Monday, September 30, 2019

Mother Teresa: her life and my feelings Essay

Mother Teresa was a woman who devoted her life to helping the poor, suffering and dying. She touched the lives of people all over the world, from Calcutta to Rome, and from Ethiopia to Venezuela. Mother Teresa has been a role model to people all over the world, but she has been a real inspiration to me. Ever since I was little, I have gone to Catholic school; therefore, I have known about Mother Teresa since I was younger. I have learned about the many places she traveled and the many people she has aided. I have also learned about the many personal sacrifices she has made for others. When I learned of these sacrifices she made and realized she did them just so she could help other, I realized that there was lot I could be doing to help people in the world. I always give money to the missions, I volunteered at Second Harvester’s and helped out in my high school office. I still do everything I can just to help people even if it is in the little things I do. I love the feeling I get when I know I have helped someone somehow. It is a wonderful feeling. I feel like I have done something to make the world a more loving, caring place to live in. Mother Teresa once said, â€Å"God is thirsting for our love. When we, from our own free will, surrender to his will, He will use us to be his instrument in this world, to let our love be His love for others. This can only be through continuous prayer. Then we will be: a pencil in God’s hands.† I think this quote plays an important part in the way we treat others everyday. It should always come to mind before we consider do something wrong to someone else. If we hurt someone else, we are also hurting God. Do we really want to hurt someone who love us so much that he would die for us? Mother Teresa knew how good it made God feel to see her do the great deeds she did and I believe this is what kept her going strong at it her whole life. This same feeling is what keeps me doing nice things for others everyday. Even though our world is full of so much hate and cruelty, I have learned to look past all this and only give out love and affection, in the hope of erasing all of t hese bad things. My future job as a doctor will allow me to take care of and aid people everyday and it makes me feel so good everytime I think of this. Mother Teresa’s love reached millions of people in millions of different  ways. She did not let anything stop her from performing God’s will ad following her heart. It took enormous, strength to live the life she did, and I pray to God and her every day for this same strength to get thorough the struggles in my life and to become a better person as each day progresses. I honestly feel God has put me here to accomplish something wonderful. Mother Teresa gives me the strength to find out what this is and DO IT!!!

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Descriptive Essay: Chelsea Park Happiest Place on Earth Essay

Last Christmas, I spent 5 fun-filled days and 4 magical nights in Disneyland. Daily weather in Anaheim was beautiful. The driveway leading to the park entrance was lined with tall palm trees as they stretched to the heavens in the blazing sunshine. Everyone’s face shone with joy and the children shook their parent’s hands from side to side screaming happily. The sweet smell of fluffy cotton-candy tickled my nose as I entered the park. â€Å"Ooooh!Ahhhhh!† The cries of joy and sounds of machines whirring never seemed to stop. Even though there was lots of waiting with endless long lines, laughter was always in the air and they seemed happy together. A huge Mickey’s Fun Wheel jumped out at me right when I walked into the California Park. The colorful flowers set alongside a beautiful lagoon. The clip-clop of horse drawn carriages brought people back to carefree days. And of course, I never forget the biggest reason for going to Disneyland – the rides. There was a number of eye-catching moments here- some featuring otherworldly creatures, and white knuckle thrill rides through the clear sky. â€Å"Wooooshhhhh!!!† At blast off, California Screamin, took us through twists and turns, with an upside down loop. People were screaming their lungs out when the steel roller coaster soared into the air like a rocket. The terrifying speed made my toes curl and the strong wind pushed my head against the rubber black seat. I cried bloody murder on the coaster as it fell plumb down almost touching the ground. All too soon, it was over. After I got off of the thrill ride, I found my haggard look with disheveled hair through a snapshot picture. This is simply too awful to contemplate. Furthermore, Adventure-land was intriguing tropical land mixed with palm trees, lush bamboo fences, torches, rock formations, straw-thatched roofs and a fake jungle river. Read Also:  Topic for Descriptive Essay Especially, Indiana Jones’ was an unforgettable and realistic ride as we crossed a rickety bridge, passed pool of flaming lava, and dodged a huge tumbling boulder. The truck was the actual one used in the scene where Indy is dragged underneath during a high-speed pursuit, which was very thrilling for me. While the evening sun warmed the old red brick shops to a radiant glow, people were gathering in rows to watch the parade. A joyful parade featured popular characters from Disney movies, marching bands, dancers, and Santa Claus navigating through Main Street, each telling their  own musical story. It was full of unique rhythms and instruments. But the most pleasurable experience of the evening was the wonderful fireworks show. The night sky was ablaze with a spectacular fireworks display. It truly was deserving of being unforgettable. At night the whole area lit up and the sights and sounds were simply wonderful! Disneyland was not just a park with various attractions inside; it had created a completely new world for visitors to fall into. It brought me into the fantastic world and captured the imagination of every child, and even every adult. Visiting Disneyland was the greatest experience ever for me. The trip has left such hunting memories of the good times that I never get over longing to go back again! Suitcase Lady I enjoyed reading Christie McLaren’s essay â€Å"Suitcase Lady†, in which she described Vicomtesses’ life using senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch to convey more vivid feeling. At first when I read the title â€Å"Suitcase Lady† I imagined the story about free soul traveler who likes to travel around the world. However, I realized that it was totally different with my thought. The author starts with sad anecdote used words such as bleary, harsh, ragged cough, and chapped to help better understand of the situation of the lady who is everyday waging her own battle for survival. This essay triggered my emotion towards reality of homeless who unfortunately never get the chance to live comfortable. The quote â€Å"I bum on the street. I don’t like it, but I have to survive† shows the homeless living as given the opportunity to live. â€Å"Her suitcase is full of dream† implied that her suitcase is full of lady’s wishes of a better life. The poor lady cares passionately about the young, the old, and the ones who suffer. However, no one really sympathizes with the kind of harsh realities. Her recourse now is only God because it is even harder to expect the support from the government. Through the essay, the author points out the issue of homelessness in Toronto, Canada. In many ways, homelessness represents a social problem. I think they must be looked after from our attention and support rather than judging with our stereotype towards them.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Importance of Technology in Classroom Essay

Technology is either a boon or bane, depends how and for what purpose it’s being used. If technology is used to cure diseases in people, to help people communicate with each other across geographical boundaries, to reduce human effort by making things simple, easy and accessible, it indeed is a boon. However, if science and technology is used to prepare nuclear bombs or other weapons of war, it is harmful. As pros and cons of technology have always been debated, with some people arguing that its the best thing to have happened to human race and some totally against it, it is often wondered should the children, the future of mankind, be introduced to technology at a young age in schools? What is the importance of technology in classrooms? Let’s find out the answers†¦ Importance of Technology in the Classroom Active Participation When students are learning through technology, they are themselves looking for information on the Internet. They make their own decisions regarding the information i.e. whether it is relevant or irrelevant. They have control over how to use or present this information. Thus, one of the main benefits of using technology for classrooms is that unlike a teacher-led classroom, where students passively receive whatever information the teacher is providing, in tech savvy classrooms, students are active participants. In-depth Knowledge Jon Stewart once commented, â€Å"The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom.† By using the Internet technology, obtaining information on all kinds of subjects has become very easy. A student sitting in his classroom can learn how people in a small village in Africa live life. Thus, Internet is a kind of library which is at the disposal of a student with just a click. A student can acquire in-depth knowledge on any subject using this vast resource. Real-life Work Experience The importance of technology in the classroom can be gauged from the fact that it offers an experience to students similar to the working environment that one sees in offices. In technology savvy classrooms, a teacher acts as a facilitator who sets project goals for the students and provides them with the necessary resources and guidelines to reach those goals. The student himself makes decisions with regards to the design choices, the information he wants to use and display, the resources that he will use. You may read more on the importance of science and technology. Moreover, these days, students themselves are very tech savvy and may sometimes even know more than the teacher himself. So, there is a constant exchange of information between the students and the teachers. Such an environment prepares a student to work in business organizations in the future. Increased Motivation Researches have shown that there is great importance of integrating technology in the classroom. When students are taught through slide shows or by showing films, it makes the lessons very easy and interesting for them. It helps in their learning, at the same time motivates them to attend school everyday. Thus, another importance of technology in schools is that it brings down the drop-out rates. Technical Skills Using computers on a daily basis, helps the students in developing an understanding of the various computer tools and softwares. This kind of education prepares the students and makes it easier for them to learn about the various software applications in future. You may read more on why is technology so important today. This very well defines the importance of computers in the classroom.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Reaction paper - Essay Example Thereafter, each of them goes their separate ways to attend to their tasks at home or in their offices. Competition causes individuals even in the seminary to think of themselves first in their social and academic endeavors. It takes discipline and effort to think as a team and foster a healthy give and take attitude. Chapter 9 of Bacher and Copper-White book, â€Å"Ministry Teams: Teeming with Talent,† throws some light on how to be involved as a team, specifically in a church scenario. According to Bacher and White a team â€Å"is not a church term...and a community that gathers for worship is not a team either.† A team is composed of a group of people that work together to accomplish goals that cannot be done by a single individual. In a church environment, there are various departments called ministries and each ministry has its own team - teams which can help build up the church and its ministries. In order for the team to be productive and successful, it is essential that each individual realize that to be part of a team, one should know how to develop trust, encourage open communications with one another, and be responsible for one self and the members know how to care for each other. This is because even the absence of one member can have a debilitating effect on the rest of the team. A team has some basic values. Broadly, these values are based on confidence and trust in each other. And based on this confidence and trust, each member of the team performs a distinct function. We may have intellectuals and talented people in our team, but without these values, it is not possible for the team to last. The individuals in the team are interdependent. No individual can be greater than the team. An individual may feel that the team cannot do with him. While this feeling is healthy, it does the individual no good if he is puffed up because of this feeling. Normally, a healthy team always has some replacement facilities. Also quite often, one may think that it

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Self -executing treaties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Self -executing treaties - Essay Example In an effort to assess how international laws and treaties are applied by nation-states, this paper shall discuss the application of self-executing treaties and the position of treaties recovering provisional application. The views of different authors, courts, and international tribunals shall be used to critically assess the implementation of the dualist and the monist approach to treaties. As part of the international community, states are obliged to follow and respect the provisions and mandates of international laws. These laws help keep the peace between nations and help secure and protect the sovereignty of the different nations of the world. Treaties form part of our international laws. Through the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the principle of pacta sunt servanda finds application. Nations are free to apply these treaties in any way they see fit. They may apply the dualist approach or the monist approach in order to seek the application of the treaties in their territory. Whatever approach to implementation they choose, these nations have international obligations to fulfill, and their failure to comply cannot be excused using domestic laws as a scapegoat. International responsibilities cannot be ignored because states are risking their economic and political position in the international community (Council of Europe, p. 16). In some countries which follow a dualist approach to treaties, these treaties cannot, as a general rule, be applied by municipal courts until they have been transformed into municipal law by legislative action. However, in the case of self-executing treaties, this rule must be qualified. Treaties are normally endorsed by states and are considered the most common and trusted sources of international law. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in 1969 was passed in order regulate the enactment of treaties between state parties as well as organizations. According

Slave Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Slave Trade - Essay Example The slave-exporting states such as Virginia engaged in adversarial relationships with slave-importing states in their roles of seller and buyer. Moreover, as the slaves went farther south, the lower South states deduced that the upper South was beginning to change its perspective on slavery. This difference provoked a deep debate over the reopening of the African slave trade. (Deyle, 2004) The areas of the Deep South saw that new imports would allow Virginia to remain a loyal slave state. However, Virginia did not want newly-arrived slaves to diminish the value of its existing human property. Perceiving that slavery was under attack and fearing the loss of Virginia to the free states, the lower South decided to seced. The Deep South forced Virginia into secession. At that time, Virginia had no desire to deprive itself of the revenues from the domestic slave trade. Southern cotton supported the textile mills of England and the American North. Market forces dominated the growth and traffic of slave trade. Slave traders were demanding entrepreneurs who were fully absorbed in a highly competitive business" (Deyle, 2005). Slave traders acted as conduits of market values into the South, who then paved the way to consumerism and speculation and enhanced modern business practices to the other regions. Slaveholders denied that they sold slaves willingly and insulated themselve s from complicity in the human traffic. (Deyle, 2004). The slave trade has myriad dimensions. Southern farmers, planters, and speculators carried their human chattel with them whenever they move from Alabama to Virginia. Moreover, many slaveholders wanted to increase their enslaved workforces. The experience of being sold to slave traders and to a landowner was the most soul-rending experience most African Americans endured, aside from bodily punishments. An ex-slave Ben had recounted to interviewer Mary White Ovington in 1910 that every fall, the slaves would be sold in the same way that cattle was sold.Slaveholders would transfer them from one place to another as if they were mules or horses. Families would be split without consideration for husbands, wives and children. Those who had been sold to new masters never knew what to expect and they never had an inkling of what type of new master they would encounter in their new plantation. (Jewett and Allen, 2004). When Samuel Townsend, a slave owner from Virginia, needed more slaves, he bought them from traders in Richmond. This movement of slaves from the Upper South to the Gulf states presented possibilities for profitable speculations. Thousands of slaves born in Virginia showed up in Alabama during from 1820s to 1840s. Groups of slaves moved from Virginia and the Carolinas each fall. Montgomery was Alabama's largest slave sale site. Blacks being transported but encumbered by foot irons and chains were a pitiful sight on the roads. After railroads had been built in Montgomery with the Upper South slave markets, particularly during the 1850s, more traders and speculators used the railroads to move their human cargo (Jewett and Allen, 2004). Uncle Tom's Cabin converted the North to the cause of the slave. The book brought home to the heart of the North, and of the world, that the slave was a man. The book was instrumental in conveying the fact that the slave is linked to mankind by human love and aspiration and anguish but devoid of the rights of man. (Merriam, 1970). Uncle Tom's

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Contribution of High Performance Working towards Greater Skills Essay

Contribution of High Performance Working towards Greater Skills Utilisation in UK Organisations - Essay Example The organisations are not able to fully utilised the potential and skills of the employees. Also, most of the employees are working in the position which are not compatible with their skills. All these factors have negative impact not only employees but also on organisation and in turn on whole economy. In this report an attempt has been made to analyse the extent to which high performance working in organisations can contribute towards greater skills utilisations with reference to the organisations in United Kingdom. The topic under discussion requires an organisation to develop a stimulating environment that harnesses its employee’s true working potential. By creating an environment that empowers an employee to use his skills to their maximum capacity would not only benefit the organisation (in terms of growth) but also the economy as a whole. When developing a workforce with variety of skill sets, it is of utmost importance to look at the broader picture (Dessler and Varkke y, 2009). In this broader picture the participants of the work force and the participating organisations are not the central figures. It is the economy of the country that is the central figure. Whenever, there is a demand for highly skilled workforce in the economy there arises a need to provide constant replenishment of workforce with new package of skills. When this happens the economy starts to move towards growth and prosperity. Therefore, in order to help the economy to grow and more importantly for its own growth an organisation should make endeavour that allows it to utilise its employees’ true working potential. An organisation can achieve this objective by crafting a High- Performance Work System. High-Performance Work System: A High- Performance Work System is an integrated set of human resource management policies and practices that together produces superior employee performance. Although there are no definite parameters or features of this kind of systems, but e xperts do believe that this kind of a system should comprise of the certain practices like: Employees Security, which entails job security and safety from workplace hazards and unjust employer treatment, selective hiring which involves the process of hiring individuals who fit with the work description, personality traits and organisational mission, extensive training which entails administering job specific training along with skill enhancing drills, self managed teams and decentralized decision making which in turn supports the delegation of work and authority, reduced status difference between managers and workers, information sharing i.e. Passing on the information that will help the person performing the task, contingent rewards (pay for performance) this enables the organisation to link reward with a performance goal, inspirational motivation through transformational leaders i.e. mentoring and supervision, measurement of management practices i.e. develop a departmental level S corecard to assess performance, and emphasis on high-quality work (Wood and Wall, 2007). With the help of high performance work system an organisation can achieve is several benefits and advantages. The organisation will be able to get more qualified applicants per position, there will be more employees selected based on validated selection tests, there will be more hours of training for new employees, employees will receive regular

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Organisational purposes and swot analysis Essay

Organisational purposes and swot analysis - Essay Example 3 Mission, Vision and objective of the company 3 SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) analysis 4 Strategic recommendations 7 8 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Established in 1945, Tata Motors is one of the leading vehicle manufacturers of India with consolidated revenue of $32.5 billion in the financial year 2011-2012. The company is a leader in passenger and commercial vehicles and is also the fourth largest bus and truck manufacturer in India. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and manufactures approximately 7.5 million vehicles annually (TATA Motors, 2013a). Mission, Vision and objective of the company The vision of the company is to develop the TATA Motors into a world class vehicle manufacturer which believes in manufacturing superior and innovative value vehicles. TATA believes that it can be a world class manufacturer by giving the cars a product appeal at a lower ownership cost (TATA Motors, 2013b). The mission and objectives of Tata Mot ors are stated below 1) To create shareholder’s value by generating revenue in excess or equal to WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) during the business downfall. 2) To strengthen the brand value of the company and build an everlasting relationship with the customers by working closely with the business partners. 3) It believes in creating an organization which believes in innovation, excellence and complying with the core values of the company. 4) The company believes in enhancing and developing a long lasting relationship with the vendors and channel partners of the company that would ultimately benefit the customers and stakeholders in the long run. 5) The company believes in promoting the economic growth and development by initiating environment protection and awareness measures (TATA Motors, 2013c). TATA Motors believes that a company can achieve efficiency only if it practices ethical and transparent policies and develops a congenial working atmosphere which believ es in excellence, integrity, passion for work, innovation, concern for the environment (TATA Motors, 2013g). SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) analysis The results derived from the SWOT analysis helps in accomplishing the mission of the company by utilizing the opportunities and strength of the company, avoiding the threats and rectifying the weakness of the company (Griffin, 2011). Strength Research and Development: The company is the leader in the manufacturing of light commercial vehicles in each segment and among the top three in passenger vehicles in India. The company owes its credit to the exquisite research and development team. The engineering and research centre of the company was established in the year 1966 and is equipped with more than 4500 engineers and scientists (TATA Motors, 2013b). Currently, the research and development team of the company has emerged with a Hybrid series car named TATA Manza which was displayed at the Auto Expo exhibition in Del hi. The research and development team is also planning to manufacture fuel efficient buses, the program will be supported by the government of India. The company has spent 15.49 billion in research and development activities during in the year 2011 (TATA Motors, 2013d). Globalization: The company has acquired several foreign brands to increase its presence globally and has a strong presence in UK, South Korea, Thailand, Spain, South Africa and Argentina and further plans to set up its plant in Turkey, Eastern Europe and Indonesia (TATA Motors,

Monday, September 23, 2019

A Reflective Analysis on the Assessment and Management for ankle Essay - 1

A Reflective Analysis on the Assessment and Management for ankle injury - Essay Example The aim was not only to see the patient receiving the most suitable treatment for his condition, but also to consider such matters as how could he have been treated somewhat differently for an optimal outcome and how can similar injuries be prevented in the future. When considering this patient’s case reflectively the Gibbs model was chosen (1988). This well established model was chosen because it follows logically , and includes such things as evaluation and analysis, and also allows for the fact that the problem might recur, as is common in ankle injuries. The practitioner as they reflect, learn while doing. A patient in his early 20s walked in at the UCC with a contused left ankle. He said that he acquired the injury while playing soccer and the swelling and reaction present indicated that he was in great pain. The patient responded to questions in order to identify the cause of the injury, and the next cause of action. An ankle injury occurs when there is overstretching of ligaments beyond their ability, therefore causing a tearing (Stephens, Pait, & Sheehan, 2003). Following the OTTAWA ankle rules, not all ankle springs require XRAY, especially where there are no suspected fractures (McKeag & Moeller, 2007, p. 502). However, the clinician did make an exemption in this case because there was a swelling on the left ankle and the condition would not allow palpation of the bone. It was felt that if the patient had not continued playing at the initial stage when he first injured the ankle then there would not have been such swelling and the pain he was experiencing. Ankle sprain results from two situations; The inversion injury whereby the ankle turns inside as the ankle inverse and an injury due to external rotation (Buttaro, Trybulski, & Bailey, 2013 p.887). In order to determine the extent of the injury, which is a categorization the injury in a particular grade, a health practitioner carries out further

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Tax Incident Essay Example for Free

Tax Incident Essay Government generally collect taxes to generate revenue and question arise here is that after imposition of taxation, which group will bear the tax burden. After implementation of tax, there would be the division of tax burden between byres and sellers which is known as tax incidence. Tax incidence is linked to the price elasticity of demand and supply. If supply is more elastic than demand then the tax burden falls upon the buyers and when the demand is more elastic than supply then the producers will bear the cost of the tax. Tax incidence is basically the analysis of the effect of taxation on the distribution of economic welfare. Tax incidence expose that which group either consumer or producer is going to pay the price of new tax and it falls mostly on the group that has the inelastic price quantity or respond least to the price. Tax incidence or the tax burden does not depend on that where the revenue is collected but it depends upon the elasticity of demand and supply. The purpose of this review on the literature is that to analyze the effect of particular tax on the distribution of economic welfare. Section 2 is related to the literature review and section 3 is related to the conclusion. 2. Review of Literature 2.1 The incidence of sin taxes: Kotakorpi (2008) has examined the incidence of taxation on sin commodities. Sin commodities are those commodities whose current consumption causes utility cost in the future. Consumers are considered to be time inconsistent or having too much consumption of unhealthy goods. Sin taxes means taxes on unhealthy commodities. In the context of monetary cost sin taxes would lead to influence the individual’s utility. Increase in the consumption of sin commodities would lead to a higher monetary cost or higher utility benefit from self controlling. The author has analyzed the welfare effect of the sin taxes and the welfare effect of sin taxes depends upon the elasticity of demand. The individuals with less income group having higher elasticity of demand as compare to the high income group. There is possibility of progressive taxation as the benefit is high for the less income group. He has measure the incidence on individual utility through the overall impact of the tax. Sin taxes would lead to increase the welfare if the demand for  the unhealthy good is more elastic. For the case of poor demand is more elastic so the burden of sin taxes falls least on the poor as compare to the rich. It’s not necessary that taxation always hurts low income group but can be fair for the poor. The welfare of the economy would increases in case of sin taxes. 2.2 The incidence of tax on pure rent in a small open economy: Petrucci (2006) has investigate the effects of a land tax on capital structure and foreign investment in a life cycle small open economy with the assumption that labor supply is take as endogenous. Land is an as asset which is used as an input for the production. Tax on land means the higher would be the capital stock. The land tax leads to reduce the price of land but crowds out investment, consumption and welfare of nationals would increase. The consequences of land taxation depends upon that how government adopted the tax transfer program. Labor supply and domestic output reduced by land taxation, while the wealth and national income are increased. If land taxation were used to finance the un-productive government expenditure then the effects of taxation on the capital stock and aggregate wealth would be neutral. The main assumption of this article is the endogenous labor supply regarding the long run incidence of taxes. The final effects of land taxation on economic growth and wealth formation depend upon that the government tax transfer program. When tax revenues are distributed as lump-sum payments then the land taxation increases consumption and stimulate wealth but leads to reduce the capital stock. 2.3 Tax incidence in bargaining: Chae (2002) has investigates two-person bargaining model where one party is taxed and the other is non-taxed party who shares the burden of taxes. Sufficient condition is that tax party would entirely bears the tax burden are given and non-tax party would actually to benefit from taxation is given. In a competitive market, buyers and sellers share the tax burden and the larger burden falling on the party that has lower price elasticity. In a bargaining model, if the gross revenue of the tax party does not change then the taxation does not affect the other party. Thus the tax burden will falls completely on tax party. If the tax party is risk neutral and has zero opportunity cost then the burden of taxation falls completely on the tax party. If the tax party is risk averse with the constant relative risk  aversion, then the tax burden is shared by the non-tax party as initial wealth is also positive. The results show here that a risk loving party loses more form taxation than the ri sk averse party. In general, a bargaining party that is less risk averse has more bargaining power but the party with more bargaining power can also be more at risk to taxation. 2.4 The general equilibrium incidence of environmental taxes: Fullertton (2007) used a simple general equilibrium with pollution and has found the incidence of pollution tax on prices of outputs and on the returns to inputs. When both sectors are equally capital intensive and capital is a better substitute for pollution then is labor. Then return to capital would rise comparative to wage. These results provide evidence that the substitutability of capital and labor has very important consequences for environmental policy. The results show that a 10% increase in the pollution tax rate reduces pollution from 2% to 10%. The model in this paper provides theoretical analysis of the incidence and distributional effects of environmental policy. It shows that how differential substitution between factors greatly effect the burdens of a pollution tax. Environmental taxation has mostly focused on efficiency effects. This paper provides theoretical general equilibrium model of tax incidence of an environmental tax that allows for general forms of substitution among inputs of labor, capital and pollution. Pollution is modeled as an input along with capital and labor. Environmental policies can have important effects on firms’ demands for capital and labor inputs, which can impact the returns to owners of capital and labor in general equilibrium. 2.5 The tax system incidence on unemployment: A country specific analysis for the OECD economies: Ramon et.al (2008) examines the incidence of different tax structure on unemployment in OECD countries through wage bargaining model. The first important result from the analysis is that fiscal wedge does not play an important role in explaining unemployment. The more the payroll taxes are influenced towards the employees, the higher would be the unemployment. This is due to the higher elasticity of taxes impose on workers so that tax components affect unemployment even when the overall fiscal wedge remains unchanged. As unemployment determination is considered, supply side determinants (productivity growth) positively related to the  unemployment determination but negatively related with demand side determinants (inflation). This suggests that high situation of unemployment persistence may tend to require more structural reforms. If changes in the tax composition that leave the overall amount of revenues unchanged are harmless in terms of unemployment persistence then new possibilities for policy makers can be considered. 2.6 Tax and subsidy incidence equivalence theories: experimental evidence from competitive markets: Ruffle (2005) stated that tax burden does not depend upon that where revenue is collected but the division of tax burden between buyers and sellers only depend upon the elasticity of supply and demand. The theory of tax incidence equivalence is strongly related to the market formation and also enlarges to the subsidies. The benefit of the subsidy is not related to the one that who is in fact getting the subsidy. Basically, government should charge tax to decrease the agreement costs and it should not to leave the restrictive producers at disadvantages. In the competitive equilibrium market, particular shifts of supply and demand curves are considered to analyze the tax and subsidy equivalence theorems. Both the smaller no of markets and sufficiently large no of markets can trade profitably at the competitive price. The results propose that the discussion topic is that who is paying the tax or receiving the subsidy should pay attention on formation that at what degree market is under the competition level. And if the market is competitive then the tax should be manage in a manner that reduces the expenditure cost. 2.7 Tax incidence under oligopoly: a comparison of policy approaches: Hamilton (1999) examined the tax incidence under the oligopolistic market structure. Basically two forms of commodity taxation considered are the unit (or specific) tax and sales (or ad valorem) tax. The author has incorporated the shift parameters in a generalized tax schedule to analyze the incidence of taxation under oligopoly. Greater industry output and increased output per firm is associated with output elastic schedule. If there is a case of free entry in oligopoly then there would be the larger reduction in industry fix cost relative to the tax schedule that is less responsive to the equilibrium level of output. Taxation under oligopoly, benefit would be  increased with revenue neutral reforms to relatively output elastic tax plan. The results of other studies show that with specific or ad valorem taxation leads to efficiency loss in oligopolistic industries with a fix number of firms. Degressive taxes with both specific tax and ad volarem tax leads to efficiency gain, when the tax output is elastic enough. 2.8 The incidence of income tax on wages and labour supply: Bingley and lanot (2002) has analyzed the determination of equilibrium and labor supply in the presence of income taxes. They found the strong evidence of fractional shifting of income tax from worker to employer. As tax is not fully shifted if the income tax is incident on equilibrium wage. There is not shifting of burden of taxation as labor supply response to wages is measured. And the labor supply elasticity with respect to wage is very small after income taxation. Higher income tax leads to a higher employment. In the article, the author showed the effect of income tax on gross wages and labor supply wage elasticity. The incidence of taxation on gross earnings is a mix of labor supply and gross wage responses. In this model the author has chosen the Denmark country. In Denmark, income tax varies regionally as workers pay tax according to where they live rather than where they work. The result shows that the, in Denmark, gross earnings bear less than the full burden of labor taxation and gross wages bear proportionately more of that tax burden. The results shows, by ignoring the labor supply response to a tax change may lead to a wrong conclusion that the tax is fully incident on equilibrium earnings. 2.9 The incidence of personal income taxation: evidence from the tax reform act of 1986: D. kubik (2004) examined in this paper about the short run incidence of personal income taxation in US by analyzing that how wage structure shifted after the tax reform act of 1986. In this analyses pre tax wages and income of workers are endogenously determined through tax policy. Workers of an economy with different skills, the pre tax wage of each skill depend upon the quantity of labor supplied. Basically, the purpose of the paper is that whether changes in personal income tax affect the US wage formation through the evidence from the tax reform act of 1986. Firstly, the author has tested that how marginal tax rate of the median worker in  each occupation changed due to the tax reform and then tested the wages of workers in each occupation before and after 1986. Personal income taxation changes through the tax reform act of 1986 have affected the wage distribution and results shows that the legislation has lowered the marginal tax rate of high income individuals but low income individuals relatively unaffected. If the training and potential earnings of the people are quite similar then the tax reform act of 1986 will affected the people in the same way. High skill workers in a profession earns high incomes leads to a sharp decline in marginal tax rate but on the other hand low income individuals faced minor changes in marginal tax rate. The result depends on the assumption that labor supply decisions are affected by the marginal tax rate. Labor supply decision changes as individuals change their work hour decision or can cause a worker to drop the profession. Wage rate were affected by the shifts of workers supply in the labor market due to the tax reform 1986. 2.10 Tax incidence when individuals are time-inconsistent: the case of cigarette excise tax: Gruber and Koszegi (2004) stated that lower income groups consume much of the unhealthy or sin commodities to which excise tax is imposed in a greater proportion as compare to the higher income level. There is negative relationship between income and part of income which is spending on sin commodities. For example the imposition of tax on gasoline would be fall on the low income level and their utilities would be affected after increase in taxes. In this model consumers are considered to be time inconsistent in their consumption decision. In the model author has considered the smoking decision which is more appropriate in time inconsistent structure. The basic purpose of the incidence analysis is to determine that who is going to bear the tax through different tax policies and the adequate measure for this analysis is utility. Bad commodities such as smoking have been under discussion among policy makers and academics. The important point here is that tax on harmful addictive commodities is equal to the external cost and such taxes are highly regressive. Conclusion Government basically collects taxes to generate revenues the important thing  is that through which procedure it is being collected and who is going to bear the larger part of tax. After implementation of tax what would be the effect of tax on the welfare of the economy. Redistribution of income can be increased through taxation. Employment can be increased through labor income taxation. Welfare of the economy can be increased through sin taxes. Taxation on the unhealthy commodities leads to increase the welfare of the economy. References: Bingley, Paul and Lanot, Gauthier (2002), The incidence of income tax on wages and labour supply†, â€Å"Journal of public econmics†, vol: 83, page 173-194 Chae, Suchan (2002), â€Å"Tax incidence with bargaining†, â€Å"Economics Letters†. Vol: 77, page 199-204 Fullerton, Don and Heutel, Garth â€Å"The general equilibrium incidence of environmental taxes†, â€Å"journal of public economics†, vol: 91, page 571-591 Garcà ­a, Josà © Ramà ³n and Sala Hector, (2008), â€Å"The tax system incidence on unemployment: A country-specific analysis for the OECD economies†, â€Å"Economic Modelling† Gruber, Jonathan and Koszegi, Botond (2004), Tax incidence when individuals are time-inconsistent: the case of cigarette excise taxes†,† Journal of public economics†, vol: 88, page 1959-1987 Hamilton, Stephen F. (1999), â€Å"Tax incidence under oligopoly: a comparison of policy approaches†, â€Å"Journal of public economics†, vol: 71, page 233-245 Kotakorpi, Kaisa (2008), â€Å"The incidence of sin taxes†, â€Å"Economics Letters† vol: 98, page 95-99 Kubik, D. Jeffrey (2004), â€Å"The incidence of personal income taxation: evidence from the tax reform act of 1986†, â€Å"Journal of public economics†, vol: 88, page 1567-1588 Petrucci, Alberto (2006), â€Å"The incidence of a tax on pure rent in a small open economy†, â€Å"Journal of public economics†, vol: 90, page 921-933 Ruffle J.Bradley (2005), â€Å"Tax and subsidy incidence equivalence theories: experimental evidence from competitive markets†, â€Å"Journal of public economics†, vol: 89, page 1519-1542

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Process Of Building Social Relationships

The Process Of Building Social Relationships A social relationship is an interaction of two or people, also a social group. They are believed to shape the behavior of individuals in different ways, as the saying goes, show me your friends and I tell you your character. At some point most people especially the women and also research shows that social relationships reduce pain. When women are in a relationship they are happy because they have someone to lean on. Social support is seen as a very important factor for both physical and mental health. Stressful and painful experiences can be reduced through engaging in social relationships as one will get moral support and encouragement thus is able to face the problems easily. Building social relationships begins as early as at birth. That is the relation of the child with the mother and the other family members. The process does not stop there but goes to the society as one grows up and becomes able to decide where he or she wants to belong. In the past building social relationships was much easier because most of the properties were communally owned that is to say that they shared a lot and thus interaction was easy and regular. Newman (2009) observes that the 21st century time is challenging and strange when it comes to deciding the kind of relationships one should have in creating a foundation of ones social life. People may want to be in social relationships due to different reason. For example may be one want to benefit from the other and after getting what he or she wanted it comes to a time to withdraw. All the same it is important to note that building social relationships is very necessary to every individual. When building social relationships one must have the social interaction skills. These are behavior that help one be able to stick to the social relationship because they keep you out of trouble and avoid conflicts. According to Bellini (2006) social skills are behavior that are learned and are socially accepted that help a person to be able to interact with other people without negative responses. He also notes that these skills the building blocks of a successful social relationships. This skills are usually taught by the parent to there children at a tender age. All the same as one grows into an adult basically the very skills are still applicable in building social relationship. Another thing that comes along in building social relationships is the art of being friendly to all. Every day we meet different people with different personalities. It is therefore up to us to be able to fit and interact freely. We should have friendly skills like greeting people when we meet, be able to offer a sit to someone, shake hands, say words like thank you, am sorry, excuse me, please and many other ways that is friendly. Be able to treat people the same way you would want them to treat you. As the saying goes: put yourself in ones shoes. In this way one is able to interact freely without many difficulties thus building social relationships. The factor of age or we can also say peer group also is important in building social relationships. This will help connectivity to be much easier because people of the same age tend to think more alike. Meersman and Tari (2003) observe that communication between people of the same peer group is easy and they refer this to architecture of communication. Here what they simply mean is that the construction of communication in such a social group is well defined. These categories of people include; the children, teenagers, young adults, adults and the old. Social relationships are based in this age set and you find they all act in the same manor. In the various societies that exit today we have social institutions and community organizations that play a major role in building social relationships. The family is usually seen as the most important social institution in the society because this is where one builds the foundation of his or her social life. We have other institutions like; religious institution for example the church, temple, and mosque. The school, hospital, peer groups, community based organizations, and not forgetting the working places. These are places where people from different back grounds meet and get to know each other thus interact. It is therefore important for people to always belong to one or as many as possible of any this groups. We build social relationships to understand the knowledge of the mind. This helps us to continually monitor or check our own behavior and also be able to predict the behavior of those that we interact with. Bellini (2006) notes that the theory of the mind was coined by Permack and Woodruff (1978).this refers to the ability of one to understand and explain the things that are not seen I a person directly. These include feelings, thoughts, beliefs, desire, and intentions. He continues to say that knowledge of the mind is a successful component of building social relationships. In building social relationship the element of trust is necessary. Once an individual decides to get involved with a particular social group it automatically means that he or she trusts the people they are interacting with and they too trust them. This is so because when one gets a problem for example, it will need someone trust worthy to talk to. One who will keep your talk confidential. These kinds of people are the people we interact with daily and we have had enough time together so we are so familiar with them. Language is an aspect that is of value in that people look at in building social relationships. People can only interact well when a common language is used. This enhances good communication and understanding in the group. Gee (2005) also sees language as an important aspect in social relationships. He further notes that in the interaction process people need to use the same social language. Different social groups have different social language. For example, children, adolescents, adults and the old all have different social languages that they use. In building social relationships people also base in there social values. These social values include things like sex, beliefs, roles, and even structures. Depending on these values different social groups are formed. One would want to fit in a group that he or she will feel comfortable and proud to be there. It will help them to be constructive and optimistic. These values also help shape there daily life to there own interest thus happy people. Social relationships are also built basing on the family origin, unconscious motives, ones habits, personality, and relationships and life experiences. For the sake of a social relation lasting there is need to match this concepts to each person. This will ensure stability of the group by avoiding constant movement of members in search of a group where they best fit or that they find suitable to them. Change is inevitable in life and we as human beings should be able to adapt to the daily changes of life. When building social relationships people are expected to witness a lot of change in the social group. It can either be the members or that group itself changes. When this happens it is up to the social group to accept and adjust to the change rather than moving to another new social group. It does not have to be the same through out and that is why the members of a particular social group have to be always flexible. According to Young (1990) the social life of morality is not found in an individual person because it is comprised of a small structure of the self. He instead say that social morality is found in the relationship between individuals and the society. Here is where things like belief, trust and faith are found. It is also believe to shape human behavior so as to know good and evil. One will stay away from evil so as to belong to the society. Transparency is an important element in building social relationships. Because there is the element of trust people should be open in with they are doing in life. The issue of you cannot judge a book by its cover should not arise. Openness should be evident. Let the people know you as you are both in the inner self and outside and this should be the same. Activities of the group should also be carried out in a transparent manner as well, without having anything to hide. The need for human relation is also the reason for building social relationships. Every human being was created in such a way that they always have a sense of wanting to relate in any way. They a want to belong in a particular group or with other people apart from the self. These relations are a basic to every individual in life. The importance / advantages The study of Newnan (2009) shows that building social relationships plays an important role in group ties in peoples daily life. He gives an example of Japan and India where people consider duty and sacrifice more than individual achievement or personal success. they believe that group connections is the best foundation for any individual wellbeing because it come along with things like loyalty, connection with people , responsibility of one self and other people as well and it also creates a sense of belonging. Building social relationships bring come with a lot of changes in the society. These changes include both individual development and the community at large. Rosenberg and Rehr (1983) say that the involvement of one in institutions like self help groups, social work, church, school and being close to your family helps reduce conflicts and they bring about development. This is through coming together to do social work or fund raising contributions and even come together to advocate for changes in health care policies. Through this development the people are assured of a better living. Building social relationships also promote peace love harmony and unity in the society. This is true because people living together and there social life is well build up will not have conflicts. They appreciate each other and offer moral support to one another. Such a society will always it together as one and solve issues that may arise in a more organize way. Building social relationships is important in everyones life. This is because in times of depression and stress one always needs someone to talk to and relieve the burden. This now where the people you have been interacting with come in to offer that moral support. Just as we know that this an important factor both in physical and mental health of a person. Frumkin, Frank, Jackson (2004) note that social bond known to be a very important component of good health. They further state that isolation and loneliness are toxic while on the other hand social relationships are healthy. The 21st centaury has come along with diseases that are complicated. Some of these diseases include, stomach ulcers depression and many others. These diseases are not diseases that one can say that you go to the hospital and get treatment then you are cured. Doctors recommend that these diseases are controlled by the individual. The way one interacts with other people really matters. To avoid these kinds of diseases researchers indicate that one should build up as many social relationships as possible. This helps one to be able to avoid these diseases by sharing out there problems. As we know that a problem shared is a problem half solved. Building social relationships also help people get to know each other well and lead to marriages. People get to find there perfect pairs and choose to spend the rest of there life with them. This leads to the creation of happy marriages and also happy families. Getting a life time partner is not an easy task as we all know but as one builds his or her social relationship in a good way, there potentials are noticed and they attract someone thus they propose and marry. Making them live happily ever after. Building social relationships help a person to have good problem solving abilities. It also helps one to think in a more flexible manor. This is basically important in the early stages of life and the parents have the task of ensuring that there childrens social life is good. The kind of games that a child plays and with who becomes the main issue that a parent should look at with keenness. This kind of interaction is what the child will live to adopt even as he grows older. People with stronger social network live longer. Research show that the mortality rate is determined by the social network of people in a place. This is true as social net work improves the health status of an individual. That togetherness gives an individual a reason for living. Research also indicate that in looking at two different sets of people, That is one in a marriage life and one who is single, they found that people in marriage live longer than people who are single. This is because in a marriage there is sharing of problems and also constant moral support. All human beings emotions are believed to be able to change another persons motives and feelings. In the process of building social relationships important factors such as this arises. Emotions are inter-personal and con not therefore be separated from the process of relating. These relationships change the feelings of a person in a positive direction. Bad people change and become good people with moral. The society is always there to encourage people to do good for the benefit of both the society and most importantly to the individual as a person. Building social relationships also come with some form of organization. The relationship it self shows that there was cooperation that triggered it. When we look at it in terms of a society we find that things are done in a systematic way. There is order of the way issues are handled and a systematic way of doing thing. These in the long run avoid conflicts and the wastage of resources in the social group. Employment is created by building a social relation ships. This is mostly through net working or it can as well be through the formation of self help groups or social work. Employment means that one has a source of earning a living thus assured of daily bread. This promotes the living standards of an individual as well as the society at large. It reduces the problem of unemployment in the society. Building social relationships also reduce the aspects of immorality, theft, murder and all other devices that one can think of. This is true because social relationships in a society are meant to shape the morals of every individual. People become responsible for their own actions in life In conclusion therefore we can say that building social relationships is an inevitable process in the life of every person. This is so because it begins from birth. When a child is born that is when it begins to build its social relationship. At this point it is limited to the family level mostly influenced by the mother. This is the foundation and parents are careful. As one grow he or she now able to look at which social relation group he best fits. This as we have seen shape the personality of the individual into a better being. Going to social institutions such as the school, church and others also ply a major role in the individual. Social relationships cannot be avoided in whatever way and people should always be ready to be involved in them with a positive attitude.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Impact Of African Dance

The Impact Of African Dance This study aims at pointing out one of the upcoming dances with its origin from Africa which is becoming very popular within its short time of invention. In an attempt to do this, this study will be looking at Roland Barthes arguments on Semiology and Structuralism within the language system and its relation to modern dance. The specific objectives of this study are to determine the level of popularity of Azonto dance and its relating music genre amongst other nationals from other parts of the world, to find out whether Azonto dance has any effect on peoples dancing styles, to find out the level of acceptance of Azonto dance and music to people from different ethnic and national backgrounds, and to identify the way in which people understand the gestures and signs associated to this dance. Dance in Africa is a holistic part of society. It is not truncated or separated as an entity in and of itself. Dance is used to facilitate all phenomena in most African societies (Welsh, 2004:14). The African dance has a lot of variation in terms of the various cultures on the continent as well as the different musical and movement styles which goes along with them. Every dance has its own style and movement which reflects the culture of a particular group or ethnic setting in way. Most of these dances are very communicative and this resemblance is evident in a lot of the dancing styles on the African continent. There are countless dance forms that identify the numerous ethnic groups and cultural differences in styles of the Ghanaian people (wikipaedia). African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exception of some spiritual, religious or initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ri tual dances often have a time when spectators participate (Welsh, 2004). Ghana has a lot of traditional dances like the Adowa, Kpanlogo, Agbadza and Damba which are primarily performed as ceremonial dances. There have also been other popular and more contemporary dances like moon walk, slide, creep walk, etc in the past few years. Unlike the traditional dances whose motives are to tell a story or express some idea or emotion, most popular dances in Ghana are performed for fun as social interactions, especially among the youth. However, one particular popular dance which seems to have defied the odds of modern dance in Ghana is the Azonto. This African dance form incorporates complex co-ordinates body movement and non-verbal communication in a rhythmic fashion in very few one-two timed steps. Just like most African dances, knee bending and hip movements are rudiments to dancing it. The dance involves movements of the feet, knees, hands, and hips in rhythmic fashions which can actually be coordinated in a style to communicate a message. Generally, the dance reflects the creativity, intelligence, and rich sense of humour of the Ghanaian people. Background of Study According to Welsh (2004), no dance form is permanent, definitive, or ultimate. Change occurs, but the basic rudiments of dance remains the same. Dance is for all people. One need only recall that dance needs neither common race nor common language for communication; it has been a universal means of communication forever. The dance, which is usually performed with an accompanying smile, evolved from the combination of several local dance moves that originated from Ghana during the early 2000s. There are different stories about the origins of Azonto and its subsequent popularity. One story about the Azonto dance has it that it started somewhere in Bukom, Chorkor and James Town (all being suburbs in Accra) where it was first called Apaa (work for pay). It was a form of dance that represented movement activities like ironing, boxing, driving, washing etc. Another source of information has it that the term Azonto was first used by students of the Senior Secondary Schools to mean life (or the hardships of life abraabo) (ModernGhana.com). Features of the Kpanlogo dance, the traditional dance of the Gas, can also be seen in the Azonto. The same goes for the Gawu dance, an adopted dance of the Ewe but originally from Togo. The dance has evolved with the fast pace dance culture of modern West Africa. The dance was made popular by the Ghanaian football star, Asamoah Gyan in his goal scoring celebrations for his club and for the Black Stars (the senior national football team of Ghana), especially during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (ibid). Currently, the dance is continuously evolving with complex dance styles and movements. The latest dance craze has become so popular that it now dictates the rhythm of hip-life music (which is a contemporary genre of music in Ghana which fuses the traditional hi-life music with the modern hip-hop music). The commercialization of this dance has made Hip-life musicians include Azonto in their music lyrics and video clips. The dance is very popular among the youth and can be performed by anyone regardless of gender or ethnicity. With traditional dance facing serious threats of decline especially among the youth, Azonto represents a combination of modern and traditional elements. Azonto epitomizes Ghanas ingenuity and originality through the spirit of dance (World Press). It primarily embodies sociability and socializing. It was stated on ModernGhana.com that the dance is spreading fast in the USA, U.K and other parts of the world with large populations of Ghanaians. Even Prince Williams is said to have deeply fallen in love with Azonto and he dances it at any opportunity he gets (Source). Ghanas Azonto dance been rated as one of the top 10 African dances to have gained global stature either recently or, in the case of Soukous, in the last 40 years (MyWeku). The Azonto dance has threatened to eclipse the success of some of Ghanas famous exports like cocoa, gold and its exciting brand of football. The Azonto is still going strong, and was last seen on Londons Oxford Street (ModernGhana.com). Methodology A qualitative research approach is proposed for this study. Primary data would be used for the purpose of this study through interviewing which would be designed in the light of the objectives of the study. This research will be a qualitative research. Scholarly works of other field of study that will be useful to this research will be used. Print and electronic works such as newspapers, articles and journals will also be used. I also will adopt the use of a case study, although due to the nature of the research, I will not be administering a questionnaire but would conduct conducting an interview, I will strictly base my arguments on past works and use real life examples to achieve my aim and purpose of the study. The sample of the study covers African students currently studying in Cyprus International University. This sample of 20 students where 10 males and 10 females (50% male and 50% female) would be selected purposively from African students with different nationalities. Respondents opinion regarding the effect of African dance and the popularity of Azonto would be collected through the interaction and interviewing session. Dance and Semiology Most of the students were identified as music and art lovers because they all stated their passion for the love and interest in such art. They had all come in contact with different forms of dance styles especially those from their communities and cultures. They stated a common characteristic of African dance being full of energy, interesting, communicative and full of life. Some also thought of African dance as a way of identifying a particular culture. Some students also saw some of the indigenous African dance as being passionate and addictive especially with the tunes that went along with them. They believed dance in general is never full without the presence of a form of music to go along with it, thus, they go side-by-side. We can relate dance as a language from the perspective of Roland Barthes who describes language as a system of signs that expresses ideas, and is therefore comparable to a system of writing, the alphabet of deaf mutes, symbolic rites, polite formulas, military signals, etc. He calls this semiology. Azonto is a communicative dance which is full of signs and symbols, and involves a lot of communication between the dancers and the audience. Barthes states that signs and codes are meant to be historically and culturally specific. If you relate this Barthes concept of sign, and the concept of semiology to dance, you will realise that dance is not a universal language. That there are hidden signs which must be understood in order for a spectator to fully understand a particular dance movement. Azonto as a dance has its origin from some indigenous Ghanaian dances like Kpanlogo (a traditional dance of the Gas) and Gawu dance (an adopted dance of the Ewes). Though the Azonto dance is more of a fusion of other contemporary dance elements, it still has its roots from very indigenous dances from the Ghanaian culture. All these traditional dances involve symbols and signs made by the dancers. Roland Barthes goes on further to argue that material reality can never be taken for granted. It is always constructed and made intelligible to human understanding by culturally specific systems of meaning. These codes and signs are not universally given, but are historically and socially specific to the particular interests and purposes which lie behind them. Azonto as a contemporary dance involves a lot of movements and communication through the use of gestures and hand signs. For instance, a dancer could be making dance movements and at the same time trying to draw the shape of a heart with his/her fingers. This shape could be translated into several meanings depending on the background or culture of the observer. One could just interpret it as a shape of a heart whiles another would interpret it as a sign of love or a way of telling the observer that he/she has a kind heart. So we realize that a sign or symbol may not have the same meaning to the observer upon seeing it. Fernando de Saussure argues that it is not possible to understand individual linguistic signs in a piecemeal, ad hoc or empiricist fashion. He goes on further to say that they have, rather, to be explained by showing how they fit together as arbitrary signs in an internally coherent system or structure of rules and conventions. These signs cease to be arbitrary and become meaningful once they are located within the general structure of the language. Barthes notes that any semiology postulates a relation between two terms, a signifier and a signified a distinction elaborated by Saussure. There is also another term in this, the sign itself (be it linguistic or mythological), which contains the signifier and the signified, in the case of the actions and gestures made by the dancer and the observer who would be in the position to interpret these actions. Strinati (2004; 224) stated that the rise of modern mass communications, and the associated proliferation of popular media culture, therefore become central to the explanatory framework of postmodern theory. What is inferred from this is that the mass media have become so significant for communication and information flows within and between modern societies (and consequently the popular culture they broadcast and promote increasingly defines and channels everyday life in these societies) that they, along with consumerism, have given rise to the characteristic features of postmodernism. We realized that the advent of television and other tools communication tools like the radio has been aiding tools for the popularization of this particular kind of dance. Most of the students either had first contact with the Azonto dance via internet on YouTube, or on television and/or musical videos. We realize that the advent of technology has helped in the awareness and advertisement of this kind of dance across the continent and beyond. This is a reflection of modernity and post modernity in our current cultural set ups. Since the Azonto dance is originally from Ghana, technology has played a very important role in the awareness and public knowledge of this dance. Most individuals across the world heard or saw this dance through mediums like the internet and television. A lot of these enthusiasts learnt their basic steps through these same channels without going to the dances place of origin. Roland Barthes goes on further to say that meaning is not something which is given or which can be taken for granted. It is manufactured out of historically shifting systems of codes, conventions and signs. We realized that the various dance symbols associated to Azonto had its origin from other indigenous dances. This new dance has metamorphosized into a dance where by the dancer can express him/herself freely with personal gestures. Its a dance which has no particular pattern with the exception of fusing some basic dance steps to distinguish it from other emerging dances. Strinati (2004: 101) stated that cultural meanings are not universal, nor are they divorced from the social conditions in which they are to be found. Rather, they present themselves as universal when they are really historically and socially fixed. Conclusion Dance, in general, reflect the way of life of a group of people. It is an essential part of culture. It could carry a message through its gestures as well as it being a medium of communication. More recently, there has been an influx of different dancing styles and patterns which are contemporary forms of ancient and traditional dances from all over the world. The beauty of it all is how individuals embrace these various dance patterns into their own way of dance movements. Africa is the second largest continent in the world and it has a very large number of people who also reflects its pure culture and heritage. Among such traditions of the people on this continent is the uniqueness of every tribe or ethnic groupings own practices. Dancing has been a way of life for almost all these cultures and it is part and parcel of these people. Azonto dance from Ghana is no exception in this context. The dance is quite new and its spreading like wild fire on the world stage where this dance is gaining popularity every minute with the help of the internet especially on YouTube. It has become one of the biggest things to come out of Ghana in which most music lovers and dance enthusiasts identify this country with. It isnt shocking to find yourself nodding your head or tapping your feet to tunes of Azonto or falling in love with the unique movements by its dancers. One easily falls in love with the dance upon seeing it. The dance is one of the easiest to learn and its so unique that you can incorporate your own movements to suit yourself. Azonto is an expressive dance. This means you can tell a story, show your emotions and personalize it. So an individual doesnt have to be afraid to do crazy things with it. Even though you can do this dance with almost any song (well, except classical music), it helps the dancer a lot if he o r she is dancing to a high-tempo up-beat like Afrobeat tunes, pop music or a typical Azonto tune. Dance can be used as a tool to get people closer and also can help in relating to people more easily because they share something common. They have something that can be easily identified with even though they may be coming from different backgrounds or settings. Therefore we dont have to speak the same language or come from the same place before we can get along with others, but tools like dance can be a very effective medium through which people can take away all barriers and make them feel as one because most of the actions of dance is universal and can make people share a common feeling or mentality. A world renowned dancer, writer and scholar in the field of Dance and Black Studies by name Dr. Kariamu Welsh when asked about the future of Africa/Back dance and the direction she saw it moving in the future, she stated that Black Dance will take many directions. As a genre, it will continue to self reflect and redefine itself but it will remain an artistic and creative force for many of us. Black Dance is ancient and it has many stories to tell. These stories will take the form of narratives, abstract works, improvisations, neo-traditional dances, slamming, jamming and other forms that have yet to be imagined. The beauty of Black Dance is that it is a place where new and innovative movements are born. Those creative sparks influence many people and every once in a while they actually inspire a revolution (Glocke, 2011: 263)

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

The GMO it is always a topical theme, on television, on radio, in newspapers, often we talk about this topic so debated and even painful contrast. But before expressing their own opinion and their own thinking, we must understand what it means and what are GMOs. The abbreviation GMO is the achromic of terms: genetically modified organisms. This are non-human organisms whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques. The first GMO of the modern era, was obtained from S. N. Cohen and H. Boyer that were able to clone a frog gene. GMOs are produced through biotechnological processes. Biotechnology are techniques that exploit the properties of both plant and animal cells to produce new varieties of plants or animals. Biotechnology is not an invention of recent decades. Simply the process of fermentation of the wine, which is achieved by exploiting some bacteria, is a biotechnology process known since ancient times. In the years between 1997 and 2010 the area of land cultivated with GMOs had a huge increase, we have moved 4.2 million to 365 million hectares. In fact, 10% of the planet’s arable land is used for genetically modified crops. Most of these crops are located in North America, but it should be registered, in recent years, a rapid increase in acreage in so-called developing countries. In the USA in the years 2009/2010, the vast majority of soy (93%), cotton (93%), corn (86&) and sugar beet (95%) have been grown with genetically modified varieties. Data for 2012 published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) show that in Europe there has been a 13% increase of cultivated area (globally, the increase was 6%). The advantages of these techniques are obvious ... ..., unfavorable ones are in my opinion the most important, as closely related to human health. Me and my family for generations we have the Sounterner who use in cultivating fruits and vegetables. This requires a lot of time, desire and care, but the results are incredible. Throught the summer and throught the winter we do not need to buy any fruit or no vegetables at the supermarket. The thing I like most is that we save a lot of money, and we know for sure what we’re going to eat. The only products we use against insects are all-natural products, such as last summer we were invaded by snails. To ensure that they did not eat the plants, we found a remedy: take small bowls, fill them with beer and put them near the plants. It was the first time we have used this technique but it worked! For this I am absolutely opposed to any production of both plant and animal GMOs.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Stress, The Double-Edged Sword Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Stress, The Double-Edged Sword Stress, it is a part of our life that we can't not avoid or escape. There probably isn't anyone in the world today that hasn't dealt with it. It dwells in the work place, at school, in the home and most importantly, in you. So what is stress? And why do we have something that does us so much harm? Simply put, stress is an adaptive response, your body's response to an emotionally disturbing, disquieting or threatening event (1). Often times, it is the tension caused when demands from work, family and oneself can't not be met. Not to say stress is a recent disorder among humans, in fact, all organisms experience it. Stress is a part of the 'fight or flight' response, usually the result of threatening or worrisome event. The body increases the heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate, preparing in the event of actually needing to fight or retreat (1). For most animals, stress tends to come from acting out of self-preservation. The fleeing rabbit experiences stress as it bolts for the safety of its hole. In fact, without it, the rabbit might not survive. The surge of energy from the stress of spotting an attacking predatory might be the difference between safety and death. Early humans probably experienced stress in similar fashions. The attacking lion is a stressor enough to make the fleeing caveman run a bit faster, or fight back with more force. But unlike animals, humans experience stress another fashion, it is the stress that comes with thinking, whether it's about the future or the present. The caveman might have been stressed when the angry bear came charging up but he might also hav e stressed over an unsuccessful hunt and the prospect of having no food for several days. The s... ....coolware.com/health/medical_reporter/stress.html 2) Stress Free Net, http://www.stressfree.com/stress.html 3) Endocrinology and Stress-Related Disease , http://www.endo-society.org/pubaffai/factshee/stressrd.htm 4) How to Survive Unbearable Stress, Information on stress in easy to understand terms http://www.teachhealth.com/#stressscale 5) ABC News.com , Report on how stress may add to aging http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/stress_aging990920.html 6) Development of the Cerebral Cortex: Stress and Brain , http://info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/plomdevelop/development/January99.html 7) Doctor's Guide: Global Edition , http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/67e66.htm 8) Psycheducation.org, http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/67e66.htm 9) Getting There: Dealing with Stress , http://www.campuslife.utoronto.ca/handbook/06005-Stress.html

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Harlequin Five Forces Analysis Essay

High economies of scale required. For an entrant to gain success in romance novel market, it must possess mature sales, production, and distribution to operate effectively, which also leads to great risk. High product differentiation required. Other companies start to add more features while Harlequin products remain relatively unchanged. Significant capital requirement required. This is evident in Simon and Schuster’s case, in which it bears a high upfront investment for this battle. Access to distribution channels is medium to difficult. Harlequin has gained exclusive access to groceries, but failed on stand-alone retails. Other competitors either choose regular bookstore or similar as Harleuqins’; however, it might be difficult to entrants to gain access to these channels by themselves. Government policy has been very protective to authors; however, no clear restrictions on product images. Buyers Power Increasing buying power due to additional competing products Low switching cost Changing target markets A variety of choices Poor retention rate, high return rate Loss of existing customers and high cost of attracting a new customer American Romance Series to meet consumer’s tastes Substitutes Threat of Substitutes is high due to technology advancement and demand diversification. Evident in Harlequin’s attempts of film, magazine and scholar’s choice (bookstore). Suppliers Power Increasing supplier power due to promising offer from Simon and Schuster Loss of excellent authors who later generate sales for Simon and Schuster shows that authors possess significant supplier power Other supplier powers such as sales force, printing business are relative stable Industry Competitors, Rivalry among existing firms Low growth rate as more competitors are competing for a stable market other competitors are earning market share at Harlequin’s expenses oligopolistic market is another factor of intense competition â€Å"Romance War† due to introduction of silhouette Simon and Schuster introduced Silhouette, a rival line of romance novels, in 1980 32% market share and rising Competes the oversea markets Emerging competitors as a result of Silhouette’s introduction; also evident in 5 additional rival lines launched in 1982 accelerate the intensity of competition and decrease Harlequin’s market share and volume sales Possession of competitive advantage (i.e. No best seller management and standardization) which ease competition temporarily Bitter rivalry with Sillhouette – S&S although losing money, but gaining market share underestimated by Harlequin hired Harlequin’s former vice president and best-selling authors advertising budget copied Harlequin’s Presents – confused buyers Financial Revenue increase slowly Profit dropped to half 1980-1981 ($44.7 –> 22.3) drastically decreased from 1982 -1983 ($25.8 –> 5.5) remove unprofitable subsidiaries – films, scholar’s choices, magazine etc Debt high debt ratio – rapid increase from 1980-1982, then lower in 1983 expensive bad debts from the Reader Service Cost 40 new stores eating up all the cash increasing costs of Reader Services reducing costs at corporate level – cut overhead expenses by 20% sales decreased, advertising expenses increased Working Capitals decreasing working capitals – lack of cash flow for investment – only 33 millions in 1983

Monday, September 16, 2019

Blackfish Essay Essay

Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural habitats. Due to the cruelty endured by the captivated Orcas, all the SeaWorld parks should be shut down and the Orca whales should be set free to prevent further demise to their species. In 2013, one documentary changed the world for animals in captivity forever. Blackfish, premiered in the Sundance Film Festival and was immediately picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films. Director Gabriela Copwerthwaite and her team spent years investigating and creating one of the most controversial and inspiring documentaries the United States has seen. Over the past year, Blackfish has made over two million dollars at the box office, making it one of the most popular documentaries of our time. Not only does Blackfish inspire people to reconsider going to Sea World, it generates people to try to make a change for the animals in captivity. Blackfish is a documentary that centers on the life of the killer whale Tilikum, most famous for his large structure and his collapsed dorsal fin. The documentary begins explaining the attack of three different whale trainers while employed by Sea World. Ironically enough, Sea World was not the only common thread among these deaths. All of these victims also shared the same cause of death: Tilikum, the â€Å"killer whale†. Tilikum was captured off the coast of Ireland in 1983 as a baby whale. Blackfish describes in detail the three deaths and the true reason behind the anger behind Tilikum’s attacks. The attacks were provoked by the mistreatment of the whales. Tilikum and the other whales were held in small floating cages that  were just as big as their own dimensions. Orca whales are used to being in the wild and having miles of ocean to roam, so when SeaWorld captures these whales and does not give them the right living environment, it is shown that they attack. While in the Sea World captivity, the Orca whales lifespan is almost half the size of a free Orca whale lifespan. Tilikum is still held in captivity by Sea World, only moving when he has to during shows. Many activists and former Sea World Employees have formed movements and have appeared on the news to try to get Sea World to free these whales. There are multiple differences between whales in captivity and whales in the wild. There are countless recorded injuries inflicted on instructors by orcas, but killer whales in the wild have no record of ever hurting a human being. SeaWorld would give tours and tell their audience that the life span of whales in the wild was 25-30 years and that whales in captivity live longer, because of the veterinarian care they receive. According to Howard Garret, an expert on killer whales, orcas in the wild have lived to be over 100 years old. SeaWorld tells their audience that 25% all orca whales in the world have a collapsed dorsal fin, which is due to gravity, dehydration, illness and injury. In reality, only 1% of orca whales in the wild have a collapsed dorsal fin and 100% of all captive whales have a collapsed dorsal fin. The reason why there are so many attacks in SeaWorld is directly related to the treatment and the territory that they are put in. SeaWorld claims that the whales that sh ow together are all from the same family, but in actuality, they are taken from all different parts of the world. Since these orca whales are being hoarded together, the living environment causes aggression between the whales. This aggression is usually taken out on the fellow whales, but sometimes it is taken out on the SeaWorld trainers. There are three separate occasions where the same whale, Tilikum, has attacked trainers and killed two. As a result of the attacks and killings, the SeaWorld trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the orcas during the live shows. Tilikum is now isolated in a small pool for the rest of his days, living in captivity, occasionally coming out at the end of the show to make a splash. Blackfish is a prime example of how animal captivity is not a proper way of life for marine animals. Much like Gabriela Copwerthwaite, PETA, or People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, have exerted many efforts towards captivity cruelty and ending the brutality though articles and movements. After Blackfish was released in 2013, many people across American and the world took a stand against the animal cruelty. PETA just recently came out with an article regarding the marine life in captivity. The article centered around the cruelty and wrongness of removing wild animals from their natural habitat and communities, keeping dolphins in captivity to live their lives as fascinations at theme parks and resort hotels, where they are forced to perform in front of crowds of people. Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau compared the maintenance of orcas in tanks to â€Å"a person being blindfolded in a jail cell.† †¨Trainers force marine mammals to learn tricks, often by refusing food and torturing animals who do not perform. A trainer at Hersheypark quit because she saw â€Å"a lot of frustrated animals that would die from ulcers.† The article says, â€Å"A marine-mammal behavioral biologist in Seattle says that captive dolphins demonstrate a variety of stress-related behavior such as self-inflicted trauma, induced vomiting, and aggressiveness. Some captive dolphins have reportedly taken their own lives by hitting their heads against the sides of pools or by refusing to come up for air† (PETA). In the wild, there has been no report of a whale or dolphin killing itself because of its habitat. Hersheypark, like SeaWorld, claims that their marine life prospers in captivity due to their loving staff and outstanding veterinarians. Although Hersheypark, SeaWorld, and other marine amusement parks claim that their living conditions for their animals are acceptable, it is proven that the animals are more harmed in captivity. PETA is making strides towards ending animal captivity with articles informing people about the issue and pleading people not to attend zoos and other marine amusement parks. In the article, PETA points out that there is poor government regulation over the zoos and parks, which should be changed. In England, there was so much boycotting against parks that they were forced to close all of them. There are multiple countries that are closing all parks due to boycotting, which PETA is trying to achieve. The root of the problem starts with the capturing of animals in the wild, called whaling. The Animal Welfare Institute defines and describes the  process of whaling in different countries. AWI explains the confinement of marine life in aquariums, zoos, and amusement parks. The mistreatment of animals in captivity started in the early 1860s when P.T. Barnum funded a project, which captured of two beluga whales and brought them back to New York City for display in an aquarium. From then on, whaling and captivity of whales and dolphins have taken off and become a very big thing across the world. The popularity of captive animals has reached an all time high because of the money that the industry brings. AWI also has an article outlining the Dispelling the Arguments of Captivity Proponents, which are common lies that parks and zoos say to the public AWI prove them to be wrong. Some of them include, â€Å"Our animals love to entertain and are always smiling, Captivity is necessary for breeding/conservation programs, Our captive animals teach people about conservation, Our captive animals are ambassadors for their species, educating the public about their wild cousins, We couldn’t do our conservation work without the money we receive from our customers, Our captive animals are protected from the horrors of nature, Our captive animals have been saved from a brutal death.† AWI went through each of the points and proved how they were wrong. AWI takes a stand against captivity and has been trying to get the parks, zoos, and aquariums that mistreat their captive animals to close. Many people today believe that SeaWorld and other parks should be shut down and are taking a stand to close them. SeaWorld of Hurt is the largest organization that was created to take SeaWorld down, which was started by PETA. They work with many celebrities and lawmakers to try to get SeaWorld to release their animals and shut down their parks. The media attention that this issue is receiving recently has hit an all time high because of the boycotting and organizations that have popped up across the country. Many countries like Israel, India, England, and Egypt have banned the parks and closed them down due to the boycotting, which America should do. California is also working on a bill to free the captive orcas at SeaWorld San Diego, which Florida, the southern SeaWorld park, should start to work on as well. The bill would stop SeaWorld from breeding the orca whales and block the import of orca semen from other states. In doing this, it would stop the growing of the parks and the ex pansion of the SeaWorld brand. Furthermore,  the documentary Blackfish exploits SeaWorld for separating a young Orca from it’s mother vey early on because he was not performing the way that SeaWorld wanted him to. The audience’s heartstrings are tugged as they watch the mother project a horrific cry for over 24 hours that was unknown to experienced whale trainers and Orca experts. It provides a visual example of the animal cruelty that SeaWorld inflicts upon these harmless creatures, and they do not care because they are reaping large financial benefits through these shows. Although there are laws against whaling and people are beginning to take a stand through boycotts and shutting down SeaWorld parks in other parts of the world, it is not enough to protect the Orca whales. The orca species is continuously being put at a high risk as they are stuck in tanks that are too small and being starved and punish if they do not perform in a certain manner. Orca whales do not fight with each other in the ocean, where they belong causing large lacerations and the tanks to become filthy with blood. In order to properly protect this docile from harm and each other, all of the whales need to be put back in their rightful habitats. SeaWorld has provided many generations with memorable entertainment, but it would be within the best interest of the public and the Orca whales if there were still Orcas around for future generations to come. PITA and other organizations have made admirable progress, but if extensive changes are not made soon, animal cruelty will continue to occur. Works Cited Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Copwerthwaite. 2013. Netflix. â€Å"Confinement of Marine Life.† Animal Welfare Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"Aquariums and Marine Parks.† PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. . Martinez, Michael, Stella Chan, Vivian Kuo, and Tory Dunnan Gregg Canes Contributed from Santa Monica. â€Å"California Bill Would Ban Orca Shows at SeaWorld.† CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"Dispelling the Arguments of Captivity Proponents.† Animal Welfare Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"SeaWorld Of Hurt: Where Happiness Tanks.† SeaWorld of Hurt Home Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. .

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Ethics Case Study Essay

Utilitarianism Utilitarianism would not qualify Tom falsifying data as unethical, as it would have the greatest benefits to the larger quantity of stakeholders whilst only bringing a limited amount of harm. This can be seen through the stakeholders who benefit from Tom gaining full-time employment such as; his parents, the child receiving the life-saving sponsorship, the charity and the government, as Tom could start paying his HECS debt. One stakeholder who would be harmed by Toms dilemma is the small accounting firm in Milton. Ultimately the risk of this actually harming the business due to his lack of experience would be minimised due to Tom being tightly supervised for the first year of work. Egoism also maintains that the agent should do whatever they ought to do if it benefits themselves. In Toms moral dilemma, if he falsifies his CV in order to achieve full time work, he is acting on the natural instinct of self promotion that egoism sees as ethical. Kantian ethics Kantian ethics maintains that there are some things that are deemed wrong in themselves, apart from their consequences. This means that Tom should regard the act of lying as wrong; regardless whether it brings about good results. Kants categorical imperative states â€Å"I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal good† (Kant, 1996). In universalising a law that is not in relation to specific circumstances, it allows moral issues to be solved by pure rationality. When applying Toms situation to Kants universalisation theory, a maxim for Toms situation could be â€Å"one should falsify data if it benefits them†. This could not be accepted as a law universally as falsifying data could not be consistent, as eventually all data would be deemed tainted and therefore unusable, leading to the act of giving information to its own demise. If it  were ethical for Tom to falsify data, Tom would have to accept that it would therefore be ethical for everyone to do so. If everyone was free to fake data, universal lying would weaken trust in communication. Kant also states â€Å"act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply means† (Kant, 1996). If Tom falsified his CV, it would result in disrespect as the owners of the accounting firm are basing crucial business decisions on inaccurate data, which is unethical. Virtue ethics Applying virtue ethics is based on evaluating how virtuous Tom is, not just the actions or consequences of his moral situation. A virtue that can be applied from Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean is ‘indifference’ meaning good deeds are done for their own sake and not for personal recognition. The two vices of indifference are false modesty (deficiency) and careerist (excess). Assuming Tom decided to fake his CV he would display characteristics in the vice of excess meaning he is a careerist and would not be classified as virtuous, and therefore unethical. Ranking of Ethical Theories 1. Utilitarianism/Egoism Utilitarianism is in line with many fundamental morals that society intends for us to adopt. For example, two fundamental ethical principles are that we must avoid doing harm to others and aim to do good. When I consider certain actions or decisions, I usually evaluate them in terms of their consequences. Although it disregards the ethical element of an action, it looks at the benefits it can cause in solving my moral dilemmas. Egoism also  usually takes part in most of my moral decision making. I usually base many of my decisions on the consequences I can achieve, therefore find this most useful. 2. Virtue Ethics I use virtue ethics to solve some moral issues due to the benefit of gaining insight into emotional and personal values in relation to the action. I believe people are emotionally involved in ethical reasoning making virtue ethics a better way to assess whether an action is ethical or not. I find this theory somewhat useful as I believe every situation cannot be branded under absolute rules, as in Kantian Ethics. 3. Kantian Ethics Although Kantian seems like the ‘right’ moral structure to follow it is extremely idealistic and would not necessarily result in good outcomes for me or the greater good of everyone. I think due to it being a rigid system, in certain situations for my moral dilemmas, it could not be used as Kantian ethics does not factor the importance of character and motivation in making ethical judgements. Therefore I don’t believe I would assess the ethics of a dilemma accurately, finding this least useful. PART B Socially responsible organisations should aim to minimise their negative impacts, but the fast food industry faces extreme public criticism due to the effects it is having on some main stakeholders; consumers and communities. Fast food consumption is potentially harmful and if businesses adopt Friedmans’ shareholder theory by only focusing on short-term profit goals, the long-term welfare of customers is compromised. For example, Bowman, Gortmaker & Ebbeling (2004), indicate that â€Å"energy derived from fast  food is   10% of a child’s average recommended daily intake, 5 times more than the 1970’s†. This highlights the need for somebody to not only take responsibility but action. â€Å"Advertisers spend 100s of billions of dollars a year worldwide encouraging, persuading and manipulating children into a consumer lifestyle† (Beder, 1998), leading to devastating consequences. The narrow view by Friedman, where businesses adopt the ‘let the government do it’ theory is criticised as society now has a greater concern for a better quality of life which businesses could help achieve. Supporters of Freeman maintain that fast food corporations have a responsibility to their stakeholders and should acknowledge potential health risks associated with consuming fast food. Highly advertised food corporations should have responsibilities beyond enhancing their profits, because they have great social and economic power in society. This undeniable power discounts Friedman’s theory that the ‘business can’t handle it’. If corporations have such power, they should also take responsibility for its actions in these areas. Nature Neuroscience published a study linking â€Å"effects of fast food to those of addictive substances such as cocaine, heroin and nicotine† (Klein, 2010). If tobacco packaging in many countries legally have to display health warnings due to smoking being addictive, why does fast food packaging not have responsibility to do the same? Businesses who adopt a narrow view on CSR compromise stakeholders welfare. For example, on January 1954 in the US â€Å"main tobacco companies published a statement named ‘A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers’ reaching an estimated 43,245,000 Americans† (Cummings, 2002). The advertisement promised consumers that cigarettes were safe and denied all health risks to consumers. This resulted in millions of people dying due to lacking concern stemming from the companies understating health effects in a blind effort to create profit. This scenario could almost determine the future of fast food industries being irresponsible about  marketing to addicted consumers. If major food corporations don’t undertake measures to outweigh unhealthy promotion to children and society, they might too face the same consequences.