The True Nature Of Shakespeares Characters In Othello

The True Nature of William Shakespeare’s Characters in â€Å"Othello† Ever since it’s creation over four centuries ago, William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy â€Å"Othello†, has reigned as one of the greatest play’s of all time. Being widely studied and analyzed, there should be no question as to why this piece has remained so relevant, even within the twisting and turbulent times of the 20th century and beyond. With copious amounts of today’s youth becoming caught and obsessed with the virtual life of social media, it is no wonder Shakespeare’s ideals about reality and appearance have remained so vivd and fresh within today’s modern readers. But, with appearance comes a cost, even within the virtual world, it is always evident that the truth can†¦show more content†¦During the course of the play Othello, the reader delves deep into the history and social setting of Venice. After some time passes, the reader can see that a young and lovely girl by the name of Desdemona, falls deeply and madly in love with the moor, and general of the Venetian army, Othello. From this we can begin to dissect the nature of Desdemona’s love and how it portrays the true nature of her character as a woman and wife. It is often argued by many that Desdemona is not truly in love with Othello. It is clear that this was intended to be perceived by Shakespeare, as he even shows her father, Brabantio, pleading to the courts men of Venice, stating that surely she must be â€Å"corrupted by spells, and medicines, bought of mountebanks† (Shakespeare, I. iii. 75-9.), as he could not believe that this love might have blossomed naturally from the passion and respect found in her heart. Many critics also adore the idea that she is simply a young brainless girl that does not see the consequence of her actions as related to the loving and marrying of Othello. This angle of the argument, which shows Desdemona as a foolish girl who is not capable of making her own decisions, is very common with some of Shakespeare’s other masterpieces, most notably in Romeo and Juliet. If one chooses to argue her love for Othello from this angle, they may run into many road blocks. As the playShow MoreRelated Comparison of an Evil mastermind in Shakespeare’s Othello and MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)1433 Words   |  6 Pagesfirst introduced in Shakespeare’s Othello. His deceiving personality and complex nature is painted such that readers are amazed by his ingenious schemes. At the beginning of Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is represented as trustworthy and honest, but readers soon realize that he is the opposite of what he seems. Even though Iago’s personality and thoughts are revealed less in MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), he carries on the same immoral legacy as in Othello. Throughout the playsRead MoreThe True Nature of Obsession (Othello, Endless Love and Damoyre)1637 Words   |  7 PagesThe true nature of obsession manipulates a person’s character, forcing them to act in unusual ways, as if possessed by an involuntary need. An obsessed mind becomes intensely absorbed in the subject of the obsession to an extent that drives away the truth and realism in their values, morals and perceptions. William Shakespeare manifests this idea of an involuntary change in character in the play â€Å"Othello†, and with a similar approach this idea is identified by Scott Spencer in the novel â€Å"EndlessRead More Tragic Flaws Of Othello Essay1081 Words   |  5 PagesJealousy and Gullibility: The Devastating Flaws of Othello â€Å"The tragic flaw is the most important part of the hero and the events that occur in the work is a reflection of that flaw.† – Aristotle The plot of William Shakespeares Othello is a tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal; however, the characters, themes, and attitudes of the works are different, with Shakespeares play being a more involved study of human nature and psychology. Othello is considered to be a prime example of AristotelianRead More The Use Of Animal Imagery In Othello Essay1040 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Othello† the use of animal imagery was evident throughout the telling of the story. Shakespeare explained several characters actions by comparing them to similarities in animals. The characters in â€Å"Othello† were often depicted as having animal-like characteristics. Some characters were even compared to animals by other characters in the play. By defining characters in terms of these characteristics one can get a clear description of what the character is doingRead MoreOthello: Good vs Evil1525 Words   |  7 PagesMain Characters William Shakespeare’s Othello is a classic depiction of a struggle between good and evil. In the play,, the characters are faced with the choice to either conquer or succumb to the overpowering force of evil. Shakespeare places his characters on a sort of spectrum in which a character’s amount of god or evil can be represented by a shade of color: black representing pure evil, white representing absolute goodness, and a shade of grey exemplifying the nature of all characters thatRead MoreEssay about Tragic Flaws of Othello1137 Words   |  5 Pagesand Gullibility: The Devastating Flaws of Othello By: Ryan Mongon The tragic flaw is the most important part of the hero and the events that occur in the work is a reflection of that flaw. Ââ€" Aristotle The plot of William Shakespeares Othello is a tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal; however, the characters, themes, and attitudes of the works are different, with Shakespeares play being a more involved study of human nature and psychology. Othello is considered to be a prime example of AristotelianRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Othello By William Shakespeare757 Words   |  4 Pages The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare uses many literary devices to enhance and provide greater complexity in his works. More specifically, the theme, symbolism, and dramatic irony are used to enrich Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello. The plot is definitely engaging but the theme allows for an universal human correspondence, furthering the depth of the author’s message. The element of symbolism contributes to the theme of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Symbolism expressesRead More Othello, The Moor of Venice Essay examples1319 Words   |  6 PagesOthello, the Moor of Venice is one of the major tragedies written by William Shakespeare that follows the main character, Othello through his trials and tribulations. Othello, the Moor of Venice is similar to William Shakespeare’s other tragedies and follows a set of specific rules of drama. The requirements include, following the definition of a tragedy, definition of tragic hero, containing a reversal of fortune, and a descent from happiness. William Shakespeare fulfills Aristotle’s requirementsRead MoreOthello The Flaw. At The Core, Othello Is Essentially A1317 Words   |  6 PagesOthello the Flaw At the core, Othello is essentially a good man, but he possesses many qualities, which alone are not inherently immoral, but as a whole they are corrupting to his character. After conversing with Roderigo, Iago describes Othello in his monologue such that â€Å"The Moor is of a free and open nature / That thinks men honest that but seem to be so† (1.3.380-381). Iago divulges how he will take advantage of this. Clearly Othello’s openness is a good quality in a leader with social statusRead MoreEssay on Othello; Jealousy1702 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout Shakespeare’s Othello, the major theme of jealousy is apparent. The tragedy Othello focuses on the doom of Othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy. In Shakespeare’s Othello, jealousy is portrayed through the major characters of Iago and Othello. It utterly corrupts their lives because it causes Iago to show his true self, which in turn triggers Othello to undergo an absolute convers ion that destroys the lives of their friends. Othello represents how jealousy

The Underground Railroad Essay - 2058 Words

History and Literary Thinking Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was located in the American South. A system created to free slaves in the American South, but it was not actually a railroad or underground it was a secret pathway that slaves took to escape from their master. This pathway that the runaway slave took was very secret. They would know when to go out to the railroad because of the songs that they sung. The Underground Railroad not only helped black slaves but also poor white slaves (Snodgrass). Some of the most important people, who helped with the Underground Railroad, risked their lives to free black and white slaves from slavery because they had experienced slavery themselves and understood the value of freedom.†¦show more content†¦For Harriet working on the plantation was very hard, she was hired as a laborer when she was five years old. Harriet’s least favorite place to work was indoors, in her early teen years Harriet was no longer allowed to work indoors so she was hired to be a field ha nd. Her masters routinely beat and whipped her. In 1844 Tubman married a free black man named John Tubman. Five years later in 1849 her main fear at the time was when the owner of the Broads Plantation died, many of the slaves were scheduled to be sold soon. â€Å"After Tubman heard about the future in the new plantation she was supposed to go to. That night Harriet had planned to escape but only told her sister because her husband could not have kept her escape a secret. Harriet took a ninety-mile trip to the mason- Dixon line with the help from the Underground Railroad and the conductors.† (Sahlman.) Tubman had a very successful and safe trip she settled in Philadelphia. A year later Tubman went back to rescues her sister’s family and her husband but it turned out that her husband had moved on and gotten married. In 1857, Tubman settled with her parents in Auburn, New York. When she helped out with the Underground Railroad she was nicknamed â€Å" the Moses of her t ime.† Tubman made nineteen trips on the underground saving about three hundred slaves all by her self. When she was a â€Å"conductor† she had very good tactics ofShow MoreRelatedThe Underground Railroad Is Not Like The Railroad1387 Words   |  6 PagesThe Underground Railroad is not like the railroads that we see today, they were not made of box cars and rails. They were routes that the slaves took to get to freedom, these railways were built or used in late 1786 to 1865. They went from as far west as Kansas, and Texas and as far south as Florida, they all were made to go north to Canada, or to Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands where slavery is illegal. This was an impossible task for the slaves to do on their own. There were many factors on howRead MoreHarriet Tubman And The Underground Railroad1416 Words   |  6 PagesHarriet Tubman did much to ameliorate, and later, abolish slavery. Harriet was a strong and courageous woman and a well-known conductor of the Under ground Railroads, around the 1850s. Harriet Tubman personal experiences throughout her life have shaped her to become the stout-hearted woman who helped many slaves escape to freedom, by using the Underground Railroad—a network of secret routes. As described in the novel â€Å"In their own words: Harriet Tubman,† Sullivan introduces varies hard-ships that HarrietRead MoreHarriet Tubman And The Underground Railroad832 Words   |  4 PagesHarriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was like a conductor on a train. Running the underground railroad to free innocent slaves from certain neglect. What do people think when they hear the name Harriet Tubman. some might think of her as a dirty black others might call her a hero, or moses. Harriet Tubman was a very brave, and courageous woman. In this paper we will explore the childhood, life of slavery, and how she came to be known as the women called moses. Araminta wasRead MoreUnderground Railroad - Original Writing1058 Words   |  5 PagesUnderground Railroad Junior Year in College Prep English they play this game called Underground Railroad. It is supposed to put you back when slaves had to go to safe houses and not be caught by the bounty hunters. I don t remember who all was on my team but each team had about 10 people, only 3 of us made it. It first started off with a puzzle that you have to put together in order to get an address. It said 108 S. Main St. We get to the house and ring the doorbell, no answer. The house looks vacantRead MoreThe Truth Behind The Underground Railroad1281 Words   |  6 Pages The Truth behind the Underground Railroad Ronald Payne Central High School November 9, 2015 2nd Period â€Æ' Abstract Many people know of the famous slave system called The Underground Railroad. Throughout this generations time in school this topic have came up numerous times in our history classes. They mostly talk about the surface of the system and how, the most famous conductor, Harriett Tubman freed the slaves. This essay is important because it will provide you with in depth knowledge andRead MoreThe Underground Railroad Movement Of The South855 Words   |  4 Pagesbefore they where stoped by the militia forces. the 1780 a movement had started called the underground railroad. The purpose of the underground railroad was to free slaves from the south. There were blacks and whits apart of the underground railroad. In the 1830 the underground railroad was moving, somewhere between 40,000- 100,000 slaves were set free. Harriet tubman was one of the leaders of the underground rail road. She would travel to the south to get the slaves and help led them to freedom. Read More The Underground Railroad: Escaping Slavery Essays818 Words   |  4 Pages The Underground Railroad was what many slaves used to escape slavery. It was not an actual railroad, although it could easily be compared to one. It was a route, with safe houses and many other hiding spots for the slaves to use. The paths had conductors telling you where to go and people who would drive you to the next safe house. You had to be quick, you had to be strong, and you had to be very courageous. The Underground Railroad led all the way to Canada. There were many people helping the slavesRead MoreThe Underground Railroad : The United States History1456 Words   |  6 PagesThe Underground Railroad is a popular topic in United States history, but many of the stories told about it are more myth than fact. Quilts have been often used as a symbol in children s picture books to further the understanding of one of the darkest periods of United States history: slavery. Parents and teachers have eagerly embraced these illustrated books as a way to understand and teach past turmo il. Many of these books suggest that people who participated in the Underground Railroad used quiltsRead MoreSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad Essay3216 Words   |  13 PagesSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad A journey of hundreds of miles lies before you, through swamp, forest and mountain pass. Your supplies are meager, only what can be comfortably carried so as not to slow your progress to the Promised Land – Canada. The stars and coded messages for guidance, you set out through the night, the path illuminated by the intermittent flash of lightning. Without a map and no real knowledge of the surrounding area, your mind races before youRead MoreUnderground Railroads And The Underground Railroad2187 Words   |  9 Pages Underground railroads were a network of secret routes and safe houses used during the 19th century slaves from African descent that were in the United States, and wanted escape to the free states and Canada. The safe houses located on these routes were run by abolitionists and people that were sympathetic towards slaves. The Underground Railroad reached its height during the 1850s and 1860s. It’s difficult to determine how many people actually traveled the routes and made it to freedom, but it is

Quality Management System free essay sample

These principles have been identified to facilitate the achievement of quality objectives and form the foundation for effective quality management. 1. Customer Focus Organisations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations. Satisfying customer needs and requirements should be the prime objective for any organisation because organisations will generate profits mainly through the sales of their goods and services to customers. Without customer satisfaction any business will ultimately fail. Any organisation also needs to have ways of keeping in touch with how customers perceive its performance, that is, how well they think the organisation has met their requirements. ISO 9001:2008 places much emphasis on customer focus. Organisations can obtain customer needs through surveys and the surveys are normally conducted by an ISO auditor. Conducting a survey is a form of documentation. In fact customer needs can be obtained in many forms. We will write a custom essay sample on Quality Management System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Other than formal surveys, customer needs can also be obtained during customer visits, customers complaints and customer feedback. These data can be used as an input in the ISO system. By applying the principle of customer focus, managers will be able to research and understand customer needs and expectations. By encouraging open dialogue and feedback from their customers will allow them the opportunity to better understand their needs and how they may better serve them. This, in turn, allows these managers to set goals to improve customer satisfaction and retain customer loyalty. Some methods that allow businesses to better communicate with their customers include the use of suggestion boxes, comment cards and providing a telephone number for customers to call when they have questions or comments. Moreover, the managers must also ensure that the goals and targets of the organisation are perfectly aligned with the customer needs and expectations and that these needs and expectations are properly communicated to all employees throughout the organisation. The customer focus principle is also associated with some benefits that the organisation is likely to gain. Firstly, revenues and market shares obtained are likely to increase through flexible and fast responses to market opportunities, that is, when organisations focus more on satisfying customer needs, their sales are more likely to increase ultimately this also leads to an increase in market shares. They also have access to more market opportunities due to competition advantage that they will gain. Secondly, customer focus principle helps to improved customer loyalty which leads to repeat business and referrals on part of the customers. When customers are satisfied with a product or service that an organisation providing to them, they will be willing to come back to this organisation and continue to purchase with it. Thus they develop a brand loyalty for this organisation’s products and they will not want to switch to its competitor. Satisfied customers will also refer the organisation’s products to their friends and family which will increase the number of sales for this organisation and thus leads to more profits. 2. Leadership The strategy, direction and ultimate success of any business is largely dependent upon its leadership, along with the environment and even the culture that is encouraged throughout the organisation. Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organizations objectives. A good leadership is important to influence and motivate others to follow him/her into areas of uncertainty. What it means here is that the crucial leadership role is concerned with change. In times of uncertainty, change is the only constant to the organization’s survival and hence longevity. As changes bring anxiety to employees, a good leader must help the people to know the organization through its values, guiding principles and underlying philosophy in such times. Under the ISO 9001 requirements, the leadership role is defined as management responsibility in Clause 5, â€Å"Management Responsibility†. The standard requires that top management to provide evidence of its commitment to the development and implementation of the quality management system and continually improving its effectiveness. However, the implementation of a quality management system will hardly be successful if there is lack of commitment from top management. As such, it is critical that top management has a sound appreciation and understanding of all facets of quality management and, in particular, issues pertaining to quality assurance. This understanding and appreciation should be obtained through appropriate training and experience. It must also be remembered that leadership can be found at all levels within an organization and identifying this quality may be of great benefit in establishing a quality culture within a specific section of an organisation or throughout the organisation as a whole. By applying the principle of leadership, a leader will be able to establish a clear vision of the organisation’s future. A clearly communicated vision and purpose on the part of management is a key to ensuring business improvement. It is important to have a clear vision so that employees can work towards this vision in order to achieve the organisational objectives. Without a clear vision, employees will not know in what direction to work and what top management is expected from them. The role of a good leader is to guide its employees towards the achievement of organisational objectives. As a good leader, it is also important to set challenging goals and targets. A good leader must be passionate about the objective of the organization and to achieve the desired target. It is the responsibility of the top management to ensure customer requirements are determined and satisfied in order to achieve total customer satisfaction. All the resources of the organization are aligned towards this goal. Moreover, a good leader should be able to eliminate fear in his or her employees, that is, he or she should be constantly present for the employees, encourage them to share their ideas, give them the opportunity to voice out and to express themselves freely about any issues or problems. He must establish trust in the mind of his or her employees, that is, these employees must feel that they can trust their leader. Thus, people will understand and be motivated towards the achievement of organisation’s goals and objectives. They will be more motivated to perform in the interest of the organisation. 3. Involvement of People People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organizations benefit. Being a member of an organization provides the opportunity for an individual to contribute. However, the extent to which an organization achieves its desired objectives will depend on how it is able to organize and involve its people in the manner that will enable them to use their abilities and contribute to the organization’s objectives. The most effective way to achieve quality is by involving people across all levels of the organization. Everyone contributes to the success of an organisation and has a part to play in it, as well as a responsibility for quality. Staff must be suitably qualified and competent in their jobs, as the quality of their work directly affects the quality of service. This can be achieved through the provision of appropriate training and evaluation. Quality awareness training should also be provided to all relevant staff to heighten responsibility, accountability and quality consciousness, that is, to assist in building a quality-focused culture. With the implementation of the quality management system, staffs need to take on additional responsibilities such as the day to-day consistency checks as part of the data for product quality assurance and control processes. By applying the principle of involvement of people in an organisation, people will understand the importance of their contribution and role in the organisation. The top management’s role is to provide the environment where people are empowered to realize the organization’s objectives. Top management needs to establish the quality policy, ensure the quality objectives are established at relevant functions and levels in the organization, communicates to all employees on the importance of meeting customer as well as stator and regulatory requirements, conduct management reviews and ensure the availability of resources. Moreover, people will be able to openly discuss problems and issues among themselves and with their managers and also will freely share their knowledge and experience in the workplace which can be a plus in the achievement of organisational objectives and goals. One main benefit of this principle is that people will be more motivated, committed and involved within the organisation and this will lead to more innovation and creativity in the organisation. 4. Process Approach A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process. Efficiency is better achieved when things are managed as processes, rather than as individual tasks or separate departments. A process is a set of interrelated or interacting activities that transform inputs into outputs. A quality management system can be thought of as a single large process that uses many inputs to generate many outputs. In turn, this large process is made up of many smaller processes. A work process is a series of operations/steps or activities that transform input into intermediate output at each step until the final output that meets the customer specified requirements. A common term to remember the structure of a process is SIPOC – Suppliers, Input, Process, Output and Customers. The process approach using the SIPOC model creates processes that will produce products and services that conform to customer specified requirements. Understanding and improving process capability is superior to inspecting and sorting the final output. It is the responsibility of management to identify processes needed to produce and deliver the products or services to satisfy the requirements of the customer and other interested parties (suppliers, employees and other affected parties). However, in order to consistently meet customer requirements, a high degree of standardization must exist in the processes. To apply a process approach means that an organisation first decides what it plans to do ( e. g. , provide a particular service/create a particular widget), and then work out what processes it will need in order to provide that service/create that widget. For example, an organisation has to decide what the tasks are, how and where they relate, what resources and inputs it will need, and how to do things in order to arrive at the result this organisation wants. By applying the principle of process approach in the production process, structured methods will be used to undertake the activities necessary to obtain a desired result. Top management will focus more on the factors such as resources, methods and materials that will be used in the production process to improve the key activities of the organisation. Top management will have to do a proper planning so as to avoid wastage of resources and unnecessary costs spent on raw materials. The main benefit with process approach is that when top management uses resources effectively, this will lead to lower costs and shorter cycle times as there will be proper planning, that is, with planning top management will spend money only on the amount of raw materials that will be needed in the production process and there will be no need to reorder each time. 5. System Approach to Management Identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organisations effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives. This means understanding what a management system is, its various parts and how you want it to work. It also means having consistent ways to do and manage things. Management should view all business activities and processes as parts of an integrated system. This will then encourage greater efficiency and effectiveness throughout the organisation. The system approach is a crucial concept for maintaining the integrity of the management system when improvement changes are made to quality management system, as it can provide the mental picture on the interactions of the parts in the system. By applying the principle of the system approach to management, top management will be able to understand the interdependencies among the processes of the system and also understand organisational capabilities. Moreover, top management will be able to identify the resource constraints. For e. g. departments where resources are limited, thus top management will be able to find solution to overcome this problem. One benefit is that top management has the ability to focus effort on the important processes. 6. Continual Improvement Continual improvement of the organizations overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization. This should be a permanent feature of any organisation that really wishes to excel within its marketplace. Whatever the organisation does to improve performance should be subject to a continuing cycle of review, and this may result in the further raising of targets and goals to new levels. This is necessary to keep ahead of the competition. Continual improvement drives the organization to continually address ways to reduce costs, improve organizational performance and customer satisfaction. Management reviews have to be conducted regularly using the data collected from the monitoring and measurement process to identify areas for further improvement. Channels may need to be established to allow all staffs in the organization to make suggestions on ways to improve the service. By applying the principle of continual improvement, top management needs to provide people with appropriate training in the methods and tools of continual improvement, that is, they must be trained on how to continually improve the quality of goods and services. Top management should provide these people with appropriate tools and methods that will be used in the improvement process. Top management should also recognise and acknowledge employees for their effort and work towards the improvement process. For this it shout use proper rewards system. One benefit is that an organisation is more flexible to react quickly to opportunities. 7. Factual Approach to Decision Making. Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. All key strategic decisions should be based on sound data that has been gathered via predetermined measures. Management use these data and information to make decisions. This allows for objective decision making that will lead to positive actions. The basis for factual approach to decision making is the performance based management system. By applying the principle of factual approach to decision making, top management can ensure that data and information are sufficiently accurate and reliable. The data itself is made accessible to whoever needs it. Moreover, top management can also analyse the data and information by using valid methods. The benefits of this approach are that, firstly management has the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of the past decisions through reference to formal histories and secondly, it also can review, challenge and change options and decisions. 8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value. Smaller firms traditionally supplied parts or materials to larger manufacturers to meet a specified order. An organisation and its suppliers depend on each other. More however can be derived from the supplier/customer relationship by seeing it instead as an interdependent partnership that provides mutual benefits to both sides. The suppliers should be evaluated and selected on the basis of their ability to meet purchase order requirements and on their past performance. By applying the principles of mutually beneficial supplier relationships, organisations can identify and select their key suppliers, that is, they will be able to find suppliers who supply best materials at a reasonable price. Moreover, Organisations and suppliers can also establish a clear and open communication path with each other while doing business together. The main benefits of this approach are that it can create value for both organisations and suppliers. They are more likely to response to any changes occurring in the market or customer needs and expectations.

Kinship system of the San community

Kinship by definition is the most basic principle of doing classification of people while putting them into social groupings, responsibilities and categories factoring in marriage together with parentage as key elements of the classifications: this is a common scenario in the society of human beings.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Kinship system of the San community specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The San community which is known to reside in the vast Kalahari Desert is an example of foraging and horticultural societies in the world that perfected the kinship practice where they give a lot of attention to the naming system: they consider anyone with the same name to be a member of the family and must be coming from lineage of a particular ancestor. The kinship system of The San is unique; the system is in a way that it provides social safety to the community members as well as economic security. Families are ab le to survive in several conditions courtesy of this system. The ability a member of the San community to go even the furthest distance that one could imagine and still get a family member is to a great extent extraordinary. They rely on namesake kin approach to identify the perceived family member where, if you go to that furthest end and get someone with the same name then that person would have no choice but to accept you as a relative and cater for all your needs; this is very important especially when one goes to look for employment in far places. The family structure of the San composes of nuclear set-up type of a family which relies on passing of the kinship from the parents to children to form a linkage and also bring together people of the community into groupings. There exists two patterns for the linkage identification; one being the unilateral type of linkage which is the progress of the relationship through mothers and fathers and the other type is the bilateral which i nvolves the groupings. The naming system of the San community was not just used in identifying a blood relative in a far distance place but was also used during marriage. During marriage, it was important that the linage of the man and women be looked at; that was simple by studying their names where one of the partner was not supposed to bear the name of one’s parent because, by them having same name means they were related hence no marriage could take place. All the strict rules were meant to avoid incent which is the marriage of close relatives. It was a great taboo to marry a close relative.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The marriages which occurred between unrelated individuals played a big role in widening the base in term of number of relatives; it created strong bonds between the new found wider relationship and that gave space to anyone from the two new found bigger community to have the opportunity to be accommodated anywhere especially during hard moments like when was searching for employment. Despite my perception that the kinship system of the San community is a beautiful one, it is not practiced to the latter in the current society. Improvement in technology is all to blame for the difference. Nowadays, the similarity in genotype is all that is needed to determine if an individual is a close relative as opposed to the naming system of the San community. The structure of the family has also changed where the San community knew family as union of man and wife and of different lineages, but the current society accommodates practices like gay and lesbianism and even worse, one could get siblings marrying. This essay on Kinship system of the San community was written and submitted by user Myles Park to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Cia Essays - Central Intelligence Agency,

The Cia CIA: The Black Sheep of the US Government Thinking in the philosophical terms of good and evil, nothing purely good can survive without the slightest taint of evil, and vice-versa. The same standard exists for everything. Just as you cannot always succeed by being purely honest, a government cannot hold itself together without committing its own personal rights and wrongs. The United States of America has protected its residents well in the past, and kept the appearance of a mild innocense; well, most of it, anyway. The Covert Intelligence Agency (CIA) is mostly swamped in its wrongs, though many have not even been proven. The CIA has been this countrys yang to protect the populace of the USA. CIA is an agency of the Executive Branch of the United States government. It was created by the National Security Act of 1947, which also unified the three military departments (the Army, Navy and Marines) under a secretary of defense. It replaced the National Intelligence Authority and the Central Intelligence Group. Its purpose is to keep the U.S. government informed of foreign actions affecting our nation's interests. The agency gathers political, economic, and military information about more than 150 nations and evaluates it for other U.S. government agencies. The CIA employs many foreign agents to supply intelligence about their native countries. It can also gather intelligence by listening to foreign radio and television broadcasts. Other ways include: reading foreign printed material available to the public, using aircraft with cameras, and using satellites to take pictures. The CIA works mostly by espionage, which is the act of spying on a country, organization, movement, or person. Using this method, the CIA evaluates and interprets information from its agents and researchers. It uses a lot of technical devices such as electronic eavesdropping equipment and also performs counterespionage. This prevents the theft of secret information and detects the presence of spies in the United States. Some think the history of espionage goes back to prehistoric times. The bible tells of Moses sending spies into Canaan. Frederick the Great of Prussia is credited with originating organized espionage. George Washington's spies obtained intelligence and information during the Revolutionary war. The CIA's original job was primarily intelligence gathering, but when Communism started to spread, the National Security Council directed that the agency take part in political, covert, paramilitary, and economic operations. When the Korean War broke out, the CIA performed these operations, it also had additional requirements to support the combat forces. In 1950 and 1953, the CIA went through several changes. An Office of National Estimates was given the mission of projecting future developments. Overseas operations were placed in one directorate. Another directorate was in charge of all intelligence production and a third directorate included all support activities. During this period, up until 1961, the CIA was at the height of its cold war activity. It carried out continuous foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, political action, and propaganda.3 In 1955, Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill granting $46 million for the construction of a CIA Headquarters Building. The cornerstone of the building was laid on November 3, 1959.2 The CIA has played a big part in the U.S. controversy with Cuba. On April 17, 1961, the CIA, supported by Cuban exiles, invaded Cuba. It was known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. On the same day, the first employees moved into the completed CIA Headquarters Building. On Oct. 15, 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began. The CIA was the organization that discovered the Soviet-made nuclear missiles in Cuba. The missiles were capable of reaching most of the United States.2 Also in 1962, the CIA had a mission in Cuba called MONGOOSE. In this mission the CIA planned to destroy a railroad yard and bridge. It also persuaded a German ball bearing manufacturer to send reject bearings to Cuba so the machines that they were used in would malfunction. It also sabotaged new busses that were ordered by Cuba for its own use. The CIA also assisted others in assassination planning against Cuban President Fidel Castro.6 Cuba is not the only foreign country that the CIA has carried out missions in. In Afghanistan, the CIA responded to the 1979 Soviet invasion. The CIA operated in conjunction

Understanding the Wuthering Heights Title

Understanding the Wuthering Heights Title Wuthering Heights is a great title! It sounds Gothicit sets the mood for one of the most dramatic and tragic love stories in literary history. But, what is the significance of the title? Why is it important? How does it relate to the setting or characterization? The title of the novel is also the name of the Yorkshire family estate, located on the moors, but Emily Bronte appears to have used the title to imbue the text with a feeling of dark foreboding. She carefully created the mood of the novel and placed her characters on the wild moors. Other reasons for the title: Wutheringmeaning quite literally windy or blusterysets the scene for the volatile, often-stormy-passionate relationships in the novel, but it also sets the stage with the feeling of isolation and mystery.The setting is based on the Elizabethan farmhouse, Top Withens (or Top Within), located near Haworth, West Yorkshire, England. Heres more information (photos, description, etc.), from Haworth Village.In Ch 1 of the novel, we read: Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliffs dwelling. Wuthering being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had the foresight to build it stron g: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. In the Preface, we read: It is rustic all through. It is Moorish  and wild, and knotty as a root of heath. Nor was it natural that it should be otherwise; the author being herself a native and nursling of the moors. Doubtless, had her lot been cast in a town, her writings, if she had written at all, would have possessed another character. Even had a chance or taste led her to choose a similar subject, she would have treated it otherwise... her native hills were far more to her than a spectacle; they were what she lived for, and by, as much as the wild birds, their tenants, or as the heather, their produce. Her descriptions, then, of natural scenery are what they should be, and all they should be.We also read in the Preface: Having avowed that over much of Wuthering Heights there broods a horror of great darkness; that, in its storm-heated and electrical atmosphere, we seem at times to breathe lightning: let me point to those spots where clouded daylight and the eclipsed sun still a ttest their existence. The setting of the placeso dark moody and stormyalso sets the perfect stage for her obstinate lovers, who carry on such a tumultuous relationship. And, with ghostly visitations, and multiple generations in the mix, its all a mess of supernatural portents and mad passions. (We could almost recollect a Shakespearean tragedy.) Every relationship is charged... The landscape is the personification of the turmoil experienced by the characters of Wuthering Heights. Also, the raw, even (what has been described as) animalistic passions of the novel reminds us once again of the long and controversial history of the novel.

The earning inequality in Israel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The earning inequality in Israel - Assignment Example Often, the media houses have covered this story focusing on issues relative to Israeli’s economy. The United States, a close follower of Israel’s practices, has acted against the discrimination challenge in the past as it reflects negatively on the countries well-built reputation (Plaut, 2014). Naturally, Israel is the only state in the Middle East lacking an apartheid regime and looking at its success, as a developed country; it faces no threats from rivals and defamers. This condition makes Israel’s practices a dream for most of the western countries. A decade ago, discrimination was the country’s most pressing challenge but today, things have taken an influential step. The most worrying characteristic of Israel is the growing income inequality. It became prevalent a few years ago and in 2015, it attracts the attention of most states, organizations and international corporations (Filut, 2015). As from April 2015, Israel ranks at number 15 in labor productivity of the international economies. This fact is from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) most recent report. Israel has had a record increase in labor productivity for a limited time with more than three million people in the country having standard jobs. World’s leading countries such as China, United Kingdom or even South Korea are yet to attain Israel’s current labor productivity. However, the OECD claims as much as Israel has made improvements, the country’s economy is in an awkward position because they are 4% out of their constant track as depicted in the past two decades (Filut, 2015). The economic growth continues to increase gradually because of the variations in labor productivity - over three times that of the major emerging markets. This might seem impressive but China, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia have had over 100% productive increase in less than a decade, which shows they are most likely to surpass Israel in due time (Matthew,

ADVANCED PRICING TECHNIQUES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ADVANCED PRICING TECHNIQUES - Assignment Example US has an absolute advantage in ______________Chemicals____________ (apparel, chemicals, both apparel and chemicals, neither apparel nor chemicals). e. China has a comparative advantage in ________ both apparel and chemicals __________________ (apparel, chemicals, both apparel and chemicals, neither apparel nor chemicals). US has a comparative advantage in __________ neither apparel nor chemicals ________________ (apparel, chemicals, both apparel and chemicals, neither apparel nor chemicals). g. Compared to the initial optimal product combinations D and S, world output of chemicals is ________smaller________ (smaller, greater) by __18___ tons of chemicals and world output of apparel is ________greater________ (smaller, greater) by __28___ 1000 units of apparel. i. Based on the actual terms of trade in previous part of this question, US can now choose four 1000 units of apparel and ___1.5___ tons of chemicals and China can now choose six tons of chemicals and ___1.5___ 1000 units of apparel. Specialization and trade between the two nations has ______decreased________ (decreased, increased) the standard of living in US and has ________Increased______ (decreased, increased) the standard of living in

Case study, Sensible Life Products Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case study, Sensible Life Products - Essay Example for disinfectant products has been increasing steadily owing to the increased awareness from campaigns focusing on the importance of cleanliness and disinfection. Additionally, recent years have seen an increment in the number of infectious such as the avian flu thereby causing increased demand for disinfectants. This implies that there is a relatively large and ready market for SLP products. However, amid the rising demand consumers trends are changing in favor of products that consume minimum time possible. As such, it is recommended that SLP’s management consider organizations that are producing products that are easy to use and time saving such as wipes. This will ensure that benefect will retain its relevance in the market amid changing consumer trends. Additionally, market research shows that consumers are highly interested in learning about bacteria and germ protection. Furthermore, research studies shows that consumer preferences are changing in favor of environmental friendly products. As such, it is recommended that SLP channels more energy and resources into partners that have clear strategies of marketing benefect. Additionally, more importantly is a firm that will teach about the benefits of using environmentally friendly disinfectants such as benefect. However, this is seemingly difficult since a campaign promoting use of organic disinfectants would act against other products of most companies. Nonetheless, striking such a deal would ensure that benefect is still being produced and ensuring human health while simultaneously conserving the environment. Furthermore, disinfectants are regulated products hence the need to have a firm with extensive experience regarding the sale of regulated products. This implies the befitting firm to strike a deal with SLP was probably one already dealing with disinfectant products. Moreover, potential firms needed to have knowledge of the appropriate target market in which to sell the disinfectant products. This

Philosophy of Freedom

Philosophy of Freedom What is freedom? Is it absolute right? If we ask this question to people around us, we will receive around a hundred different answers, because everyone will understand this phenomenon in his or her own way. Freedom can be defined starting from different aspects, according to different cultures, from different points of view and even from different beliefs. Everyone was born totally free and all of them must have the right to live freely. Based on some articles, we can see that out there people want to be free and independent from each other, but is this concept possible and acceptable by the society? Freedom is the right to do what we want, live where we want, eat what we want, learn what we want to learn, for example we choose what religion we want to believe, without caring about others judgments! Honestly, I am not sure if this in of right really exists because we were taught in a way where we are allowed to choose, but at the end someone will do that job (choosing) for us. So are we really free?! Are we following the definition of Freedom? In my opinion, freedom is an absence of pressure and enforcement from other people, where people is free to do what laws and social customs do not prohibit. We can hardly say that all societies are free in the same way. Personally, I believe that we, Human beings are God creatures. God is the one who made us and gave us the right to life. According to the Bible, God started to create the heavens and the earth, then the morning and the night where He allowed the existence of life, starting from birds to all the animals and till the end the creation of the Man, called Adam. Since Adam was so alone, God decided to give him a company, a partner. Based on all this, God made a society for Humans and with it, we were taught to obey and follow rules. Can we try to imagine what the world might turn into if every one of us could do whatever we wantedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with no limitations and respect towards the rules and others? After all, how can we live freely? From my point of view, we can live freely by respecting others rights to live freely too, by taking other people rights into consideration. In other words, the main idea behind the word freedom is to be respectful and responsible to the society. Freedom is a very important thing to every human being because as we had encounter in the past decades a lot of debates have started debating about this topic. For example, I would like to talk about the freedom of speech. I think freedom of speech is the most important part when we try to see what the meaning behind freedom is. As we know, out there is a lot of people that are convicted because of their creative mind and even, some of them are buried just because the society cannot accept their way of expressing their feelings. In my research, someone said that freedom of expression will never result in hostility among people if they respect each others ideas. As I mentioned before, freedom is not an absolu te right, and there are too many limitation on it. First of all, the society right including national security which is very important, security is the most important thing in freedom. Our freedoms should never cause to threatening our national security. I have stated some of my opinions about freedom, now I would like to describe the word freedom by a definition. According to Wikipedia, freedom is innate to human and that he will fights as long as he lives to restore his innate right to be free man, I like this definition very much because I think it is true, our freedoms are settled by us, no one can set it! Since God gave us freedom for free, we must do our best to maintain and keep this right. I think the most humiliating ways to punish a human, is to deprive him or her from freedom, for example when someone goes to jail, that person is deprive from freedom and so he is suffering. Freedom is not absolute, it must be limited. We cannot just do what we like and say I am a free man!. We cannot kill, smuggle drugs or violate the laws and rules for freedom, they should be respected and I totally agree with this sentence the freedom of anyone ends where the freedom of another one begins!. For me, every youngster should be taught to be free, planting in them the love for freedom, but they might be supervised, it should not be without limits. Freedom in teens state is very important for building a good character and a stable personality. Teens want to hang around with friends, do whatever they like, or do not like, they want to experience everything. If they are given freedom with no limits, they may get lost, so parents should tell them what is right or wrong, so there is no limit or restriction. That is why parents guidance is really important for our existence. Only freedom with no guidance will lead to a bad actions and cause destruction in the society. Freedom is a state, a process of interaction of individuals and groups with the environment, when the society is changing or a person makes some changes so that there appear more opportunities of choice and realization of important purposes and values. The most important thing that we must care about is enjoying our freedom without harming our security. For conclusion, freedom is an innate right, something that humans are born with. Nothing in this planet can threaten our freedom, deprive us from our rights. As mention before, our right of freedom must never cause harm to any other human being, directly or indirectly. We must respect freedom as everyone in the world/society has it, if you want others to respect your freedom, firstly you must learn to respect them. And following this ways, we can enjoy and live our freedom through our life. Last but not the least, I want to quote a sentence that my teacher in high school used to say Quanto mais liberdade, mais responsabilidade., it means the more freedom you have, the more responsibilities you face. After all, this sentence is really reflective and I hope that that people out there have realize this little secret!

The Great Gatsby :: Essays Papers

The Great Gatsby In the story The Great Gatsby, many corrupted relationships are found. George & Myrtle, Myrtle & Tom, Tom & Daisy, Daisy & Gatsby, Gatsby & everyone are all perfect examples of misleading relationships seen in the novel. Fitzgerald may seem pessimistic in portraying every relationship as a fraud. I however, must agree that the time this novel was written, which was around the same time that the story took place in, was a very materialistic time. This is why I feel Fitzgerald could not have made these relationships seem any more realistic than he did. Friendship was seen a lot throughout the story. A good example to speak of would be Gatsby and all of his friends. Apparently Gatsby had many friends during his life, none of which decided to go to his funeral. While he was alive, throwing huge parties, Gatsby actually seemed to have friends. When he died, it seemed like he had never existed. The only friend who decided to go to Gatsby’s funeral was his neighbour, Nick. Marriages seemed quite transparent in this story. None of them were solid. Tom and Daisy would come across as a nice, happily married couple, you would never be able to tell that Tom had a mistress and Daisy was still in love with another man. Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, was married as well. She was married to George Wilson, Tom’s mechanic. Sure, it all seems a little bit unreal but if you think about it, do things like this not happen today. Why would it have been any different back then? Maybe it was more difficult to pull off having an affair but it still could have been done, and I’m sure it was. Affairs seemed to be what corrupted marriages, but affairs are still relationships. They seemed to be the healthiest relationships because they were built on the individuals’ desire for one another, not money or possessions. Tom and Myrtle were together regardless of the fact that they were both married. They loved eachother much like a married couple would only they weren’t married, at least not to eachother. The fact that these relationships were considered wrong didn’t make them bad, these were just people following their hearts.

Rational Choice Theory Essay

â€Å"Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. † As seen from Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, rationality is one of the most crucial and controversial subjects in studying human behavior. To study and examine this rationality, numerous scholars have tried to establish their own theories and generalize their explanation with empirical evidences from real world, which ultimately produces so called, the theory of rational choice. Rational Choice Theory is an approach to understand human behavior. The approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent several decades it has become more widely used in other fileds such as Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of rational choice theory and briefly discuss its basic assumptions, critiques, political implication, and alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism. First of all, historical backgrounds of rational choice theory and its transition from the field of Economics to that of Political Science will be elaborated. Next, various definitions and meanings of the rational choice will be discussed. The basic assumptions of the rational choice approach with political implication will be followed. Several issues raised by rational choice theory will be followed after this discussion. This paper will suggest some of the main criticisms that have been levied against the rational choice approach. Limited empirical validity of rational choice theory and methodological individualism, which reveals innate problematic nature of the theory, will be discussed. Finally, alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism will sum up this discussion. Before elaborating its theoretical discussion, it is necessary to discuss historical backgrounds of rational choice theory. In the article, â€Å"A Genealogy of Rational Choice: Rationalism, Elitism, and Democracy†, Maloy introduces Skinner’s analysis of behaviorism as fundamental background for the discussion of rational choice theory. He argues that, â€Å"Skinner’s analysis deserves the attention of the recent debates around rational choice ecause it calls attention to the ineluctable ideological features of methodological debate† (Maloy 751). According to Maloy, Skinner could â€Å"clarify the sorts of normative force which attach to empirical theories in social sciences by a close textual analysis of some leading contributions to the behaviorist debate†, which ultimately enables the discussion of rational choice to be furthered applied into different fields of study (Maloy 751). Milton Freidman is another crucial figure that provides profound theoretical base for discussing rational choice theory. In â€Å"The Methodology of Positive Economics†, Friedman argues that people and firms make decisions that can maximize their profit under perfect information. He defended rational choice model by arguing that, â€Å"a theory should be judged by its predictive accuracy, not the realism of its assumptions† (Friedman 10). His argument provides theoretical foundations of rational choice theory in Economics, even though it is often criticized by later scholars because of its weak empirical validity and ceteris paribus nature. While rational choice theory has been dominant paradigm in Economics, it has become â€Å"adapted and adjusted in a number of ways to fit† different fields of study such as Political Science; Maloy explains that â€Å"the distinctiveness of the rational choice approach among political scientists consists, in general terms, in the use of economic models to explain and predict political behavior (Maloy 753). Maloy points out three prominent figures, Arrow, Downs, and Olson as rational choice founders especially in the field of political science. According to Maloy, Arrow’s work focuses on so called, â€Å"collective rationality whose underlying purpose is to measure collective choices using standards normally applied to individual choices (Maloy 753). Down uses Arrow’s collective rationality as the starting point of his study and â€Å"aims to articulate a behavior rule for democratic governments so that they could be included in economic theories of general equilibrium, alongside non-state agents like private firms and consumers (Maloy 754). Finally, Olson’s analysis has taken â€Å"the key elements of Arrow’s and Down’s constructs and applied them to a narrower field†; He argues that â€Å"as long as the service provided by a voluntary association is a public good on which an individual can ride-free, there is no incentive actually to take on the costs associated with joining, membership and participation, unless the marginal contribution of that individual appreciably advances the organizational cause† (Maloy 754). All three choice founders’ works have enabled rational choice theory to be in the central place of political discussion in â€Å"the creative and cross-disciplinary ways† (Maloy 755). By arguing that voting results have no specific social meaning, voting has no individual efficacy, and participation in interest group activity has no special individual efficacy, these rational choice founders could criticize unrealistic and irrational assumptions and norms of traditional democratic system and bring rational choice model to the place of political discussion from the field of Economics (Maloy 755). Rational Choice Theory generally starts with consideration of the choice behavior of individual decision-making units, which in economics are often consumers and firms. The theory suggests that the individual decision-making unit is certain larger group such as buyers or sellers in a particular market. Once individual behavior is set up, the analysis generally moves on to examine how individual choices interact to produce outcomes. Then, what does it mean by arguing that a choice is rational? In rational choice theory it means that an agent’s choices reflect the most preferred possible alternative among given opportunities. In other words, choices must reflect utility maximization. Elinor Ostrom defines rational choice theory as a guide to â€Å"understand humans as self-interested, short-term maximizers† in his work, â€Å"A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action† (Ostrom 2). In the article, â€Å"The Political Psychology of Rational Choice Theory†, William H.  Riker also suggests that â€Å"the rational choice model begins with the assumption that actors know what they want and can order their wants transitively† (Riker 25). â€Å"Transitively† here means that an agent of rational choice model can do so called, â€Å"a transitive ordering†; â€Å"To know what one wants requires one to choose the best from among several goals and, failing to attain it, to choose the second best, etc† (Riker 24). This formulation of ordering enables an agent to pursue the best option with given constraints that limit choices he or she can have. In their work, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory†, Coleman and Fararo define rational choice sociologically as they use the term, â€Å"models of purposive action†, rather than rational choice; â€Å"These models rest on the assumption that actors are purposive which means they act in ways that tend to produce beneficial results† (Coleman and Fararo 21). These several definitions point out that choices pursuing utility maximization and outcomes made by these choices are key elements in rational choice theory. Then how is different when rational choice theory is applied into the field of Political Science instead of other fields of study such as Economics and Sociology? According to Riker, Economists’ main concern for rational choice is â€Å"the process and outcomes produced by voluntary exchange, where of course, all participants benefit. On the other hand, â€Å"Politics mainly concerns processes and outcomes produced by group decisions which are practically binding on those who cannot resign from the group. Thus, there can be losers and winners in politics according to Riker’s argument (Riker 24). Although Rational choice theory has long been the dominant paradigm in Economics and other fields of study, it has been subject to vigorous criticism. In â€Å"Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory†, Don Green and Ian Shapiro raises several empirical problems that rational choice theory possess; they â€Å"conclude that a number of methodological deficiencies plague empirical applications of rational choice models. They argue that, â€Å"fundamental and recurrent methodological failings rooted in the universalist aspirations that motivate so much rational choice theorizing† (Freidman 59). According to Green and Shapiro, â€Å"these mistakes stem from a method-driven rather than a problem-driven approach to research, in which practitioners are more eager to vindicate one or another universalist model than to understand and explain actual political outcomes† (Friedman 59). Green and Shapiro’s argument can be summarized into three propositions; â€Å"there is a list of methodological characteristics that are undesirable in an empirical science and are thus to be avoided. † â€Å"Empirical applications of rational choice theory are more likely to commit these mistakes than other types of empirical analysis in political science. â€Å"These pathologies are not due to and historical coincidence, but are rooted in fundamental characteristics of rational choice theory, especially its universalist aspirations and the lack of specificity in the rational actor assumption† (Freidman 60). These propositions suggest that rational choice theory has its empirical limit for testing and predicting actual political outcomes. In detail, Green and Shapiro point out several problems of rational choice theory that possibly undermines the empirical validity of the theory itself. Post hoc theory development† known to statisticians as â€Å"curve fitting† is one of these problems that rational choice theory contains. Green and Shapiro â€Å"contend that rather than formulating bold predictions that are falsifiable by empirical evidence, rational choice theorist tend first to look at the empirical evidence, then design a rational choice model that fits it† (Friedman 5). Another problem raised by Green and Shapiro is rational choice theorists’ engagement in â€Å"arbitrary domain restriction† (Friedman 5). As discussed earlier, certain restrictions or constraints enable â€Å"a transitive ordering† in rational choice theory. Green and Shapiro argue that these constraints and restrictions are defined in ambiguous ways in rational choice model, which ultimately makes the empirical validity of the theory weakened. Green and Shapiro’s examination of the phenomenon of voting behavior is another major example that shows these problems rational choice theory innately possesses. â€Å"In a real-world election with a large electorate, it is instrumentally irrational for anyone to case a ballot, since no single vote has more than an infinitesimal chance of deciding the outcome. Whether one favors selfish or selfless ends, virtually any activity in pursuit of those ends would be more effective than the time spent on voting and on educating oneself about candidates and issues. Yet hundreds of millions of people do vote. For rational choice theory, this would appear to be a gigantic anomaly† (Friedman 6); As noted earlier, rational choice theory presumes that an agent of the model seeks best possible outcomes to maximize his or her utility in given constraints. However, according to Green and Shapiro, in a real-world voting behavior does not confirm this assumption of rational choice theory where voters cast a ballot without having enough time to assess or predict its possible outcome and realizing whether his or her action of voting maximize benefit or not. Another issue raised by Green and Shapiro is free riding problem; While voters can easily pursue a free riding action on the efforts of others to help the cause succeed, there is no need for people to devote resources of time and money to cause desired results. In other words, â€Å"rational choice theory would seem to be refuted not only by people who vote, but by those who contribute small amounts of money to political campaigns, attend rallies, and engage in other forms of collective action designed to secure goals whose achievement is independent of the efforts of any single participant† (Friedman 7). As seen from Green and Shapiro’s founding, most criticisms of rational choice theory seem to be that the assumptions of the theory are not literally and completely true. No model can pass such a test, as all theories abstract from reality in certain way. Determining the empirical validity of a model would therefore seem to involve an examination of both feasibility of assumptions and conformity with real-world data. The most basic assumption of rational choice theory is that the primary unit of analysis is the individual decision-maker. Those who believe that groups are fundamental have criticized this assumption. This issue of so called, â€Å"methodological individualism† are dealt in many contexts in the social sciences. In the book, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and Critique†, Coleman and Fararo argues that models of purposive action or rational choice model can be useful in explaining and predicting human behavior. They further their argument by saying that â€Å"because the values and beliefs of individuals are shaped primarily by the socializing influences of society, especially as mediated through social relationships with significant other, an understanding of the culture and structure of societies and of the positions of individuals within them is necessary† (Coleman and Fararo 22). According to Coleman and Fararo, major problem for applying rational choice model particularly into Economics and Political Science, in which the primary interest has been in aggregate level outcomes, â€Å"is that the postulate of purposive action has been linked to arbitrary and narrow assumptions about what individuals value and believe† (Coleman Fararo 33). Also the assumption that human behavior is narrowly self-interested and the use of the term rationality to refer to the efficient pursuit of economic benefits has often produced incorrect assumption that rational choice model are innately egoistic; â€Å"that they regard individuals as calculating the expected benefit to themselves of alternative lines of action and acting accordingly (Coleman and Fararo 34). Recent empirical evidences suggest that human beings are capable of acting in ways for the interests of others or the social group above their self-interest, which implies that the assumption of individual’s pursuit of self-interest does not match with reality. Coleman and Fararo further their discussion of this â€Å"methodological individualism† by arguing that a social norm can be one primary example, which refutes the basic assumption of rational choice model. According to Coleman and Fararo, â€Å"When a social norm is know to have been violated, some type of formal or informal sanction will result† (Coleman Fararo 35). Formal sanction like a legal code or a set of rules and informal sanction like a disapproval or social ostracism would affect individual’s choice making process. Therefore, unlike the basic assumption of rational choice model suggests that human behavior is oriented from self-interest, by the effect of social norms and values, individuals can consequently act in altruistic or selfless way for pursuing the interests of groups they are involved in. Because of its limit and problematic nature of rational choice theory, the need for alternative explanation has become necessary for many scholars who criticize the theory. Dennis Chong provides some insights for the possible alternative of rational choice theory in his article, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory’s Mysterious Rivals†. According to Chong, even though Green and Shapiro’s critique against rational choice theory has failed to provide complete form of alternative explanation, there are some theoretical debates and discussions that suggest possible theoretical replacement or revision. Chong argues that, â€Å"Green and Shapiro occasionally allude to the influence of social-psychological and moral factors† such as group loyalties, emotions, political identities, ideology, obligation, and altruism (Friedman 47). As found in Coleman and Fararo’s arguments that institutional or social factors can affect individual’s choice making process, many scholars further their discussion of this social motivation as the alternative of rational choice theory. In his article, â€Å"When Rationality Fails†, Michael Taylor argues that social identification and intrinsic motivation can explain some of significant social phenomenon and collective action that has been ignored by rational choice theory; â€Å"If a person defines herself as a member of a group, or if her membership in a group is made cognitively salient, then she is more likely to observe the group’s norms and cooperate with group members in social dilemmas† (Friedman 230). For intrinsic motivation, Taylor explains that there are some activities that are intrinsically motivating people to be participated such as interesting work, volunteering, and political activities. In this case the activity itself or enjoyment of that activity is the reward for people. When extrinsic rewards like money are introduced, intrinsic motivation would diminish (Friedman 231). By suggesting the concept of social identification and intrinsic motivation, problems of rational choice model for explaining some collective action can be resolved. In this paper, a sense of how rational choice theory works and of its methodological foundations has been introduced. It has also been noticed that rational choice theory is not an ultimate answer. The theory is subject to a number of criticisms, but there is no doubt that its influence in various fields of study have brought tremendous amounts of theoretical debates, and increased the depth of economic, sociological, and political discussions. It is impossible to attain complete knowledge about anything, especially social phenomena. However, it is certain that rational choice approach is one of most crucial theoretical resources for human beings to explore and examine to gain this ultimate answer. It can be useful or misleading, depending on how it is treated. It is responsibility of remaining and future scholars and people to correctly apply and use this theory with open-minded attitude.

Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Essay Example

Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Essay Example Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Essay Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Essay Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Kevin Sanderson LDR/531 October 18, 2010 Lawrence Hibbard Create a Plan for Positive Influence Paper Working in a team environment requires that each team member be motivated to complete the tasks at hand in an efficient and effective manner. Member performance is normally proportionate to satisfaction. Bases for this winning combination can be derived from self assessments such as The Platinum Rule Behavioral Style Assessment and team collaborations. The outcome of such assessments and collaborations are instrumental in the positive influence of teamwork both in school and workplace environments. Often teams are assigned large projects to work on and the attitudes, values, emotions, and personalities of the members are direct attributes of the projects success or failure. A plan to promote a positive environment is the first step of ensuring team success. The Platinum Rule Behavioral Style Assessment identifies four styles of behavior: dominance (the need to control and the need to achieve), interactive (thrive on the admiration, acknowledgment, and compliments), steadiness (warm, supportive, and nurturing individuals), and cautious (analytical, persistent, and systematic problem solvers) (Alessandra, 2010). Each style includes four sub-styles: Dominance-director, adventurer, producer, pioneer Interactive-socializer, helper, impresser, enthusiast Steadiness-relater, specialist, go-getter, harmonizer Cautious-thinker, master-minder, assessor and perfecter Each sub-style has its own motivators, which will be addressed later. When each team member has identified his or her individual style and sub-style, the team can collaborate to see who is best for what role and find the right dynamics for the team. It is found that for some, the assessment is a perfect description, whereas others believe the results are off the mark. The differences in perceptions of individuals self is good during team collaborations because individuals can discover behaviors and personalities that they were not aware they possessed. Also it helps each member identify with whom he or she can work with the best. Different people have different values indicative of their behaviors and personalities that must be identified as well when working as a group and large projects. For example, A person looking to hurry and get-by would not go well on a team that is dedicated and looking to deliver a quality product or service. However, this type of individual’s energy could be used to handle any manual labor that may be needed and can be controlled and monitored. Once the identification phase has taken place, it is important to find ways to increase motivation, satisfaction, and performance. Increase in Motivation As mentioned earlier each behavior style has a sub-style with unique motivators. For example the Interactive Enthusiast (Id) is motivated by influencing others. This means this type of individual experiences higher levels of satisfaction by stimulating other team members in some positive form or fashion. The realization of this influence then causes the individual to perform at peak levels. The more Interactive Enthusiasts can influence people, the more motivated and satisfied him or she will be and individual performances will increase (Alessandra, 2010). Another example is a Dominance Pioneer (Dc). This type individual is motivated by functioning in a position to direct and redirect task accomplishments. These futuristic focused individuals are quick on their feet and work well in contingency situations. Assigning new tasks in unchartered territories will increase the motivation, satisfaction, and performance of these individuals (Alessandra, 2010). Job satisfaction may also be increased when a person is doing work that is liked. Other job-satisfaction facets included pay, advancement opportunities, supervision, and coworkers; however, if a person is doing what is of interest to them he or she will tend to experience satisfaction long-term (Robbins Judge, 2007). Performance levels also can be increased when specific goals are set. A person, striving to do the best he or she can, may not reach optimal performance. The goal-setting theory suggests that specific goals act as internal stimuli and increase individual performance (Robbins Judge, 2007). Therefore, if team members have definite objectives and timelines the team has a better chance at effectiveness and efficiency. Behavior Influences It is evident that a person’s behavior has an effect on the dynamics and productivity of a team. Many factors play a part in individual behavior. Behavior can be influenced by attitudes, personalities, values, and emotions. Attitudes are said to be casually related to behavior meaning that a person’s attitude will dictate his or her behavior. Importance is one of the most powerful moderators of attitudes-behavioral relationship. According to Robbins Judge (2007) â€Å"Important attitudes are ones that reflect fundamental values, self-interest, or identification with individuals or groups that a person values† (p. 78). These types of attitudes demonstrate a strong relationship to behavior. A person’s personality, in a sense, dictates how individuals interact with the masses. Two extremes of personalities opposite of each other have a great deal of influence on behavior; Type A and Type B personalities. Type A people are aggressive, always moving, multi-taskers obsessed with numbers, and measure in volume and mass. This type of personality is best used when an organization taking off or going through a transition; may be harmful during the maturity period of the business life cycle. Type B people are rarely hurried, patient, reserved, and can put their mind at ease. This type of personality is best used when an organization is trying to focus on the mission and objectives as well as the big picture; can be a spontaneous thought detriment (Robbins Judge, 2007). Values are individual perceptions of reality itself and the way the individual chooses to deal with it. Because values are based on individual perception, he or she can obstruct objectivity and rationality. This can have a negative impact on a team if an individual values cause the team to deviate from its goals and objectives by deciding to place self want over team need (Robbins Judge, 2007). The direction of intense feelings toward someone or something is called emotions. In an organizational setting it is hard for a person to function if he or she experiences the emotion of anger, for example. This oment of emotion can alter the mood from pleasant to unpleasant. This in turn can affect one’s creativity. People in good moods tend to be more open-minded, think fast, and come up with many ideas, while those in bad moods can be pessimistic, abrupt, and have their mind wonder (Robbins Judge, 2007). Differences Many differences exist in referencing attitudes, personalities, va lues, and emotions. Just as one of the aforementioned can have a positive effect on a team, it can have an equivalent negative effect as well. A team may be diverse and contain many personality traits that may play part on one’s emotions. These emotions can dictate the individual attitude, which has a direct affect on the individual value system. Of course, the sequence of cause and effect can be rearranged yielding a different outcome of the same elements. Knowing and understanding the individual and collective differences of attitudes, personalities, values, and emotions can help a team organize its committees, plan its strategies with strategic personnel, make timelines more conducive to team member preference, and develop trust among members. Conclusion When a team assembles the members must figure each other out to work together. Different motivating, satisfying, and performance-driven feelings exist in everybody. Mix the feelings with the attitudes, emotions, values, and personalities that each member possesses, and the outcome is unpredictable. If provisions are made for positive influence, the benefits to the team can be unlimited. References Alessandra, T. (2010, October). The Platinum Rule Behavioral Style Assessment. Retrieved from https://uop. blanchardassessments. com/reportcontents. asp? id=174030 Robbins, S. P. , Judge, T. A. (2007). Organizational Behavior (12th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Landslides Essays - Landslides, Environmental Soil Science

Landslides Essays - Landslides, Environmental Soil Science Landslides Causing $1-2 billion in damages and more than 25 deaths per year, landslides are a major geologic hazard, caused by earthquakes and floods. Although, landslides are generally not as exciting or costly as earthquakes, major floods, tropical storms, and other natural disasters, they occur in more expanded places and may cause more property damage than any other geologic hazards. A wide variety of ground movements, such as rock falls, slope failure, and shallow debris flows can classify landslides. When a portion of a hill slope cannot support its own weight a landslide will occur. When rainfall or some other water source increases the water content of the slope the weakness is irritated, reducing the strength of the materials. Although gravity acting upon an increased slope is the main reason for a landslide, there are other elements that contribute to its cause. Loud sounds that occur during an earthquake also cause landslides. Erosion caused by rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves create oversteepened slopes. Heavy rains and melting snow weaken rock and soil slopes. Furthermore, vibrations from machinery, traffic, and even thunder may trigger failure of weak slopes. Excess water can run through slope material and can cause a debris flow or mud flow. The rock and mud left over after a landslide may pick up anything in its path, such as trees, houses, and cars, causing bridges and tributaries to become blocked which causes flooding throughout its path. Even though, the natural cause of most landslides is unable to be stopped, geologic investigations, good engineering practices and effective enforcement of land-use management regulations can cut back landslide danger. Landslides effect every state in the United States territory. The Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coastal Ranges and few parts of Alaska and Hawaii have intense landslide problems. USGS marine scientists have recently identified over fifteen giant landslides surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. These slides are some of the largest known on Earth, and most have taken place throughout the past four million years. The youngest landslide is estimated to have occurred only one hundred thousand years ago, and there is evidence today that large blocks of the island are starting to slide, causing enormous earthquakes. Each landslide that has happened over the bast four million years has ended with huge land loss and gigantic waves that move rocks and se diments up to 1000ft above sea level. The geologic hazards are important to learn about because, they don't occur as frequently as volcanoes or other disasters, they have potential to destroy lives, property, and natural

Cross-cultural,moral, ethic, and environmental issues of hospitality Essay

Cross-cultural,moral, ethic, and environmental issues of hospitality organization - Essay Example The forms are in relation to the hospital and physician, and each occurs at different integration stages. Hospital leadership often uses the stakeholders’ capability of management to understand, analyze and transact business in order to achieve the required goals for cooperates wellbeing. Internal and external stakeholders’ interests can be identified and managed by understanding the organization’s engagements, analysis, management, influences and partnership. Health system views the management of organizational culture as an important part of reforms today. The latest reforms in United Kingdom were based on major cultural transformation on the organization that should be secured on considerations of procedural and structural changes. This will help in the delivery of the required improvements in performance and quality services. Key factors that impede change of culture across a wide range of sectors include inappropriate leadership, professional allegiances and external stakeholders imposing constraints. There are effects that come with subcultural diversity and lack of ownership mentality. Cultural competency is important for potential strategy in eliminating ethnic or racial disparity and increase quality in the health care sector. The approach has taken varies depending on the influential sphere, goal and mission. Cultural competence has a multilevel nature in line with the key informants. Stakeholders are mainly interested in the organizational basis of the hospital. This is pivotal as it help in management of hospitals in order to maintain a good profitable organization. â€Å"Stake holders are mainly interested in the economic progress of the health facilities.† (Maybery & Nicewander, 103-119) The aspect revolves around creating employment training programs and zoning regulations. They are interested in social change, in efforts of racial harmony improvement. Involving workers in decision making

Economic Activity in Frace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic Activity in Frace - Essay Example This was more that the OECD countries which had an average house hold income of 23,938 dollars per year (Gofen and Blandine, 27). Despite these high numbers, there is a considerable difference between the poorest and the richest in France. The top 20% of the population in France are able to earn five times more, than the bottom 20% of the population. The most relevant industry for the supply of ice cream laced wine is the hospitality industry (Gofen and Blandine, 21). This industry comprises of hotels, bars, discos, Casinos, etc. The hospitality industry in France is very stable, and the most lucrative. For instance, during the financial crisis, the hospitality industry was not affected. For example, France has the highest hotel penetration rate in Europe. This rate stands at 41%. The wine product sold by my company is a luxurious product, and hence the people of France can afford it. This is because they have a strong income per capita, and the target industry is performing

Slippery Slope and related Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slippery Slope and related Hypothesis - Essay Example The society at large hypothesis was postulated by O.W Wilson (Delattre 69). According to him, the society at large plays a significant role in making public officers such as policemen and policewomen to participate in corruption (Delattre 70). According to the theory, when a citizen offers a gratuity to a police officer for protection he/she virtually helps in the promotion of corruption. By such an action, the citizen opens doors for the police officer to accept even bigger gratuity offers from other citizens with the unyielding being accused of crimes in spite of their innocence (Delattre 26). Police officers are often considered to belong to a special category of public officers and seem to be above the law. As such their actions, according to the masses, cannot be questioned. Taking advantage of this situation, some police officers grant the same special attention to the criminals with whom they partake in crime.   According to the structural hypothesis theory, values trickle d own from the top brass to individuals in lower ranks (Kaplan & Johnson 25). For example, officers become prone to doing certain activities by watching the activities that their seniors do. Most police officers do not start working as corrupt individuals but instead adopt the deviant behavior while in the field (Kelley 34). Given the fact that the veterans and superiors had learnt the behavior earlier, they do not hesitate to pass it on to the younger generation that comes after them.  

William Henry Pope Essay Example for Free

William Henry Pope Essay William Henry Pope was born in Bedeque, P.E.I on May 29,1825. The elder son of James Pope and Lucy Colledge. He was educated on P.E.I and later in England, he was studing Law. He was called to the bar in 1847, In addition to practicing Law, he acted as a land agent. Through the 1850s he became very involved with the Concervative Party. He began his official political career in 1859. He was not elected that year, but was appointed colonial secretary new policy of nondepartmentalism an effort to combat patronge. He also became the editor of The Islander, a prominent Conservative newspaper. With the differences between the Protestants and the Catholics, Pope became involved with the attempts in reconciling their differences, with many failed attemps the matter was given up in favour up of solidifying Protestents support of Concervatives. Resulting in a Conservative win in the 1863 general election. Pope won a seat as a member for Belfast. In 1866, Pope resigned his seat and did not run in the 1867 election. After resigning from the legislature, he continued to support the Confederation campaign by writing letters and doing lectures, and rebuilding the Conservatives into a Pro-union Party. It was his coalition that led the island into Confederation that July. William Pope remained as editor of The Island until 1872. With the coming of Confederation, he was appointed Prince County Court Judge. His term as judge was very successfull. In 1878, he did a revision and consolidation of thr provinces (P.E.I) statutes. Willian Henry Pope died October 7, 1879, in St. Eleanor, P.E.I at the age of 54. Interesting facts James Colledge Pope, the government of Sir John A. Macdonald appointed him judge of the Prince County Court. He married Helen DesBrisay in 1851. Father MacDonald and William Pope had clashed in public concerning the temporal powers of the papacy. The reason for Popes resigning of his seat, was because his brother James passed a No Terms resolution against Confederation, while he was away on a trade mission.

Black Boy :: essays research papers

Childhood is a time of sunny days. Sweet breezes blow friendly cloud shapes across the deep blue sky. The days are never-ending-joy—a black canvas to paint with beautiful memories - - unless your childhood was Richard Wright’s. His youth was a cold bleak existence, carved with hatred and overlaid with hunger. There seemed to be little hope for one born to such a lot. For it was not to the caring bosom of his family that Richard could turn. And the hard, unfeeling eyes of the world were turned away from him. It was a great feat that could struggle through life’s battles with his conscience unscathed. It was his experience that provided the color which enhanced the sketch of his personality he was given at birth. Richard’s family despaired of him. They believed him to only be on the wide path go hell as was evidence by the family confrontations Richard constantly found himself in. There was the time Aunt Addie punished an innocent Richard in school, and the fight raged on even once they were home. After pulling a knife on her and being thrown to the floor, eternal hate was born between the two relatives. He believed him to be devilish and would have nothing to do with him while Richard regarded her with untarnished enmity. He also fought with Uncle Tom. Richard pulled razor blades on Uncle because he was gong to be beaten for an unknown reason. This event constructed an impenetrable wall between the two that was never to come down. It was here Richard learned not to trust. For who would offer kindness towards him if family members did not. And finally, Richard fought with Granny over working on the Sabbath . She did not understand what he needed, reasoned Richard. That boy is a hopeles s case, felt Granny. They completely misunderstood one another, and each one’s pride was too great to do anything about the damaged relationship. So between Aunt Addie, Uncle Tom, and Granny, Richard existed in a place of hard and in indifferent stares which would cause him to search for brighter colors elsewhere. He first turned to the streets. He found no solace there but rather a malice between races that surpassed the hostility at home. He saw this when he was he was bitten by the brickyard owner’s dog. The man cared nothing for Richard and didn’t care if he lived or died because all blacks were trash in the white man’s eyes.

Michael Oher Essay

African-American Michael Oher’s story started when he ran away from home, escaping his drug-crazy mother who was fighting her own battle of maintaining a husband-less family and retaining money for drugs, food, and other â€Å"necessities. † Although he kept poor grades up until the year he graduated from high school, Oher showed an aptitude in sports from an early age. This would play a major role in his future, as we now see him playing as a tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. In his freshman year of high school, Oher was living temporarily with an auto mechanic whose son was just about the same age as him. His guardian enrolled both his son and Oher into Briarcrest Christian High School so they could study together. However, he ran into financial troubles and had to force Michael to leave. Eventually, Oher ran into Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who adopted him and took care of him until he went to college. Briarcrest Christian was a predominantly white school; in fact, the entire district was a predominantly white district. This meant that because Oher was African-American, he faced a lot of racial tensions in his school. He had to deal with countless people staring at him or talking about him when he was walking down the hallways in school. In fact, his mother’s friends and his sister’s friends were discouraging them both to keep him as a foster son. In football games, Oher faced many racist people on his team and from opposing teams. However, he was able to brave through many of the slurs thrown at him and channel a lot of his anger into football. By the end of senior year, Oher received varsity letters in football, basketball, and track-and-field. He received scholarships from many colleges including Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Alabama, and South Carolina, but Oher finally decided on going to the University of Mississippi, where his foster parents and his tutor went to. He primarily went so he could play on the Ole Miss Rebels football team. We can parallel many of Oher’s actions to his baseball counterpart—Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson endured many of the taunts and racial jeers that were hurled at Oher throughout his high school life. Similarly, both of these people rose up against their problems to surpass the white people that made fun of them before—Robinson being nationally ranked as one of the best baseball players of his time, Oher being one of the best left tackles in his team in high school.