Freedom: Political Philosophy and Current Societal Setting Essay

In our current societal setting we, as citizens, are essentially free. Many people have differing opinions as to what this freedom should entail. Americans have always stood their ground in the fight for liberties and privileges, both civil and personal, which we feel are deserved. This is a continuing scenario as cultural progression opens new doors for a variety of people. Many have written in the past concerning this topic. These writings are transcendent through time and are still applicable today. One noteworthy author who discusses freedom being Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau’s writings focus on the defining of what freedom is, how to acquire it and how to maintain that freedom once it is achieved. Countless times these works have been used as reference to help people make a more solid decision as to their own definition of freedom. I will be using these works to discuss my own views concerning this subject and how society today is affected by these different scenarios. Freedom can be defined in different ways by different people depending on their personal experiences and beliefs. Most people will agree that our society offers a freedom which is acceptable for comfort in their daily lives. Yet there are others who will note the underlying causes of restriction within our given rules and regulations. Our laws are given with the intent of protection of our fellow citizens and maintenance of peace. Many of these laws can be defined as upholding morality such as those stating that murder or thievery are wrong. Others are more susceptible to circumstance such as traffic laws. The latter may be considered by many as an infringement of personal rights and an annoyance. We are subjected to these rules by others who hold positions of power and many may feel their opinions are neglected when these are put into place. Even though the majority of these laws can be agreed upon as being right, we must obey those we do not agree with as well or face the consequences. Commonly debated laws include the legalization of controlled substances and restrictions of medical practices, such as abortion. According to Rousseau, â€Å"Just as the shepherd is superior in kind to his sheep, so, too, the shepherds of men, or, in other words, their rulers, are superior in kind to the peoples. † (Rousseau 60) I believe this to mean that only a select few are given the opportunity to actually instate certain regulations, while the citizens may or may not agree with them. This would be a definite violation of the peoples’ collective rights. Often times, people will follow these rules anyways in order to avoid the persecution that may accompany fighting against them. Others choose to take the opposite approach and make a stand against whatever power may be enforcing these unjust laws, regardless of consequence. People have, in the past, been able to make great changes by putting in the work necessary to accomplish this. In turn, many doors have been opened for groups that would have otherwise been denied. Rousseau also states, â€Å"Obey the powers that be†¦ no case will ever be found of its violation. † (Rousseau 62) As most laws do provide a sort of security for the general public, I feel that some sacrifices or annoyances are bearable and necessary. Achieving an ideal state in society is a difficult task and as a member of this society it is my responsibility to think of the needs of others regardless of my own preferences. The rules that are in place are there for good reason and ensure that other, more necessary freedoms are not violated. Often times in our society, the luxuries given are taken for granted. Many other nations are subject to difficulties and atrocities which the majority of us simply cannot relate to. It can sometimes be difficult to look past what we have in the way of rights and privileges. Also, for us to be free it is not enough that no one stops me from doing something I want to do. I must also have the means to do that. Even if no law prevents me from doing something, should I be unable to act in the chosen way because I lack the necessary education or resources? Certain laws such as taxes and fees for government processes are devised in such a way as to eventually come full circle and direct the benefits back to us. Many don’t agree with these certain taxations despite what was previously mentioned. Our roads, parks and other public works are a perfect example of what these laws provide for us. Laws such as these are necessary for the upstart and maintenance of comfortable living in our communities. It needs to be understood that we, as a nation, have such a great opportunity that many other nations and people in this world can only imagine. We must be careful not to let our freedom slip away as a result of that freedom being taken for granted.

The Good Woman of Setzguan Brecht

Tee's forced choice to become Shush Ta underscores the impossibility of good and veil's coexistence. Through Sheen Tee's exploitation by the family and the unemployed man and through the extravagant demands Of many Of her acquaintances, the playwright argues the selfishness and nonchalance which infect people's public relations, creating an ominous environment for good to exist in. Hence, he provides Sheen Et with a male self to supply her with characteristics acceptable for the masculine gender such s forcefulness, aggressiveness and determination, impressively succeeding in good and veil's parallel existence.Undoubtedly, the writer equips Sheen Et with the indispensable weapons – on Shush Tat's character – to survive society's cruelty while protecting her humanity, goodness and generosity – on her real character. Further in the play, Breech brings out love's obliteration within a selfish world through a woman's hopeless attempts to conceal her loving feelings a nd the pain of betrayal behind the mask of a powerful man. Yang Son's separate attempt to use Sheen Tee's love for the attainment of his dreams boldly shows the estrangement and inhumanity of the capitalistic society.On top of that, the confection of Shush Tat's character deftly highlights how much the emotional and sensitive disposition of the feminine belies the non- emotional and tough-skinned disposition of the masculine. Admittedly, Breech stirs the audience up by roughly displaying the protagonist fighting her own male creation, fragmented between her love and her need to resist manipulation and society's immense hypocrisy. Furthermore, Sheen Et making use of her male â€Å"other†, assures herself financially constructing a lucrative business which helps her through a rapacious society.The protagonist appears as a former prostitute, pregnant, in need of money and with her power doomed in a stupor by society taboos. Thus, she adopts a split personality to gain the determ ination and social approval which allow her to work and secure her family. As we can easily perceive, Shush Ta is the â€Å"means† to achieve two genders' coexistence despite their incompatible complexions and to display women's inferior position in he area of employment – causing them insuperable hardships – due to society stereotypes regarding their identity,.To conclude, Breech, through his ingenuity to create Sheen Tee's male â€Å"other†, not only underscores love and good's non-existence in a capitalistic and debased world, but also displays society discriminations against women who – cruelly oppressing their own nature – masculine themselves to survive. Undoubtedly, the playwright remarkably provokes audience and reader roughly revealing an appalling capitalism, unable to satisfy any kind of love, benevolence and justice.

The Most Interesting Dream I’Ve Ever Had

THE MOST INTERESTING DREAM I'VE EVER HAD How many times did you ever dream of something so amazing that it's painful for you to wake up? How many times have your dreams surpassed your reality? when our eyelids are heavy and midnight hush falls upon us, we never know what corners of our life and or dream will drift off to, I usually remember my dreams vividly; Sometimes they are totally waked out.My dreams often take place in an alternate reality in which I'm the only constant and every one else is unfamiliar but often I'm able to make into some meanings behind them. A while ago I experienced which might just prove to be THE MOST INTERESTING DREAM I'VE EVER HAD, I dreamed that I was in my car we where going to the home; in our way I saw a poor old lady†¦ well she was begging for money. I don't know why I jumped of the car, pulled her to the see and tried to drown her, but she survived.When I got off the sea, I saw cameras' all around me†¦ and an interviewer man coming toward s me, he was asking me â€Å"HOW DID YOU DO IT? â€Å", and I was like â€Å"DO WHAT? † the only thing I remember is that they where so proud of me! After a while, I saw the same poor, old lady that I've tried to drown coming towards me holding a knife, I thought to my self â€Å"I'M GONNA DIE† . As she came closer†¦ I just move one step backward until she reached me and was going to kill me! but then two bodyguards came and stopped her.First I didn't know why they stopped her but then I discovered that I was paid million of Dollars because I've tried to drown that lady! I was so happy when I knew that†¦ I was so excited ! but then I woke up and knew it was just a dream! it was the most interesting dream I've ever had because it's like doing something bad and getting a prize for it. This moment probably ensured a few seconds as it flashed through the neutrons of my brain, but the memory of it may last for a life time !

Case Study 1 - international marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study 1 - international marketing - Essay Example They then seek out characteristics, such as prestige-oriented attitudes or general lifestyle, and then develop advertising and integrated communications strategies to meet these needs. It is segmentation and then response to market identification using language that would be accepted by these groups. Divide and conquer segments â€Å"must be revisited to ensure relevance† (Schwarz, 2007, p.1). Question 2 This paradox fits into Acer’s strategy as it is recognized that global markets are products and local markets are people. There is no standardized method of achieving marketing success due to the fact that people across the globe, even if they have similar demographic traits, will not have the same buying behaviors. Businesses that believe they can use standardized advertising and communications principles are engaging in paradoxical thinking (sagepub.com, 2007). Local markets can be easier identified with and segmented while global markets are more difficult to define. Acer spent a great deal of time learning Chinese buyer behaviors, such as feelings about product reputation, that helped standardize segmentation and ad strategies in this specific culture. Globally, however, Acer must adapt these principles to meet unique market needs.

The segmented labour market theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The segmented labour market theory - Essay Example It is evident from the study that there is a primary sector which produces jobs that have a secure tenure, good benefits, with better working conditions, while a secondary sector is full of instability, limited benefits, and hazardous working conditions with low pay. Thus, workers in industrialised nations do not want the secondary sector jobs, resulting in employers looking for recruits among immigrants to fill the rejected positions. This secondary sector has little mobility options that impact negatively on educational returns, skills, base and working experience as compared with nations. This has been evidenced by educated Mexicans with skills who have migrated internally rather than into the United States as immigrant labour thus this only changes during periods of financial crisis. The above theory can be related that throughout American history, the ambitious and unsatisfied always had an economic theme giving them reason to immigrate to another place. The first three countrie s of European settlement was evidenced by an outward mobility, i.e. getting immigrants to the continent, thereafter the frontier to develop it. After the disappearance of the frontier in the 19thC, foreign conquest continued for example acquisitions of places like Cuba, and the Philippines etc. Late 19thC i.e. from the late 1590s into 1960s due to industrialisation, internal mobility was witnessed i.e. from the rural areas to the cities beginning in the industrial worth then the South with health accumulation and plenty of white collar jobs, movements were from the cities into the suburbs. An aging population moved from the colder regions into the warmer climes. Creating attendant jobs in the construction, restaurants, retail and healthcare industries After the cold war, mobility has tended to stagnant as there has been a wide stagnation in the economic growth of the country. The previous decade witnessed the devaluation of most mortgages resulting in majority owning houses that are not worth the mortgage paid for initially. This segmented the country into the so-called I presenters against the 99ers. But in reality the segmentation has been into two classes: the immobile and mobile. This classification is due to the industrial vibrantly; in the 1870s young people want to Chicage, 1910s people want to Detroit while 1970s movement was to Housen. This were characterised by; cowboys, the auto industry and the oil industry. The cities had industries that could after both skilled and unskilled people ample work. Nowadays due to the decline in industrial activities, mobility tends to be zero. The tech industry still offers jobs to the highly skilled although recruitment in those high tech industries like Silicon Valley computers, Raleigh-Dusham-bio- tech research is global recruitment for people with specific skills (www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/.../adam-davidson-mobile-class.html) These high tech industries afford the mobile class good salaries and high bargaining po wer. The immobile class is constituted by citizens with less specialization; therefore the only jobs are the low paying ones in the declining auto-industry and green energy clusters. The difference in the immobile class now that most are educated to a degree level i.e. B.A. degree meaning a degree especially one not from the top universities does not guarantee a job, but rather with specific skills one has. This has coalesced graduates of mid level colleges into a pool defined into a secondary segment. It leaves problems

Philosiohy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Philosiohy - Essay Example Some philosophers on the other hand argue that physicality is not the only thing that matters in law, but metaphysical thoughts and ideas have a place in the legal system (Kant & Ladd, 2009). This paper argues that in the philosophical proposition that the legal system is purely empirical and based on physicality only is not true, and there is the need for legal minds to integrate elements and aspects of metaphysics to preserve justice. Justice reflects the concept of fairness and an attempt to provide some kind of equality as a means of bridging the gaps between two different parties making opposing claims (McMahon, 2010). Other authorities define justice as a concern for peace, fairness and equal treatment or respect for people. Justice refers to impartiality and the use of objective processes and systems to hand decisions on a case involving competing parties without prejudice but based on the facts at hand (Young, 2012). The fact that justice must be perpetrated through fair means and balanced means implies that justice must be carried out in a way and manner that is transparent and viewed by everyone as fair and equitable. Hence, the concept of justice has a connection to evenness and the conduct of affairs in a manner that all persons can see to be free of bias and prejudice. In that case, it can be said that justice must be perpetrated through the use of physically verifiable methods and systems. The term â€Å"physical† implies that something relates to a tangible process or procedure as opposed to a process that is rather mental or psychological (Kant & Ladd, 2009). This implies that in the court situation, there must be the provision of just and fair matters that can be perceived by all people in a physical way and manner. This is because justice is about the wider society viewing processes and judgments or

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Statute of 1970 Case Study

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Statute of 1970 - Case Study Example This paper highlights in-depth analysis of RICO including various ways of RICO being used, criticisms made by the civil libertarians and legal establishments. Additionally, it will analyze the expansion of RICO due to the Supreme Court cases. As mentioned before, much of the criminal procedure has been expanded due to the use of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act of 1970 (RICO). Defining the phrase "organized crime" used in RICO has proven to be somewhat indefinable. For example, it took twenty years to eliminate La Cosa Nostra. Its special strike forces were disbanded by the Justice Department in 1990 under RICO. The law RICO itself did not try to define the organized crime other than listing a number of crimes alleged to be committed by racketeers. Organized crime or racketeering is mostly defined by RICO in a manner of committing racketeering activity by a group or an individual as a part of an enterprise.1 It has blurred the lines amid the federal law enforcement and state. The expansion of the federal crime law has been introduced due to the attempts of federal bureaucrats and politicians to do something regarding the increased crime rates. Mostly to prevent the illegal use of drug in America and to punish people who are involved in so called "white-collar" crime. RICO was passed by the Congress in 1970 under the President Richard Nixon's 'crime bill.' However However, according to the federal prosecutors, RICO is a powerful tool that can be used against the business owners. For example, Rudy Guiliani, who prosecuted Michael Milken including other leading lights of the Wall Street in 1980's, rose to become one of the first mayors of the New York City and a public speaker who collected $75,000 on every speech, was involved in the earliest attempts to expand RICO to prosecute few of the private business figures. Despite the federal prosecutors, RICO has helped a little or not at all in stopping crimes like rape, murder, robbery etc. which was the major concern of the public in 1970's. It has only enabled the federal prosecutors to avoid the separation of constitutional powers amid the state and the national governments. Since RICO was introduced, the jurisdictional boundaries along with the federal law enforcement and state have been removed.2 On the other hand, there are a variety of RICO civil and criminal cases that have appealed for the reason that the statutes are conflicting with the fundamental constitutional protections. Most of the cases are focused on the First Amendment protections of speech and assembly plus the Sixth Amendment which concerns about the access to double threat and legal counsel. Cases in the First Amendment include the usage of RICO in obscenity trails. Main issues in this section are the use of forfeiture which involves a former restraint or rely on distantly strained obscenity statutes. It was the Meese Commission on Pornography of 1985 who supported the use of forfeiture so that obscenity from American society is eliminated permanently. But however, in the case of U.S. vs. Pryba (1988) the National Obscenity Enforcement Unit refused to the claim made not in favor of RICO. In some way, RICO reintroduced the criminal forfeitures

PTC PAPER Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PTC PAPER - Lab Report Example arbitrated by specialized cells which communicate with brain cells through sensory neurons (Williams, Peter & Glyns 18).The perception involves one binding of the taste molecule to a receptor which is particular on taste cell surface then, a generation of nerve impulse by the taste cell which is then interpreted by the brain. This was shown when strips containing coffee without sugar, and with the addition of sugar were tested. Ability of tasting PTC is influenced by an inherited component. A single gene which codes for the receptor taste on the tongue influences the ability to feel or not to taste PTC. The gene is called PTC gene or the TAS2R38 and is mapped to q- arm that is chromosome 7 in man, and its discovery was in 2003 (Leguebe 970). In existence, there are two main alleles of PTC gene and rare ones are five in number. The alleles are tasting allele and none tasting allele which both code for taste bitter receptor protein. The shape of protein receptor determines the strength it binds to PTC. Bumps called papillae covers the entire tongue, and each papillae have numerous taste buds, which are filled by gustatory cells that are responsible for tasting. Each tip of the gustatory cell is significantly covered with assortments of receptors called bitter tastes and obtrudes through pore on the tongue surface. Stimulation of the receptors leads to the perception of signals. The signals are then carried to the brain by special nerves. The three samples of coffee of different concentrations; one without any addition of sugar, another one with addition of two spoons of sugar and the third one with three spoons of sugar added were dipped in PTC paper and test conducted to determine the level of taste as either very bitter or very sweet and in a scale of between 1 to 5, the results were noted in small tables. The experiment was repeated severally to determine the exactitude and also to show results among different individuals. From the experiment, we were able to

The Investment Detective - Finance Case 17 Study

The Investment Detective - Finance 17 - Case Study Example The project’s Payback period, Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) are some of the key criteria that can be used. However, NPV provides the best ranking criteria, since IRR is only applicable when there are series of cash flows that indicate results in an initial outlay followed by future inlay (Baker, 2011). A series of cash flows that do not satisfy this requirement, will not give appropriate results with the IRR method. IRR method also gives percentages which do not include the magnitude of cash flows (Baker, 2011). Payback method normally overlooks the time value of money. This is one of its main drawbacks in ranking projects. The drawbacks of Payback period and IRR method make NPV the best method for capital budgeting (Baker, 2011). Project 2 and 6 relate to actual venture capital project in which, bulks of cash inflows are realized at the end of maturity period, but some cash inflows can also occur at the beginning of the period (Baker, 2011). Project 4, 7 and 8 relate to an investment in machinery where positive cash is generated at a certain period of time. After some times, they can be sold so as to generate more cash. Additional cash flows are incurred at the beginning of the period to keep the machinery going (Baker,

Policy Alternatives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Policy Alternatives - Essay Example Due to the financial effects that are projected in the future, the current administration came up with a suggestion that the retirees of the defense department should cater for health care services instead of being provided for free. The government gave a proposal of the retirees paying about $200 per annum towards their health care. As per the calculation of the administration, the country will save approximately $6.7 billion. The other proposal that was also given said that soldiers are supposed to pay into a retirement plan instead of a pension plan (NPR.org, 2011). This shift of perspective will contribute in cutting down the expenses of the defense department. The impacts of this cut are, for instance, the impact of retirees paying $200 per year towards their medical care will save around $6.7 billion for the state. On the other hand, these proposals were not received with acceptance by the defense department. For instance, the protection of military benefits should not in any case undercut the military’s capability to fight and win the war. Despite the impacts, the cuts of the military benefits are seen to be very effective in achieving the goals of the administration. For example, the cutting of health care benefits seems to be effective in that the country will save around $6.7 billion per year (NPR.org, 2011). The paying of soldiers towards their retirement plan instead of the pension plan, will contribute a lot to the reduction of military benefits. The reduction of the military retirement benefits is very effective in the fact that it will assist the country to reduce the expenses towards the defense department (Washington Post, 2015). It will reduce the risk of the country becoming unable to pay the troops in the near future. From the text, it is evident that military retirement benefits cost the Pentagon around $50 billion per year. The expense is more than the

Compensation And Benefit Problems At United Aryan- Kenya Research Paper

Compensation And Benefit Problems At United Aryan- Kenya - Research Paper Example Findings in this report are products of research in the United Aryan Company based in Kenya. The researchers carried out fifteen telephone interviews among employees occupying senior positions in branches in Kenya. These were managers with senior decision-making authority. The branches employees many people from five hundred to ten thousand.The interview covered local citizens as well as those working as expatriates. All the branches specialize in the manufacture of all types of clothes for export. Markets are broad and include countries in Europe, Asia, and others in the American continent. Researchers also prepared questionnaires and handed them to line managers and supervisors. One thousand two hundred copies with positive responses coming from nine hundred and ninety-six pamphlets.The focus of the interview was getting their views on their salaries and other benefits, challenges emanating from the company remuneration system, areas with potential benefits they consider best in th e company compensation scheme. The first of the challenges United Aryan-Kenya is facing is developing a strategy reminiscent with global benefit standards. The strategy should meet different needs of employees as applied in other companies with employees from various cultural setups. Trading in the international market provides United Aryan-Kenya with multiple opportunities for growth. The size of the workforce in the international market can be bigger than the one at in the local market depending on the performance of the company.

Education - Teacher Essay Example for Free

Education Teacher Essay Honorable guest of honors, ministers, parents, friends, and students, l would like to welcome you to Borrowdale Brooke Academy Sports day. School sports day is a red letter day on the calendar. It is a day when students are freed from their classrooms to jump and run around, freed from the fetters of learning. It is a day for mothers to wear their summary best and fathers to cheer on their sons. It’s a day when children who may struggle with academic subjects show that they can race faster or jump further than anyone else. It’s a day for red faces and perspiration where t-shirts and shorts are the order of the day. It’s a day for starter guns or teachers with whistles. School sports day is a day for cameras and videos and smiling faces. It’s a day for triumph and disasters, for successes and failures. Speeches are given and medals are presented and, overall, it’s a day for sportsmanship and making memories. This year, I am pleased to see, many are competing encompassing over 50 staff and family members in a wide variety of events. Not least of which is the tug-of-war which I am told will be vigorously contested. As I look around here today I am reminded once again of just how passionate teachers are about sport and what great competitors you all are. One of the consistencies I see when I watch students play at school is the love BBA Students have for sport. And what a great thing sport is on so many levels. Beyond the obvious health and activity benefits, sport can teach us much about life. It teaches us about teamwork, it teaches us how to get along with others, and it teaches us to work together to achieve a common goal. It’s also about trust and responsibility and about dealing with success and failure. Sport also helps us learn about coping with pressure and the need to stick with training in order to improve. As well as the benefits to individuals, sports and physical activity also bring great benefits to communities through such things as improved health and education, rehabilitation, crime prevention, and gender equality. Another important aspect of sports is its ability to make people feel they are part of something. In a survey done on our last sports day, everybody interviewed said that â€Å"the event made them feel a part of Borrowdale Brooke Academy. Borrowdale Brooke Academy recognizes the value of using sport as vehicle for development But while the challenges are great, so is the commitment to find solutions. I want to acknowledge all the good work done by Teachers and also parents. Everybody has a responsibility to work towards making communities safer. To achieve that goal parents and teachers need to work closely together. This sports day is an excellent way to bring people together in a relaxed environment that will build lasting networks and friendships across the sector. I congratulate the organizers and particularly the director of studies Mrs. Henney, the principal Mrs. Rutsito and his deputy Mr. Muridzi, the technical coordinators Mr. Maviki, and other members of the organizing team who have done a great job in putting together today’s program. And now it only leaves me to wish all competitors good luck and to declare the First annual Borrowdale Brooke Academy Sports Day open. Thank you.

Psychological Continuity Of Personal Identity Philosophy Essay

Psychological Continuity Of Personal Identity Philosophy Essay In this chapter I describe my position with regards to personal identity over time. I describe the limits of acceptable psychological change, and discuss which elements of the psyche are essential to our survival. I also attempt to address whether psychological change has a physical cause or not. The Psychological Criterion for Identity Sydney Shoemaker suggested the theory of psychological continuity as an improvement upon memory continuity. While losing our memories would certainly be a huge loss, it could be possible for people to maintain the same psychological life despite this. But what do we mean when we speak of psychological life? This encompasses more than just memories, including beliefs, passions, and tendencies. Clearly, our mentality changes greatly during the course of our lifetime. This theory, then, allows for a similar transition as Lockes memory criterion. As long as I am psychologically connected to my past self, I am still the same person as I was. Criticisms of this position But what about almost complete personality changes? For example, people who have lived lives of terrible sins may experience a religious conversion and change almost every aspect of their lives totally willingly. Does this mean they are literally no longer the same person they used to be? Marya Schechtman claims that if people change their beliefs, they must have empathic access to their old beliefs. This does not simply entail having a good memory of those beliefs, but being able to recall them with the same passion as when they were fervently held. Schechtman states that they must look upon their old beliefs favourably and still give them some weight in the decisions they make today. However, many people dismiss their old beliefs and do not wish to give them any weight at all, because they no longer see these old beliefs as relevant to their current decisions. Schechtman gives the example of a party girl who mellows after becoming a mother, to the point that she views her younger days with embarrassment and even disdain. According to Schechtman, this woman is not the same person as she was as a teenager. But it seems that maturity, and the changes in belief which come with it, are inevitable. For example, children tend to have a very self-centred approach to life and only behave in their own interests. Yet as they mature they gain a greater understanding of manners and courtesy, and are able to put others before themselves when necessary. If we must give weight to our old opinions, as Schechtman claims, we must all give the selfish child within us an opportunity to disregard the feelings of others. It seems that giving all our previous beliefs some consideration results in us giving weight to a lot of contradictory views. More importantly, Schechtmans attempt to keep a link open to our old selves results in us behaving a manner which is untrue to our new selves. I, however, believe what is more important is that the changes a person undergoes as they grow older and presumably wiser, are voluntary changes. As long as the changes are not somehow imposed upon the individual, perhaps as a result of brainwashing or conditioning, the changes a person goes through should not cause them to become an entirely new person. [I believe that change in identity over time is unavoidable, unless one lives in a box from birth. The first few years of our life are spent developing an identity. After that, most of our life is spent learning and trying new things which challenge that identity. Sometimes we integrate our new knowledge (not just factual, but also societal and emotional) into the identity we have at the time, and sometimes our old beliefs are pushed aside and replaced by this new information.] I believe that the Ship of Theseus is an appropriate analogy for the development and changes which occur in ones identity. The usual type of development which occurs in our identities is a gradual one, where new knowledge is integrated alongside the knowledge we already had. If, however, we were to dismiss all of our previous passions, dispositions, beliefs and opinions at once, it is difficult to defend the position that we are still the same person as we were before. It seems the only way we could defend this position is with the criterion of bodily continuity, which we have already seen is not that helpful. From this we can conclude that what is needed for us to retain our identity over time is for the changes to be gradual and voluntary. Some may claim that any psychological changes we undergo must have a physical cause. This has not yet been confirmed by science, though. Many psychological disorders which may affect our identity do have physical symptoms on the brain. But it is impossible to determine causality in these cases. For example, people with depression have lower levels of serotonin(?) than people who are mentally healthy. However we cannot determine whether this is the cause of the depression or the result of it. So we cannot tell whether it is brain continuity or psychological continuity which is the real issue here. But regardless of whether or not psychological change has a physical cause, it seems the brain is still needed to encapsulate our psychology. As we discovered from the chapter on bodily continuity, our DNA is an important aspect to the continuity of our selves. This means that our psychology in a robot would not really be us. Look at: What Matters For Psychological  Continuity Defining psychological continuity in terms of style of thought which, though possibly a result of past experiences, do not depend upon our memories of them. Amnesiacs often demonstrate the same styles of thought as they had shown prior to their loss of memory. It is also possible that we regularly forget bits of information and later reform those memories in the same way as before. http://bookstove.com/non-fiction/on-psychological-continuity/ But what if the personality change is not total? What if there remains one tenuous psychological link to our past self, while everything else is lost. How many psychological links must there be in order for our identity to live on? During the course of our lifetime the majority of our psychology changes, so majority isnt good enough. Refers again to Ship of Theseus- perhaps if the change is gradual enough its okay. Problem tends to occur when the change is a majority one and sudden. What if memories were downloaded to a robot? This would still be you according to psychological continuity. Again, suggests that the physical body is needed to encapsulate and verify the mental element (although this is dangerously Cartesian. But to be fair, the only person who objects to that is Ryle, who isnt all that great). Ultimate challenge: what is psychology if not, essentially, the brain? Cannot defend an argument based on a mysterious immaterial mind, but may have to resort to this until neuroscience is able to explain the location of each element of the personality. Similarly, cause and effect cannot be established. Is the change in personality a result of a change in the brain, which seems to suggest it would be involuntary, or does our intentional change or development of personality cause our brain to work differently? Parfit describes a scenario where a scientist attaches a number of switches to a mans brain. As each switch is flicked, they cause the man to become slightly more psychologically like Napoleon. After half the switches have been flicked, the mans psychology is half his own and half Napoleons. Once all the switches have been flicked, his psychology is completely identical to Napoleons. Williams argues that, as each change caused by the switch is so slight, changes in identity are subject to the same problem as Sorites problem and the heap paradox. This is because each change is so slight that we are inclined to say that individually they do not change the mans identity. But if no switch changes his identity, we must conclude that when all the switches have been flicked he is still the same man he was, despite having none of the same tendencies or memories. Parfit suggests that we are simply mistaken in our belief that the question Will I die when the next switch is flicked must have an answer. He argues that it is absurd to believe that there is a sharp borderline which is so incremental that we could never really know the location of it. Therefore, he concludes, it is far more sensible to adopt a reductionist view of personal identity. Which is? However, I argue that the sharp borderline which exists can be knows quite easily. While many may claim that we lose our identity somewhere around the 50% mark, where the majority of our psychology becomes more similar to that of someone elses, I claim the distinction is much sooner. I believe that our identity is lost as soon as the scientist flips the first switch. Although the effects are minimal, our psychology has been artificially altered into something which is not the same as us. The fact that we allow this tampering simply because the effects are minimal is what lures us into the heap of the paradox.

Statistical Analysis of Cricket Matches

Statistical Analysis of Cricket Matches Abstract The effect of playing home or away and many other factors, such as batting first or second, winning or losing the toss, have been hypothesised as influencing the outcome of major cricket matches. Anecdotally, it has often been noted that Subcontinental sides (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) tend to perform much better on the Subcontinent than away from it. In 2009, Joshi published an article in the Royal Meteorological Society Journal Weather which suggested that the prevailing weather conditions were more important to the results of the Ashes test series in Australia than were the relative strengths of the teams. In this paper, focusing on results of mens One Day International (ODI) matches involving England, I investigate the extent to which a number of factors including playing home or away (or the continent of the venue), batting or fielding first, winning or losing the toss, the mean temperature and humidity during the game, the condition of the pitch, and the strength of each teams top batting and bowling resources influence the outcome of matches. I employ a variety of Statistical techniques, and conclude that the continent of the venue does appear to be a major factor affecting the result, but winning the toss does not. In the second part of this study, I will use any significant factors to attempt to build a Binary Logistic Regression Model that will predict the chance of England winning at different stages of a game. The study also looks at using this model to consider different gambling techniques to see which would have created the most profit for past games. Introduction 1.1 Understanding the Basics of ODIs A One-Day International (ODI) is a game of cricket between two International teams. The team that wins a coin toss has the choice to either bat or bowl in the first innings. The team batting first have a maximum of 50 overs or 10 wickets to score as many runs as they can, this is more commonly known as setting a total. An over consists of 6 balls from one bowler and the following over must be 6 balls from a different bowler from the opposite end of the pitch. Each bowler is allowed a maximum of 10 overs each. The first innings will be complete when either all 300 legitimate deliveries have been bowled or all 10 wickets have been lost. The team batting second then have 50 overs and 10 wickets to score more runs than their opponents, this is referred to as chasing a total. 1.2 History of cricket formats Cricket has been a game played in England for hundreds of years, and it is believed that it may date back to 1500. However, the earliest records available are from the early 17th century. There are currently 3 popular formats of the sport played at International level and below. The longest format of the game is either called a Test Match in International cricket or a first-class match in domestic cricket. Test matches are played between two nations which have reached Test status. This is determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a test match, both teams have two innings each to accumulate more runs than their opponents. Test matches have a maximum time allowance of 5 days, if the result of the game is not already decided at the end of day 5, then the match ends as a draw. Throughout history, there have been games that have lasted more than 5 days, however in recent years this has been a strict guideline. The most famous case of an extended test match was when England toured South Africa in 1939; the game was extended to the 9th day to produce a result, however when England required only 41 more runs to win, the England players had to leave the ground to catch the last ferry home and the match ended in a draw. (sahistory, 2014) First-class is a term that describes the highest level of domestic cricket played within each of the cricketing nations. Each nation has a first-class competition which must also consist of two innings each and last at least 3-days. In England, first-class cricket is a 4-day competition played between 18 counties. This was the only format of the game throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. County cricket is where all England cricketers develop their game, and Moores and Tickner (2016) say that The key to improvement is not to radically overhaul our county system. It is to embrace it. This is regarding ongoing controversy towards the argument that the English county system is at fault for Englands failures. A 2015 ar ticle written by Kevin Pietersen entitled Broken county system is damaging our national side is a key example of this, where Pietersen argues that bowlers arent quick enough and too much cricket makes county players fatigued. However, Moores and Tickner are stating that there are many talented cricketers in the county circuit, who are overlooked due to their lack of international experience, and the only way for them to gain experience is to be given a chance. They argue that the blame for Englands failures often comes through not using the top county cricketers, rather than the county system itself. The first ever official Test match was in 1877, when England narrowly lost to Australia at the Melbourne cricket ground. Then 5 years later, when England lost to Australia at home, The Sporting Times printed a mock obituary of English cricket which concluded that The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. (Lords, 2016). This was the start of the infamous Ashes series that is still contested today between the 2 nations. Limited Overs cricket was first introduced in 1951 in a small town in Kerala, India. KV Kellappan Thampuran formed the Tripunithura Cricket club before coming up with the idea of playing a one-day game. (Kerala Cricket Association, 2016). It was adopted into County Cricket in England in 1962 when the Midlands knock-out cup took place between Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottingham and was 65 overs per side. In 1969, there was a change in the law which allowed more sporting events to take place on a Sunday. (Miller and Tickner, 2016). This was an opening for Sunday League cricket, where counties would play a limited overs game on the Sunday following a first-class match in the week. The number of overs per side have since been reduced to 60, 50, 45 and 40. (BBC cricket, 2006). The first ODI was played on 5 January 1971 when the first 3 days of a test match between Australia and England were washed out, so a one-off 1-day game consisting of 40 8-ball overs was arranged. This game was played with white kits and a red ball. Soon after this, ODI cricket caught on and became increasingly popular towards the end of the 1970s, the World Series Cricket was organised and the 1979 season saw the start of coloured kits with a white ball and 50 6-ball overs in ODIs. This was an unpopular decision at the time as it was only done to fit in more advert breaks. (Jackson, 2014). However, these advert breaks allowed more money to come into the game to be spent on, not only player development, but players wages to make cricket a more appealing profession. Until these advert breaks came in, most cricketers would be working two jobs and now that cricket could be their main priority, there was a big increase in terms of fitness, technique and overall development of the game. ODIs have changed a lot since the 1970s; there are now fielding restrictions, powerplays and other factors that have led to scores increasing within 50 overs. In the 1980s a score of 250 in 60 overs was thought of as a good total, but whilst this study is taking place, in 2017, teams are looking to set a total of 300 in most matches. Below is a table taken from howstat.com showing the top 20 ODI scores in history. Table: Top 20 ODI team totals. Taken from howstat.com Here you can see that all the top 20 scores have been in the last 11 years, even though ODIs have been around for 46 years and ODIs in the 20th Century were often 55 or 60 overs. For this reason, when I investigate factors that influence the chance of England winning an ODI, I only take data from the 21st Century as I believe the statistics from earlier ODIs are almost irrelevant to todays game. Twenty20 (T20) cricket is the newest cricket format. Each side has just 20 overs each to score more runs than their opponents. However, the number of resources (wickets) stays the same, allowing for a more attacking style of play throughout the whole game since losing wickets is not as harmful to the team. The cricketing authorities were looking to boost the games popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. (Cricketnext, 2009). 1.3 Why ODIs? There are several reasons I have chosen to use ODI statistics rather than Test matches or T20s. The overall aim of the study is not only to find significant factors that influence the outcome of cricket matches, but also to use these factors to be able to predict the chance of England winning a game. I believe that Test matches end in a draw too often to build a win predictor, and Frank Duckworth (2001) said one of the great weaknesses of first class cricket is that the most usual result is a draw. This doesnt mean that the two sides have performed equally, but that the game was unfinished when time ran out. Through collecting data from cricinfo.com and taking the means of draws per country in test match history tells us that there is a 32.07% chance that a Test match will end in a draw. This could be due to defensive tactics as the game lasts much longer than other forms of cricket. Bad weather conditions can also take a whole day or more out of the match and this coupled with the m ore defensive style can make it harder to get a result. From the first ODI game up until the 19th July 2016, 33 out of 3764 games resulted in a tie, meaning that less than 1% (0.87%) of matches have been tied. This is clearly a much lower percentage than in test matches. Also, when an ODI produces this result, it is usually because the game deserves to be a tie as the two sides have performed equally rather than any other factors. The less ties result will allow me to build a win predictor more accurately. T20 is a relatively new format of cricket where teams go away from typical tactics and playing proper cricket shots and instead use a hit out or get out style of play. This means that it is much harder to predict who will win a T20 game as one good individual performance can all but win the game. For example, if one batsman scored 100 in a T20 match, even if the rest of the team only gained another 30 runs, a total of 130 could still win the game. Comparatively, in ODIs much more of a team effort is required, and a sustained performance is needed to win the game. There are also not as many patterns in T20 games, as usually, the whole 20 overs are spent attacking. Whereas ODIs require defence, patience, tactical field settings and tactical batting in terms of when to up the run rate. In an ODI series usually the better or higher ranked team will come out on top. However, in T20 matches this is much more unpredictable, and countries such as Afghanistan and the Netherlands have had succ ess in T20 format, despite the latter not being in the 2017 ICC ODI rankings (ICC 2017). 1.4 D/L Method One issue which has always been present in cricket is that bad weather conditions, especially rain, will often affect games, especially in limited overs cricket. For the first 30 minutes of delay there are no overs lost, then every 5 minutes after this there is 1 over lost per side. For an ODI to be completed there must be at least 20 overs per side played. There is usually no reserve day for a game that ends as a no result, due to tight scheduling. To minimalise the impact of weather factors that cannot be controlled, the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method is used to calculate the target scored for the team batting second where the rain has interrupted the game. It is a mathematical formulation that takes in to consideration how many overs and wickets remain so the game has a higher chance of ending in a result. The fundamental basis of the Duckworth/Lewis (D/L) method is that we do not correct the target by the proportion of overs lost, but by the proportion of the total run-scoring reso urces lost. (Duckworth 2001) There have been many previous attempts at creating a system to set a total so that games can be completed, including the average run rate (ARR) method and the most productive overs (MPO) method. The average run rate method was used to set a total, and it did this by taking the average number of runs scored per over x the reduced innings. The problem with ARR is that it is too simplistic, and gave an unfair advantage to the team batting second if there was rain. The most productive overs method was introduced by the Australians and it set the target to chase by reducing the total based on the number of runs scored in the most productive overs. However, this did not take in to account when the overs were lost and could result in a very unfair target. (Duckworth and Lewis 2012) As an aside, a way to solve the problems of weather affected matches could be coming in the form of indoor cricket. The first indoor match to be played was an ODI between Australia and South Africa on the 16th August 2000 (Ramaraj 2013). However, this has not caught on around the world despite the promise of a full days play. Jonty Rhodes (Grunill and Lillywhite 2005), a South Africa player in the game, said there were problems to overcome, namely the fact that players were looking up at the lights even when the ball was at head height as the lighting was not on pylons. 1.5 Initial Variables Winning the Toss The coin toss is contested between the home and away captain 30 minutes prior to the first ball being bowled. The captains will go out onto the pitch and before contesting the toss they will assess the conditions to help them make their choice of batting or bowling first. Some of the conditions they consider are also variables I have looked at in this study. In the 17th century it is believed that the winning captain also got to choose which pitch was used for the game, a job that is now left to the umpires. Hypothesis 1: Winning the toss will significantly increase the chance of winning an ODI. Batting or bowling first Upon winning the toss, the captain is left with the strategic decision between batting first or second. Some people believe that a team should bat first and produce a psychological hurdle for the second team to overcome. Other people believe that there is an advantage in batting second as the score required has already been produced. (de Silva and Swartz, 1998). Some people also believe that it is best to look at several factors before making the choice of batting or bowling first. Hypothesis 2: There will be no significant increase in the chance of winning an ODI by always batting or bowling first.       Home or Away Home team advantage is believed to be a significant factor in most, if not all sports. In a 2008 study Measurement and Interpretation of Home Advantage, Stefani says that the biggest factors believed to lead to home team advantage are travel fatigue, home team spectator support and home team familiarity. In ODI cricket, travel fatigue should not be too much of a factor as teams will usually arrive at the opposition country a week or 2 before the series. Morley and Thomas (2005) find that attendance figures at English cricket matches do not give any significant advantage to the home team. They do however state that in certain venues this may not be the case. This leaves us with home team familiarity, and I believe this factor weighs heavily in the outcome of ODI matches. The average score at a ground in England can be very different from a ground in another continent. For example, the average run rate in ODIs at the Kia Oval in London, United Kingdom is 4.84 and the average run rate in Lahore, Pakistan is 5.24. (howstat, 2017). Both grounds have been hosting ODIs since the 1970s. This means that teams must change their mindset about what is a good 1st innings total when they play away from home. Weather conditions and cricket pitches also vary in different countries and continents. There are 9 official test teams in the ICC rankings and each of these countries has a usual type of pitch. The term dead pitch is used to describe pitches that are flat and offer little help for bowlers. Dead pitches are the most common wickets that are prepared these daysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. the most common pitch type in ODIs. (cricketequipmentusa, 2017). These pitches are often found in Australia, South Africa and the West Indies. English pitches are usually encouraging for fast bowlers; pitches are often referred to as green tops. These pitches are also found in New Zealand and sometimes South Africa, they have a thin layer of grass which helps to produce swing and seam. Overcast and windy conditions are often present in England, which can correspondingly assist the ball to swing. Pitches on the subcontinent are often the opposite, where wickets are dry and dusty. The subcontinent is a term used to describe a large part of Asia, and includes the 4 big cricketing nations; India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The lack of rain in the subcontinent means no green on the pitches and the dr yness creates a lot of spin and uneven bounce. This is undoubtedly the reason why subcontinent teams have produced some of the best spin bowlers and why teams like England seem to struggle when playing away there. Hypothesis 3: England perform significantly better at home than anywhere else. Hypothesis 4: England perform significantly worse in the subcontinent than anywhere else. The first section of my study will test the variables mentioned above using a three-way ANOVA table. I test for statistical significance (

Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Suppression and Silence in The Reeve’s Tale :: Reeves Tale Essays

Suppression and Silence in The Reeve’s Tale  Ã‚   Such comments as, â€Å"I pray to God his nekke mote to-breke† quickly reveal that the ver-bal game of â€Å"quite† involves much more than a free meal to the Reeve in â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† (I 3918). This overreaction, which grabs the attention of the audience and gives it pause, is characteristic of the Reeve’s ostensibly odd behavior, being given to morose speeches followed by violent outbursts, all the while harboring spiteful desires. Anger typifies the Reeve’s dialogue and his tale, which begs the question why. It appears to be a reaction to the Miller’s insults, but they are not extreme enough to provoke such resentment. He seem-ingly has no hesitation in articulating his bitterness, yet he and his story are as much marked by suppression as expression. Silence resounds as loudly as any noise in the Reeve’s Prologue and Tale. The reader is as puzzled by his utterances as the lack of them: his sudden sermon on death is matche d by the quietness of two couples copulating in a small room of five, none of which are able to hear what the others are doing. The reality is that the behavior of the Reeve and the characters in his tale are not random or unaccountable. The Reeve is continually si-lenced by other pilgrims and himself, which is paralleled in his tale, and in turn suppresses his emotions, which leads to even more explosive conduct.   I. Characterization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to appreciate the melancholic and serious temperament of the Reeve, it is nec-essary to view him in comparison to other characters, as Chaucer intended. The identities of the pilgrims are relative. They are characterized by their description in the General Prologue, but not fully developed until they are seen in contrast to the pilgrim they are â€Å"quiting.† As the Miller’s personality is developed by his dissimilarity to the Knight, so is the Reeve by the Miller. Therefore Robin’s enjoyment of life shows just how little Oswald receives from the same. For instance, the Miller’s large frame and excessive drinking show his delight in small pleasures. The Reeve, however, is â€Å"a sclendre colerik man† who controls his beard and hair (in opposition to the unruly strands that grow on a wart on the miller’s nose) as manipula-tively as the accounts of the farm on which he works (I 587). The Miller ma stered the bag-pipes for entertainment in his spare time while the Reeve trained with more practical tools: â€Å"In youthe he had lerned a good myster: He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter† (I 614).

Symbols and Symbolism Essay - Role of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Crucial Role of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby The critic Harold Bloom once wrote, "Never has symbolism played such a crucial part in the very foundation of a novel as it does in Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby." The dictionary defines the word symbolism as, "The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships." The novel takes place during the summer of 1922, in Long Island and New York City. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful female golfer who cheats at the game; Nick and she begin a relationship. Not long after they meet, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby's extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy. After an awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy restore their connection. Tom soon grows suspicious of his wife's relation ship with Gatsby. Daisy realizes that her marriage is to Tom, and Tom sends her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him. When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes, however, they discover that Gatsby's car has hit and killed Myrtle, Tom's lover. They rush back to Long Island, where Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intends to take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle's husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George then goes to find Gatsby; he finds him at his mansion and shoots him. An excellent example of symbolism in The Great Gatsby can be found in many places including, the ash heap, Gatsby's silk shirts, the green light, The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and Gatsby's library. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, "bespectacled" eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes, "But above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment the eyes of Doctor T.

Global Warming And International Impact Essay

Impact on Africa: o Africa has been predicted as most vulnerable continent to climate change and variability due to multiple stresses and low adoptive capability. o Due to climate change, by 2020, about 250 million people are estimated to be affected by water stress. o Due to global warming, there is a likely a sharp decline in the manufacture of agricultural products in Africa. o There is possibility of submerging of low lying areas with large population due to global warming by the turn of the 21st century. ASIA: †¢ In the next two to three decades, there is likelihood of melting of glaziers in Himalayas which would affect the water resources drastically. †¢ Due to global warming, it is estimated that there will be water scarcity in Asia. †¢ It is anticipated that there will be death due to diarrheal disease due to droughts and floods. Australia and New Zealand: ? Water scarcity is anticipated by 2030. ? Loss of biodiversity is expected especially in Queensland Wet Tropics and Great Barrier Reef. . 17. ANTHROPOCENTRISM: Anthropocentrism is a concept which is concerned with preservation of a sustainable, vigorous environment which is essential for enduring happiness of human beings. It also demands that one has to foster a fortified, enriched anthropocentric idea of human interest to replace the main sectional, short-term and self-regarding notions. Further, it has been identified that anthropocentrism is the root cause of human overpopulation, ecological crisis and disappearance of many non-human genus what we term these in single phrase as ‘global warming’. As an anthropocentrist, I will struggle for protecting this universe from global warming as a precaution to save the mother earth from impending dangers of global warming. DEEP ECOLOGY: Likewise, deep ecology is an extension of ecological philosophy which values humanity as a fundamental element of environment. Deep ecology puts great emphasis on ecosystem, non-human species and processes in nature than conventional green and environmental movements. Deep ecology concept stresses that living environment all together like humanity has the same privilege to habitat and flourish. Deep ecology dissuades utilitarian environmentalism. As an environmental ethic, I will blend both the aesthetic and individualistic notions to safe guard the environment as there is no universe without clean environment. ECOLOGY EXTENSION: Enacting legislation to protect the environment is not at all sufficient. It is necessary to promote environmental ethics mainly through learning process. Thus, enactment of environmental law and promotion and learning of environmental ethics should go side by side. Environmental ethics will help one to uncalculated by learning process concerning reflection upon activist’s part in the environment. An Environmental extension will involve not only the development of a formal knowledge of one’s environment and their probable effects thereby establishing the basis. Ecological extension stresses significance on the awareness of the fundamental interdependence of all biological and non-biological forms and their fundamental diversity . Thus, ecological extension is nothing but a scientific manifestation of the natural world. Ecological extension stresses for the inherent value innate in total ecological entities like global environment or ecosystem in totality . Under ecological extension, the Earth has been described as a holistic, unified entity with ethical value of which the humanity is of specific importance in the years to come. .In my personal ethic capacity, I will blend both aesthetic and individualist ethical approach to see that environment is safeguarded as that of humanity thereby extending at par treatment to environment with that of humanity . Further , as an Environment citizen , I would strive hard to protect both humanity and non-human forms as I know well non-human forms is the part and parcel of our environment. LIBERTARIAN EXTENSION It is a political viewpoint accentuating the rights of individual. The principle of libertinism pressurizes the privilege to self-ownership and by extension, the privilege to private ownership of property and materials. Under libertarianism, supporters discourage any shape of taxation and support in favor of laissez-fair economic system. Under, Libertarian extension, a civil liberty advance is pursued. It denotes a promise to extend same rights to all members of the society. 18. CONCLUSION: It is true that disastrous global warming is hypothetically possible, such an end depends critically upon a numerous assumptions contained in computer climate models. These suppositions, taken together, symbolize faith on the part of many climate modelers that the climate system is delicate, and very responsive to small disturbances, mainly our production of carbon dioxide, relatively a negligible atmospheric greenhouse gas. I have commented that there is enough reason to have faith that the climate system is relatively numb to a doubling of carbon dioxide, which is anticipated to happen later in this century. But even if projections of strong global warming are accurate, it is not clear how to shun this contingency from a policy point of perspective. Inexpensive or alternate cheap energy is need of the hour for human well being and health. Penalizing the use of energy through taxation or caps will be ostracized and rather unproductive. To me, technological answers to the predicament appear to be the only long-term choice. Since only rich countries of the world can pay for the R&D to bring this about, it could be harmful to find those solutions by punishing economies with taxes and carbon caps. According to me, the International community should undertake following Preventive measures: It is suggested that energy efficiency standards have to be increased. Further, the use of renewable energy sources like wind, solar shall have to be encouraged by extending fiscal incentives like tax holidays etc. I strongly feel that development, protection and restoring of forests, which act as significant storehouses of carbon is to be pursued on war front stage. Thus, if the above steps are not introduced, we may loose many countries of the world to the swelling ocean waters. References Global Warming. (2007). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed. ). New York: Columbia University Press. Imagine No Restrictions on Fossil-Fuel Usage and No Global Warming!. (2002). Journal of Environmental Health, 65(4), 32+.

Muslim views on medical and sexual questions Essay

Transsexuals are people who believe that their mind is trapped within the body of someone who is of the opposite sex. Many of them who are unable to have the necessary sex organ change operation end up committing suicide. However in the terms of shariah law, it is not allowed for men and women to change their gender to the opposite sex. If one goes against the Shariah law, then he/she will be violating the commandments of the Qur’an and Hadith. The Shariah has also gone to the extent where women are not allowed to dress as men, and men are not allowed to dress as women. It is noted in an Hadith that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) cursed those men who imitated women and those men who imitated women. If one was to undergo a sex change, then he/she will be altering the natural features and organs that Allah had blessed them with. Many patients have problems with their sex lives, so they seek the help of a doctor or in such cases, they are recommended to go to sex counselling sessions. However it is not allowed for Muslim physicians to engage such conversations. If a husband and wife had problems in their sexual lives, then they would consult a doctor of their own sex. They should then give a broad outline of their problem and not go into such detail. The Muslim doctor would not be allowed to find out such explicit details or show the patient videos that demonstrate such sexual acts. However during sexual therapy lessons, explicit video films which demonstrate such explicit acts may be shown to the patient. It is totally against the Shariah Law for the patient to watch such explicit acts. Some people take advantage of mentally retarded people by having sex with them. So in order to reduce the chance of them falling pregnant, they can be sterilized. This is cause due to their mental state, they would be unable to care for the child. Methods of contraception such as the use of pills can be used instead of using the method of sterilisation as it would mean that all chances of a future hope of pregnancy will be lost. It is not allowed for the mental patient to be castrated but medicine can be administrated which would suppress their sexual urges. Recent studies show that homosexuality is genetically inclined. In Islam, homosexuality is forbidden so it is merely a plot from Shaytaan who’s aim is to make homosexuality more acceptable in our society. The main duty of a Muslim psychiatrist is dissuade his/her patient from indulging in such haram acts. The act of homosexuality has been condemned in the Qur’an and Hadith. Brain-stem death is accepted in the field of medicine as doctors have been entrusted in confirming that a person is dead. In Islam, a person is only considered dead when his soul has left its body. The body then becomes cold and stiff. If left for a long period of time, then the body begins to decompose. If these signs are visible, then the person is considered to be dead in terms of the Shariah. If these signs are not visible, then the person is not considered to be dead. In this case, whether a brain-stem dead person is dead or not is not relevant. In either case, the persons organs are not allowed to be removed from the body. The organs and limbs of a deceased person belongs to Allah, so the person has no right in deciding as to whom his organs are donated to. If a fellow human is dying and the only option of survival is of eating another humans limb and another human gladly offers the too, it will not be allowed.

Current Ethical Issues Essay

The Baderman Island Resort first opened in 2004 and is managed by the Boardman Management Group. Baderman Island features three different hotels and caters to both business and pleasure. The food is amazing and the 24 hour room service is even better. Along with housing and dinning Baderman Island offers plenty of activities to keep families busy having fun or to help the stressed businessman relax. On the Baderman Island Resort you will get to choose from three different hotels that are need specific. The first would be the Baderman Main Hotel. Here you can find good food and great lodging for you and your family. The Tenney hotel caters to more grown up tastes and is suited for romantic get-a-ways for you and your special someone. The last hotel is the Melancon Convention Center and Hotel which is more business orientated with a conference room that can hold up to 300 people. You can find packaging rates and catering options on the website. Each of the hotels feature large luxuriou s rooms and beds along with internet hookups, a wall safe, 24 hour room service, a mini-bar, and on- site managers available to help you with any of your needs. Along with great lodging Baderman Island Resort has five restaurants for you to choose from. If you are in the mood for something light you can check out the Baderman Island Cafà © or the Beverly Cafà ©. For something more filling check out the Morgan Bistro, the Kayfe, and the Tenney @ Night. All of the dinning at Baderman Island is freshly prepared and reasonably priced. Baderman Island is managed by the Boardman Management Group which has been in operation since 1994. The mission of the Boardman Management Group is â€Å"Founded in 1994, Boardman Management Group is dedicated to managing leisure and convention focused resorts that provide a unique and quality experience to guests and visitors. The Board of Directors and operational leaders in the organization, empowers its staff to offer unsurpassed quality of customer service, through individual acts of random kindness and specialty  services.† (â€Å"Boardman Management Group†, 2012). The responsibilities of the Boardman Management Group within the Baderman Island Resort are regulatory, finance and accounting, legal, marketing, IT services, and the entire human resources department. The organizational flow of Baderman Island is rather simple and easy to follow. You have your board of directors, chairperson of the board, your CEO, and your director of human resources management. Under the CEO is the Boardman Management Group and the vice president of guest services. The Boardman Management Group is responsible for regulatory, finance and accounting, legal, marketing, IT services. The vice president of guest services is responsible for the GM hotel, GM convention, GM food services, GM merchandise, and GM recreational. Under the GM support services there is security, logistics, engineering, emergency services, and guest relations. The employee services of the Baderman Island Resort feature an employee log in section of the website where employees can view memos and policy updates regarding the resort. Employees also have access to an employee only blog where they can post comments and suggest ideas; any HR issues should not be posted on the blog. Employees also have access to the different organization management charts for each division of the hotel. By having access to these charts employees can look up who their boss is and also follow up the management chain. One of the biggest moral and ethical issues facing the Baderman Island Resort is their destruction of the local forests and wildlife. Baderman Island Resort spans out over 1800 acres with 750 acres being fully developed. Baderman Island also has plans to develop the remaining acres by building a casino and expanding their botanical garden. If Baderman Island Resort wasn’t an island the destruction of habitats wouldn’t be such an ethical issue. Baderman is pushing wildlife out of the way to make room for the resort and eventually the wildlife will have nowhere to go. Another moral and ethical issue surrounding Baderman Island Resort is that of these customer service and well-being. There is the constant worry of  guests wandering off the trails and getting lost and hurt. Also there doesn’t seem to be any emergency health care located on the island. What is the plan if a guest is critically injured and needs medical help? Along with health and safety Baderman needs to work on their customer service for their international customers. Baderman has made mention that they are in the process of hiring more employees that can speak different languages in order to lessen the language barrier. Does this mean that Baderman will be laying off employees that don’t speak multiple languages to keep payroll from going over budget? Baderman Island Resort is a true paradise and a wonderful place to go to relax. There are a few issues that need to be addressed if Baderman is to be 100% successful in their industry. References * Baderman Island. (2012). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/BadermanIsland/internet/index.asp * Boardman Management Group. (2012). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/BoardmanManagementGroup/internet/index.asp * Trevino, L., & Nelson, K. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

My trip to the San Diego Museum of Man

A museum is an institution that collects artistic documents, objects and artifacts with scientific and historical value. It is an open to public place that enables people to widely see and explore collections for the purpose of learning, education and enjoyment. Museums preserve collections and make them available for the benefit of public viewing. The San Diego Museum of Man is a museum that contains various artifacts related to anthropology. Anthropology is the study of human kind throughout time and across all cultures. It is the science that deals with the origin, behavior, and also the physical, social and cultural development of human beings. The San Diego Museum of man is a non profit institution that preserves life and history of human kind. The San Diego Museum of Man is definitely a lot more impressive on the inside than the outside. After a long walk from the parking lot, I laid eyes on the old building and did not have high expectations. I merely thought of this as a `class project` something I `had to do`. Once inside I asked the ticket salesman where I could find the museum`s mission statement. He quickly pointed at a wall to the left side of the building, which read: `The museum of man gathers and shares discoveries of anthropologists. Right underneath the mission statement was the first exhibit, the first humans (hominids). Hominids are human like creatures divided into Australopithecus known as the oldest and Homo known as the youngest. I remembered this from chapter one. The museum had an impressive exhibit that allowed for me to see and reinforce all that I had learned about the first humans. I liked the realistic displays that allowed for me to visualize what each hominid actually would have looked like. I liked the exhibit that compared the different tools used throughout time, from the earliest stone tools used by humans compared to those used now. I enjoyed the interactive exhibits. One in particular allowed for me to attempt to guess what group of hominid certain skulls belonged to. I learned that the cheek bones and eye sockets were used to identify. I was also able to try to guess the age of remains. It was very interesting to see and actually get a chance to practice how this is done. The exhibit is unique in such a way that it allows the guest to actually touch almost all of its content. Inside the museum you can see yourself traversing millions of years, it is like you can actually see the way of life and the image of our ancestors. The museum not only offers a view about the past of human kind but its future as well. Visitors can also go through the human lab in which they can see a glimpse of the future of human evolution, the future of human race influenced by scientific innovations in the form of gene selection and cloning. It is like going through different worlds, the past and the future. There was also a small exhibit on the ancient Egyptians whom I always find fascinating. I was able to view the ancient Egyptians way of life and learn the importance of anthropologist and archeologist in the understanding and interpretation of their culture. I was able to see some mummified remains of children which I have never actually seen before. The ancient Egyptians mummified their dead because of their belief that when someone died their soul would temporarily leave the body. After the body was buried, the soul would then return and be reunited with the body. However, the soul needed to find and recognize the body for it to live forever. It is said that the earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in the desert letting the heat and dryness of the sand to dehydrate the bodies. This process of burying creates lifelike and natural mummies. Later the Egyptians began to bury their dead in coffins to protect them from the animals of the desert. And then they developed a method of preserving bodies, the process include embalming the bodies and then wrapping them in strips of linen. Today, this process is known as mummification. This mummified remains and other rare artifacts for over 3,000 years old including coffins and amulets show the Egyptians concern for the after life and their value for their dead love ones. I enjoyed the exhibit however I felt it could have been larger. I wanted to learn more about the ancient Egyptians, their culture, society and their religious beliefs, rituals and ceremonies. My favorite exhibit of all was the Mayan exhibit. The society of Maya includes art, astronomy, mathematics and literature. I was fascinated by these people hearing about them in class. It was very intriguing to be able to visualize these people. I learned a lot about Mayan architecture and was amazed by the giant Stella's with Mayan hieroglyphics. I can say that the Mayan architecture if of a unique beauty. The walls are made of mud or stone covered wood poles that hold together  the two sided hay roof. Outside of their internal economic attention, architecture consumed their time and energy so much. I gained more insight into their culture and learned that they had their own form of dance. They had very decorated dress and weapons with feathers and beads. I read and learned that they had what is called `Xibalba` or `the ball game`. It is said that this ball game is a confrontation between good and evil. This ball game has played an important role in the Mayan's culture and sometimes takes the form of sacrifice rituals and sometimes a game of chance. In whatever form, it always symbolizes the timeless struggle between good and evil in which the outcome is governed by supernatural powers, something beyond human skill and capability. This ball game is a vital part of the Mayan creation story and a fable of light defeating darkness and life prevailing over death. I have lived in San Diego for a long time and this was my first trip to the museum. I think the museum did live up to it`s mission statement. It does contain discoveries and artifacts about anthropology that sure is important and really interesting. Visiting the San Diego Museum of Man is really worth the time and effort and the new knowledge is really worth storing in the mind of every visitor. In addition, it does not only provide knowledge and information but enjoyment as well. You will surely be fascinated with all of the exhibits in the San Diego Museum of Man. I would definitely recommend it to others and I plan on going back again in the future. It is one spot that San Diego should be proud of. Works Cited: San Diego Museum of Man. 2006 Retrieved August 8, 2007 from Anthropology . 200). Retrieved August 8, 2007 from Sheldon, J.   2000. Explore Ancient Egypt. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from http://www.mfa.org/egypt/explore%5Fancient%5Fegypt/         

Private and Public School in Pakistan Essay

Schooling from the very beginning is the first priority of every parent. Private schools in Pakistan have increased their number in no time, because the parents have completely inclined themselves towards the private schooling. Numerous reasons are there, but the few prominent ones are the quality of education and security. It is obvious that when a teacher is teaching a class of ten to twenty students, they can easily give time to each and every individual; this is what every parent is looking for. Second most importantly is the issue of security, as Pakistan nowadays is having terrorism allegations, and we have been a victim of terrorist activities since a very long time. So parents do have an issue with the security. Private schools take It as an advantage and provide more security guarantee as compared to public so they easily attract parents. I have personally seen guards and ayas taking care of children during recess and the time they leave for their rides. This is thing which every parent is looking for, that their child is in secure hands. On the other hand private schools assure healthy, neat and clean environment, which again forces the parents to incline towards them. My team paid visits to the some of the well reputed private schools and we witnessed the hygiene there and other stuff well managed. Every parent has a wish to groom their child in such a way that, when they grow up they make them proud in front of everyone. Private schools, with the help of their environment and teaching standards fulfill this dream of parents very effectively. Because of this parents don’t even hesitate paying expensive fee to the private schools, as they feel satisfied that they will have a fruit as yummy as they want. Government schools are present in abundance in our country. We see it as positive aspect that we have this much schools but don’t feel that we are lowering down the quality of education all by our self. Public schools lack quality education because the teachers their have to manage a class of more than fifty, which is already a mess. Adding on to that they have their job security with them so they are least bothered about the future of a child. This large chunk of students enrolled cause the student teacher interaction to lower down and thus they fail to produce good quality education. The teachers in public schools are least bothered about personal grooming of a child, again because of the job security given by the government. Moreover the class environment is not healthy at all. Visits by our team witnessed that there is no such thing as learning in a public school. The class environment, behavior of the teacher, students. Each and every thing was a mess. Some of the class rooms were having furniture issues. The class rooms were dark and not airy at all, which leaves a bad impact on a student for life. The security there was near to zero. The cafeteria was unbelievably murky. Nothing there in a public school was appropriate. So why parents would opt for a public school when they have a better choice. Only because they are cost effective. The fee there is almost nothing in front of that of a private school.

Global Marketing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Global Marketing Assignment - Essay Example Macro environment is the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment- demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces. The SLEPT Analysis is a useful starting point for the analysis of an organizations external environment and the forces at which it works like Hennes & Mauritz. The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieve the objective of an organization. H&M faces challenges in Japanese market in selling goods. H & M has collaborated with Madonna 3 for their promotion, which is a good decision, and for being a famous singer in all over the world as well as Japan and a symbol of fashion and style; Hennes would gain vast and successful market in Japan. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish clothing company with outlets in different market of Europe and the U.S. The principal activity of this company is retailing of fashion clothing. The products of the Group are sold through a chain of stores, by mail order and through the Internet. They offer their products in different concepts for women, men, teenagers and children. They also retail sportswear, accessories and cosmetics. The product range includes body and care and hair care products and make-up accessories for men, women and teenagers. This Group has 22 production offices in Europe, Asia, and in Africa 4. Hennes & Mauritz targets the Hip & Modish. They design cheap but chic clothing, mainly for men and women 18 to 45, children's apparel, and its own brands of cosmetics. It operates more than 1,200 stores in 24 countries with direct sales operations in selected areas. Stefan Persson, the billionaire son of founder Erling Persson is the Chairman of 'H&M'. The family has a good controlled over the company and they own nearly 37% 5. 1-2: Problem Statement: 1. In regards to Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), we have to undertake a critical assessment of the Global Marketing and organisational procedures adopted by the

Business data analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business data analysis - Essay Example Additionally they have decided to analyse the operating cost of the copier machines compared to various alternatives as well as phone call data for sales reps and the sales report for active customers over the past year. Laurel plans to use these records to provide management with information that can assist in some way in the decision making process. Introduction This paper represents an analysis of the operations of HH Industries. The company has employed an analyst to provide information that will help the company to make decisions. This information has to be presented to management in such a way that they can understand and so will make informed decisions regarding the way forward. 1.1 Frequency Distribution Tables and Histograms for Quarter 1 and 2 Laurel has prepared frequency distribution tables and histograms for quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 1991. These can be found in Appendix 1. The table and chart for Quarter 1 1991 shows the frequency of the average daily order size for Jan uary to March 1991. The information in the table and chart indicates that orders valued between $120 and $140 occurred most frequently for a total of 19 days for the quarter. This was followed by orders ranging from $100 to $120 (17 days), $140 to $160 (10 days) and $80 to $100 (8 days) respectively. The data in Appendix 1 (a) also shows the frequency distribution and histogram for quarter 2 of 1991. The Table and histogram provides information on the frequencies of the average daily order size for April to June 1991. It shows that orders valued from $100 to $120 occurred most frequently – 24 days for the quarter. This was followed by orders ranging from $120 to $140 (19 days), $80 to $100 (10 days) and $140 to $160 (6 days) respectively. 1.2 Frequency Distribution and Histogram of Total Daily Orders for all Four Quarters The frequency distribution and histogram of the total daily orders for Quarter 3 of 1990 which are shown in Appendix 1 (b) indicates that daily orders of 15 0 to 160 occurred most frequently at 16 days during the quarter. This was followed by daily orders of 140 to 150 which occurred 14 times for the quarter, 160 to 170 which occurred 13 days for the quarter and 170 to 180 which occurred for a total of 10 days during the quarter. The frequency distribution and histogram of the total daily orders for Quarter 4 of 1990 indicates that daily orders of 160 to 170 occurred most frequently at 15 days during the period. This was followed by daily orders of 150 to 160 which occurred 10 days for the period, 170 to 180 which occurred 9 days for the quarter, and 180 to 190 and 190 to 200 which occurred for a total of 8 days each during the quarter. The frequency distribution and histogram of the total daily orders for Quarter 1 of 1991 indicates that daily orders of 170 to 180 occurred most frequently at 14 days during the period. This was followed by daily orders of 160 to 170 which occurred 12 times for the period,

Mental Illness Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mental Illness - Case Study Example AD differs from other autism spectrum disorders because there is absence of speech or language delays and symptoms are less severe in asperger syndrome unlike other autism spectrum disorders, which have language delays and severe symptoms. AD is one of the mental illnesses commonly experienced among varied children during their childhood development process; thus, many children develop cognitive difficulties, language skill problems and lack effective nonverbal communication skills. The exact cause of AD is unknown but many researchers have attempted to base their arguments on the genetic basis as the major cause of asperger syndrome. Although there is no clear treatment for AD, cognitive behavioral therapy, social skills therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy and other intervention measures are among the effective therapies for improving symptoms and function of the patient. Mental Health History The client is a six years old child who grew up well and did not have any linguistic or speech problems but started experiencing some minor problems earlier at the age of five years. The child started having trouble in some basic elements of social skills including failure to make friendships with other children, lack of emotional reciprocity and impaired nonverbal behaviors. When the child was admitted in school, the teacher realized that the child displayed some repetitive behaviors, which were sometimes abnormal. Parents of the child also had already noticed earlier some displayed behaviors, activities and interests of the child which were repetitive but they could not take them seriously. Some of the behaviors of the child became apparent after the age of 5-6 years and this was the period their parents started seeking medical attention. For example, the child could memorize camera model figures but could care little about photography. Although these behaviors kept changing from time to time, they typically became narrowly focused and even dominated social inter action in the extent that the family members of the child became worried and stressed. According to Matson, Matson and Rivet (2007), repetitive motor behaviors are among the major symptoms for asperger syndrome but these behaviors tend to change from time to time. In addition, the client developed problems in understanding figurative language and ended up using language literary something that forced the teacher of the child to employ effective teaching intervention strategies and prepare Individualized Education programs in order to meet the demanding learning needs of the client. Although the child had excellent auditory and visual perception, some differences in perception with motor, emotion and sensory perception became apparent. The client was diagnosed and the diagnostic criteria required the treatment of the impairment social interaction, repetitive behaviors and many other problems. Rodriguez (2012) argues that employing effective diagnostic criteria and carrying out compre hensive assessment process in a multidisciplinary team approach is vital. Earlier intervention was carried out because AD does not have clear treatment but some therapies offered to the client included, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), social skill therapy, physical, speech therapy and other intervention programs were carried out. Assessment Process The first step of diagnosis is the assessment process, which includes observation and evaluating developmental history of the child. The medical professions or qualified social workers with experience should carry out assessment process in order to determine the causes and symptoms; thus offer effective

The Bread Givers,the Smolinsky house is patriarchal in nature Essay

The Bread Givers,the Smolinsky house is patriarchal in nature - Essay Example Instances of such patriotism have been displayed throughout the story where the writer says,’ Traditional father searches for God through the Talmud and religious study’ (Yezeirska, 1925, xvi) specifying that Moses’ reading was confined only to reading Jewish sacred texts. Another instance where’ mother believed she might earn a place in the heaven by serving her husband well’ (Yezeirska, xvi) showed that the family was firm in traditional believes. Sara’s father’s attachment to Jewish culture has been depicted here as patriarchal characteristics. Surrounded by the lives of his family, the patriarchal nature of the father has a powerful role to play in this novel. It gives a winning note to his values when his daughter’s lives are destroyed due to his religious values and this rigidity has also been noted where Moses, even in dying state refuses to live with Sara and Hugo. The story was written somewhere between 1920 and the society and culture of that phase has an impact on the story. Even before that in the 19th century during the colonial period in America we find the prevalence of the class system. The upper class denoted the aristocrat class who were owners of large plantations. During the 19th century slavery was also present in the society and the plantation owners usually owned large number of slaves and worked hard to achieve higher standards of living. Post colonization, the immigration of Jews to the New York City has been talked about in the story. More than a merge, there was a clash of the two cultures. M ore specifically a struggle between the old and the new world was clearly noticed. Jews of that period were very particular about their traditions and appeared to be conservative. The Jewish people restricted from interacting with people of different cultural background. This is depicted in the story. Where Sara Smolinsky is opening up to accept the new concept of self independence imposed in American culture, Moses remains about

Letter and Memo paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Letter and Memo paper - Assignment Example I, as well as I am sure many other readers like me, would agree with the fact that the socio – economic spectrum has been blown out of proportion just because of the steep competition to help get into one of the top educational institutions. It is rather shocking to find that the affluent are still faced with a persistent and pervasive anxiety, while the middle – class are underrepresented and the poor have absolutely no access to the best educational opportunities. According to me, the most interesting part of the article was about the â€Å"amicus briefs submitted to the Supreme Court in the landmark affirmative case concerning the University of Michigan — to give an edge in admissions to disadvantaged students, regardless of race.† But equally interesting and I must say rather shocking was to read the article further and find that former president of Princeton, William Bowen and his associates found through studies carried out in 19 different colleges, that this was totally untrue because applicants from different disadvantaged backgrounds got â€Å"essentially no break in the admissions process.† On behalf of all the other readers of the New York Times, I take this as an opportunity to express my views about this social scar on society and offer a few useful suggestions. Though I do like the idea of a lottery system when names of those who have achieved a high standard on the academic front are randomly selected for admission, yet I feel that an entrance exam where all are treated equally based solely on merit would be a good idea. Those who do their best must be given a seat irrespective of the background or status they belong to. Another suggestion I like to make in this regard is that it would be good if the top colleges set aside at least 5% of their seats and grant admission to students who specifically come from not very affluent backgrounds but who are really deserving. Once again, on