance, the skill factor is made up of educational and technical know-how. Responsibility is made up of impact of the job and scope of control. Effort is made up of the degree of solving problems and how complex tasks are. Outliers ought to be done away with since the will not offer representativeness for the sample (Armstrong, 2002). This implies that the will be extreme data points that need to be taken consideration of in a separate manner. Therefore, in the present data set, there is no extreme outliers that need to be taken concern of. The base bay weighted means will be computed for every benchmarked job. Weighted means will be computed to represent the market data well (Milkovich & Newman, 2008. The simple mean will be computed by summing up the base pay rates and then subsequently dividing them by the total number of organizations, which are a total of six in the present case. The large and small companies in this case will be given the same weights since we are using a simple mean. The weighted mean is good since it offers equal weight for every incumbents wage, job and hence it qualifies as a representative (Burke, 2008). To establish the weighted average base the following is used to come up with the weighted average pay for front desk receptionist job where there are nine job in office in all the six companies. (1/9 X2100) + (2/9 X 2200) + (1/9 X 1800) + ()2/9 X 18500) + (1/9 X 17500)=$19944.44 To come up with the given pay rates provide a three percent pay tactic across the families of jobs. Excel was used to multiply the pay rates that were predicted for every benchmark job (Burke, 2008). The benchmark jobs were multiplied by 1.03. The computations came up with pay rates that were

Genetics and Criminal Behavior Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetics and Criminal Behavior - Research Paper Example If for instance a person is proved to be genetically predisposed to criminal behaviour, they can be given intervention therapy to help them not to end up in crime. This would be like knowing that someone is about to get some disease and intervening before they actually get the disease. It would work as a way to immunize the person from criminal behaviour by helping them to be able to recognise their won weaknesses and how to overcome them. The second way in which this kind of approach to criminology can be useful in the prevention of crime is by helping the criminals to be able to pin point criminals long before they commit any crime (Connor, 1995). Not only would it be able to help in preventing crime, it would also be able to help in situations where investigations of already committed crime are being carried out. This would help in identifying suspects in a much easier way and being able to carry out investigations in an effective way. There are various cases where genetics have been seen to be a cause for criminal behaviour. A good example of this is the Jared Lee Loughner case in which Jared Lee Loughner went on a shooting spree where he killed six people and injured numerous others (Denno, 2011). His defence counsel asked that a forensic psychiatrist carry out an assessment of the suspect. William Bernet, a psychiatrist carried out an assessment of the suspect and concluded that he had a rare mental condition, m onoamine oxidase which would predispose him to violent actions. The lawyers were able to prove that the suspect did not carry out the criminal act of his own will but that he was genetically predisposed to do the same. The above case also proves that using behavioural genetics can be useful in the justice system in making sure that justice is served in the best way possible. Failing to do so will mean that the people will not be able to get full

Geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Geography - Essay Example ch has focused on so-called transitions or changes in the population’s death rates and birth rates, as they pertain to populations in the industrialized world, stretching back two centuries. The model has four stages: stage 1, known as the pre-modern stage; stage 2, or the urbanizing/industrializing stage; stage 3, or the mature industrial stage; and stage 4, or the post-industrial stage. The early stages are characterized by high CBR and high CDR figures, at around 35-40 for every thousand. At stage four, or the post-industrial stage, the population is at its highest, even as CBR and CDR figures are at their lowest, at around 10 for every thousand people. In the model, the CBR and CDR figures trend downwards slowly from stage 1 to stage 2, but the downwards trend accelerates at stage 3, until the figures plateu at stage 4, at the levels described above, around 10 for every 1,000 population. The stages of the model, and the CDR, CBR, and population figures for every stage, are identified and plotted in this graph by way of illustration (Montgomery; Lee 167-190; Galor 1-10): In the plot above, the large population at stage 4 and the low CBR and CDR figures there are graphically illustrated. In the first stage, the birth and death rates are similar, with CBR being only fractionally larger than CDR, so that the population was almost static, and population doubling was measured in thousands of years. Stage One is characterized by high levels of infant mortality, from poor hygiene that resulted in many diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. With the advent of industrialization and urbanization. Medicine was also archaic at that time, with knowledge on disease management and prevention being basic or unavailable altogether, and the threat of hunger from famines eventually coming to pass. The high death rates countered the effect of high birth rates, or CBR, at this stage (Montgomery; Lee 167-190; Galor 1-10). In the industrialization and urbanization stage, or stage

Jesus Christ Teachings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jesus Christ Teachings - Essay Example But I have never hated anyone for a long period of time. I am a human being who like everyone has weaknesses. If I find someone being rude to me without any reason or showing hostility with no apparent cause, I experience an instantaneous rise of hatred in me. But after some time I am able to overcome it. There are many reasons for me believing in the teaching of forgiveness. I have come across so many researchers in the field of medicine which suggests that emotions such as hatred, depression, self-pity, and hostility are extremely destructive to one’s body. The root of many such abnormalities is being unforgiving. An anger which arises instantaneously isn’t harmful but holding grudges and seeking revenge is something which destroys one’s peace of mind. Peace of mind is inextricably linked to the well-being of the body. When the mind is happy and peaceful, the body undergoes a healing process. The nerves get their proper rest, breathing is harmonious and hormonal balance is perfect. On the contrary unforgiving nature leads to resentment, grudges and other destructive emotions which harm the body. There was an event in my life where I had a fight with one of my friends. It wasn’t a physical scuffle but a verbal spat. Our friendship hit rock bottom and we didn’t speak to each other for many months. But even after the fight and being of the opinion that the fault was his, I never held any animosity against him. He, on the other hand, did not forgive me. He began to devise schemes about bringing me down or humiliating me. But I could see that he had lost his peace of mind and all his tricks were causing harm to him. He started to lose other friends also because of his this attitude. After a few months, I persuaded him to come out of his hatred and become friends with me again.  

Population of China and Gender Imbalance Essay Example for Free

Population of China and Gender Imbalance Essay Chinas one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit Chinas population growth. It was designated as a temporary measure, to limit couples to just one child. Those who fail to follow the law are subjected to fines, pressures to do abortion, and forced sterilization. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious program of market reform following the stagnation of the economy after the Cultural Revolution. At the time, China was home to a quarter of the worlds people, who were occupying just 7 percent of worlds arable land. Two thirds of the population was under the age of 30 years, and the baby boomers of the 1950s and 1960s were entering their reproductive years. The government saw strict population containment as essential to economic reform and to an improvement in living standards. So the one-child family policy was introduced. The policy consists of a set of regulations governing the approved size of Chinese families. These regulations include restrictions on family size, late marriage and childbearing, and the spacing of children (in cases in which second children are permitted). The State Family Planning Bureau sets the overall targets and policy direction. Family-planning committees at provincial and county levels devise local strategies for implementation. Despite its name, the one-child rule applies to a minority of the population; for urban residents and government employees, the policy is strictly enforced, with few exceptions. The exceptions include families in which the first child has a disability or both parents work in high-risk occupations (such as mining) or are themselves from one-child families (in some areas). The policy has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1. 3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years of existence. However, this rule has caused a bias against female infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide have been known to occur to female infants. The use of IUDs, sterilization, and abortion are Chinas most popular forms of birth control. However, over the past few years, China has provided more education and support for alternative birth control methods. This shift in focus on implementing this family planning policy was partly in reaction to what happened in 2007 when there were reports that in the southwestern Guangxi Autonomous Region of China, officials were forcing pregnant women without permission to give birth to have abortions and levying steep fines on families violating the law. As a result, riots broke out and some population control officials may have been killed. The result of such family planning policy has resulted in the disparate ratio of 114 males for every 100 females among babies from birth through children four years of age. Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females. When the Chinese government introduced the policy in 1979 to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China, authorities claim that the policy has prevented 250 million births from its implementation to 2000. However, the policy is controversial both within and outside China because of the manner in which the policy has been implemented, and because of concerns about negative economic and social consequences. The policy has been implicated in an increase in of forced abortions and female infanticide, and has been suggested as a possible cause behind Chinas significant gender imbalance. Despite these negative reports, favorable feedback from this policy is heard from the families themselves. Since the introduction of the one-child policy, the total fertility rate in China has fallen from over two births per woman to approximately 1. 7 births today. In total, China estimates that it has three to four hundred million fewer people today, with the one-child policy, than it would have had otherwise. The reduction in the fertility rate and thus population growth has reduced the severity of problems that come with overpopulation, like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services (such as health, education, law enforcement), and strain on the ecosystem from abuse of fertile land and production of high volumes of waste. Another favorable feedback as a result of this policy is that it is reported that the focus of China on population control helps provide a better health service for women and a reduction in the risks of death and injury associated with pregnancy. Increased involvement of women in the labor force is also another positive feedback. Women have traditionally been the primary caregivers for children; however, with fewer children, they have more time to invest in their careers, increasing both their personal earnings and the national GDP. Another feedback that appeals to environmentalists is that, with the policy, there is decreased environmental impact. Chinas one child policy has the indirect consequence of reducing Chinas total ecological footprint and thus reducing strain on ecological resources. Despite these successes, however, the one-child only policy draws criticisms from many quarters. First, the one-child policy has been criticized by human rights advocacy groups and Western religious groups, including some evangelical Christians, as well as by pro-life advocates. Within China, criticism tends to be focused on potential social problems caused by the policy. A second type of criticism has come from those who acknowledge the challenges stemming from Chinas high population growth but believe that less intrusive options could have achieved the same results over an extended period of time. One very important concern was the human rights factor. The one-child policy is challenged in principle and in practice over violating basic human rights. Reported abuses in its enforcement include bribery, coercion, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and possibly infanticide. Even though in 2002, China outlawed the use of physical force to make a woman submit to an abortion or sterilization, it is not entirely enforced. In the execution of the policy many local governments still demand abortions if the pregnancy violates local regulations. Some critics also point to the possible economic and emotional costs the policy may bring to the people. As the one-child policy begins to near its next generation, one adult child is left with having to provide support for his or her two parents and four grandparents. This leaves the older generation with more of a dependency on retirement funds or charity, rather than their children in order to have support. If a child cannot care for their parents and grandparents, or if that child cannot survive, the oldest generation could find itself destitute. Another social problem seen is when some parents may over-indulge their only-child. The media referred to the indulged children in one-child families as little emperors. Since the 1990s, some people worry this will result in a higher tendency toward poor social communication and cooperation skills among the new generation, as they have no siblings at home. One important focus among sociologists is the issue of gender imbalance. China, like many other Asian countries, has a long tradition of son preference. Many argue that the one-child policy induces many families to use selective abortion, abandon female infants, and even kill female infants under the influence of the son preference. Some families even kill or starve the female infant and then try again for a male child. The commonly accepted explanation for son preference is that sons in rural families may be thought to be more helpful in farm work. Sons are preferred as they provide the primary financial support for the parents in their retirement, and a sons parents typically are better cared for than his wifes. In addition, Chinese traditionally view that daughters, on their marriage, become primarily part of the grooms family. Becaue of this gender bias the sex ratio at birth (between male and female births) in mainland China reached 117:100 in the year 2000, substantially higher than the natural baseline, which ranges between 103:100 and 107:100. It had risen from 108:100 in 1981 at the boundary of the natural baseline to 111:100 in 1990. According to a report by the State Population and Family Planning Commission, there will be 30 million more men than women in 2020, potentially leading to social instability. The correlation between the increase of sex ratio disparity on birth and the deployment of one child policy would appear to have been caused by the one-child policy.