A Semiotic Comparison of Disneyland with Marriotts Great America Essay

A Semiotic Comparison of Disneyland with Marriotts Great America - Essay Example Various themes give rise to different effects on the individuals.   It is almost like that the premise takes control of how visitors should react to the circumstances: offering a variety of choices, hence, conferring a mixture of diverse emotions as well.   â€Å"Disneyland is commonly seen as the prototypical total fantasy park in America, or probably in the world†, (The Sale of Two Cities: A Semiotic Comparison of Disneyland with Marriott’s Great America, p.1).   It is unquestionably exemplary that people from different walks of life, visitors of different age group, find themselves enthralled and at times, powerlessly captivated. Incontestably, Disneyland has the ability to initiate a feeling of awe, generating such wonderful notion to its visitors.   The structure of the park, as well as its different auras, however, allow the people to become barely aware of the divergence and picture between the real world and the world of imagination. Rides represent out of the ordinary experiences, however, not all are just amusing, for some also intends to remind us of the important aspects of life such as greed, fear, and even death. Consequently, Marriott’s fashion is definitely atypical, in contrast to the prototypical picture of Disneyland.   It chose not to make an apparent distinction between the fantasy world and the real one. The journey from reality to fantasy is done subtly; allowing the visitors to experience the flight from the real world while they are still made aware of realism. The plodding switch from true existence to the wonderful world of imagination make Marriott’s an astonishing pursuit to the majority. Palpably, the two theme parks have several contrasting aspects.

Fourty famous studies that influeneced psychology Essay Example for Free

Fourty famous studies that influeneced psychology Essay Born First, Born Smarter This study involves a persons intellectual development in correlation to the order in which they were born in relation to their siblings. Two research psychologists, Robert B. Zajonc and Gregory B. Markus, developed a theory in an attempt to explain the relationship between birth order and intelligence. They conducted this study by gathering information from previous research and applied it to the data they collected themselves. A research project was conducted n the late 1960s that involved testing the intellectual abilities of children born at the end of WWII. They found a strong relationship between the birth order and the Raven test scores. The ones born first scored higher, and the score decreased with the declining birth order. However, the average Raven score for the first born in a two family is only about 5 points higher then that for a last born in a family with nine children. So the more children you have, and the smaller the gap between each child is, the more intelligent each child in succession will be. In Control and Glad of It Researchers Ellen J. Langer and Judith Rodin conducted a field experiment using elderly people in an elderly home to test the outcome of when people are given control as opposed to when people have everything done for them. Langer and Rodins prediction was that if the loss of personal responsibility for ones life causes a person to be less happy and healthy, then increasing control and power should have the opposite effect. Two floors of the elderly home were randomly selected to be observed. One floor was given options for certain things such as there furniture arrangement and which movie they would like to attend. The other floor, was given no such options and had everything arranged and done for them by the staff. The staff was asked to fill out questionnaires about the patients on their floor (the staff new nothing of the experiment). The questionnaires had questions on it to comment about things such as if the patents were sociable, happy, alert, and even how much they visited other patients. The differences between the two groups were incredible. They determined that overall, the increased responsibility groups condition improved over the three weeks of  the study, while the no-control group was doing progressively poorer. They concluded that when people who have been forced to give up their control and decision-making power are given a greater sense of personal responsibility, their lives and attitudes improve, as is true with the opposing side. More Experience = Bigger Brain Mark R. Rosenzweig and Edward L. Bennett wanted to find out if the brain changes in response to experience. Because this experiment involved long periods of observation and even autopsies to observe the changes in the brain, the two researchers couldnt use human subjects, so they used rats for the experiment. Three male rats where chosen to participate and assigned to one of three conditions. One rat remained in the colony cage with the rest of the colony. One rat was placed in an enriched environment and one was placed in an impoverished environment. There were 12 rats in each of these conditions for each of the 16 experiments. The standard cage had many rats and had adequate space with food and water always available. The improvised environment was a slightly smaller cage, isolated in a separate room, where the rat was alone with adequate food and water. Finally, the enriched environment was a large cage filled with many toys and furnished with every luxury a rat could want. The results indicated that the brains of the enriched rats were highly different from those of the impoverished rats. The cerebral cortex of the enriched rats was significantly heavier and thicker then those of the impoverished rats. Also, the study found a significantly greater number of glial cells in the enriched rats brains compared with the rats raised in the dull environment. After 10 years of experiment and research the researchers could clearly and confidently state that there is no doubt that many aspects of brain anatomy and brain chemistry are changed by experience. However, many scientists were skeptical of there findings because there were factors that Rosenzweig and Bennett didnt take into consideration. The enriched rats were handled more which could have been a brain stimulus and the impoverished rats could have been stressed from having no contact with anyone or anything at all. See AggressionDo Aggression One of he most famous and influential experiment ever conducted in psychology history demonstrated how children learn to be aggressive. This study by Albert Bandura and his associates Dorothea Ross and Shelia Ross was carried out in 1961 at Stanford University. The researchers asked for the help of the Stanford University nursery in obtaining thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls raging from ages 3-6. The average age for he children was 4 years and 4 months. Twenty four of the children were assigned to the control group which was the group that wasnt exposed to any model. The rest of the children were divided into two groups: one exposed to aggressive models and one exposed to non-aggressive models, they were also divided by sex. They eventually had 8 experimental groups divided by gender and level of aggression. First, the experimenter brought a child from one of the groups to a playroom with an adult model. The adult model beat a Bobo doll with a fake mallet while the child played with other toys. Another child was brought in after and the adult model ignored the Bobo doll. This went on for all the groups. 1) The children who were exposed to the violent models tended to imitate the exact violent behaviors they observed when left alone with the Bobo doll. 2) Overall, girls were more likely to imitate the verbal aggression toward the Bobo doll, while the boys showed more physical violence. 3) Boys were significantly more physically aggressive then girls in nearly all the conditions. 4) The boys used the mallet significantly more then girls in almost all of the conditions. 5) The control group was generally less violent then the experimental group.6) in cases with a non-aggressive female, the children used hardly any aggressive language. What You Expect Is What You Get This study involves teachers expectancies of pupils and how that affects the students I.Q. gains. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted a study where they theorized that when an elementary school teacher is provided with information (such as I.Q. scores) that creates certain expectancies about a students potential, either strong or weak, the teacher might unknowingly behave in ways that subtly encourage or facilitate the performance of the students seen as more likely to succeed. An elementary school was chosen and  all the children grades 1-6 were given an I.Q. test near the beginning of the year. The teachers were told that there students were taking the Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition. This was told to them because this test was supposed to be a predictor for a childs academic blooming. Teachers believed that students that scored higher would enter a period of increased learning abilities. This was also not true. Children were chosen at random to be within the top 20 percentile of this test and the teachers were informed of this. All other children were the control group of this experiment. At the end of the year the children were tested again using the I.Q. test and the children originally chosen for the top 20% showed a significantly increased score then those of the control group in grades one and two. In grades 3-6 the difference was not so great. The reason for the 1st and 2nd grade development was thought to be because of how younger minds were more malleable then older children and how younger children dont have a reputation from previous school years. I Can See It All Over Your Face Researchers Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Freisen conducted a study about how facial expressions and emotions are a universal language. The first problem with this experiment was that the researchers had to find subjects that had never been exposed to media or magazines because this would enable the subjects to not truthfully identify a certain emotional expression. Ekman and Freisen found a group of people like this in the Southeast Highlands of New Guinea called the Fore people. They were an isolated Stone Age society with not much contact of any other people outside there environment, let alone any media. They had not been exposed to emotional facial expressions other then those of there own people. The two researchers showed there experimental groups of adults and children pictures of different facial expressions of people from the United States and told them a sentence. They asked them to identify by pointing, to the correct matching facial expression. The adults were given three pictures to choose from and the children were given two. There was not much difference between male and female recognition of expressions, however the children did fair a little better in the experiment. This could have been attributed to the fact that  the children only had to choose between two pictures instead of three. The results for both adults and children clearly support the researchers theory that particular facial behaviors are universally associated with particular emotions. The only trouble that the Fore people had was distinguishing between fear and surprise, and this was because these people closely associated fear and surprise as one emotion. Racing Against Your Heart Using their earlier research and clinical observations, two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, developed a model of traits for a specific type of persons behavioral pattern that they believed was related to growing levels of cholesterol and to heart disease. The first pattern, pattern A, had characteristics such as a drive to achieve your goals, a competing personality, multi-tasking that involves meeting deadlines, and extreme alertness. Following this is another type of people, called pattern B. Pattern B is the exact opposite of pattern A. They lacked drive, ambition, desire to compete, and involvement in deadlines. A third set of behaviors developed was called pattern C. This was very much like pattern B but involved anxiety and insecurity. Friedman and Rosenman interviewed about 166 men for there experiment. They first questions they asked them were about there familys medical history, so they could see if they had CHD. While in this interview the researchers cat egorized each man into a pattern A or B category by the way he answered questions, or his tone, or body language. Each subject was asked to keep a log of there diet over the course of a week and blood tests were taken from each of the men to measure cholesterol levels. Friedman and Rosenman matched each man into pattern A and pattern B easily. Each man fit into one of the developed patterns. The researchers found that the men in Pattern A group had significantly higher chances of heart disease and that type A behavior was a major cause of blood abnormalities. However there could be other reasons why Type A had higher chances of heart disease such as, there familys history. More men in the pattern A group had parents with heart disease. Another difference was that pattern A men smoked more cigarettes a day then did the subjects in group B. This study was very important in the history of psychology for a few  reasons. One way was that it proved certain behavioral patterns can cause major heart related illness. Another is that this study began a new line of research and questioning into the relat ionship between behavior and CHD. The largest long-range outcome from this study that has played an important role in creating a new branch of psychology called health psychology. Not Practicing What You Preach This study involves attitudes and actions toward different racial groups. It was determine if what people say is actually what they will do if they come face to face with the problem. Richard T. LaPiere traveled extensively with a young Chinese couple in 1930 and 1931. The couple was very nice and personable and he was glad to be traveling with them. During this time there was a lot of prejudice in the U.S. against Asians. So, LaPiere was very surprised when the Asian couple was graciously accommodated at a very fine hotel that had a reputation for greatly disliking Orientals. Two months later he called the same hotel and asked if they would accommodate a very important Chinese man and they said defiantly not. LaPiere then developed a theory that stated What people say is often not what they do. The study was conducted in two separate parts. First, LaPiere went with his Chinese friends to many hotels and restaurant throughout the U.S. over the course of two years. He took record of how the couple was treated and made sure to first stay out of site of the managers of the establishments to ensure that the couple wouldnt be treated differently in his presence. The second part of the experiment was for LaPiere to wait 6 months after there trip (to make sure the effect of the Chinese couples visit had faded), and then call each establishment that they went to or stayed at, and asked them if they would accommodate a Chinese person. After almost three years, LaPiere had enough information to make a comparison of social attitudes social behavior. Out of the 251 hotels and restaurants they attended, only one refused the couple and LaPiere service because of the couples race. Aside from that instance, all other places accommodated them with average or above average service. When he received most of the letters back with an answer from the hotels and restaurants over 90% of them said they would absolutely not accommodate anyone of the Chinese race. This confirmed LaPieres theory that what people  say, is not always how they will act. The Power of Conformity Research psychologist Solomon E. Asch conducted a study to see if people will give into peer pressure and conform to there friends ideas. A person was let into a room (Subject A) with seven other subjects. These seven people, without subject A knowing, were not participants in the experiment, they were helping the experimenter. Each person was asked which line was longer on a card that was shown to them. Subject A went first and then followed was the seven other subjects and then subject A was asked again. They did this several times until one time, all the other subjects disagreed with subject A and all picked the same one, different form his choice. When the card came back to subject A he picked the one everyone else picked. Seventy-Five percent of the time the first subject will conform to the groups consensus at least once. The powerful effects of group pressures to conform were clearly demonstrated in Aschs study. There are four factors that could have an effect on the reduction of conformity. These factors are social support, attraction and commitment to the group, size of the group, and gender of the group. If you have people on your side you are more likely to stay with your answer rather then conform. Crowding Into The Behavioral Sink The effects of crowding on our behavior are something that has interested psychologists for decades. One man in particular, John B. Calhoun was especially interested in it when he conducted this study on crowding and social pathology. It may be hard to believe but rats do have a social side. The reason Calhoun used rats were because he needed many subjects for long periods of time that were willing to crowd together for a while. Humans wouldnt be very good at this. He used a 1014 foot room and divided it into 4 sections. Section one was connected to section 2 by a ramp, section 2 was connected to section 3 by a ramp, and section 3 was connected to section 4 by a ramp. The walls were electrified so in order to get from section 1 to section 4 you needed to go through all the rooms. The rooms were also filled  with shreds of paper, in order for the rats to make nests. The experimenter filled the rooms with rats. They started with about 4 rats and waited or the rats to multiply until they reached 80. When over 80 were reached some rats were removed so they always had a constant number. When the rats got older, they started to fight with each other for space even though it wasnt necessarily too crowded. The two end rooms were soon fought for because they got the most space and privacy so the rat that won the fight always stayed on guard at the end of the ramp for security. Some rats became submissive and others always fought. Some of the rats were very sexually active and some wanted nothing to do with it. Some of the mothers in the two middle pens became inadequate. They often left their children and lost all maternal abilities. One environment where the same thing that happened to the rats might happen to humans is in an overcrowded prison. It was found in a very crowded prison where each inmate has approximately 50 square feet, as opposed to one with more room, there were more cases of homicides, suicide, illness, and disciplinary problems. Crowding also has negative effects on problem-solving abilities. When in a small room thats crowded subjects had a more difficult time listening to a story and putting tighter a puzzle, then did another group with more space and the same tasks. Relaxing Your Fears Away Researcher Joseph Wolpe was a research psychologist specializing in the systematic desensitization treatment of neuroses. The word phobia comes from Phobos, the name of the Greek god of fear. Phobias are divided into three main categories. Simple phobias are phobias that involve irrational fears of animals or specific situations such as small spaces or heights. Social phobias are irrational fears about interaction with others. Agoraphobia is the irrational fear of being in an unfamiliar, open, or crowded space. These are all irrational and all can be treated in similar ways. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral technique that was credited to Wolpe as perfecting and applying it to the treatment of anxiety disorders. Systematic desensitization is the way of unlearning a learned behavior. Reciprocal inhibition is when two responses inhibit each other, and only one may exist at a given moment. There are three steps that a patient must follow in order  to rid themselves of a phobi a. Wolpe says that you cannot be in a complete relaxed state and have an irrational fear at the same time, so the first step is relaxation. He taught the patient to go into a deep state of relaxation whenever they wanted or needed too. The process involves tensing and relaxing your muscles until you have reached a state of complete relaxation. Wolpe also incorporated hypnosis to ensure full relaxation. The next step in the process is for the therapist and patient to develop a list of high anxiety-producing situations involving your phobia. Starting with the least stressful and ending with the most stressful. The final stage is called the unlearning stage. The patient has to go into a deep state of relaxation and the therapist will read off to you your fears of the list. If at any point you feel anxiety the therapist stops you return to your relaxation mode and the therapist will continue. This process continues until the therapist can go through the entire list with you feeling the least bit anxious. The success of their therapy was judged by the patients own reports and by the occasional direct observation. He had a success rate of 91% with the 39 cases he had. The average number of treatment sessions needed was 12.3. Wolpe said that he hasnt had any patient relapse after a complete desensitization recovery. Whos Crazy Here, Anyway? David L. Rosenhan conducted an experiment with sane people going into mental facilities claiming to hear voices, to see if the patients would be immediately released if acting completely sane. Rosenhan questioned whether the characteristics that lead to psychological diagnoses reside in the patients themselves or in the situations in which the observers find the patients. Eight subjects including Rosenhan committed themselves to eight different mental hospitals. Each subject was completely sane and in perfect mental health. When committing themselves to the hospital they complained of hearing voices and all but one where admitted and on record as having schizophrenia. Each patient once admitted, acted perfectly sane and showed no signs of schizophrenia yet were treated as though they did have a mental illness throughout their entire stay. They were given medication which they disposed of and were not treated as normal people. It was as if because they  were in the mental hospital, they were automatically considered to not be a real human being. Rosenhans study demonstrated rather strongly that normal patients cannot be distinguished from the mentally ill in a hospital setting. According to Rosenhan, this is because of the strength of the mental setting has over the patients actual behavior. Once patients are admitted to such a place, there is a strong inclination for them to be viewed in ways that strip them of all individuality. This study surprises me. Im taken aback that these professionals that have worked with mentally ill patients cannot decipher between a truly mental patient and a completely mentally-healthy patient. It is extremely unprofessional that the staff member/nurse did at one of the facilities by adjusting her bra in front of patients as if they werent real people. Thanks For The Memories One of the leading researchers in the area of memory is Elizabeth Loftus at the University of Washington. She has found that when an event is recalled it is not accurately recreated. Instead its whats called reconstructive memory. Loftus defines a presupposition as a condition that must be true in order for the question to make sense. For example, suppose that you have witnessed an automobile accident and I ask you, How many people were in the car that was speeding? The question presupposes that the car was speeding. One experiment done by Loftus was having students in small groups watch a car accident video that was about 1 minute long. After the film ended the students had to answer questions. For half the students the first question was How fast was car A going when it ran the stop sign? The other students had a question that read How fast was car A going when I turned right? The last question for both groups was Did you see the stop sign? In the group that had been asked about the stop sign 53% of the subjects said they saw a stop sign for car A, while only 35% in the turned right group claimed to have seen it. Based on these and other studies, Loftus argues that an accurate theory of memory and recall must include a process of reconstruction that occurs when new information is integrated into the original memory of an event. There is little doubt that in the course of criminal prosecutions, eye witness reports are subject to many sources of  error such as post event information integration.

We Must Be Put To an End to Gun Control in America Essay -- Firearms W

Today in America we face many controversial problems. With strict gun control, Americans cannot feel safe, and to some the thought of not being able to use a firearm in self-defense is very frightening. We Americans should never have to be in fear of not being able to protect ourselves, especially in the comfort of our own home. How are strict gun control laws and regulations going to reach the estimated 65 million gun owners that own approximately 240 million firearms (Just Facts Gun Control)? The answer is simple, they can’t. There must be an end to gun control, its problems significantly outweigh any good intentions it has, and besides there is no doubt about it, America is a safer place when the citizens are able to own firearms. Not all Americans understand what gun control really is and the useless intentions that it imposes. Gun control consists of laws and regulations that prohibit certain people from owning a firearm and establish waiting periods on the sales of firearms. In some instances, firearms are totally banned. There are several gun control laws around the nation today and there are others that vary from state to state, but one of the most heard of and controversial gun control laws is the Brady Act. The Brady Act is one of the gun control laws that makes a background check which is necessary to purchase a firearm, and also establishes a waiting period of five business days before the firearm can be sold (Just Facts Gun Control). Activists do a great job of portraying firearms as a very negative and frightening. There are many things that gun control activists fail to consider. Many times they do not think about how often a gun is used in self defense. Also of the total crime that is committed with a fire... ...g† Outdoor Life. November 2004. Vol 211(9): 20 â€Å"Gun Control† Just Facts Gun Control. 30 March 2002. Just Facts. 25 Oct. 2004.

Torture and Ethics

Torture and Ethics Bradley Sexton April 13, 2013 University of Phoenix AJS 512 Dr. Miron Gilbert Torture and Ethics The torturing of human life always has been and always will be unethical, immoral, unjust, and wrong. Torturing enemy combatants or high-value targets does violate standards of morality in the free world. In addition to violating international laws against such practices, torture violates every basic human right. Torture is a form of cruel and unusual punishment by any standard regardless of the end result.Torture of one individual is only justifiable by saving the lives of the many, but that does not make it moral or right. The only ethical theory that justifies torture as moral acceptable is the utilitarianism view. This view should remain in the dark ages where it belongs because it is not an example of the moral standards that exit today. For some people, the thought of torturing one person to save the lives of many sounds like the right idea. The problem with tortu re is the end result is not guaranteed. Under extreme measures people will say whatever it takes to stop the pain.Torturing lowers the moral standards of the people performing the act to the same standards they are fighting against. In the long run this only fuels the enemy's commitment to their cause and makes them stronger. An enemy combatant who is considering volunteering information will not come forward if he or she thinks there is a possibility of torture on the other side. Although it is true that other countries have already used torture on American people, future prisoners of war may receive even worse treatment if the enemy knows their prisoners are undergoing torture.The use of cruel and unusual punishment during interrogation violates human rights and makes any evidence obtained unusable in a court of law. The government and the criminal justice system must observe and follow the same laws they expect society to follow. Laws apply to everyone equally in American society (Evans, 2007). Reasoning, deceiving, and bribing the suspect with rewards will produce more accurate results than torture. The victim of torture under a state of duress and pain may not even think clearly enough to speak the truth.He or she might even think their own lies are truth. Often only the threat of torture against the suspect or their family is enough to convince them to cooperate. The technology available in the modern world makes torture obsolete and unnecessary. The government can easily put together enough proof to make the suspect think he or she is about to undergo torture, or think someone they care about is in custody. Police agencies use deceitful tactics all the time to cause a suspect to make mistakes or tell the truth without resorting to immoral or unethical acts of violence.The results prove to be more accurate than torture and do no harm to the suspect. Considering torture only as a last resort after all other attempts fail is up to the people in charge of t he interrogation in compliance with the law. Regardless of the outcome the actual act of torture is always morally and ethically wrong. Ontological View Torture is not justified under the ontological theory of ethics because it is wrong to cause harm regardless of the consequences. Freewill allows people to make their own decisions about right and wrong and sharing of information.Forcing people against their will to tell the truth or lie is morally wrong under the ontological view. Although even under this view, knowing it is wrong to do so will not stop some people from torturing another if the ends justify the means in their eyes. A father may well be within his right to torture the suspect who kidnapped his child. This does not make the act morally or ethically right for the father but may lead to the safe recovery of his offspring. Society would not hold anything against such an act under the circumstances (Himma, 2009). Deontological ViewTorture is not justified under the deont ological view because the consequences of the actions do not matter. Society considers torture ethically and morally wrong so the deontological view of torture is also wrong regardless of end result. Deontological ethics state that people should always follow their obligations and duty to society. In the case of torture a person's duty and obligation is to uphold the rights of the suspect. Even if the end result saves the lives of thousands of other people torture is still unethical and immoral. This does not stop many governments from performing the act of torture.In any given situation in which many lives are at stake a government will resort to anything that reduces the risks and saves the lives of the many. When human life is at stake, morality, and ethics tend to take a back seat to humanity for all (Souryal, 2007). Utilitarianism View Torture is justified under the utilitarianism view because pleasure for the majority outweighs the pain of the few. Utilitarianism sees pleasure for the most people as justice regardless of the pain this may cause a few people. Torturing enemy combatants and high value targets does not violate standards of morality under the utilitarianism view.Whether this act violates basic human rights is not a concern for utilitarianism as long as it results in happiness for the majority. The problem with this view is that it opens the door to other immoral acts. If torture continues until the suspect is dead without gaining any knowledge that could provide happiness, then the act is immoral. Many innocent people could face torture leading to no results and utilitarianism becomes immoral. Under this justification using humans as guinea pigs for the happiness of the majority is also moral.Causing cruel and unusual punishment for prisoners is moral if the acts deter future crimes. Genocide is moral if the minority population is interfering with the happiness of the majority (Driver, 2009). Natural Law View Torture is not justified under n atural law because the basis of right and wrong is on the act itself not the results. Causing harm to another human for any reason is immoral and wrong under natural law. Humans have moral standards that prevent them from acting like animals in that they do not harm another person to survive. The strongest find another way to survive without harming others.Humans help their fellow man live rather than taking advantage of them. Everyone has equal rights to freedom from persecution in any manner. Even the worst criminals who are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt are free from cruel and unusual punishment. Although this right is granted in the United States Constitution, it began as a natural law. Under natural law the use of any type of physical or mental pain to seek information or the truth is a form of torture and is ethically wrong. Although society may agree with harsh sentences for prisoners, they do not cross the line to unusual punishment (PSU, 2007).Conclusion Even during time s of war against another country the standards of morality in America should not to heed to same immoral acts the enemy has. The moral and ethical standards in America are higher than anywhere else in the world. Torture of any type is never a good idea and rarely produces effects great enough for the ends to justify the means. Any country that condones torture of their enemies eventually will use torture against their own citizens if it fits their agenda. Out of four ethical theories only utilitarianism views the act of torture as justice.In America the utilitarianism view is not the normal view of society in general. Torturing enemy combatants or high value targets does violate the standards of morality in America. Torturing should never be given legal status as there are always other options to choose from that do not violate human rights, ethics, or morality. References Driver, J (2009) â€Å"The History of Utilitarianism†, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward N. Zalta  (ed. ), URL = .Himma Kenneth (2009) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosophy of Law Retrieved on 4-14-2013 from http://www. iep. utm. edu/law-phil/ PSU (2007) Ethics in Criminal Justice components of justice retrieved on 3-31-2013 from https://courses. worldcampus. psu. edu/welcome/crimj465/moral_05. html   Souryal, S. (2007) Ethics in criminal justice: In search of the truth (4th ed. ). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Pub. /LexisNexis. Evans, R (2007) The Ethics of Torture, Human Rights and Human Welfare. Retrieved on 4-13-2013 from http://www. du. edu/korbel/hrhw/volumes/2007/evans-2007. pdf

An Epic Tragedy of History Essay

Both Native American literature and film have been inspired by the oral tradition of passing down stories and cultural folkways, through the spoken word. The personal journey of chronicling these stories in literature and film is very allegorical in that the personal journeys that these writers also parallel their struggle with a literal journey. As such, these stories become full of symbolism for the types of cultural artifacts that cannot be assimilated into mainstream culture; not in the English language, not in the Christian religion, and not in the reservations that hindered spirituality. There is a theme in all of the texts and in the film that depicts the struggle of trying to determine where the individual and the culture fit into the wider world that knows little of their existence. Other texts provide specific insight into how conversion of Native Americans into Christianity was essential for those of European descent to explain this mysterious group. It becomes apparent that the oral tradition sustained these groups for centuries until the loss of land led to the loss of more freedoms, especially that of having the right to shape ideas about the world without the influence of others. The film and the Native American writers reviewed all seek to exert their power and use words and motion pictures to explain all the literary and historical meaning of the stories told to them, predating all these modes of communication. Scott Momady in his book, The Way to Rainy Mountain describes the story of the creation of the Kwuda, which was passed down in the oral tradition. What is interesting is that he notes that the names of the tribe did change and there was a sense of this tribe being divided. â€Å"Later still they took the name Gaigwu, a name which can be taken to indicate something of which two halves differ from each other in appearance† (17). It is not only the way that this group of people came into existence but also the diversity and difference within this particular tribe that is extremely important. When Native Americans were forced onto reservations, it was of the utmost importance for the rest of the world not to see all Native Americans as the same, as they were varied with the many tribes and also within tribes. These oral stories become even more important to dictate into print or film to show how Native Americans viewed the world, themselves, and most importantly to realistically illustrate their heritage with the hopes of changing how many whites viewed them. The allegorical and symbolic divide that came to move all of these authors to write stories that bridged the gap in their own respective lives, also helped to create a film as well. The movie Dreamkeeper, directed by Steve Barron, shows how a family divided will struggle to keep tradition alive despite the death or disappearance of an important figure. In this film the pressing issues between the grandfather, grandson, and absent father serves as a metaphor for the intrusion on the culture of the family’s tribe versus the tradition of passing down lineage and heritage. The metaphor is that the grandfather is rooted in the past, the grandson is heading into an uncertain future, and the father is the only link to the present. These cultural threats are more than just the loss of land or the loss of a father, it is the changing of times into a future that is being mapped out by another group entirely, that being white Americans. These maps, so to speak, or the oral tradition that has mapped out the history of entire tribes and families has been written about by other prominent Native Americans in their journey and tragedy of trying to fill this divide between past and present all the while wondering what the future will hold. These types of worries were normally settled by spiritual means, but loss of land meant loss of the ability for Native Americans to go on their spiritual quests. Charles Alexander Eastman in his passage from â€Å"The Soul of an Indian† writes about the mystical quest undertaken by Native Americans in his native Sioux tribe that required several nights away from camp in meditation. He also writes of the divide of the Native American, a common theme in all the reviewed works. â€Å"The red man is divided into two parts,-the spiritual mind and the physical mind. The first is pure spirit, concerned only with the essence of things, and it was this he sought to strengthen by spiritual prayer† (767). Because of this loss of land, essentially the loss of spirit or at least the ways in which spiritual rituals were conducted came to an end. Also, the fear of the future was replaced by Christian ideals to help Americans of European descent understand how these natives fir into their Bible. In this way the Native Americans, already concerned with loss of identity were split even further in a divide that led them to an uncertain and uncharacteristic future. It was only through the oral tradition of preserving identity that Native Americans could attempt to achieve a personal wholeness while the many tribes and family members within tribes became scattered and disillusioned. It is through the personal journeys of the writers that it becomes apparent how the loss of land impacted not only an entire civilization, but individuals, who lost identity and did whatever was necessary to try to discover, rediscover, and preserve all that was left. Gertrude Bonnin, in passages from â€Å"Impressions of an Indian Childhood† talks about living what could be considered a double life. Gertrude sometimes refers to herself as her Sioux name, Zitkala-Sa, which means Red Bird. She was born on a reservation to a Sioux mother and her white father was absent in her life. She struggled between the old ways that her mother tried to teach her in the oral tradition and the ways that people conducted themselves outside of the reservation. She became torn and decided that the reservation life was not for her and the American way of treating Native Americans was not appealing either. So she began compiling all the information she could gather from what was relayed to her by her mother in the oral tradition and then wrote these stories in English. She abhorred the fact that the language of her ancestors had disappeared and she was just as concerned as Eastman was about the loss of spirituality for all Native Americans under the conversion to Christianity. Bonnin writes, â€Å"I prefer to their dogma my excursions into the natural gardens where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers† (939-940). It becomes clear that for the spirituality of Native Americans to thrive, then land uninterrupted by industrialization was needed in order for this group to be who they had always been before they were removed to reservations. So taking their land was not a simple geographic issue, this also took these peoples’ essence and spirituality from them. It is therefore important for these texts and films to exist as reminder of what was lost, not just space, but a place in history for people who had to rely on a few to pass on as many of the stories given to them in the oral tradition and put it in print or in film. All three written pieces reviewed and the film help to show the importance of the land that was taken from the Native Americans, as well as the influence of the oral tradition of passing down stories and spiritual pathways to each ensuing generation. The film and the written works display both a metaphorical divide in the ways of the respective authors and tribes and the bigger community, showing that differences need to be acknowledged as well as the common goal of this group to gather their cultural artifacts that would have disappeared into an assimilated America. Also, the allegorical journey that all these contributors took to discover their part in history is akin to an epic and a tragedy. Scholars, as well, have looked at the impact of the spiritual strivings of Native Americans and the ultimate need for tribes to achieve a new identity in a foreign land to them, a land that was once their own. It was the need for Christian legitimacy on the part of European settlers that led to a need for Native Americans to be stripped of their spiritual roots and forced to resign to religious conversion. The mission of these Christians â€Å"absorbed Native Americans into a Christian world view that made them comprehensible to Euro-Americans, who were otherwise faced with a population whose mysterious origins threatened to call into question the explanatory value of the Bible† (Wyss, 162). So as Euro-Americans sought to explain the discrepancies with Native Americans and their absence from the Bible, Native Americans had to wrestle with their own identities that were being challenged by these settlers for purposes other than just the acquisition of land. What then became an issue was the questioning of creation on the part of settlers and the â€Å"lost tribe theory† (162) that proposed that Native Americans were part of a tribe that was not thoroughly explained in the Bible. All the while many Native Americans asserted their own creation myths while other Natives tried to assert superiority over whites with the reasoning that if Natives were a part of Israel’s lost tribes then, therefore, they were closer descendants of Jacob. This hierarchy of Biblical place did play an important role on the identity of Natives during their assimilation into Euro-American culture, though the oral tradition certainly did support a different idea for the origins of each tribe. Even those Native Americans that did subscribe to a Christian ideal were â€Å"defined by a constant deferral of home, or the constant movement, both geographical and cultural, of a fragmented people† (165). It seems then that the roots of all Native Americans, who were fragmented and spread across the nation, was entrenched in the oral tradition of creation stories and spirituality. However, the many Native American stories that were told and passed down led to they idea the Euro-Americans had as Natives being savage and mythical, making their stories, even true encounters appear to be false. This led to the Natives â€Å"invisibility in the annals of encounter: constructed as tellers of myth and as peoples of myth, they are denied a place in the national story and a voice in recounting it† (Bellin, 99). This created the powerlessness found in Natives attempting to assert their place in the new America that was founded on laws, both the divine and those conceived by Europeans. The fact that Natives had stories, spirituality, and kinship was not enough to place them in a position of asserting their power in any way that seemed rational to Euro-Americans. As well the illiteracy of Native Americans certainly did not assist this group in gaining any type of recognition for having much to offer the Europeans in their stories. â€Å"the oral nature of much Indian narrative has been taken to explain both the Indians’ irrelevance to history-for what could illiterates offer? -and their inability to remember and record it† (102). As well, Native Americans stories were not just told, they were animated through acting, making the stories more meaningful to the Native audience but meaningless to a person outside of a tribe. It is fair to say that the identity of Native Americans was not only in their oral tradition, but in the ways in which stories were acted out. This is something that is lost even if a story is recounted by a Native to as close to the original message as possible. Much is also lost in translation further undermining any attempts that Natives could make when forced on reservations, where their land and language was taken along with the ties of spirituality that sustained them. It also makes the spiritual identity of Native Americans more complicated when they are not only placed in an Anthropological category of uncivilized, the literary category of completely mythical, and finally over romanticized by scholars, who do not understand the deep meaning behind Native American spirituality and ritual. These rites and rituals are meant to cement a community of people together and individual identity can be created within these rituals. Instead, many times, these acts and stories are perceived as more universal and therefore there is the mistaken implication that Native American spirituality can be lumped into a religion that can be used by all. This has placed and continues to place the sense of community outside of the purposes intended and sadly many people use information gleaned from Native spirituality for profit or for writing scholarly articles that do not take into account the private lives of a single Native, but instead combine individuals into a whole. With a fragmented sense of history and culture, it is right to note that there has been and continues to be fragmentation in the Native American communities, but for an individual, a sense of self requires both community identity and a complex set of cultural artifacts to make that individual whole and not a watered down, assimilated version of the Euro-Americans. To be more clear, the text versions of Native Americans stories involving spirituality and rituals many times do not take into account the personal nature of these events. It is not only a matter of entire communities of Native American feeling the need to forge and reclaim their converted or dismissed identities as a whole, but the essence of the individual in a tribe, separate from others that must do the same. â€Å"Nicknames, shadows, and shamanic [sic] visions are tribal stories that are heard and remembered as survivance [sic]. These personal identities and stories are not the same as those translated in the literature† (Grim, 44). This lack of voice to individual Native Americans and stereotyping of all communities and persons being inherently the same in their spirituality and other social activities makes more important the voices, such as the Native authors and filmmakers reviewed all the more important. These artists have shown how gender, tribe, place, and, politics, to name just a few social forces can affect an individual struggling for acceptance within him or herself and in the larger world. All these factors must be considered when looking at film and literature, separating the individual from the group while at the same time seeing the struggle for those individuals as being the best representation available for a group without a strong voice. In conclusion, the film and the literary works of Native Americans highlight the voice of a specific individual, attempting to speak for their community. Taken with scholarly research, it can be seen the effect of colonialism and religious conversion on the vulnerable Native American population. Their history has many gaps in that the myths and traditions were many times dismissed and the absence from the Christian Bible made their existence confusing and unsettling to the settlers. The voices that have been stifled serve to help save the history of the mainstream at their expense, and this powerlessness and absence from history can only be reconstructed in the best way possible. Though even stories passed down in the oral tradition are lacking in the gestures and actions of the storytellers, which is the essence of oral storytelling. Works Cited Joshua David Bellin, The Demon of the Continent: Indians and the Shaping of American Literature, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. Gertrude Bonnin, â€Å"Impressions of an Indian Childhood† in The Heath Anthology of American Literature Vol. 2. Ed. Paul Lauter, Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company, 1994. Dreamkeeper, Dir by Steve Barron, Hallmark Entertainment Productions, 2003. Charles Alexander Eastman, â€Å"The Soul of an Indian† in The Heath Anthology of American Literature Vol. 2. Ed. Paul Lauter, Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company, 1994. John A. Grim, â€Å"Cultural Identity, Authenticity, and Community Survival: The Politics of Recognition in Native American Religions† in Lee Irwin Native American Spirituality: A Critical Reader, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. Scott N. Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1969. Hilary E. Wyss, Writing Indians: Literacy, Christianity, and Native Community in Early America, Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.

10 Opinion Essay Topics on the History of Architecture

10 Opinion Essay Topics on the History of Architecture A discussion on the history of architecture is one that attempts to trace the tenets, regions and reasons that played a part in shaping what we regard as the field of architecture today. Therefore, when writing an opinion piece on architectural history, the use of facts, figures and landmark case studies is important to the development of your essay. In this article, some interesting facts on the history of architecture will be shared to help students and even aspiring novelist truly understand the factors that drove man into creating stable structures for diverse human and animal use. Architecture as we know it began in the Neolithic Era. Cultural studies backed up by excavated ancient dwellings pin-point the Neolithic era, approximately around 10,000 BC, as the period in which man began to make architectural structures using a combination of wood and stone. The next architectural innovation occurred around 3,000 BC in Mesopotamia and this was the development of bricks from mud for the construction of buildings. Ancient architecture was heavily influenced by religion. In ancient Egypt as well as other early societies, the belief in a series of omnipotent gods was present and these societies attempted to garner favour from their gods by building architectural monuments in their honour. Thus the most important buildings and architectural feats of the ancient worlds were usually testaments to the gods. The roman architectural revolution is the most important influence on modern architecture. The Roman architectural revolution otherwise known as the concrete revolution involved the concept of urban planning, the use of concrete and the creation of structures such as arches, vaults and domes for the first time. These new phenomenon ended up been passed through generations and are still been put to use in the modern architectural age. During the Roman architectural revolution, amphitheatres, aqueducts, dams and harbours were conceived and built for the first time. Persian architecture influenced Islamic architecture. The Persian Empire- with its capital located in modern day Iran- has been accredited as one of the cradles of civilization by UNESCO. In terms of architecture, the Islamic architecture of modern day Iran draws a majority of its inspiration from its pre-Islamic history dominated by Persia. The periods of the Parthians and Sassanid rule led to architectural revolutions such as the use of barrel-vaulted chambers, domes and tall columns to design regal buildings. These innovations can be seen in a majority of the great mosques that have been built in Asia. Chinese Architecture was influenced by the Chinese Culture and remains unchanged. The Chinese culture has largely influenced its architecture for over 4,000 years. The use of bilateral symmetry which represents balance dominates Chinese architecture. Unsurprisingly, this architectural style has gone on to influence architecture in most of Eastern Asia for the last 2,000 years. With Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture taking their inspiration from Chinese architectural styles, patterns and designs. Although western influences continue to seep into the Chinese culture, its architectural patterns still remain unchanged. The Incan culture and architecture is credited for building the first suspension bridges. The Incas became the predominant tribe in South America due to a combination of reasons and an extensive road system was one of them. The Inca rope bridges which were used to cross valleys can be considered as the world’s first suspension bridges. The Incas were also known to be skilled stone cutters whose masonry used no mortar to keep structures standing together. Medieval architecture was generally built for defence. Medieval architecture were the building patterns common in medieval Europe and the surviving structures from that period showed that defending oneself from enemies played an important role in defining its architecture. Architecture from this period are characterised by castles fortified walls, battlements and cross-shaped windows which all served as both defensive and offensive shelters against invaders. Gothic architecture emphasis on verticality and was inspired by religion. The Gothic architectural style was founded in France during the 11th and 12th century. It heralded the use of pointed arches, flying buttresses, clustered columns, skeletal stone structures and glass to build beautiful cathedrals. These advances in architecture led communities all over Europe to build taller cathedrals than what was previously seen in the pre-roman era. To achieve this, architects in the gothic era made use of all spires, columns and arches to elongate gothic structures. The Italians are credited as the fathers of renaissance architecture. In architecture, the renaissance refers to the Italian renaissance which occurred in the 14th century and was revolutionary due to its emphasis on ‘perspective’ rather than geometry to the building of structures. The focus on perspective allowed people to experience architecture through a new understanding of space and the projection of images. The Italian renaissance quickly spread across Europe and by the 16th century had influenced the architectural styles of the entire continent. The Aksumite style influenced early African architecture. African architecture has been diverse through the years from Ancient Egypt to Ethiopia and although religion played a huge role in defining ancient Egyptian architecture, the Aksumite culture also played a huge role in defining other African architecture. Aksumite architecture was prevalent in Ethiopia and it made use of wood and stone alternatively to build masterpieces. By the 8th century, multi-storey towers had been built in Africa due to Aksumite architectural advancements. Over the years, colonial architecture became the prevalent force in African architecture and this lead to the incorporation of European and Arabic influences into African architecture. Here we come to the end of the 10 interesting facts on the history of architecture which can be used as the basis of your opinion essay. For further reading, it is recommended that you go through other supporting materials on writing an essay such as 20 topics for an opinion essay on the history of architecture as well as a simple guide on writing a solid opinion essay on the history of architecture. References: Tournikiotis, P. (1999). The Historiography of Modern Architecture. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass. Di Castro, A. Hope, C. Parr, B. (n.d.). Housing and Habitat in the Ancient Mediterranean. Schneider, T. (2011). An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion. 1st ed. Grand Rapids, Mich. Roberts, E. (1977). Moulding Analysis and Architectural Research: The Late Middle Ages. Architectural History, 20, p.5. Murray, P. Murray, L. (1996). The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture. 1st ed. Oxford: New York. Gà ¼leà §, A. and Tulun, T. (1996). Studies of Old Mortars and Plasters from the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Period of Anatolia. Architectural Science Review, 39(1), pp.3-13. Newman, J. (1992). Inigo Joness Architectural Education before 1614. Architectural History, 35, p.18.

Free Essays on FCC Restrictions On Media Ownership

FCC Restrictions on Media Ownership Introduction Without a doubt, the most dominant influence in today’s American society must be the media. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of Americans have at least one television in their households and sixty-seven percent (67%) have two or more televisions . Radio stations broadcast frequencies that are picked up in our homes, our cars, at work, and even while exercising with a walk-man strapped to our waists. Newspapers and magazines catch our eyes in every aisle of every store offering eye-candy to persons of every sort with their fifty-point bold typed headlines and glossy full colored photos. And when all this fails to satisfy our hunger and curiosity for input, we can always turn to that boundless system of world wide web connections we affectionately call the internet, where with one fail swoop of the mouse we can instantly access topics of interest ranging from which movies Saddam Hussein keeps in his vast DVD collection to the most current death tolls of the S.A.R.S. epidemic. The Issue â€Å"Well, so what,† some might say, â€Å"what’s the problem with letting the media spoon feed us what we want?† Put simply, the media is our most relied upon porthole to the world that surrounds us. It is what we rely on to gather facts and information, which affects our own daily decision making activities. It is the media coverage of the candidates that we use to shape our decisions on who will get our vote for our children’s school board or who we elect to be the next President of our nation. The media’s inherent ability to influence the minds of its subscribers should not, and accordingly has not, been taken for granted†¦enter the FCC. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international co... Free Essays on FCC Restrictions On Media Ownership Free Essays on FCC Restrictions On Media Ownership FCC Restrictions on Media Ownership Introduction Without a doubt, the most dominant influence in today’s American society must be the media. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of Americans have at least one television in their households and sixty-seven percent (67%) have two or more televisions . Radio stations broadcast frequencies that are picked up in our homes, our cars, at work, and even while exercising with a walk-man strapped to our waists. Newspapers and magazines catch our eyes in every aisle of every store offering eye-candy to persons of every sort with their fifty-point bold typed headlines and glossy full colored photos. And when all this fails to satisfy our hunger and curiosity for input, we can always turn to that boundless system of world wide web connections we affectionately call the internet, where with one fail swoop of the mouse we can instantly access topics of interest ranging from which movies Saddam Hussein keeps in his vast DVD collection to the most current death tolls of the S.A.R.S. epidemic. The Issue â€Å"Well, so what,† some might say, â€Å"what’s the problem with letting the media spoon feed us what we want?† Put simply, the media is our most relied upon porthole to the world that surrounds us. It is what we rely on to gather facts and information, which affects our own daily decision making activities. It is the media coverage of the candidates that we use to shape our decisions on who will get our vote for our children’s school board or who we elect to be the next President of our nation. The media’s inherent ability to influence the minds of its subscribers should not, and accordingly has not, been taken for granted†¦enter the FCC. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international co...

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Iceland education. Learning in Scandinavia Art disciplines in Iceland There are a few institutions in Iceland that provide a classical art education, which is ideal for degree seekers, music fans and theater lovers alike. Here is the list of the most popular establishments, focused on art and art disciplines, which will allow you to receive an international diploma. Iceland Academy of the Arts. To apply to Iceland Academy of the Arts, you have to be a top student with excellent grades. After you finish secondary school, you can write a motivation letter to the application center and see if your ranking is enough to pass. Later, they allow you to enroll with the equivalent of the same program. You can study music, architecture, dance, design and theater, and engage in music lessons, as Iceland Academy is known for its variety of creative classes. They are all shaped to fit your busy schedule, and you can combine studying modern dance with architectural styles. Akureyri School of Visual Arts. Those who seek to get a diploma in fine arts in Akureyri, must first complete the 180 units of training. Then, you proceed to the next stage of the program, where you are given a choice to pick a course in free arts. The diversity of the subjects will make your jaw drop: you can be a photographer, a designer, an oil painter, a graphic modeler or a scientist, engaged in professional writing, depending on your majors. You will receive a diploma after three years of studying, and the list of subjects that have to be included in the examination program is moderate. For all we know, Akureyri School of Visual Arts is famous for its flexible schedule and elective courses, which are not compulsory, in contrast with other universities of the same range. The Reykjavik School of Visual Arts. This is not a typical school you expect to encounter when you apply for a course. It provides art education for adults, students and children, who wish to learn the basics of design. The school offers a course in three main subjects. These are shaping, sketching and drawing. Everyone who wants additional classes, can apply for another program, which includes all three disciplines combined. If you don’t have the opportunity to study full-time, Reykjavik School of Visual Arts can help you with that, tailoring a schedule that is personal, and assisting you with exam preparation. Part-time employees can also attend group meetings to discuss the course subjects, and make changes to the semester program, if necessary. These meetings have a cognitive purpose, too, as students explore the variety of the school’s community and unite with the class. Interestingly, Reykjavik School of Visual Arts learned how to combine national traditions with European values, providing students with a spectrum of activities that keep them motivated and enthusiastic about the upcoming semester. This is done in order to maintain Iceland culture and develop new ways of communication between learners, who didn’t have an opportunity to explore Reykjavik before. As a student, you can choose the ceramic artist study program, adding subjects of your liking to the schedule and earning grades. The Agricultural University of Iceland. This university is a Mecca for future designers in agriculture, as it offers a course in Landscape Planning and Architecture. More importantly, if you don’t know Scandinavian languages well enough to immerse in the educational process, you can take the program in English, and receive a diploma after three years of study. More than 100 credits are given to the learners at the university, and it is a full-time program, which requires a certain knowledge of graphic design and agriculture.

Globalization and HRM Strategies Research Paper

Globalization and HRM Strategies - Research Paper Example Size A typical Wal-Mart store covers almost 108,000 square feet of space. The size of Wal-Mart supercentre can be almost 185,000 square feet, and a usual neighborhood market of Wal-Mart can be almost 42,000 square feet. The size of Wal-Mart express stores is average 15,000 square feet. In the year 2011, the total selling area of Wal-Mart was more than 617 million square feet and has continued to increase (Wal-Mart Stores, 2011; Wal-Mart Stores, 2011). Location Wal-Mart had established retail stores in several locations of the world by diverse styles and setups, which can fulfill the requirement of customers. Presently, the company is regarded as one of the fastest growing multinational corporations (MNCs) with 5366 stores across 27 countries outside the USA (Wal-Mart Stores, 2011). Number of Employees Wal-Mart is considered as one of the largest private establishments in terms of employment in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In global perspective, Wal-Mart employs almost 2.1 million peop le and the USA alone comprised 1.4 million in the year 2011 (Wal-Mart Stores, 2011). 2.0 Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management (HRM) Globalization has huge impact on the performance of Wal-Mart. Due to globalization Wal-Mart had lowered their products pricing in order to compete with other retail companies. The major competitors of Wal-Mart in the international market are Carrefour, Metro Group and Tesco Plc among others which led Wal-Mart to reduce the operational cost of business. Aggressive cost cuts in the products is a significant impact of globalization for Wal-Mart which had also raised several human resource management concerns against the company such as low wages of employees and lack of health benefits among others (Masters, 2004). Cultural Impact on HRM Globalization has provided MNCs the opportunity to expand the market and business operations in order to increase their financial strengths, but it has also resulted in developing corporate culture to prote ct the human resources. In the global market, the major problem for Wal-Mart was inapplicability to the local culture. Low wages, power of unions and discrimination among employees have impacted the human resource management of Wal-Mart in the international market. For instance, Wal-Mart was strictly alleged for discriminating Chinese employees by remunerating them below minimum wage (Mesa Community College, 2009). Impact of Labor Market on HRM strategies Labor market can certainly form the HRM strategies and it is one of the major aspects in defining the ‘degree of freedom’ in an organization. The HRM strategy of Wal-Mart is determined by availability of labor in the market with particular ability, knowledge and proficiency. The pressure of global competition has led Wal-Mart to implement flexible labor strategies with more hazardous work provisions. In recent years, development in financial, political and industrial domains had expressively transformed the arrangement of labor supply and type of labor essential by the organizations. One of the most powerful aspects which formed the international labor market is enhanced process of globalization. The development of international financial system, manufacture structure, market structure and complex forms of international immigration had generated substantial interconnectedness among domestic and local labor markets. Consequently, it is significant for Wal-Mart to recognize the labor marketplace to

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Define and discuss two different theories of poverty - Essay Example The main rationale for our constrained definition is that our focus would be on understanding the theories of poverty in this explorative paper. To develop an understanding of the theories of poverty, we look at the origins: individual and cultural. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on the individual and cultural origins of poverty. We explore each agenda from different research perspectives. This will help us develop a multi-dimensional lens through which we view the subject. We first explore the various factors in understanding poverty from the viewpoint of the Individual theory. Here we identify the interactions of the individual with others in society, the political and regulatory set-up. We also try and understand the psychographic and demographics of the individual and how these factors could affect poverty. The second part of our essay concentrates on identifying the cultural nuances that impact poverty. Again we study the theory from the viewpoint of the various forces that act on the cultural characteristics. We explore the interaction of culture with religion, politics and the structural issues that have influenced poverty. Towards the end, we summarize our perspectives and work on providing a balanced viewpoint. For an individual, poverty can be defined not only in monetary terms but also in terms of stunted capabilities which hamper the achievement of full human potential (Green 2006). Here, poverty amounts to a state of being in a zone of powerlessness and excluded from the decision making prerogatives that accompany people who are in better employment positions. If an individual belongs to this state, then that could possibly translate to living in unhygienic conditions, with poor access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. We now trace the factors that could cause this existential state. The individual theory states that

In what ways are an organisations employment relations influenced by Essay

In what ways are an organisations employment relations influenced by external factors Use a PESTLE analysis supported by illustrative examples to substantiate your answer - Essay Example These components can combine together that they can substantially create strong influence on the existing employment relations in the corporate world. In order to understand further this issue, there is a need to cover important information about employment relationship management and other related aspects. It is by understanding this that the basic factors influencing employment relationships can be substantiated. Blyton and Turnbull (2004) argued that employee relations, personnel management and human resource management are different areas of studies as far as collective aspects of employment relationship is concerned. Under employee relations, personnel and human resource management, the focus is highly emphasised on individual and employment relationship (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004). However, if this has to be closely observed, the details about employee relations, personnel management and human resource management require basic understanding about individuals. Since this concern about individuals and the organisation, the existence of relationship between these two essential components of the business is a central focus as far as understanding employment relations is concerned. There are different attachments that characterise employment relationship such as employee commitment to organisation’s values and acknowledgement of both instrumental and calculative motives (Leat, 2007). The close tie that exists between the employer and employees is at some point can be attributed to given commitment by the two parties. It is important to understand in detail how this commitment comes into maturity in the business world. According to Daniels (2006), organisation and its employees should together have one common understanding of their corporate goals and such can be enhanced further by employees’ success or failures and their existing relationship. In

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Nagorno Karabakh Conflict - Law and War - Essay Example Second Geneva Convention 1949 is composed of 63 articles and mainly provides protection for those sick, wounded and shipwrecked soldiers who are involved in fighting war at sea. The Third Geneva Convention 1949 concentrates on war prisoners and has 143 articles. The category of the prisoners and their places of captivity are more precisely mentioned in the articles. Their financial assets and legal proceedings against them are also considered. The articles also state that the prisoners should be given civilised treatment and they should be given proper medical aid. The Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 deals with civilians although they are not involved in wartime activities. It has 159 articles and they were adopted after the World War II when it was seen that absence of such convention had disastrous effects on the civilians. It deals with protection of civilians against the consequences of wars. It distinguishes between foreigners on territories belonging to parties involved in war an d civilians in territories occupied during war. It also has a special clause for civilian interns. There is a common Article 3 which specifically deals with non-international armed conflicts that take place within the boundary of states. Such conflicts cover â€Å"traditional civil wars and internal armed conflicts†. This article states that all hostages should be treated in humane manner and prohibits murder and torture of the hostages. The â€Å"sick, wounded and shipwrecked† should be given proper medical aid. The Articles provides rights to the ICRC to help the parties in conflict (â€Å"The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols†).... The â€Å"sick, wounded and shipwrecked† should be given proper medical aid. The Articles provides rights to the ICRC to help the parties in conflict (â€Å"The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols†). The major portion of IHL is stated in the Geneva Conventions. There are some other agreements:- 1) protection of cultural property, 2) prohibition of use of weapons in armed conflicts that can cause harm to civilians, unnecessary suffering or long lasting damage to environment, 3) prohibition of children from getting involved in armed conflicts. This law also introduced several identifiable symbols and one common example is the Red Cross. There have been innumerous violations of IHL and one major example is the Nagorno- Karabakh Conflict (â€Å"What is International Humanitarian Law?† 2) International Criminal Law is formed to prohibit atrocities on people and such perpetrators will face legal proceedings. This law can be distinguished according to the acts of atrocities. The offensive conducts may be international or transnational. International crimes include thread against world security, genocide and war crimes. Transnational crimes include drug trafficking and terrorism among other crimes (Partin). Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Since early 1988, the area of Nagorno-Karabakh has been in dispute and been the cause of major conflicts between the South Caucasian nations of Azerbajian and Armenia. Throughout the conflict there have been thousands of deaths and even more refugees. A portion of over 14 percent of the area has been occupied by the Armenian forces after evicting all the Azeri population. The conflict is considered as internal or

SWOT Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SWOT - Term Paper Example These propel its service provisions to its customers. 2) It lacks of diversification and product differentiation. The company operates mostly in the United States where it is majorly based. Local retailers acquired its stores both in Europe and in the Middle East including Australia. 1) The company has greater prospects of growth since customers are highly willing to make online orders and purchases. The company is among the first to install online operation programs for its customers hence prospects of growth since they offer this opportunity to a wide client base. 3) The ever-increasing expenditure on general consumer products and services. BBB operates many retail outlets and the revenue from the outlets summed up contributes significantly to the firm’s total revenue. 1) The constantly increasing attention of the government toward the environmental practices and issues of companies and how they handle such issues. One should bear in mind that BBB Corporation already had trouble with watchdog because of its poor waste management procedures. 4) The constant and consistent technological improvement in the management of business operations where tasks are to a very small extent handled manually, most operations are mechanized hence efficiency and effectiveness. Internal analysis involves a keen analysis of the major functions of the organization, its abilities as compared to those of the competitors. In its efforts to achieve competitive edge and marketability of its operations, BBB has decided to modernize its operations (www.newyork.bbb.org/). These are conducted in its efforts to encourage and support best market practices while celebrating being a model given it is one among the few to initiate online transactions. BBB operates its internal operations based on trust and this has enabled it earn accreditations, awards which not any other company is eligible for in the United States. The internal cores and operations of BBB are

Paradigms Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Research Paper

Paradigms Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Research Paper Example They often pressured her to perform well at school; they insisted that it would safeguard her future. The parents are devoted Muslims, who consider daily prayers and the Quran a daily routine. During the therapy session, the mother stated that Halima had been suffering from severe anxiety for a period of one year. Further, she said that Halima used to wake up and cry during the night. The mother stated that the daughter often complained that she was not sure whether she would succeed in her mathematics class at school. Often, she asked the mother to recheck her homework so that she could know that she had completed it successfully. Despite the efforts of the mother, Halima’s anxiety continued, and would worry about other things like the location of her books, school bag, and other diminutive things. Halima had also exhibited compulsive hand washing, in preparation for prayer, during the five times of prayer for Muslims. She demonstrated the need to do everything perfectly. Halima insisted that her problems started during a mathematics class when the teacher threatened of failing them. For that reason, she had started hating mathematics for fear that she would fail. Sometimes, she decided not to go to school since she felt like crying all the time. She explained that she liked all her teachers, except her mathematics teacher. Often, she feared that her parents would die, meditating on how she could continue her life, in case they died. She also feared about a trip that the mother took to visit the elder brother of Halima. Halima felt that she would be left alone, and would not be able to complete her homework without her help. Halima was diagnosed using an interview-based clinical approach, and scored 25 on the obsessive-compulsive rating in a scale between 0 and 40, which implied acute OCD. The symptoms perceived in her included repetitive, unrealistic,

SWOT Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SWOT - Term Paper Example These propel its service provisions to its customers. 2) It lacks of diversification and product differentiation. The company operates mostly in the United States where it is majorly based. Local retailers acquired its stores both in Europe and in the Middle East including Australia. 1) The company has greater prospects of growth since customers are highly willing to make online orders and purchases. The company is among the first to install online operation programs for its customers hence prospects of growth since they offer this opportunity to a wide client base. 3) The ever-increasing expenditure on general consumer products and services. BBB operates many retail outlets and the revenue from the outlets summed up contributes significantly to the firm’s total revenue. 1) The constantly increasing attention of the government toward the environmental practices and issues of companies and how they handle such issues. One should bear in mind that BBB Corporation already had trouble with watchdog because of its poor waste management procedures. 4) The constant and consistent technological improvement in the management of business operations where tasks are to a very small extent handled manually, most operations are mechanized hence efficiency and effectiveness. Internal analysis involves a keen analysis of the major functions of the organization, its abilities as compared to those of the competitors. In its efforts to achieve competitive edge and marketability of its operations, BBB has decided to modernize its operations (www.newyork.bbb.org/). These are conducted in its efforts to encourage and support best market practices while celebrating being a model given it is one among the few to initiate online transactions. BBB operates its internal operations based on trust and this has enabled it earn accreditations, awards which not any other company is eligible for in the United States. The internal cores and operations of BBB are

Popular Music, Youth and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Popular Music, Youth and Education - Essay Example It is not very difficult for the present generations to identify themselves with the existing trend of popular music because of the existing trend, its mass appeal and flexibility. In this essay we are going to discuss how popular music appeals to the present generation and how it can be used in the field of education. Ben Highmore, author of his book titled ‘A Passion for Cultural Studies’ gives us an insightful background of his research on how culture influences us by infiltrating into our daily lives. He uses the aspect of culture in trying to convey key ideas based on various theories that are vital to cultural studies. He disseminates the complex problems that arise due to the pattern of migration, the change of taste among people, the attraction towards different commodities. According to Highmore ‘culture can move you, get under your skin and stir up your emotions.’ (Ben Highmore, 2009) In his book he speaks of ‘passions’ that were most prominent during the 18th century (Ben Highmore, 2009) and stated that it referred to different phenomena such as fear, pride, sympathy, jealousy and many other specific feelings that helped to describe the more experiential world around us and it is these ‘passions’ that has helped us analyze different theories against a cultural backdrop.

Size Reduction and Screening Essay Example for Free

Size Reduction and Screening Essay Size reduction and screening The purpose of this experiment was to determine the affect of vibration rate and time on the size reduction and size separation of particles. The objective was successfully completed and the initial sample of soil was separated by vibration into finer particles with a large amount passing through the smallest diameter screen which was 0. 0278 inches producing a final product of fine soil particles which are now easier to transport and store. As can be seen from the graph below (figure 1) undersize particles verses screens, all three different vibration settings (45%, 65%, 85%) produced similar results for the screening process. At the beginning of the experiment (time zero) all of the soil sample was placed on the first screen, number 5, and after repeated screening (vibrating) the sample was broken down in more uniform sizes leaving larger pieces of soil left on the screen while smaller sizes fell through finally producing a fine powder left in the bottom pan. As can be seen from the graph below, after six minutes (the fourth bullet point on graph each bullet point represents two minutes of vibrating) the soil had mostly been sorted into its final sizes. This occurred for all three different vibration settings indicating that after a certain time period, six minutes for this particular experiment, the screening process is 90% complete and may be more cost effective to stop the process as only a small percentage is then sorted into smaller sizes. It can be seen though, that after a few minutes of screening, the original soil sample was sorted into a much more manageable sample making storage and transportation much easier. With regards to retained soil over time, again all three percentage settings produced similar results. The pan weight increased over time as more soil was broken down and this was to be expected as this is the purpose of this particular procedure. Screen 5 and 12, with the larger diameter holes contained the larger, unbreakable soil samples slowly decreased in soil being retained until only the large unbreakable matter was left. All the screens, screen number 14, 16, 20 and 25 kept a rough constant weight indicating that a certain percentage could be broken down and pass through the screens while the rest had reached its optimum broken down size. The higher vibration setting, 65% and 85% had more constant weight and this was due to the sample being vibrated at a higher setting and being broken quicker and thus settling. To conclude, from this small scale experiment alone it can be seen that size reduction and screening is a very useful and effective procedure in reducing the size of a sample making transportation cheaper and easier and taking up less storage space and in a world of cutting costs, this procedure has become vital to a number of different industries

Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay -- Pat Barker, Regeneration Essays

In Pat Barker's novel Regeneration, there is little doubt that the cult of Oscar Wilde had taken hold already in the first decades of the twentieth century. In Oscar Wilde's Last Stand, Philip Hoarer informs us that by associating with Robert Ross, Wilfred Owen "was allying himself with the cult of Oscar Wilde: hero, mentor and martyr to an entire culture" (Hoarer 15). In some manner, the unraveling of this statement is what makes the references to Wilde so important in Barker's novel. Barker makes three references to Oscar Wilde on pages 54, 124, and 143. Each of the references to Wilde is in the context of friendships involving homosexual males. In Barker's Regeneration, Oscar Wilde is referenced to emphasize the theme that homosexuals are completely capable having friendships with other males and not just romantic relationships. The interesting life of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde began on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. By the end of his college education, Wilde had become one of the most famous aesthetes; it was this recognition which drew attention to his affected paradoxes and his witty sayings. This fame led to his 1882 lecture tour of America. In 1885 Wilde began work as a book reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette and a critic for the Dramatic Reviewer. Two years later, he was appointed as the editor of the Lady's World Magazine. The year 1888 marked his first major published work The Happy Prince and Other Stories, which was a charming collection of children's stories. Three years later Wilde made a name for him self by publishing four books in 1891: A House of Pomegranates, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, Intentions, and The Picture of Dorian Gray -- the latter earning him his greatest fame to date" ("Biograp... ...) The references to Oscar Wilde are ingeniously placed within the novel to give a historical framework to the novel. Pat Barker, in her use of historical characters intertwined with her creation of fictional characters, shows how homosexual and heterosexual men can relate in the background of war and in a society of changing social mores. Works Cited Barker, Pat. Regeneration. New York: Plume, 2003. Biography of Oscar Wilde. 2000. A&E Television Networks. 10 April, 2004. <http://www.biography.com/search/article.jsp?Oscar+Wild> Borland, Maureen. Wilde's Devoted Friend. Oxford: Lennard Publishing, 1990. Hammond, Paul. Love between Men in English Literature. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. Hibberd, Dominic. Wilfred Owen: The Last Year. London: Constable, 1992. Hoare, Philip. Oscar Wilde's Last Stand. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997. Pat Barker's Regeneration Essay -- Pat Barker, Regeneration Essays In Pat Barker's novel Regeneration, there is little doubt that the cult of Oscar Wilde had taken hold already in the first decades of the twentieth century. In Oscar Wilde's Last Stand, Philip Hoarer informs us that by associating with Robert Ross, Wilfred Owen "was allying himself with the cult of Oscar Wilde: hero, mentor and martyr to an entire culture" (Hoarer 15). In some manner, the unraveling of this statement is what makes the references to Wilde so important in Barker's novel. Barker makes three references to Oscar Wilde on pages 54, 124, and 143. Each of the references to Wilde is in the context of friendships involving homosexual males. In Barker's Regeneration, Oscar Wilde is referenced to emphasize the theme that homosexuals are completely capable having friendships with other males and not just romantic relationships. The interesting life of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde began on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. By the end of his college education, Wilde had become one of the most famous aesthetes; it was this recognition which drew attention to his affected paradoxes and his witty sayings. This fame led to his 1882 lecture tour of America. In 1885 Wilde began work as a book reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette and a critic for the Dramatic Reviewer. Two years later, he was appointed as the editor of the Lady's World Magazine. The year 1888 marked his first major published work The Happy Prince and Other Stories, which was a charming collection of children's stories. Three years later Wilde made a name for him self by publishing four books in 1891: A House of Pomegranates, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, Intentions, and The Picture of Dorian Gray -- the latter earning him his greatest fame to date" ("Biograp... ...) The references to Oscar Wilde are ingeniously placed within the novel to give a historical framework to the novel. Pat Barker, in her use of historical characters intertwined with her creation of fictional characters, shows how homosexual and heterosexual men can relate in the background of war and in a society of changing social mores. Works Cited Barker, Pat. Regeneration. New York: Plume, 2003. Biography of Oscar Wilde. 2000. A&E Television Networks. 10 April, 2004. <http://www.biography.com/search/article.jsp?Oscar+Wild> Borland, Maureen. Wilde's Devoted Friend. Oxford: Lennard Publishing, 1990. Hammond, Paul. Love between Men in English Literature. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. Hibberd, Dominic. Wilfred Owen: The Last Year. London: Constable, 1992. Hoare, Philip. Oscar Wilde's Last Stand. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997.

Guiseppe Garibaldi :: essays research papers

Giuseppe Garibaldi, b. Nice, France; July 4, 1807, d. Caprera, Italy; June 2, 1882. He was known as Italy's most brilliant soldier of the Risorgimento (the Italian Unification), and one of the greatest guerrilla fighters of all time. While serving (1833-34) in the navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, he came under the influence of Giuseppe Mazzini, the prophet of Italian nationalism. He took part in an abortive republican uprising in Piedmont in 1834. Under a death sentence, he managed to escape to South America, where he lived from 1836 to 1848. There he took part in struggles in Brazil and helped Uruguay in its war against Argentina, commanding its small navy and, later, an Italian legion at Montevideo. The warrior achieved international fame through the publicity of his elder Alexandre Dumas. Wearing his colorful gaucho costume, Garibaldi returned to Italy in April 1848 to fight in its war of independence. His exploits against the Austrians in Milan and against the French forces supporting Rome and the Papal States made him a national hero. Overpowered at last in Rome, Garibaldi and his men had to retreat through central Italy in 1849. Anita, his wife and companion-in-arms, died during this retreat. Disbanding his men, Garibaldi again escaped abroad, where he lived successively in North Africa, the United States, and Peru. The "hero of two worlds" could not return to Italy until 1854. In 1859 he helped Piedmont in a new war against Austria, leading a volunteer Alpine force that captured Varese and Como. In May 1860, Garibaldi set out on the greatest venture of his life, the conquest of Sicily and Naples. This time he had no governmental support, but Premier Cavour and King Victor Emmanuel II dared not stop the popular hero. They stood ready to help, but only if he proved successful. Sailing from near Genoa on May 6 with 1,000 Red shirts, Garibaldi reached Marsala, Sicily, on May 11 and proclaimed himself dictator in the name of Victor Emmanuel. At the Battle of Calatafimi (May 30) his guerrilla force defeated the regular army of the king of Naples. A popular uprising helped him capture Palermo--a brilliant success that convinced Cavour that Garibaldi's volunteer army should now be secretly supported by Piedmont. Garibaldi crossed the Strait of Messina on August 18-19 and in a whirlwind campaign reached Naples on September 7. On October 3-5 he fought another battle on the Volturno River, the biggest of his career.

Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War Essay

Each and every day, everyone is exposed to germs. Despite our distaste for germs, nature has assured us that many, perhaps most of the germs we encounter are not harmful, but many are not just harmful, but deadly. Perhaps man spent most of his existence without any first hand knowledge about germs, but man almost certainly has recognized that unseen germs have undesirable effects. In ancient times, people thought that germs came from demons or the gods. In ancient history, Hypocrites acknowledged that this was not true. From ancient times to the Black Death of the fourteenth century and on to the arrival of Columbus to the New World, germs killed millions of people. During the Plague of the fourteenth century, known as the Black Death, fully one third of all Europeans are thought to have perished. Invisible at the time, germs such as bacteria were first seen when Anton Van Leeuwenhoek noticed them with the invention of the microscope. Even then, some germs are so small that they could not be seen until the electron microscope was invented in the 1930s. Although seen for the first time, no defense against them was readily available until Dr. Edward Jenner created the first vaccine in 1796. In the nineteenth century, medical professionals realized that taking precautions as simple as washing one’s hands could reduce the likelihood of being infected by germs. In 1928, Alexander Flemming discovered that penicillin kills bacteria, a discovery that might have helped the world a decade earlier when an estimated 20 million people world wide died from influenza. This staggering figure demonstrates just how deadly germs can be, and vividly drives home the dangers of germs and their potential for use in warfare. Recent events also demonstrate the cause for concern about the spread of germs and the possible dangers of widespread germ warfare. In 2003, fully two decades after the world first grew alarmed about the spread of the human immunovirus (HIV) and the dangers AIDS that result, a Chinese man living in China became ill with an unusual type of pneumonia labeled SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Although initially localized to China, SARS quickly spread throughout the world in just three months, another vivid illustration of the dangers of germ warfare. Those who might use germ weapons targeted at a particular enemy are not endangering their enemy. Germs do not recognize boundaries. This is one of the central concerns the authors express in their book. Germs are bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Although the vast majority of germs are probably harmless, some can invade plants and animals and make them sick and many are deadly. However, not all are harmful and some can be beneficial. For example, some bacteria grow in our intestines and help us to incorporate nutrients in our bodies from the foods we eat. Such bacteria are not cause for concern and not the subject of the authors’ book. Rather, authors Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg and William Broad focus on biological warfare and the deadly germs used in and/or developed for biological warfare. This book is a revealing look at the biological weapons programs that have existed in the US and Russia in the past and might exist today. In Russia, for example, the program was â€Å"Known to the Soviets as ‘the Concern,’ Biopreparat [the laboratories and plants that supposedly manufactured vaccines and other civilian pharmaceutical products] was in fact a hub of Moscow’s germ effort, a vast network of secret cities, production plants, and centers that studied and perfected germs as weapons. † (p. 135) While nuclear energy and the potential to develop and use nuclear power for military purposes was the novel weapon of the 20th century, the comparable weapon of this century may be germ bombs and the threat of germ warfare. Germs are less costly to cultivate and develop than nuclear power, easier to develop and available to anyone with adequate expertise and laboratory facilities. Unlike the millions of dollars required to develop and design nuclear weapons, biological weapons are relatively inexpensive to develop and use. Developing an efficient delivery system to use with biological weapons may be more difficult than developing or cultivating deadly germs, but the tendency of people to move among themselves and the propensity of germs to quickly spread from one individual to another make germs and germ warfare a cause for concern. Of course, protective gear is required for their development so as to avoid contamination during research or use and to protect from accidents and wastes, but developing germ weapons is relatively easy and available. What are the effects of viral infection? Despite their minute size, germs are among the most deadly things in the kingdom of living things. The authors provide an example. In their scenario, the victims contracted the virus after eating in a restaurant. â€Å"The stomach cramps began later that day†¦ Two days later,(they) started getting ill†¦ by week’s end, thirteen of †¦ twenty-eight employees were sick. And dozens (more) called to complain that they had gotten violently ill†¦. † (p. 18) Germs are or can be the cause of great illness and biological destruction and can cause death in numerous painful and undesirable ways. The spectrum of effects that can be attributed to germs ranges from very beneficial to mildly beneficial to mildly harmful and all the way to deadly. Once germs invade a body, they consume nutrients and energy and produce toxic wastes that act as poisons leading to any number of health problems. The beneficial germs are not what concern the authors. The authors’ message is that germs can be deadly and that governments have and probably still are developing germs specifically for use as weapons in military situations, and while that is of concern, the authors point out that other concerns are just as worrisome or of more concern. What if biological weapons developed by the military were to fall into the hands of terrorists? Even though the means to deliver biological weapons is difficult, in a terrorist act or even in a military situation, even an inefficient means of delivery can be sufficiently effective to be frightening and cause the rapid spread of germs. The germs can be spread by human interaction and contact. In situations of terrorism, germs can be sprayed or merely distributed by means of tiny vials. Once the spread begins, the germs can be more difficult to eradicate than they were to deliver even if only distributed in a small area. The problem then becomes how to contain the germs and prevent their spread. General focus of the book Although the authors focus on the biological weapons program in the US, they also consider other elements of concern as regards biological weapons and biological warfare. They point out that research into the development and use of biological weapons has grown despite the deadly nature of the weapons and the reality that such weapons, like the gases used during World War I, are just as deadly and harmful to those who would use the weapons as to those who are the intended victims. It may be impossible to protect victim or victimizer from the effects of biological weapons. The authors are concerned that on numerous occasions, the U. S. has considered using biological weapons despite the dangers they pose. But the U. S. is not the only culprit. Other countries have biological weapons programs and some biological weapons have been used in the past. These weapons pose a threat for the future. During the Gulf War, for example, biological weapons developed by Iraq posed a threat and they might, in fact still pose a threat. While U. S. went in search of nuclear weapons and found none, the threat of biological weapons posed just as great a danger. The authors consider and compare chemical and biological weapons and outline the relative dangers of each. Author’s view and why author feels this is important The authors make clear that everyone is playing with germs for use in warfare. During World War I, the combatants used mustard gas to kill the enemy, but they learned that a temporary shift in the wind direction could result in deaths on both sides. While it is perhaps only a value judgment that germs are worse than nuclear weapons, nobody can deny that germs might be at least as bad. If the radiation pollution and effects of nuclear weapons can last for hundreds or thousands of years, how long could the effects of a living virus last and how are we to combat them: perhaps not as long as nuclear radiation and perhaps not forever; perhaps longer and even forever. Who can predict? What is to stop them from infecting all parties? Of course, conventional warfare is not the only reason for concern as regards biological weapons. Of particular concern are terrorists. The authors of this book review the problems associated with the creation and existence of biological weapons manufactured by countries around the world. They point out that the biological weapons prepared for use in war are just as deadly and just as much of concern for their value to terrorist for use in acts of terror. Unlike nuclear weapons, both chemical and biological weapons can be easy and inconspicuously transported from one location to another by anyone. Even if the countries that have germ weapons have no intention of using them, who can prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists. Terrorists have a death wish of sorts. Perhaps they don’t want to die, but they are willing to die for their cause, and while no one can object to a person being willing to die for a cause, not all causes are for the benefit of humankind. In the hands of terrorists who don’t care about anyone or anything but their cause, biological weapons pose an equal danger to everyone. Germs do not recognize boundaries, race, nationality or cause. Terrorists can but biological weapons just as they buy other weapons or manufacture them on their own. The authors describe biological weapons as â€Å"the poor man’s hydrogen bomb. † Often, they are simple to make in a laboratory. Sociological consequences from author’s perspective Biological weapons are more than merely a military concern. They are a sociological concern and a concern to society in general. Perhaps the only reason biological weapons might not be of as great a concern as the concern surrounding nuclear weapons is that most terrorists might not have a proper means to spread contamination by biological microbes, but even with the limited use of a biological weapon, stopping the spread of germs is complicated. Even limited use of such weapons can cause widespread contamination, especially during the initial period before anyone becomes aware that a biological weapon has been used and action can be taken to stop the spread of the microbes. Once released, stopping the subsequent spread of the biological germs is both a medical and a sociological problem. Sociology involves how people interact with people, and the widespread use of biological weapons would dramatically alter and restrict human interactions. Typical human interactions from one day to the next, from one moment to the next dictate that germs will spread quickly and rapidly become a global concern as was demonstrated with the SARS outbreak in 2003. Weaknesses and strengths of the book Perhaps the book’s greatest weakness is adequately addressing what can be done to prevent the further development and spread of such weapons. How can we prevent similar situations in other countries? Even if we could persuade the U. S. and Russia to abandon research and development of biological weapons, what can be done to prevent the spread and use of such weapons throughout smaller countries of the developing world? The authors do not pose viable solutions for that problem and, sadly, there may be none. Signing treaties may alleviate fear, but treaties signed in public are broken in secret. No one realizes they have been broken until it is too late. That, perhaps, is among the greatest concerns connected with this issue. While the book is well written and adequately considers a number of important issues, the question as to how to prevent biological weapons from spreading is not adequately considered, perhaps because, in my view, openly signing treaties is no guarantee that anyone will adhere to what has been signed. That, therefore, is a concern, at least my concern. Yes, Americans could put pressure on U. S. politicians to stop research in and development of germ weapons and germ warfare, but that wouldn’t necessary stop such research among terrorists. How can we really prevent germ weapons from falling into the hands of rogue countries and terrorists? The book addresses the issue, but no viable solutions are presented. Another concern, perhaps a major one, is the manner in which the authors pose or form their conclusions. For example, they ask, â€Å"Is the threat of germ weapons real or exaggerated? Our answer is both. † This leaves the reader wondering what to conclude, or at the least leads the reader to wonder what message the authors are trying to relay. Fortunately, this book is not designed to be an alarmist book, but rather to point out the threat currently posed by biological weapons and what can be done to minimize their impact in the event of a biological attack. Author’s biases Of course, everyone has a bias and slant on everything. The authors slant their work on the dangers of germ weapons and ignore the benefits. Considering the true dangers, one might ask, â€Å"Do germ weapons present any benefits in the long run? † Certainly, no rational person could blame the authors for ignoring the assumed benefits of germ warfare. For example, is it possible that just the threat that these weapons exist might serve as a deterrent to war? From my perspect, that question, although it seems logical, is foolish to the point of being ridiculous. Any weapon that is so deadly and dangerous that it cannot be used is useless because it leaves no rational options. Fail to use it and be destroyed. Use it and be destroyed. Those seem to be the options and, as you can see, they do not constitute an option at all. The final outcome is destruction. The authors explain, â€Å"Once the rod-shaped bacteria entered a victim’s body, the invaders multiplied wildly over hours and days, damaging tissues and overwhelming rival bacteria. Their main weapons were toxins and sticky hairs†¦ The toxins caused the intestines to exude waves of watery fluid. † (p. 19) By the end of the outbreak, nearly 1,000 people had been infected, medical facilities and staff had been overwhelmed and infected individuals had moved around so as to spread infection. This is how viruses act on everyone, victim and victimizer alike. They create situations that overwhelm facilities, medical professionals and staff alike. On the other hand, if situations never come to the point where such issues need be considered, then the weapons and their creation were needless in the first place. So, the bottom line is not to develop such weapons at all. They pose many serious dangers and no real advantages. Personal experiences with Germs Like most people perhaps, my personal experiences and perspective on this issue involve no more than the common colds I occasionally get. Some are worse than others, but I am well away that people, me included, tend to take colds for granted. We assume that colds are things that generally come unexpectedly, last briefly and then go away. Most people fail to realize that colds kill and most people today cannot fathom the seriousness of the global influenza epidemic of 1918. It is said that so many American men being sent to war in Europe died from influenza that the virus actually posed as great or greater threat of death than the war. My personal experiences with colds make it difficult to fathom this situation, but it also emphasizes the point that viruses kill and that even apparently simple and common viruses are of greater concern than we realize. Further research needed If further research were pursued, where should we place most of our research emphasis? Certainly, much research should be devoted to finding ways and means to cope with the effects of the viruses most likely to be used in biological warfare. Providing medical assistance after a biological attach may be useless since viruses can exert their lethal effect so quickly that many would die long before any effective treatment could be delivered. Perhaps a research focus on preventing the spread of such weapons would be of greater value although certainly treatment should not be ignored. What treatment would there be, or could there be for newly developed biological weapons? While we cannot develop treatment for deadly viruses not yet developed, perhaps we can pursue research that would head off the development of such viruses. I feel that this is impossible because you cannot head off what you cannot even vaguely predict or foresee. Even as I consider this issue, it seems the possibilities of pursuing research that would provide medical cures for biological germs not yet developed is rather preposterous. In my view, research is not the answer to any of the problems except possibly treating the victims of the potential biological weapons we already have and the germs we already know exist, but what about protecting people from newly developed germs? Ultimately, the real solution appears to be finding a way to stop the development and use of such weapons. Certainly, that might be much easier said than done, but it might mean that the most effective â€Å"medical† research is â€Å"sociological† in nature. I don’t like to view anything as being hopeless, but in this case, it seems to me that the greatest hope lays not so much in any type of research, but in finding ways for human beings to get along better. If further research were pursued, where should we place most of our research emphasis? Certainly, much research should be devoted to finding ways and means to cope with the effects of the viruses most likely to be used in biological warfare. Providing medical assistance after a biological attack may be useless since viruses become resistant to any attack. In a sense, they are perfect fighting machines. This topic is of sociological concern because it indicates how important it is to find ways to address and deal with the social situations and problems we encounter as individuals and as countries. For example, not mentioned in the book is that naive individuals might use viruses to vent grudges against other individuals. Personally, I am just as happy that this idea is not presented in the book because I would not want to give anyone foolish and dangerous ideas that would go far beyond affecting the intended victim, and perhaps that is a central message the book tries to convey as well. Germ warfare is not a strategy that assures national security but a dangerous idea that serves no valid purpose and assures danger, mayhem and widespread death. Book’s Relationship to Sociology its Value in Class Lectures. This topic has value in the class, but in my view, its value lies only in bringing the issue to our attention and allowing us to address the research and development of such weapons in America and perhaps Russia, China and the European countries. There is little we can do about terrorists or rogue countries and certainly, showing too much concern for the creation of such weapons only increases the likelihood that terrorists might be foolish enough to use them. So, the question as to the value of this topic in class is questionable. Certainly, we need to be aware of the dangers of germs and take measures to protect against them and to prevent their spread, but that is mainly a health issue and it remains a health issue whether or not viewed from the perspective of sociology or medicine. Personally, I don’t like calling undue attention to things we cannot control because it alarms people in a manner that leads to a feeling of helplessness. Summary and conclusion In conclusion, this book vividly presents the dangers and concerns that surround germ warfare. While the book focuses on the biological weapons program in the US it points out that many countries are playing with this deadly idea and that developing countries view it as a poor man’s nuclear bomb. Even so, from the author’s perspective at least, biological weapons are much worse than nuclear weapons. In my view, perhaps that is not true. While the methods (nuclear vs. biological) are different, in the final analysis, both cause great illness and (different types of) global pollution that will affect the world for decades, centuries, possibly millennia. In my personal view, I believe that surviving a biological war is more likely than surviving a nuclear war, but I find the idea of choosing between one or the other ludicrous. I feel that more people might die quickly and painfully with biological weapons than with nuclear weapons, but ultimately, I feel that the global pollution with nuclear weapons would be worse. It is a question of seeing a glass as half empty or half full. The idea that there is a difference or distinction is more or less an illusion. In the end, the only viable alternative is to completely avoid both. Choosing between the value judgment as to which is worse is a decision I would rather never take and it is also one that I wish no one else in the world had the opportunity to make. Yes, perhaps that is a naive view, but in the end, isn’t that what you would probably prefer as well. Reference Miller, Judith, Stephen Engelberg and William Broad. (2002). Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY.