Rousseau as Totalitarian?

ROUSSEAU AS TOTALITARIAN? Rousseau, known as â€Å"Father of Modern Democratic Theory†, was being accused by other people as a â€Å"Father of Totalitarianism†. This is one of the contentious issues which attack Rousseau’s social contract; he is seen to be advocating totalitarian solution rather democratic. Others may have only misunderstood the concept of totalitarianism but I tell you there is no clear evidence showing he is in favor of totalitarian. Why, then, some considered Rousseau as a totalitarian? Maybe it goes with his controversial concept of general will.The general will can be perceived as an objective truth to which every citizen must conform. Therefore everybody was under the control of the general will. Since totalitarianism is defined as a  political system  where the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life whenever necessary; this means that the general will can be use as a tot alitarian device. But the methods suggested for discovering the general will were basically democratic.This concept was introduced to prevent exploitation and this will only take effect if it is willed by the citizens. In this case, we can see that Rousseau was proposing that the best way for a community to make decisions was really to use democratic procedures. Hence, we cannot condemn him being a totalitarian advocate just because general will reigns. After all, even if it controls every citizen, it still comes from all and it tends always to the preservation and welfare of the whole and every associate.Another thing that can probably make people thinks of Rousseau’s social contract as a totalitarian is due to his view of â€Å"majority binds the rest†. Rousseau was aware that no particular human being knows what the general will truly is that is why he proposes that what the majority has voted, it is the general will, assuming that everybody is thinking for the comm on good of the community and not for his own self-interest. Now problem the decision of the majority is what rules the community and we don’t even know if they are really thinking for the common good of everybody.They maybe considered as one political group who reigns over the community. This cannot be a valid reason for saying that Rousseau was after a totalitarian government. Remember Rousseau has insisted that the sovereign is the people and not a particular group only. And at the start of the compact, before they have voted for what they think is general will; the people should give their consent to all the laws that will be passed even in their opposition.Despite that the decision of the majority wins, the people still has participated in determining that certain law. Rousseau was merely proposing measures aimed at creating community cohesion and preserving democracy. We can now say that his proposal was really an authentic attempt of finding a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before.

Police Ethics Essay

All professions operate within a certain broad framework of code of ethics. These are rules that govern the conduct of a particular group of professionals, the conduct amongst themselves and most importantly with the rest of the society. Some of these codes of ethics may be legally enforceable and their violation may lead to criminal proceedings instituted against the violator. Contravening of the code of ethics may also lead to an individual’s name being struck off the professionals’ list like in the case of auditors, engineers and accountants amongst others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The police force has its own distinct code of ethics both implied and express. It is these ethics that regulate the conduct of all law enforcement officers in their day to day running of their duties. These ethics may be unique to one state or universal as they are a product of social and political environment. The United Nations has its own framework of ethics within which the police or law enforcement officers are supposed to operate. These are ethics that have been fine tuned and can be universally applied (United Nations, 1989).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police is a broad term used to denote all officers mandated to enforce the law, officers that can make arrests as well as detain a suspect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is agreeable that police officers are charged with the delicate duty of maintaining law and order. In the course of maintaining such order, they are bound to come across various challenges and impediments that may make them compromise their legal duties. Police exist in an environment filled with suspicion and hostility and with the powers they possess; they are likely to intimidate the rest of the citizens. They also have discretionary powers as it is not possible to spell out and dictate in the law how a certain issue is to be handled. They are expected to make split decision over who is innocent and who needs to be questioned (Hirst, M.J., 1990).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To carry out these duties, they are governed by professional ethics that guide them when carrying out their duties. In the process of carrying out these duties, police officers are expected to uphold and protect the human rights of the civilians and suspects. This is in conformity to both the national and international law. Their duty is to safeguard the interests of the public and assist public officials in the execution of their duties. These duties and responsibilities should be carried out in line with the laid procedures. Objectivity and fairness are two key ideals that should be upheld and personal interests should not conflict the efficiency in carrying out of such responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Key to police ethics is the issue of discrimination. Police officers and other law enforcement officers are expected to carry out their duties indiscriminately. They are guided by the law and it should not be applied selectively. Gender, race, social and political status, creed or ethnic background should not be used as a basis to accord somebody harsh or preferential treatment. Almost all professions are expected to uphold confidentiality in their interactions with the public. Police officers too are not expected to reveal private details not unless it has been established that publicizing such details will help in the line of duty, for example in apprehending a suspect. The procedures and operations of the police officers should remain within the forces precincts as the release of such information can lead to jeopardizing of important missions. Every police officer is hence bound to confidentiality. No data regarding the police should be released to another party without proper authorization (Miller, S. et al, 1997.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police officers are expected to use reasonable force in carrying out their duties. This however does not extend to malicious damage to property, unwarranted harassment of the pubic and any other measures that are not within the precincts of what is unavoidable in the line of duty. The force applied should not go beyond what is necessary and reasonable in carrying out such kind of an activity. The police ethics are against the subjection of suspected criminals to brutality that is outside the stipulations of the law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hierarchy in the police force is legally and ethically emphasized. Orders and commands in the force always take downward route. As long as the orders given are lawful and do not contravene the ethics, an officer is under obligation carry them out. The superiors on the other hand are expected to have full responsibility of the actions of their juniors in regard to the instruction that they have issued. Codes of ethics also do not allow police officers to accept gifts that are attached to their work, in case of such an offer; they are expected to notify their superiors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also against police ethics for officers to carry out investigations into issues that they have personal connections with unless such involvement is not likely to have a bearing on the investigations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Objectivity is to be upheld at all times. As far as suspects are concerned, police ethics require the officers to treat suspects humanely in the knowledge that they are innocent until proven guilty. There should also be enough grounds to necessitate the arrests of such suspects (Bracey, D.H, 1992).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like in any other profession, personal feelings and prejudices are bound to get into the way of efficiency and professionalism. Law enforcement officers sometimes find themselves in ethical dilemmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are four classifications of dilemmas; among these discretion and loyalty are the most common. Police are allowed discretionary authority in their line of duty. These are powers to choose the most appropriate decision to make in a specific case. This is where personal intuition comes at play and in many cases lead to selective application of the law. A policeman is supposed to chose who to charge with a certain crime and who to leave. In making such a decision, personal preferences and prejudices may impede on the process of making of the right judgment as required by law. This is a very common dilemma (Blalock, J., 1992.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blacks and Hispanic community have been complaining of harassment by the police. The crime rates in the United States are that these two communities have a high prevalence rate in crime, with such a notion in the back of a policeman mind; an officer is bound to have a clouded judgment in his view of any person from these communities. With his or her discretionary authority, a police officer is more likely to arrest a black in the midst of whites in case of a fracas more than he would to a white who is amongst blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personal interests are also likely to stand in the way of executing proper judgments. This is complicated by the temptation to take bribes. It is against police ethics and also against the law for police officers to solicit or accept a bribe. References Hirst, M.J., 1990. Setting the Standards for Policing: Meeting Community Expectations, London, Association of Chief Police Officers. United Nations, 1989. United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, New York Miller, Seumas, Blackler, John, & Alexandra, Andrew, 1997. Police Ethics, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.. Blalock, J., 1992. Mismanagement and Corruption. Police Studies 15(4). Bracey, D.H, 1992. Police Corruption and Community Relations: Community Policing. Police Studies 15(4).

Chapter 5 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter 5 - Coursework Example The agency also deals with economic oriented issues such as pest invasion and development of legitimate trade. Ideally, the CBP is meant to create a supportive business environment for US businesses by reinforcing trading regulations and discourage illegal trade. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (IEC) is the largest investigative arm of the DHS. The agency identifies and assesses boarder-related vulnerabilities (Siegel, & Worrall, 2011). In addition, the agency is responsible for improving transportation, economic and infrastructural security. The agency is dependent on timely and accurate analysis of intelligence data collected through the Office of Intelligence. Finally, The Secret Service is charged with personal security of the US president, the vice president, high-level officials, and their families. Firstly, the secret service gathers intelligence information on threats against the white House and other state offices and buildings. Secondly secrete service investigates cases of identity theft, counterfeiting and cyber crimes targeting government’s online services, financial institutions and telecommunication services. Thus, the agency deals with sophisticated crimes that threaten U.S’s institutional and social

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 3

Company Law - Essay Example In the given problem, though, the place of incorporation of â€Å"Beauty Care Ltd or BCL â€Å"is not given, it is assumed that it has been incorporated in a valid jurisdiction. Hence, it is assumed that it is not a private company incorporated in Hong Kong and a company registered elsewhere, which is suitable for listing in Hong Kong. It should have a past trading record in the last three financial years and its net profit after taxes but before dividend should not be lesser than HK $ 20,00,0000 and in respect of the last two financial years, it should not be lesser than HK$ 30, 00,000. In the last three financial years, a minimum of HK$50 million should have been reported as profit. At least twenty five percent of minimum paid-up capital should be controlled by at least not less than one thousand public shareholders. It is to be observed that above mentioned minimum number of public shareholders shall exclude any employee holdings of the company. However, up to five percent holdings held by employees is permitted to comprise of the twenty-five percent public shareholding spread. By the introduction listing of securities already issued where no marketing arrangements are needed since the securities for which listing is sought are already of such an amount and so widely held that there is enough marketability. Beauty Care Limited (BCL) has to submit an application for listing its shares and it has to go through the formalities of the dual vetting and filing process by both the SFC and HKSE. However, in case if the application is made to HKSE only, then it will forward a copy to SFC. Further, HKSE will be the front-end communicator for the purpose of listing. (Soulier & Best 2005:200). Further, the listing document of an overseas issuer who wishes to have a primary listing in Hong Kong should furnish a summary of the specific regulatory statutory rules or otherwise of the overseas

Performance Improvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Performance Improvement - Research Paper Example Evidently, there is a weak link between healthcare spending and patient experience. In this context, it is advisable for health organizations to review their health delivery policies and think how their health budget could effectively enhance patient experience. Evidences suggest that efficiency of workflow is the key to improve patient experience, and in turn a number of factors such as time, process designs, and procedural efficacy may influence workflow efficiency. This performance improvement paper will discuss how improving workflow can contribute to enhanced patient experience by reducing wait-times. The paper will also address the outcomes of a one on one meeting with the finance team, patient experience team, and patients. The term workflow refers to the sequence of administrative and other processes through which a particular healthcare work passes from initiation to completion. As mentioned already, time is a crucial component of workflow such that a long wait time would contribute badly to patient experience. According to a Press Ganey article (2010), US patients have been experiencing the longest wait times in emergency departments since 2002. The report says that in 2009 a US patient spent an average of four hours and seven minutes in the emergency department from the moment he entered the room until the time he was discharged. This average time spent was 31 minutes more than the national average in 2002 and indicated an increase of four minutes compared to 2008 (Press Ganey, 2010). Previous researches have established a clear negative relationship between long wait time and patient satisfaction. According to one finding, â€Å"patient wait time for medical care has a direct impact on patient sa tisfaction, medical compliance, return show rate and patient attitudes toward clinicians, staff and clinics in general† (Cuevas & Joseph, n.d). To illustrate, researchers including Anderson, Camacho, and Balkrishnan (2007) conducted a study to evaluate the

History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

History - Research Paper Example Each of the super power aimed at gaining maximum output and dividends from the war. United States of America for the first time aimed at keeping its influence alive in European continent unlike First World War where the Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points were written off by Congress and as a result United States of America had to persist with its policy of Isolation. The Soviet Republic on other side aimed at gaining maximum influence and claimed spoils on account of the damages incurred. Soviet Socialist State alone had suffered the maximum number of casualties both in terms of the civilian losses and the military damages incurred. Secondly on both the occasions( First World War and Second World War), U.S.S.R was being attacked by Germany and other Central powers and U.S.S.R this time aimed at ensuring that her borders are protected well enough and for that reason it wanted an influence in the regional countries. Major elements that decided and dictated the terms and conditions of Cold war were the war repatriations, economic gains, territorial benefits, and enacting political systems that would be friendly towards the respective foreign policies. Yalta Conference: The event of Yalta conference has been termed as the formal initiation of the Cold war between the two super powers. The conference and proceedings of the meeting were marked by distrust for one another and lack of common agenda amongst the two. United States wanted to maintain its influence and U.S.S.R demanded more influence in the region on account of its contributions, domination and sacrifices. The main leads of Yalta were F.D Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. The two being super power demanded more influence and say while Great Britain on account of its historic influence and being the front runner amongst the Allies in both the World Wars made up for an integral part of the entire proceedings. These three were dubbed as the Big Three from those times who majorly decided the rulings of the post war settlements. Element of Poland: Poland served as country with high interest for both the super powers. In past it had been used as a corridor and in both the world wars Russia was attacked by Germany from the route de Poland. Stalin would not settle for anything other than establishing a pro Soviet Government in Poland. U.S.A had other intentions. The decision was to be made between the Lublin Poles and the London Poles. America wanted a democratically elected government in place, and Stalin promised free and fair elections at first, however the terms were tempered and Stalin and his intelligence agencies played an influential role towards ensuring a pro Soviet government enactment in Poland, and as a result of this Lublin Poles were brought into power much to the pleasure of Soviet Republic. The course of Cold War: Formally initiated by the Yalta Conference and alleged tempering of the terms of the agreements by Stalin the proceedings to place in form of di vision of Europe into two distinct Blocs. The Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Both falling to Soviet Republic and United States of America respectively. The Eastern Europe comprised of East Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungry and various other states respectively. The Western Europe constituted West Germany, Turkey, and Greece individually. Each of

Apex Corporation Case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Apex Corporation Case - Coursework Example Conversely, the owners may just be satisfied with a business size that suits their managerial capabilities. Whatever the size of the business, it is the financial health that matters the most to all stakeholders (Meigs & Meigs, 10). In the given assignment, I have to assume that I am an attorney and that a client has approached me to consider whether a managerial position at Apex Corporation would be good to take up. He is already impressed with the salary and benefits they are offering but has no knowledge of accounting or finance. So I am going to have to advise him after looking at Apex’s financial statements for 2001, as the assignment criteria limits our evaluation to this year only. However we might make comparisons between the years 2000 and 2001 Analysis of Financial Statements The financial statements of a corporate enterprise, namely the income statement and the balance sheet are two of the most important summaries of the business activities that have occurred over t he last financial year. We are told that the Apex Corporation is a local manufacturing firm. The third statement that has also found to be of use to stakeholders is the Statement of Cash Flow, which shows how the firm used the cash generated in financing, investment and production activities. Negative or troubling cash flow situations are often the first sign of distress in a business, occurring long before telltale signs emerge on its income statement and balance sheet. The most common ratios that can be calculated for a corporate business entity using ratio analysis are the Current Ratio, the Debt-Equity Ratio, the Receivables Turnover, the Gross Profit percentage, the Net Profit percentage and the Inventory Turnover. This will give an analyst a good picture of the financial strength and viability of the business. Another approach would be a year to year comparison of results, using the common size income statement and balance sheets for 2000 and 2001. Calculation of Financial Rat ios Proceeding with our calculations, we first have the Current Ratio, which is calculated as: Total Current Assets / Total Current Liabilities. For Apex Corporation, this is: For Year 2000: $3,415,807/ $1,546,107= 2.21: 1. For Year 2001: $4,257,700/ $1,616,700= 3:1. So we find that Current Ratio has improved from 2.21:1 in 2000 to 3:1 in 2001. This indicates that there are now more current assets to cover current liabilities. The working capital which is defined as Total Current Assets – Total Current Liabilities, has improved from $1,869,700 in 2000 to $2,614,000 in 2001. This speaks well of the company’s short term liquidity and solvency. However, we would have to compare it to Industry Averages for the manufacturing sector to be more accurate in our perceptions (Meigs & Meigs, 943). Moving on to the Debt-Equity Ratios, the ratio of Total Debt to Total Assets can be calculated by Total Liabilities / Total Assets. For Year 2000 it is $2,296,107/ $5,615,807 or 0.41: 1 and for Year 2001 it works out to $2,466,700/$5,697,700 or 0.43:1. This means that debt was 41 cents to the dollar for each $1 of assets owned by Apex Corporation in 2000, and this increased slightly to 43 cents to the dollar in 2001. In other words we can say that each $1 of assets of Apex Corporation was financed 41percent by debt in 2000 and 59 percent by equity; this changed to 43 percent debt and 57 percent equity in 2001. Coming now to the Gross Profit Margin, this is given by: Gross Profit/ Sales x 100. For

Dirty Pretty Things Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dirty Pretty Things - Movie Review Example The movie develops to a scene where Okwe is given a task to repair a broken toilet by Juliette, who is a prostitute, and this leads to making of a horrendous finding. Okwe decides to report to the manager Sneaky, and he is blackmailed in order to remain quiet (Bradshaw, 1). Nonetheless, it gets to a point where he discovers other illegal business, which influences him into seedy London underworld. In contrast, Senay is also influenced by his endeavor to finance her escape to America. It is evident that these two immigrants are influenced into illegal businesses due to their problems such as poverty, fear of being deported (Roger, 1). Therefore, this movie is able to present the interrelationship of the nature of the capitalist system, immigration, and crime (Rovi, 1). For instance, the capitalist system is evident by the fact the Okwe is has medial training, but he is forced to work as a taxi driver instead of seeking formal employment. The aspect of immigration in the movie is prese nted by the fear that these two characters portray due to the risk of being deported. Furthermore, they are influenced into crime due to poverty they are subjected to since they are illegal immigrant without ability to seek good employment. ... The aspect of poverty in this movie is presented by the couch space that is rented by Okwe in the small flat of the chambermaid, who is called Senay; in fact, she hails from Turkey, where she fled due to an arranged marriage. There are other characters such as Guo Yi, who is involved into poker games at the mortuary where he works. Moreover, there are others such as Ivan and Juliette, who is a prostitute (Rovi, 1). In this case, the movie focuses on presenting main characters who are subjected to poverty and they are forced to be involved in unpleasant jobs to earn their stay in London. However, there are other characters, who are Londoners existing in the movie either as customers or immigration officials. The aspect of capitalism is also presented by the effort by Okwe to work in two jobs, whereby be drives a minicab during the day and in a hotel during the night, and he buys illegal herbs at a local cafe (Roger, 1). These illegal herbs are meant to keep him more or less awake in o rder for him to work without sleep. There is another attribute of faithfulness portrayed by Okwe, whereby he remain faithful to his wife in Nigeria by the fact that he desist to engage in any form of sexual relationship with Senay despite living in the same house; in fact, she like him but Okwe never gets carried away (Bradshaw, 1). These characters are presented with ability to make little money from activities such as supplying room service sandwiches after the hotel kitchen are closed. Nevertheless, it is evident that they make a significant contribution to the Western economy as shadow workers. They also operate through a network of contact and support in London underworld; in fact, members of this network

Darwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Darwin - Essay Example So it could be well said that these two articles is contemplating and criticizing Darwin’s intellectual and scientific quality along with his sense to respect theological values. Darwin intelligently investigated about human evolution and he came to a conclusion that God created few animal species and they by natural selection progressed to become humans. Everyone knows the fact that our closest DNA match agrees with apes. The intelligent level and social existence of apes match with human beings on a great level. But in the journal article by Cosans there is a contradiction on the fact where theology entangls with evolution. In this article Cosans put forward the statements mentioned by eminent anatomist Owen, where he suggests that God has no power in the human evolution theory. Considering the journal by Cosans, it cannot be stated that Darwin only concentrated on evolution as a divine process. He studied the subject visiting many earth zones and found that life originated from microorganisms and it went on to evolve into animals and ultimately in to intellectual beings. Darwin here is not prophesying on facts which he has not researched on. He has investigated on organisms like bacteria to apes to understand human evolution. Now in the journal by Cosans ,we can find that Owen retaliates on the fact that human evolution can be seen from a theological perspective.Owen as an anatomists look at the flaws of Darwin’s scientific research conclusion. Darwin here looked at creations and the mystery hidden behind its life and evolutionary process which has morphed them to become animals and later into human being by natural selection Here in this journal titled† Was Darwin a creationist† a question is raised by Cosans whether Darwin itself is adding divinity with evolutionary process or is evolutionary theory with a theological perspective is a

Is War Ethical Essay Example for Free

Is War Ethical Essay The question, is war ethical, should always be the first question asked and the first question answered before engaging in such a world altering, life changing endeavor. One must be sure that purpose of war is to bring peace. â€Å"That its essential aim is always peace, so if peace is forthcoming in any guise, it is morally critical for all parties to seek a return to a permanent peace rather than a momentary lapse of war† (Moseley). Unfortunately, this is not the mindset of Falcon, one of the charters in The Sirens of Baghdad. He is militant; consumed with Thanatos and with an â€Å"appetite for destruction† (Hedges 251) towards the American troops; Falcon in the event below is determined to deceive and poison the minds of his brethren against the Americans troops. The event with Falcon takes place at the barbershop in Karfr Karam. Falcon and the elders of the town are gathered there, discussing the capture of Saddam by the American force in Iraqi. After some of the elders expressed their gratitude for the Americans capturing Saddam. Falcon takes this opportunity to place his seeds of doubt. He tries to unethically persuade his brethren. He expresses to them that the Americans had no right to go after Saddam and insists that it was the people of Iraqis responsibility. He believed it was because of every Iraqi’s cowardice that Saddam tyrannized them. He references this when he said, â€Å"People have the kings they deserve† (Khadra 32). He then expressed that Saddam may have been a monster but added that he was their monster. Falcon went on to explain that Saddam was one of them and shared their blood. He added that Saddam may have been a tyrant but he was Iraqi and therefore the Americans had no business touching or going after him. Falcon expressed that he would rather have Saddam still in power rather than the infidel American troops in Iraq. Falcon believed it was the Americans’ force, not Saddam that put Iraq in dire straits. Falcon says, â€Å"Look at what they’ve made of our country: hell on earth† (Khadra 33). Falcon’s behavior is fueled by Thanatos just as the behavior of the Islamic clerics was when they were determined to convert their countrymen into devout Muslims. â€Å"They spurned the decadence of the West including what the clerics condemned as the West’s loose sexual mores, drug use and thirst for sensual gratification†(Hedges 260). In that very moment Falcon was purposely lying to demoralize the American troops. He was trying to persuade his audience that the Americans did not come to free Iraq and bring peace. Falcon felt Saddam was an excuse to take Iraq’s resources and pillage their towns and cities. He tried to fill his audience’s minds with doubt and mistrust. He was unethically deceiving his community the same way real life insurgents behave in the Iraqi war. Tariq say’s, â€Å"More and more Iraqis were fooled by the insurgents propaganda, and the attacks aimed at Americans and their supporters increased. My country †¦ has suffered greatly from the insurgency, and we have lost many people who believed in the U. S. message† (Abandoned in Iraq). Falcon, just like the real insurgents in Iraq dedicated to their unethical war, chose an unethical path. He spread deceitful lies and led his brethren into the jaws of Tahantos instead of guiding them towards a life of peace and happiness. The next event in The Sirens of Baghdad is fueled by the insurgents’ use of deceitful tactics. In pursuit of their unethical war, they purposely caused innocent lives to be lost in order to create media propaganda to recruit the naive young men of Iraq. They dressed in civilian clothing and hid among the people. They used the innocent women and children for cover and human shields. â€Å"A populace†¦. held hostage by a group of ragged, starving ‘rebels,’ armed with filthy rifles and rocket launchers† (Khadra 76). Their actions and behaviors are very similar to those of the real insurgency and their unethical war in Iraq. An example of this is when they gave young school children realistic toy guns to play with at the very same check points their relatives work at with US troops. This was obviously done to cause innocent bloodshed which, in turn, will create some type of media propaganda for their cause. Specialist Raven Jenks says, â€Å"It’s to train the kids to use real weapons, and also to provoke us into killing civilians (Iraq’s young Blood). The insurgency uses this unethical tactic to create media propaganda of war. This is for the sole purpose of causing despair and rage within the people of Iraq to brainwash them and turn them against the forces that are sent to help. In the event described below, Yassen is one of the first young men in the Sirens of Baghdad to be won over by this unethical war tactic. The event takes place in the cafe in Kafr Karma. Seeds of doubt and deception have already reached the minds of Kafr Karma’s youth about American troops. Before departing for Bagdad, Sayed, Falcon’s son, purposely left a parting gift of a television for Kafr Karam’s youth at the cafe. He did this in hopes the youth would not forget his message and â€Å"that the young men of Kafra Karam would not lose sight of their country’s tragic reality† (Khadra 74). Along with the seeds of doubt and deception already planted within the young men’s minds, this gift â€Å"proved to be a poisoned chalice† (Khadra 83). It served its purpose well. The youth were griped with the images of war and enraged by the lost of innocent blood shed of their people. They began to sway to the side of the insurgency unethical war; â€Å"applauding successful ambushes and deploring skirmishes that went wrong† (Khadra 84). The young men of Kafr Karam were growing closer to Thanatos everyday and the temptation to â€Å"honor false covenants †¦. and gender† (Hedges 250),such as Saddam, was taking affect. Fully aware of the unethical wrongs Saddam committed, the youth still began to further familiarize themselves with him. Their initial delight for his capture turned to frustration. One of the youth, Yaseen, felt the publicity portraying the capture of Saddam portrayed him as a rat; dirty, confused, unshaven, and exposed to the cameras of the world. Yassen took offense to this and announced â€Å"by humiliating him like that, they were holding up every Arab in the world to public opprobrium† (Khadra 84). Yassen was clearly won over by the insurgency’s propaganda and unethical chose to aid in spreading its lies and deceit. The insurgency’s seed of doubt and deception enforced by their media propaganda enforced their campaign for the loyalty (Hedges 250) and paid off. The insurgency gained a new recruit from Kafr Karam to join their unethical war. The final event described below from The Sirens of Baghdad is a fictional example of the ultimate insanity of the insurgency’s unethical war. The Iraqi insurgency preys on the young men and boys who have been submerse in violence; â€Å"the closest analogy may be to the Taliban in Afghanistan. They offer these orphans of war a different kind of family structure cemented by the bonds of Islam†(Iraq’s Young Blood). These young Iraqis want to belong but more importantly crave purpose. Their minds are impressionable, easy to manipulate and brainwash. Making them the perfect candidates to turn into suicidal human weapons. The event described below from The Sirens of Baghdad bear witness to this product of unethical war. The main character (the narrator) turns himself into human weapon. The final event takes place in Beirut, Lebanon. The narrator has been groomed by his cousin Sayed (a member of the insurgency) since his arrival in Baghdad form Kafr Karam. The narrator, who has longed to become a suicide bomber, now receives his chance. Fully aware of his cousin’s fate, Sayed still makes the unethical decision to offer the narrator the mission. Sayed says, â€Å"you wanted some action†¦. Well, the miracle has taken place†¦. mission is now possible† (Khadra 236). The narrator accepts the unethical mission. Delighted, but aware of the possibility the narrator may change his mind before the mission, Sayed makes the unethical discussion to manipulate his young cousin once again. He says, â€Å"Kafr Karam, the forgotten, will take its place in history† (Khadra 237). Those words send the narrator into a state of purpose and honor. This is evident when he says, â€Å"He had lifted me up into the ranks of those who are revered† (Khadra 237). The narrator has made the unethical choice to become a human weapon.

Iron Orchid, by Stuart Woods: An analysis

Iron Orchid, by Stuart Woods: An analysis Iron Orchid Introduction: Iron Orchid is fast-paced suspense novel with an ongoing theme of never judging a book by its cover. The novel was written by popular suspense author Stuart Woods. The novel is set up around the Federal Investigation Bureau’s and the Central Intelligence Agency’s methods and modern tactics. A lot of the novels scenes and scenarios are relevant to modern day Orchid Beach, Florida, where the story takes place. The author integrates a lot of real world information, specs, and facts on the FBI, CIA and other topics the novel touches. Iron Orchid is a well-developed novel that keeps the reader connected with the world around him. Plot Mapping: The story begins with the protagonist, Teddy Fay, an ex-CIA technology wizard jumping of an exploding plane. Former Chief of Police in Florida, Holly Barker is at the CIA Farm starting her training when she is pulled out of class and put on special assignment to deal with the situation. Teddy Fay is not dead as was thought at the end of Capital Crimes and has resurfaced for revenge. He has decided to go after targets in New York City that the local authorities can’t touch because of diplomatic immunity. His contact inside the CIA, Irene Foster, is still active, and is covering his tracks for him. Holly and her team are sent to New York to work with Lance Armstrong in an attempt to stop Teddy Fay. Now being a master of deception, the CIA fails to apprehend him when he sat next to Holly at the Met Opera. He also loses them at the Opera Music Store, and at Sax 5th Ave while posing as Santa after shooting someone who tried to hurt Holly while Skating in Central Park. This is where the author uses the suspense and action affects effectively weaving them excellently into the storyline. The CIA struggle with the fact that he is doing what they only wish they could, and have a difficult time catching him because of this. When Teddy succeeds in killing a Saudi Prince at the United Nations Plaza, he takes advantage of the opportunity to disappear for good. Teddy plants a fake body in a construction building and blowing it to bits; faking his death, while at the same time taking care of his final target. The sub plot of this novel is Irene Fosters and Teddy Fay’s developing relationship throughout the story. They meet up in the beginning of the book after not seeing each other for a long time. While they meet up in secrete dates where Teddy and her plan their escape to the Philippines, after Teddy has completed his task. Their relationship grows stronger as the book progresses, and when they dip to the Philippines they live happily ever after. Character Analysis: Teddy Fay is the protagonist of the Iron Orchid. Teddy is a very meticulous and vigilant character. He shoots for nothing less than perfection, and stops at nothing to complete his work. Throughout the story Teddy realizes that his time for retirement is growing near, he displays more caution and awareness to the world around him as the novel progresses. Teddy’s relationship with Irene grows stronger with the story as well; he even made the decision to take her with him to live together after the task is completed. Teddy’s state of mind is very constant, the reader sees little to no variation in Teddy’s ideas and thinking throughout the story, and shows very little sings of emotion or affection towards any characters of the story other than Irene. Teddy fay is a little something like El Chapo Guzman, both are men on a mission for commission, and nobody seems to be close to putting a stop to them. El Chapo Guzman is the one of the greatest drug lords alive, allusi ve and dangerous, who else to compare Teddy Fay with than the best? They differences are greater than their similarities, in the sense that Teddy assassinates targets the government would want to take down, and that El Chapo runs an extensive drug trade with the worlds superpowers. Both disappear right in the nick of time, and fake their capture or death when the time is right. Motifs Themes: One of the main ongoing themes of Iron Orchid is appearances can be deceiving. It’s a very effective theme in this story due to the fact that throughout the whole story Teddy has Holly and the rest of the agency clueless as to he is. He uses disguises and different accents with speech to blend in with the diverse population of the city. During the whole wild goose chase Teddy Fay was within arm’s reach of his prosecutors yet never even touched. Another unique theme presented in the book is that good doesn’t always triumph over evil. Teddy Fay, the villain, is victorious in the end and leaves Holly and the rest of the agency in stupidity, while he is relaxing peacefully in the Philippines with his partner in crime Irene Foster. Many of the motifs and themes of the book pertain to social issues and society, and changes the way the readers views the people around them, since you never really know who someone really is on the inside. Many if not all the themes in Iro n Orchid can relate to life as we know it in some way or another, they are modern and broad themes leaving the reader able to interpret and apply them to his or her life in their own unique way. Critique of Author: Stuart Wood’s only possible purpose for writing Iron Orchid was to keep the reader entertained throughout the entire story. Stuart did a good job of keeping the reader entertained, yet some parts of the book were so vague and boring the reader almost wanted to skip them. Stuart tried persuading the reader to hate diplomats with diplomatic immunity. He seemed to want the reader to adopt Teddy’s view of the topic; almost putting the reader in Teddy’s own shoes when he takes out the diplomats, the hatred for them throughout the story is clear and hard to hide. Stuart Woods portrays a society where the normal people aren’t aware of the world around them, a world were government officials let the rich get away with what they want, a society where the good doesn’t always triumph over good. Stuart woods overall as he is portrayed through his writing is a realist. He seems to view things as they are, he shows it in this book just by letting the villain take the victory in the end, which shows that he’s isn’t much of an optimistic person who wants to believe that good always triumphs. He also shows it in his style of writing, you never know what to expect, and the reader can’t trust that he will favor a certain character for too long; things aren’t the way they seem to be. Analysis of the Book: This book was both worth reading and enjoyable at the same time. I would definitely recommend this book to another reader; it’s a good time killer. Iron Orchid both supports the reader’s beliefs more than it goes against them, making it a well-balanced book. The book weaves the reader into the story, appealing to the reader in every way especially logically. Overall there aren’t many emotionally appealing scenes in Iron Orchid. The book motivates the reader to read the sequel to the story, and leaves the reader thinking for a while after the story has been completed. Iron Orchid will change the way the readers view on criminals, the FBI and CIA alike, the reader is challenged by the author to view them past what we see on the outside. The book almost tempts the reader to think like the law enforcers, and criminals in the story. Conclusion: Iron Orchid is a lightweight yet complete and entertaining Thriller. It’s a well written story, with well-developed characters, and some entertaining action. The book can be boring at times but Stuart Woods makes up for the few worth-less pages in the book. The themes and motifs are motivating and thought provoking. The plot needs a little work, along with other part of the book, yet the reader can’t complain about a good, entertaining book.  

Aristotles View Essay -- Aristotle Philosophy Essays

Aristotle's View Is life really about the 'money', the 'cash', the 'hoes', who has the biggest gold chain or who drives the shiniest or fastest car, who sells the most albums or who has the most respect? Aristotle challenges views, which are similar to the ones held and shown by rap artists such as Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G., by observing that everything in the universe, including humans, has a telos, or goal in life. He states that the goal of a human life is to achieve happiness or eudaimonia. I believe that Aristotle is completely correct in his reasoning of the purpose of human nature. He even explains how happiness is different for every person, and each different type of person has a different idea of eudaimonia. He then goes on to talk about how a person must do all things in moderation, not doing the excess but at the same time doing just enough. This idea, called the "golden mean of moderation" was the backbone support to Aristotle's idea of human telos because it concluded that living a virtuous life must be the same for all people because of the way human beings are built. Aristotle argued that the goal of human beings is happiness, and that we achieve happiness when we fulfill our function. Therefore, it is necessary to determine what our function is. The function of a thing, or its telos, is what it alone can do, or what it can do best. Like the function of the eye is to see, Aristotle declared the human being as the "rational animal" whose function...

Living on Death Row :: Criminal Justice Essays

Living on Death Row The purpose of this paper is to examine life on death row. The information obtained in order to write this paper came from one article. In reading the article it is very clear to see the obvious one-sided bias of the author, who is apparently adamantly against the current status of death rows across the United States of America. Unfortunately, no research could be found to illustrate other views or opinions of life on death row. The author of this article used many opinions, first hand accounts and experiences of prisoners living on death row to illustrate his/her ideas. However, there is an obvious bias of those currently living on death row against their living conditions and treatment. It can be assumed that few people would want to be somewhere or enjoy being somewhere when they knew that they would eventually be executed. It is can also be assumed that very few people would find awaiting executing a happy or fulfilling experience. It is interesting to note that while searching t he Internet for information on the death penalty an abundance of web sites were found that belonged to prisoners on death row. All of whom claimed that they were wrongly accused, framed for, and innocent of the crimes that they were convicted of committing.   It is the opinion of the author that the main purpose and goal of death row is "human storage." (Article, p.48) By this the author is suggesting that "condemned prisoners [are] treated essentially as bodies kept alive to be killed." (Article, p.48) The author goes on to use examples given by inmates on death row to illustrate the above-mentioned point. On such example included the alleged treatment of a suicidal prisoner on a death row in Texas. Apparently this prisoner was "placed in a straightjacket †¦handcuffs†¦placed on his wrists†¦a crash helmet†¦. was placed on his head and there he lay for weeks, helpless, alone and drugged." (Article, p. 49) Unfortunately there is no information given as to what else could have been done for the prisoner or what facilities the prison had to deal with this type of issue. This is also an anecdotal example given by someone on death row themselves. It is quite possible that this example may have been exaggerated or distort ed in the re-telling or even told in an attempt to get staff in some form of trouble or get back at the staff for a 'wrong' done against the prisoner.

The Underrepresentation of Women in Academic Leadership in the United S

The literature review for this study examines various researches imperative to understanding the context, nature, and extent of the problem of underrepresentation of women in academic leadership in the United States. Gender inequality still exists in leadership positions in U.S academia; â€Å"women are still struggling to be at the leadership table despite the progress the U.S. has made in recent times through the process of eliminating discrimination in the workplace† (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). The review also pulls resources from literatures dealing with assessing the root causes of underrepresentation of female Leaders in the United States, with regards to employment discrimination, societal roles etc. From this review, some notable topics emerged that pulls an in depth analysis of the various factors that influence the underrepresentation of women as leaders in the United States academia. Consequently, research has shown that the number of female presidents have not chang ed in the last 10 years (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). Keywords: women and leadership, Academic Leaders, US Academia, Leadership Characteristics. Are women underrepresented in leadership role in the U.S Academia? A Literature Review A report written in the American Association of University Professors, states that as women pursue academic leadership advancement, the lower the percentage of women in higher leadership roles become. For instance, the representation of woman in leadership roles are as follows: Fifty percent of women are lecturers and instructors, forty six percent are represented in Assistant professor positions, thirty eight percent and twenty three percent are college presidents (ACE, 2007). Furth... ...rative literature review: Guidlines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356-367. doi: 10.1177/1534484305278283 Kiamba, J. M. (2008). Women’s activism for gender equity in Africa, women and leadership positions. Social and cultural barriers Due Billing, Y., & Alvesson, M. (1989). Four ways of looking at women and leadership. Scandinavian journal of management, 5(1), 63-80. doi.10.1300/J111v32n03_08 Fernandez, J. Race, (1998). Gender and rhetoric: The true state of race and gender relations in corporate America. New York: McGraw Hill. Recruitment, retention, and professional development of women faculty a report from the academic issues subcommittee of the provost's committee on the status of women. Informally published manuscript, John Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. Retrieved from http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/reports/womenfac/report.html

Heat of the Day By Elizabeth Bowen Essay

â€Å"Heat of the Day† by Elizabeth Bowen is the reflection of the complexities in the relationships across the generations, in love and war, set at the backdrop of 1942 World War. The story is about a life of Londoners and the traumatic experience they had to undergo when the city was being bombarded during war. â€Å"The Heat of the Day† sees the city being shattered and in this scenario of devastation, how the people try to make the sense of their lives? â€Å"The Heat of the Day† follows with same intensity the flow of the wartime stories written by Bowen in 1945. The story is though about warfare yet there is very little description about the war and that only one instance of the air raid, which happens close to the end of novel. The description of impressions of war and the London has been explicitly referred through the voice of characters with the reality transformed through visionary approach of the city. As described by Neil Corcoran, â€Å"The ‘Heat of the Day’ is a novel in which the panic of possibly losing identity, and of others deceiving you about their identities, operates not only as an agency of plot but as the very texture of style.† (Corcoran, 169) Within the context of the centrally located story is woven several others stories told by protagonists to one another with the purpose to retain their identity which they themselves had found in peril. Stella herself tells false story about her marriage to Roderick, as she wants him to believe that his father Victor was the abandoned party rather than she herself. She does so partly to increase the image of his dead father in the eyes of Roderick and secondly to make herself appear as a femme fatale instead of being a victim. The impression of the war scene can very well be seen in one of the scenes where Harrison is standing in the street and the flames appearing from the distance are helping him to read Stella’s address mentioned on the envelop. The depiction of the fire has been made through the use of image chandelier: â€Å"the Chandelier flare makes the street like a mirrored drawing-room† (Bowen, 315). Inside the flat when the two characters are involved in the conversations, the sounds of guns can be heard seeming to be welcomed, as they made Stella to remain quite. â€Å"The guns rested her by opening up once more† and soon they faded, â€Å"The guns, made fools of, died out again, askance† (Bowen, 319). The importance of war seems to be considered very less with Stella and Harrison being hardly aware of any danger. The language has been used in a very poetic way giving a vivid, lucid and a very realistic touch to the nature and the objects surrounding the characters. Bowen penetrates into the physical objects and events manifesting in the human behaviors and their dreams and missions. With great subtlety, complexity and force, she is able to make characters come alive making them have real experience of the terrific upheavals of the warfare. Her prose is beautifully contrived to give meaning and depth to life experiences of the characters, which continues to follow us after the last page has been read and has been placed down. At many occasions, the scenes are shifted from war torn London to the peace and tranquility of the countryside. The difference is clearly seen between the country life in England around the Victorian hulk and in the neutral Ireland. While reading it, we are made to remember about the blackouts, characters forgetting the names of the places during their train journey, continuous alike confusions between the friend and foe, and the direction to which war is taking in the passing years. Amidst this scenario lies the gripping version of the story of woman and the way she comes to term and understanding of the intolerable situations. In the first chapter itself, we are introduced to Harrison and his rude behavior towards woman who is trying to have a casual conversation with him. From the second chapter onwards, we are introduced to the heroine and with that her ongoing situation of crises and dilemma she has to undergo and her interaction and influence of Harrison on her. Their relationship with each other cannot be judged very easily but when the scenes are read carefully then only the realization of the base on which they are building their terrible relationship is felt that even before Robert makes his entry. The relationship between Stella and her son Roderick is also very beautifully carved while he takes over the Irish inheritance. On the other hand Robert’s mother and sister are both very confusing personalities making fuss all the time on whom Stella would never be able to leave good impression according to Robert. All the characters are very wonderfully drawn. There is also a scene where two women are sharing one apartment at the same time enjoying each other’s company and exchanging own tales of woes to each other. They contribute their bit in easing tension of the main protagonists. Amidst all the surviving lives of the protagonists, tensions ensue, as it becomes known that Robert is giving his support to the opponents. His disillusionment with Dunkirk induces him to adopt the title of a traitor. Climactic is the reason given by Robert for this decision of his, and on the other hand wants to enlighten himself with the most meaningful future by the war ends. In the last chapter, we are introduced to Louie who is artless girl at the Bandstand. She is a widow as her husband succumbs to the vagaries of the war. She with her child now would like to spend rest of her life at the devastated seaside where she had spent all her life as a child. An essence of the reality being transferred can be felt by the way characters have been visualizing many places in the city. All through the novel, Bowen has made special reference to the seasons, time and the lucid description of light. This aspect shows her creative spree in impressionistic technique. How the way Stella is mystified can very well be seen in the following scene: The two stations also, in Stella’s mind, became epitomes of the two most poignant seasons — in spring, in autumn everything telegraphs its mystery to your senses; nothing is trite. And more: in these years the idea of war made you see any peaceful scene as it were through glass (Bowen, 104). This passage is a manifestation of the transfer of reality in the form of metaphor. With the help of the impressions and metaphors, Bowen gives vivid description of the city London after the bombardment. The whole city is broken with almost several of the landmarks lost. As critics said there is great exposure of irony in the fiction retold and the sense of solidity and individualization in characterization increase the credibility of the most sensuous fiction. Bowen has captured London with such a great dexterity and with greatest blitz that even after reading the whole novel, the memories of this wartime London would haunt the readers for a long time.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act Essay

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees, or job candidates, on the basis of age. This law covers workers who are 40 years of age and older. An employer must have at least 20 workers to be covered by this law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act makes it unlawful for an employer to make employment-related decisions based on an employee’s or a prospective employee’s age. Here are several ways in which workers age 40 and above are covered: †¢An employer can’t make hiring decisions based on an applicant’s age and he or she can’t discriminate based on age when recruiting job candidates, advertising for a job or testing applicants. †¢An employer can’t fire a worker because of his age. †¢An employer can’t use age to classify, segregate or limit an employee if this will negatively affect the employee’s status or deprive him or her of opportunities. †¢An employer can’t use age to determine an employee’s pay. †¢An employer can’t deny benefits to an employee because of the employee’s age. In some circumstances, however, the employer may provide reduced benefits to older workers if the cost of providing those reduced benefits matches the cost of providing benefits to a younger worker. In other words, the cost of providing the benefits to older workers and younger workers must be the same. †¢An employee may take age into account when making an employment-related decision only if it is in regard to an authentic qualification necessary for the business’s operation. Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less favorably because of his age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40. Age Discrimination & Work Situations The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. Age Discrimination & Harassment It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her age. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person’s age. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. Age Discrimination & Employment Policies/Practices An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age (RFOA). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA’s protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training. The ADEA permits employers to favor older workers based on age even when doing so adversely affects a younger worker who is 40 or older. It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA. The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. ADEA protections include: †¢Apprenticeship Programs It is generally unlawful for apprenticeship programs, including joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, to discriminate on the basis of an individual’s age. Age limitations in apprenticeship programs are valid only if they fall within certain specific exceptions under the ADEA or if the EEOC grants a specific exemption. †¢Job Notices and Advertisements The ADEA generally makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in job notices or advertisements. A job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a â€Å"bona fide occupational qualification† (BFOQ) reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business. †¢Pre-Employment Inquiries The ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant’s age or date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure that the inquiry was made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA. If the information is needed for a lawful purpose, it can be obtained after the employee is hired. †¢Benefits The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) amended the ADEA to specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older employees. Congress recognized that the cost of providing certain benefits to older workers is greater than the cost of providing those same benefits to younger workers, and that those greater costs might create a disincentive to hire older workers. Therefore, in limited circumstances, an employer may be permitted to reduce benefits based on age, as long as the cost of providing the reduced benefits to older workers is no less than the cost of providing benefits to younger workers. Employers are permitted to coordinate retiree health benefit plans with eligibility for Medicare or a comparable state-sponsored health benefit. †¢Waivers of ADEA Rights An employer may ask an employee to waive his/her rights or claims under the ADEA. Such waivers are common in settling ADEA discrimination claims or in connection with exit incentive or other employment termination programs. However, the ADEA, as amended by OWBPA, sets out specific minimum standards that must be met in order for a waiver to be considered knowing and voluntary and, therefore, valid. Among other requirements, a valid ADEA waiver must: obe in writing and be understandable; ospecifically refer to ADEA rights or claims; onot waive rights or claims that may arise in the future; obe in exchange for valuable consideration in addition to anything of value to which the individual already is entitled; oadvise the individual in writing to consult an attorney before signing the waiver; and oprovide the individual at least 21 days to consider the agreement and at least seven days to revoke the agreement after signing it. If an employer requests an ADEA waiver in connection with an exit incentive or other employment termination program, the minimum requirements for a valid waiver are more extensive. See Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements† at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_severance-agreements.html

Tata Ace

Marketing StatergyX MBA 18 – Vashi Core IIHerat Mehta Henry Ford said that customers could get cars of any color as long as it was black, while Tata Motors went to customers before designing Ace and asked them about the price and features that they wanted. Compare and contrast between these two approaches? 1. Both the cases are related to Automobile industries. Mr. Ford is talking about passenger cars & tata is talking about commercial vehicles. Main points can be argued as follows. Ford Cars| Tata Ace| Passenger Vehicles| SCV| Already made a huge market & business| Trying to make a new segment in the business| Going for Mass production| Product aimed at saving the entire business. | Almost monopoly business as 50 % of the requirement was fulfilled by Ford| Looking for the new customer or converting customers for their product. | Assembly line production planned. | Product for the people & by the people concept. | Production can be faster as black is the fastest drying colour| Not clear about the achievable sales from the target 30,000 units per year. Only colour becomes constraint for the prospective buyer. | The entire design concept is yet to be proved. | To summarise, both the approaches look fine at their own stages. Identify two activities done by Tata Motors while applying the marketing concept for developing Ace? 2. Implemented cross – functional teams which used 3P concept. (Production, preparation process) Extensive market study considering all possible factors like political, growth, devel opment and also customer need and requirements. Product was designed as the product from the customer, for the customer and designed it as a vehicle to service the last mile distribution. What are the different types of benefits or gratifications that consumers can draw from a product or a service? Discuss with respect to the case? 3. The Benefits that the customers can take from Tata Ace: * Better cost per ton for transportation. * Better fuel efficiency. * Safety * Durability * Weather proofing for the driver. * Additional payload. * Higher status in the community. * Personal motivation to start own business. Better manoeuvrability, can travel on all roads without restrictions, Can travel longer distance at a stretch and can reach smallest of the lanes or areas. * Self satisfaction of having or driving a small truck. What marketing lessons did you learn from the entire case study related to marketing? 4. Following points are very important for marketing a product * It is very important to involve marketing concepts while or prio r to design of a product. * Development of any product should involve all marketing factors for the success of the product. It is important to consider economical situations while doing marketing research. * Same marketing concepts may not work every time for different products or for similar products. * It is must to involve (consider) end users while designing a product. * It is also important to make a proper market segmentation and define target market for any product. * Emotional consideration while defining marketing strategy is very important. * To reach mass in India, marketing should be done in all languages & also in local media. The product should be supported strongly by local availability and after sales service. * It is important to avoid finance related issues of the prospective customers. marketing initiatives you would like to suggest for the future of Tata Ace? 5. Tata should take following Initiatives: * Give more models with different options like, powerful engin e, air-conditioning, option of more colours and body size. * Tata should target further into business specific models. * Reinforce service centres with educational drive & free services. Should make Ace at different geographical plats so that the supply is faster and cheaper. * Tata should launch a higher capacity version on the same platform again naming Ace + or equivalent. * To conduct a survey on the parts which are most unreliable & work on them. * To reduce cost of parts & make them easily available so that the duplication market can be avoided. * A new & fresh team to work on future actions required & again go back to the customers for further input. (This time should go to existing customer showing the commitment from the company)

Descartes’ Epistemology Essay

Carefully explain Descartes’ cogito and his attempt to build his knowledge structure from the ground up. (Be as succinct as possible.) Does Descartes succeed or fail in that attempt? Justify your answer in full. Descartes’ Epistemology. This essay attempts to explain Descartes’ epistemology of his knowledge, his â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† concept (found in the Meditations), and why he used it [the cogito concept] as a foundation when building his structure of knowledge. After explaining the concept I give a brief evaluation of his success in introducing and using this cogito as a foundation. Finally, I provide reasons why I think Descartes succeeded in his epistemology. The First Meditation began with Descartes deciding to employ radical scepticism in his quest of acquiring true knowledge and this lead him to conclude that he could not be sure of anything except that he knew nothing (Descartes, 1984:12-15). Meaning that Descartes discarded all his knowledge whether it was knowing that he had fingers, knowing that the physical world existed, knowledge of his studies etc. he began by acknowledging how everything that constituted his preconceived knowledge could be doubt worthy. This climax of doubt was rooted in one fact: Descartes felt that there was good reason to believe that a higher power could have deceived him into believing that his empirical and a priori knowledge was plausible. Since God is a higher power that Descartes believed to be all good and never deceptive, he named his deceiver the â€Å"Evil Demon† a complete opposite to his wholesome observation of God (Blackburn, 2001:19). Descartes established that the â€Å"Evil Demon† argument could wipe away any assurance of his prior knowledge except for one: his existence (Descartes, 1984:17). This was a good argument because it presented a well thought out reason to question his knowledge. Descartes argued that if an â€Å"Evil Demon† truly existed and is only focused on deceiving him then this proves that he [Descartes] exists†¦ â€Å"If he is deceiving me; and let him deceive me as much as he can, he will never bring about that I am nothing so long as I think that I am something†¦ I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is†¦conceived in my mind† (Blackburn, 2001:20). It is possible to refute this definition of existence in the form  of: Do we suppose that a thinking thing exists because it has experienced thoughts? According to the Second Meditation Descartes’ response would be that ‘I am, I exist’ stands only for a thing that is doing the thinking now and if it were to cease thinking it would cease to exist altogether (Descartes, 1984:18). In addition it is not the thinking that lead to existence, but the existence lead to the thinking. Descartes was willing to be questioned about his knowledge of the world and to prove that he truly sought the correct answer to any objection that may be raised; he overlooked everything he knew and started to build an argument from scratch to assert the knowledge he would later accept as accurate. Thus, Descartes chose the cogito concept as a foundation that he could begin to enlarge his territory of understanding on. From observation it is clear that Descartes only began his Meditations to build a foundation of understanding and since he had discarded all his prior knowledge he needed a solid base to begin reconstructing on, hence the cogito concept emanates. â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† is Latin for â€Å"I think, therefore I am†. The cogito argument is as follows: 1. An evil demon might be deceiving me into believing that I don’t exist. 2. If I believe that I don’t exist, then I exist. 3. I exist. This argument states that, â€Å"if I convinced myself of something then I certainly existed† (Descartes, 1984:17). This simply means that anyone doubting his or her own existence or presence indeed exists because in order for doubt to take place there has to be someone to do it. A proper understanding of the cogito concept means recognizing specifically the classification in which this ‘someone’ that is existing fits into and whether it is accurate to say that he or she exists. The argument, as Descartes presented, does not give a valid reason for the existence of the body or anything else in the physical world, so we cannot accept that bodies exist. Neither does the cogito account for the existence of other minds as that would entail knowledge of the physical world where other things exist. The cogito concept does however; give a valid argument for the existence of the mind or a thinking thing that exists independently of the body. In his  novel Think, Blackburn explains the cogito concept as a means of justifying the core of one’s existence as thinking, we accept that thought exists not a ‘self’ (Blackburn, 2001:20). I agree with Blackburn because his [Descartes’] concept serves well to prove that we exist as thinking things and even if we were to discard any a priori or a posteriori knowledge, we can still endorse the cogito. The cogito concept stands regardless of empirical knowledge because it suggests the existence of thought without actually linking it to the body (which constitutes a sort of empirical way of acquiring knowledge through the senses). In addition, it can be accepted without any a priori knowledge since Descartes only introduced it after concluding that he knew nothing, and could only accept knowledge of his own existence as vindicated. To assess Descartes choice of foundation I will raise some questions that implore an explanation regarding the cogito concept. Firstly, if we only exist when thinking and the â€Å"Evil Demon† is able to manipulate our knowledge of everything else, why are our thoughts not susceptible to his deception? In my perspective, the â€Å"Evil Demon† has the ability to deceive us to a certain point, that point is our existence, and we have established that our existence leads to thinking. Descartes supposed that the ‘Evil Demon† may have influenced our thoughts but the thought he [Evil Demon] could not alter is the thought of us thinking. For example, if I were to throw a plastic ball into a recycle bin and it were melted and reshaped into a mug, although the state of the ball may have changed it is still plastic and even if we discard its previous state its present state shows that it is indeed existing and I cannot convince the plastic that it never existed just because it is in a different state. This example explains how our definition of existence may have changed but the fact remains that we exist hence we think. My example is another way of stating Descartes’ wax example(Descartes,1984:20-21), which according to Blackburn, he [Descartes] uses to confirm that with the cogito we can solidify that our thoughts exist regardless of them being immaterial, various and not constrained to a physical body (Blackburn, 2001:21). A second question could be, if we know(or supposedly accept) that we are being deceived by the â€Å"Evil Demon†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ wouldn’t that mean that we were aware of when we were not being deceived by him and so before we established our foundation(using the cogito concept), we had already accepted some knowledge which lead to the foundation? I think  Descartes would respond by saying that the fact that we can think of the â€Å"Evil Demon† and accept that he is deceiving us means that we already established the cogito before moving on to think of the actual idea of a deceiver, again we see that any thinking means something existed to do it(the thinking). This response seems to present some equivocation but unfortunately I think that any of Descartes’ responses may shift the burden of proof to the person who raised the question. His argument, as I would render it, may be that the question is going in circles and only raises doubt of his [Descartes] means of acquiring knowledge and not actually any objection to the cogito. This last response seems to credit Descartes success in establishing that the cogito is a concept that gives us the best potential start to gaining any knowledge. Even the knowledge of an â€Å"Evil Demon† would mean we have to start by accepting that we exist (cogito) in order to prove any of our knowledge as untrustworthy.  A third and final question is, what form of knowledge is the cogito and what other knowledge can we build on this foundation? The cogito is a form of a priori knowledge because we do not need to prove its validity by explaining anything or drawing on a previous experience to prove it. Descartes further used the cogito when acquiring the knowledge of Cartesian Dualism, which is his next step of building knowledge that is rooted in the cogito. Descartes said that Cartesian Dualism is justified by the cogito because we only have knowledge of an existing ‘thinking’ entity that has no body, hence the body and the mind should be viewed as separate and neither one has the ability to influence the other (Descartes, 1984:21). I think the cogito concept provokes a sense of identity that each of our thinking may contain and this identity entails that as much as the â€Å"Evil Demon† may try to take away our knowledge we still have that little something, as thinking beings, that can only be explained as an existence. This entity of our existence is immaterial, yes, but it leads us into thinking and thinking is our starting point of gaining new knowledge. Therefore Descartes succeeded in his epistemology by choosing â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† as a base for his future knowledge. Once the cogito is accepted Descartes can acquire new knowledge. In conclusion Descartes’ processes of building a knowledge structure foundation was fruitful and ultimately leads to a successful epistemology. Bibliography Blackburn, S. 1999. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. Descartes, R. 1984. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. II, Cottingham, Stoothoff and Murdoch (Translators).UK: Cambridge University Press. Lerm, J. 2013. [Descartes’ ‘Second Meditation’: The Cogito Argument] Lecture Slides. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. J. Lerm [Rebulding Begins] lecture slide 2 [ 2 ]. Lerm [The Cogito Argument] lecture slide 7

Managing Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Managing Change - Essay Example With change always altering the functionality of organizations, Todnem (2005) proposes the eight step model in an effort to employ change in the association. According to Todnem (2005), this begins with the creation of a sense of urgency for the need for change in the organization that needs to motivate the employees to heed to the crisis that is present in the organization. Change is resultant from a myriad of factors such as proper customer relations, competition with the existing business persons amongst others. After the identification of the change factors, it is the role of the management to come up with a team that would see the implementation of the policies put in place. Next in line should be coming up with a vision that underlies the functionality of the change by the employees, and then communication of the vision must be upheld. Todnem (2005) continues to argue that the process cannot be successful without empowering the employees to overcome the obstacles to change. Sub sequently, the management must come up with methodologies for exulting the accomplishments so as to motivate the employees towards further changes in the organization. Finally, the change can only be of utility through stamping the adopted changes to the culture of the organizations. The example of Wal-Mart can be described as a good example of change well accepted in the company. In as much the company faced a lot of resistance from its employees due to low wages and denial to join the labor union, the management has been making tangible decisions that would see implementation of the company’s decisions. The management has seen the inclusion of employees in improving their skills. According to the founder of the company, Mr. Walton, empowered employees are the major change agents in the organization. In this case, the employers endeavoured to train its employees, after that listened to their suggestions that allowed the company implement the set objectives. In this case, the company has managed to deal with to instil in the workers, the slogan that all is possible with the motivation of the employees. The management has also managed to come up with new technology that has seen the employees have an easier time whilst dealing with the pressures in the company. These programs and moves by the management can be credited to the reasons behind the success of the Wal-Mart stores over decades, due to an established organizational culture (Tcherpokov, 2006). References Tcherpokov, M., 2006. The Eight-stage Managing Process of Major Change. A Quality Management Perspective. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.freequality.org/documents/knowledge/ManageChange_MiniTutorial_MT%20_2_.pdf. [Accessed on March 29th 2012]. Todnem, R., 2005. Organisational Change Management: A Critical Review. Journal of Change Management, Vol. 5, No. 4, 369–380. Reflective Journal 2 Week 13 The case of the NHS is another example that has led to a study of the need for change in the o rganizations. In light to the NHS case, a lot of changes have been witnessed. The inclusion of the National Health Service in the quest to reduce the costs of delivery of health services can be described as a fallacy that created a situation whereby the consumer spent a lot of money to access the services. With the government aiming at reducing the costs a lot of individuals have incurred whilst accessing healthcare,

The Way We Were (1973) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Way We Were (1973) - Essay Example Love of literature and love of political affairs, apparently, are two distinct worlds with which Morosky and Gardner are especially drawn as lovers who struggle to resolve huge differences yet find themselves growing apart and wearied by human nature of holding on to individual professions and sense of individualism. â€Å"The Way We Were† emerges to embody a film that demonstrates how complex dimensions of history and philosophical culture of arguments may give birth to love which later finds itself walking out of the conflict with which it is built. At the onset, it is rather less difficult to assume possibility that forces of attraction could govern between Katie and Hubbell as college students of the 30s who initiate with the point of gaining interest over something peculiar or strange given that it is normal for their youth to understand complements as well as the tendencies of fascination and fondness attached with them. So, basically, this is the type of setting that prevails as a typical WASP encounters a Young Communist League member as if two distinct worlds settle to satisfy curiosities of each other in the hope of discovering further wonders that are established by the opposites. Hence, the way each one is becomes an object of consideration for the other to the extent that in the real time of love, individual temperaments are set aside. Certainly, this stage must take place in a film that is expected to justify its romantic theme, thus, with some degree of success Katie and Hubbell necessitates a formal bond. Beyond marriage, however, remains a question of intrinsic priority and stronger yearning to proceed with the essentials left behind without proper closure. In the story, Gardner could not help the desire to become a Hollywood screenwriter for which Morosky expresses fervent disagreement. Eventually, the opposites are too sharp to handle, no longer constituting the character that

Black and Dull Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Black and Dull - Essay Example Rather, Diouna, the black girl, was mistreated, abused. She had no family, relatives or friends to help her in her helpless situation. There was no one to comfort her but herself. Nevertheless, it is said that â€Å"no man is an island† and when isolation was the only thing there was to comfort her, Diouna showed that death is sweeter than life. The story is set in the 1960s when racial discrimination was still so strong. Although the number of characters is limited, they exemplified the majority of cases among the Black employees and White employers. Between Madame Pouchet and Diouna there was nothing that would tie them together but the relationship of employer-employee. Pouchet was not obligated to be good to her maid but she went the extra mile of being generous to her while they were still in Africa. However, the future eventually revealed her motives. She was not actually as generous and good as she showed in Africa. She discriminated her maid. Diouana never went out of the house but continually worked for the family and a visitor. There was no freedom, no day of rest but a pile of work to do and a bunch of demanding family members in exchange for a mere three thousand Francs a month. Madame Pouchet knows how difficult Diouana’s situation is because during their earlier vacations, she often had to do the household chores herself and take care of her own two children. Her former maids were not only paid higher salaries but they also demanded a day off and she often had to fire them. Yet she was not considerate about the Black girl’s needs. She knows that there is nothing Diouna could do once she is with them in another country. She proved to be harsh. Probably, Pouchet’s true colors can be said to have been revealed when they were in France as it is shown with her words to Diouna before she took her life saying, â€Å"But to find you telling lies, like a native, that I don’t like† (776). In reaction, the Black girl ’s lips trembled, probably showing extreme anger that led her to just end her life. For the other harassments she experienced in the Pouchet family, Diouana was simply described to have been exasperated but not angry. Yet the discriminatory comments of Madame Pouchet brought her to the peak of her impatience. In addition, the children became a burden not only because of the demand for her to work harder but because of the psychological abuse they have devised against Diouna. The oldest child called friends and led them into taunting her with a chant of â€Å"Black girl, Black girl. She’s as black as midnight† (773). She was, to the very sense of it, a slave. She was mocked but still did everything to their liking and was left with nothing but three thousand Francs. She was not just a cook, nursemaid, and chambermaid for the family but to the friends and extended family of the Pouchets as well as she was taken from villa to villa to serve family and friends. She was, in her own words, â€Å"Bought, bought. Sold, sold† (775). To make things worse, when they went to the commodore’s residence, â€Å"some silly people, who followed her about, hanging on her heels in the kitchen, had been there for dinner. Their presence was an oppressive shadow on her slightest movement. She had the feeling of not knowing how to do anything† (774). Since she was Black, a girl from an uncivilized nation, the people judged her as ignorant. Maybe she was, but not in manners they

Assess the concept of emotional intelligence and its role in human Essay - 2

Assess the concept of emotional intelligence and its role in human service organisations - Essay Example In contrast, psychologists claim that emption have four major progressive stages, like feeling, motivation, evaluation, and cognition. On the other hand, philosophers are largely interested in the concepts of rationality and emotion (Walton, 2012). This essay analyses the concept of emotional intelligence and its role in human service organisations, in social work practice particularly. The actual explanation of the reasons for emotion-arousals is still unknown till now. Nevertheless, numerous scholars believe that there is a direct connection between recognising major changes in a person’s circumstances and stimulation of emotions. They argue that human beings compare their present circumstances with past ones, and when the extent of present arousal goes beyond the degree they have felt long enough to become used to it, stimulation of emotion occurs (Matthews et al., 2004). Experimental studies report that stimulation of basic and usual emotions, like hatred, love, fear, happiness, sadness, and sexual urge substantiates such reports. It could also be mentioned that the norms of comparisons that human beings use rely on a person’s own source of judgment or belief, and thus is not immune from personal prejudice (Howe, 2008). It could be emphasised that the observed changes in circumstances, which bring about stimulation of emotions, do not have to be r eal at all times. In reality, human beings at times regard imagined scenarios facilitating production of emotions. It is a widely recognised fact that individuals at times are needlessly anxious and fearful of unfamiliar situations. Emotional intelligence (EI) is regarded as a newly developed academic discipline. In a philosophical sense, it means the â€Å"competence to identify and express emotions, understand emotions, assimilate emotions in thought and regulate emotions in the self and in others† (Matthews et

Compare and contrast how relationships between men and women Essay

Compare and contrast how relationships between men and women - Essay Example Steeped in melancholia, under the deep mask of genteel urbanity of sterile beauty lies the battleground of the sexes where men must baffle the women into submission and women must restrain their natural urges to trick men into marrying them. Belinda like an ideal of such nubile aspirations yearns for calculated gains that are not necessarily moral. The actual relationship between men and women has been classically mocked and shown to be the prey of machinations and utter confusion that is hardly resolved. Ironically the women are shown to be fair and unequal to men who posses the right to offend and encroach, while the women may only resort to restore and repress themselves, and their only weapon of injury to men are their "killing" eyes. (Last canto). Marvell's To His Coy Mistress does introduce his mistress as a passive listener, unlike the panting and raging host of women in Rape Of the Lock, but gives a semblance of a relationship that is metaphysically yearning to leap all boundaries of physicality and transgress the platonic boundaries that her shyness is imposing on them. The poet reveals the length of cajoling he would have indulged into had their love been just eternal in their physicality.

What If Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What If - Essay Example If we are unable to establish some form of communication with others 'out there', there option of diplomatic advancement becomes extremely constrained. Hence, it is highly unlikely that we would be able to colonize any other planet. If we assume that the population of Eden2 can be communicated with, then it is in our best interest to take a diplomatic approach. By virtue of our assumption that they may be more technologically advanced then Earth, it would be illogical for us to choose invasion. The odds are we would be stopped, or eliminated from existence. Either way we do not leave a good impression of our species with the population of Eden2. Alternatively they may have evolved a society that is non-violent or even pacifist; however, it would be illogical to think that they would not have defences of some sort, especially given their advancement in technology. For example, they may have an impenetrable barrier around the planet or their places of dwelling; or firepower that is activated by too close an approach to their planet or dwelling; or they may be able to disarm their foe by way of being able to phase-shift (i.e. become invisible). Hence, we would need to approach in a friendly manner, take a slightly submissive role as guests in their part of the galaxy who looking for somewhere to live. We could assume that the population of Eden2 would want something in exchange for allowing us to colonize their planet, regardless of how friendly we are. As they may have more advanced technology it is unlikely that we would have much to offer in exchange. Alternatively, They may want something from us that we do not want to give, which leaves a lot to the imagination and calls into question many other assumptions that are better elucidated in my next sci-fi book (assuming my first gets published!). However, the idea that another species would engage in Earth behaviours such as reciprocity, 'scratch my back I'll scratch yours', or 'survival of the fittest', is purely a human concept. As we are currently unable to, and most of us not interested in, communication with the myriad of species we now co-habit with, we are unable to conceive of different ways of negotiating or problem-solving. We have only our human perspective as the frame of reference from which to draw on, and so likely we are projecting our human concepts onto another species.Given their probable higher levels of technology we could assume that they have advanced sociological systems as well, seeing as they have not used up all the natural resources on their planet, nor are nearing exte rmination of themselves through technology advancement. Although, from an Earth perspective, we have no evidence to support the assumption that advanced technology will ensures survival, given our present predicament. In the short-term, Earthlings can look forward to an extended life-span as compared to 100 years ago, thanks to technologic advancement. However, we also have decreased fertility rates and rising 'grey' populations in the West; overpopulation and appalling poverty in 'developing' nations; as well as mass species extinction and ecological breakdowns; pollution, depleted natural resources and global warming. The evidence suggests that advancements in our technology will not ensure our survival. Assuming that Eden2 has advanced socially, we could assume that they would be open to diplomatic negotiations regarding our colonization of their planet. Being socially advanced they would need to have ways of accommodating other

Robert Hooke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Robert Hooke - Essay Example The simple thought never occurred to the famous philospher that he may need further corroboration to his obsevation before he could state it as a universal fact. The Greeks could see, but their vision was severely limited, there was not much of scope, and there were no scientific instruments. And even that breadth and depth of thinking among men of the ancient Western civilization died out with the advent of religious dogmatism, at which point the dark ages began. But fortunately, though these medieval times of nescience lasted for a long time, they did not last forever. The Greek spirit eventually revived. The glorious age of Renaissance began, men again began to think and look at the world around them with a new clarity. Soon they began to see farther than anyone had before them. Much much farther - through the telescope. They began to see a litte deeper too, and deeper: through a microscope. It was all about vision. And a man of science who lived towards the end of Renaissance, and who most perfectly represented this expanding vision of human mind was Robert Hooke. His advances in material science, astronomy and micrography paved way to the 19th and 20th century science in a significant way. Robert Hooke was the quintessential renaissance man, ever curious, ever exploring, ceaselessly seeking answers, studying, theorizing, inventing, and relentlessly pursuing knowledge in general. Some have called him the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century. A prolific inventor and designer of scientific instruments besides being a natural philosopher par excellence, Robert Hooke is best known to modern students of physics through Hooke's law of elasticity, and to students of biology as a pioneer of cell theory. However, these aspects reflect but a minor part of Hooke's immense achievement in an astonishingly wide variety of scientific fields - in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, astronomy, and geology. He was also in a big way into architecture and naval technology, and in a smaller way into sundry items of scientific interest. But, by far the most interesting, and sadly the most unfortunate, fact about Robert Hooke is that he remained a forgotten genius for a long time even well into the twentieth century. It is thanks to a remarkable biography of Mrs. Margaret Espinasse in the 1950's that students of scientific history have been able to recognize the true scale of Robert Hooke's immense contribution to science. More recent times have seen a spate of important books on Robert Hooke, books such as "Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange & Inventive Life of Robert Hooke 1635-1703" by Stephen Inwood, "England's Leonardo: Robert Hooke and the Seventeenth-Century Scientific Revolution" by Allan Chapman, "Robert Hooke and the Rebuilding of London" by Michael Cooper, "Robert Hooke: Creative Genius, Scientist, Inventor" by Mary Gow, "The Curious Life of Robert Hooke : The Man Who Measured London" by Lisa Jardine. Most recently, " Robert Hooke: Tercentennial Studies" have also been published. The sheer number of works published on Robert Hooke is an indication clear enough as to the real scope of his scientific caliber. But the big question remains: How