Civilized essays

Civilized essays What does it mean to be civilized? By definition, a civilization is simply a culture developed by a particular society or epoch. Therefore, any groups of people that have developed their own way of life and their own culture have also developed their own civilization. By creating their own civilization and living in this civilization are they not civilized? In the movie, Mr. Johnson, the main questions are, what does it mean to be civilized, who decides what is civilized, and if one is not civilized, what is the correct path to take in order to become so. A path, or more appropriately called a road in the case of the movie, is the ultimate metaphor throughout the whole video. Separated by a barrier of color, the people of Fada, Nigeria work with the whites to create a road, that once built serves as a means of transportation, not only of people and cargo but of ideas, other beliefs, other cultures, and above all, another world. What exactly does the road represent? The road represents many things. In the beginning of the movie, the main character, Mr. Johnson, is introduced. Mr. Johnson is not like other black men from Fada, he is in fact, civilized and proud of that definition. He meets his future wife, Bamu as she works; promising her that he can make her civilized and proper like the English men and women. At this point, the road is a mere hope of combining two different cultures. This project is the dream of Harry Rudbeck. Along with the help of Mr. Johnson, many of the people of Fada, all of color, are recruited to work on the road in hopes of gaining the promised reward when the road is finished. At first glance, the road appears to be simply, a long stretch of dirt and rock that takes many hands to develop. However, if a closer look was taken, it is apparent that the road develops along the same way as Mr. Johnson himself develops. Throughout the movie, it becomes obvious to us, the viewers, that ...

Border Patrol and it essays

Border Patrol and it essays To the south of San Diego lies the US- Mexico border, to some this may only be seen as a line dividing the two countries; however, on closer inspection this border is actually a gateway for economic loss, reduced security and countless other detriments to the US. The main problem is that U.S. citizens do not understand how much harm to our country arises when there is an influx of thousands unidentified people a day. For a proper understanding of why the border is at its current state it is crucial to see what has lead it up to this point. For decades, immigrants have come through the Mexican border to take advantage of higher wages and greater job availability. Before a more stringent border policy, immigrants would make the trek from southern and central America to work. Migrants were able to cross close to urban areas and avoid traveling long distances in remote areas. Because of the ease, immigrants would leave there homes to work on farms in areas like the San Joaquin valley and then return to there homes in the winter off season. This cycle was followed for many years until under the Clinton administration in the mid 1990s the border became an issue of concern Clintons people knew he couldn't win reelection with out California where anti-immigrant fever was spiking...Clinton proposed the hiring of 600 new border patrol agents in 1993. A year later, the administration rolled out a multibil lion-dollar border strategy that commenced, naturally enough, with Operation Gatekeeper in Southern California.(Moser). Despite the heightened security measures, the opportunities in the US and lack there off in Mexico were still driving masses into the country illegally. Not only did more come but less were leaving In the last 10 years, the rate of return to Mexico has fallen through the floor Says Douglas S. Massey, co director of the Mexican Migration Project at Princeton University. The ri...

Financial Modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Modeling - Essay Example It has been argued that this economic turmoil has rendered portfolio management theories irrelevant. This paper explores this assertion. Recent Upheavals in World Financial Markets The global financial crisis of the 21st century has been described as the greatest economic and financial crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s (Ciro 2012). This economic turmoil, unlike the 1930s depression, caught many by surprise. Governments, investors, and the knowledgeable and sophisticated market participants were caught unawares by the speed and intensity of the economic decline. The international credit and financial markets were disrupted and dislocated by this financial crisis especially in 2008 and 2009. Governments in response to this economic crisis came up with policy and fallout responses from 2009 and 2011. These responses to some extent have rendered portfolio management theories irrelevant. Why Portfolio Management Theories Have Become Irrelevant Portfolio man agement theories are two; portfolio theory and capital market theory. ... Brentani (2004) on the other hand defines capital market theory as dealing with the effects of investor decisions on security prices. This theory shows the relationship that should exist between risk and security returns if investors constructed portfolios as specified by portfolio theory. Markowitz (1952) asserts that the process of selecting portfolios is divided into two stages; observation and experience, and beliefs about the future performance of available securities. The impact of the financial crisis disrupted the forecasts on future performance of available securities as asserted by the portfolio theory. According to Ciro (2012), the financial crisis forced most of the banks and lenders to shut their doors as investments in the stocks markets declined drastically. This aspect made the application of forecast facet of portfolio theory difficult. King (1966) basing his argument on the 1930’s financial meltdown and the random-walk theory, claims that this upheaval has se en stock prices move together. Portfolio theory assumes that investors will choose investments that have the lowest amount of risks whenever they are presented with the same level of expected returns. Fama and French (2002) argue that investors will seek to maximize their utility basing the decision to invest on investment’s risk and return. Apparently, the financial slowdown increased the risk levels and as such it was expected that investment rates may fall. This did not happen as expected. According to Amenc and Martellini (2011), this market turbulence has also impacted the wealth levels around the globe negatively and led to doubts about the value added by professional managers by the institutional investors. According to Statman (1987),

Tourism Management Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tourism Management - Research Proposal Example The charm of Cancun lies in the fact that this secluded island offers all kinds of facilities within the island so that tourists do not need to leave the island in order to get any kind of necessities. It has hotels for all classes of tourists and caters to a variety of tastes and preferences as well. In fact, Cancun has 140 hotels, which translates to 24,000 rooms. There is something here that everyone can afford. In addition there 190 flights plying to and from Cancun daily - so getting there is not a problem. This is a definite draw for a large chunk of tourists. Further, it has over 600 restaurants which ensure that people with varied tastes can find their ideal kind of cuisine in this island. In this regard, sustainable tourism is an important feature that can be built into the tourism of the area as this area garners a major proportion of income from the tourism industry in Mexico. Sustainable tourism in this region can flourish mainly as this island has a rich heritage of dive rse vegetation and scenic beauty apart from sea world vegetation and rare species of fish and other such species. Sustainable tourism in a beautiful island like Cancun is like a dream come true for environmentalists as well as policy makers who believe in green politics and green economy. Premises Premises of Analysis: Hypothesis: The study of sustainable tourism in the island of Cancun will be based on the following aspect. The case of Benidorm in the South of Spain as a model upon which the sustainable tourism model for Cancun can be fashioned. Owing to the fact that the basic issue in the case of studying the South of Spain region in terms of scope for sustainable development with an eye on positive and negative impact of such a strategy on the physical environment as well as the socio economic structure of the region in context of legislations of the regional, national and supra national organisations, there has been a use of ontology. The questionnaire method will be the following: the tourist will have to evaluate the island from the following points of view: price, range of accommodation and exposure of tourists. Literature: For the reasons mentioned above, many literary sources attached a particular to this island. In context of the impact of sustainable tourism on the physical environment and socio economic structure in the region, an important book that has helped in setting the criteria for analysis is Mediterranean Tourism: Facets of Socio Economic Development and Cultural Changes. This book has covered 13 countries and has relevant factual information upon which the analysis was based in the dissertation. The chapter titled Towards a Sustained Competitiveness in Spanish Tourism is of special relevance to this dissertation as it creates a nexus between sustainable tourism management and competitive advantage in the tourism industry. The book titled The Tourism Area Life Cycle is another relevant work that helped gain an insight into specific areas and the tourism life cycles enjoyed by the same. (Butler, 2006). In context of tourism life cycles, this book has important and relevant infor mation on the various legislations by the various supra national, national and regional organisations in case of the tourism indus

Gramsci and Hegemony Essay Example for Free

Gramsci and Hegemony Essay Antonio Gramsci is an important figure in the history of Marxist theory. While Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels provided a rigorous analysis of capital at the social and economic levels – particularly showing how capital antagonises the working class and gives rise to crisis – Gramsci supplemented this with a sophisticated theory of the political realm and how it is organically/dialectically related to social and economic conditions. He provides us with a theory of how the proletariat must organise politically if it is to effectively respond to capital’s crises and failures, and bring about revolutionary change. Incidentally, this innovation has proven to be of interest not only to Marxists, but also to those involved in other forms of progressive politics, from the civil rights movement, to gender politics, to contemporary ecological struggles. The reason why his approach has proven so popular and generally adaptable is because Gramsci was himself a man of action and his fundamental concern was with progressive strategy. Thus while in this article I plan to give a give a general outline of Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and the reasons behind its formulation, it’s important that we build on this by thinking about how we can use these concepts strategically in our own struggles. What is hegemony? It would seem appropriate to begin this discussion by asking What is hegemony?’’ It turns out to be a difficult question to answer when we are talking about Gramsci, because, at least within The Prison Notebooks, he never gives a precise definition of the term. This is probably the main reason why there is so much inconsistency in the literature on hegemony – people tend to form their own definition, based on their own reading of Gramsci and other sources. The problem with this is that if people’s reading of Gramsci is partial then so too is their definition. For example, Martin Clark (1977, p. 2) has defined hegemony as how the ruling classes control the media and education’’. While this definition is probably more narrow than usual, it does reflect a common misreading of the concept, namely that hegemony is the way the ruling class controls the institutions that control or influence our thought. Most of the academic and activist literature on hegemony, however, takes a slightly broader view than this, acknowledging more institutions than these being involved in the exercise of hegemony – at least including also the military and the political system. The problem is that even when these institutions are taken into account, the focus tends to be exclusively on the ruling class, and methods of control. Hegemony is frequently used to describe the way the capitalist classes infiltrate people’s minds and exert their domination. What this definition misses is the fact that Gramsci not only used the term hegemony’’ to describe the activities of the ruling class, he also used it to describe the influence exerted by progressive forces. Keeping this in mind, we can see that hegemony should be defined not only as something the ruling class does, it is in fact the process by which social groups – be they progressive, regressive, reformist, etc. – come to gain the power to lead, how they expand their power and maintain it. To understand what Gramsci was trying to achieve through developing his theory of hegemony, it is useful to look at the historical context that he was responding to as well as the debates in the movement at the time. The term hegemony’’ had been in general use in socialist circles since the early 20th century. Its use suggests that if a group was described as hegemonic’’ then it occupied a leadership position within a particular political sphere (Boothman, 2008). Lenin’s use of the term gegemoniya (the Russian equivalent of hegemony, often translated as vanguard’’), however, seemed to imply a process more akin to what Gramsci would describe. During his attempts to catalyse the Russian Revolution Lenin (1902/1963) made the observation that when left to their own devices, workers tended to reach only a trade union consciousness, fighting for better conditions within the existing system. To bring about revolutionary change, he argued that the Bolsheviks needed to come to occupy a hegemonic position within the struggle against the tsarist regime. This meant not only empowering the various unions by bringing them together, but also involving all of society’s opposition strata’’ in the movement, drawing out the connections between all forms of political oppression and autocratic arbitrariness’’ (Lenin, 1963, pp. 86-87). In the post-revolutionary period, however, the implication changed. Lenin argued that it was crucial to the establishment of the hegemony of the proletariat’’ that (a) the urban proletariat retain an ongoing alliance with the rural peasants (who made up the majority of Russia’s population) in order to retain national leadership and (b) that the expertise of the former capitalists be utilised, by forcing them to effectively manage state industries. These dual processes of leadership via consent and the command of force in the development of hegemony would play a crucial role in Gramsci’s theory. Gramsci had been in Russia from 1922-23 while these debates were raging and it was after this time that we see hegemony begin to take a central role in his writings. Italy As much as he was influenced by what was going on in Russia, Gramsci was also influenced by his own political experiences. Gramsci had been heavily involved in the struggle against capitalism and fascism in Italy and for a while served as the leader of the Communist Party of Italy. In the period following the World War I, there had been a lot of optimism in Europe, and Italy in particular, that now that people had seen the atrocities that the ruling classes could unleash and the alternative that was developing in Russia, some kind of workers’ revolution in Europe was imminent. Gramsci certainly shared this optimism. Events that took place in the early 1920s seemed to confirm this. Tensions at all strata of society were high, there were mass agitations and people were forming factory councils and workers co-operatives. But despite the intensity of the mobilisations, it fizzled out remarkably quickly. Unions were co-opted, workers’ co-ops became marginal and uncompetitive. Common people were intimidated by elites or otherwise captivated by the allure of fascist rhetoric. Gramsci and others formed the Italian Communist Party to try to reinvigorate the movement, but it was evident that people were too disillusioned by the failures of the previous years to really become involved. Votes for the Communist Party were disappointingly low. When Gramsci was arrested in 1926 as a part of Mussolini’s emergency measures, he found himself in prison with a lot of time to reflect on what had happened and where things went wrong. How was it that the ruling class had been able to so effectively stifle the potential of the movement, and what would be required for the progressive forces to mobilise the masses in a way that would enable them to bring about a fundamental change in society? These questions would of course be central to Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. Stages As suggested above, in The Prison Notebooks Gramsci refers to hegemony to describe activities of both currently dominant groups as well as the progressive forces. For Gramsci, whatever the social group is, we can see that there are certain common stages of development that they must go through before they can become hegemonic. Drawing on Marx, the first requirement is economic: that the material forces be sufficiently developed that people are capableof solving the most pressing social problems. Gramsci then goes on to state that there are three levels of political development that a social group must pass through in order to develop the movement that will allow change to be initiated. The first of these stages is referred to as economic-corporate’’. The corporatist is what we might understand as the self-interested individual. People become affiliated at the economic-corporate stage as a function of this self-interest, recognising that they need the support of others to retain their own security. Trade unionism is probably the clearest example of this, at least in the case of people joining a union for fear of pay cuts, retrenchment etc. One can also speak of short-term co-operation between otherwise competing capitalists in these terms. The point to emphasise is that at this stage of a group’s historical development there is no real sense of solidarity between members. In the second stage, group members become aware that there is a wider field of interests and that there are others who share certain interests with them and will continue to share those interests into the foreseeable future. It is at this stage that a sense of solidarity develops, but this solidarity is still only on the basis of shared economic interests. There is no common worldview or anything of that nature. This kind of solidarity can lead to attempts to promote legal reform to improve the group’s position within the current system, but consciousness of how they, and others, might benefit through the creation of a new system is lacking. It is only by passing through the third stage that hegemony really becomes possible. In this stage, the social group members becomes aware that their interests need to be extended beyond what they can do within the context of their own particular class. What is required is that their interests are taken up by other subordinate groups as their own. This was what Lenin and the Bolsheviks were thinking in forming an alliance with the peasants – that it was only through making the Bolshevik revolution also a peasants’ revolution, which peasants could see as being their own, that the urban proletariat could maintain its leading position. Gramsci reckoned that in the historical context that he was working in, the passage of a social group from self-interested reformism to national hegemony could occur most effectively via the political party. In this complex formulation, the different ideologies of allied groups come together. There will inevitably be conflict between these ideologies, and through a process of debate and struggle, one ideology, or a unified combination thereof, will emerge representing the allied classes. This ideology can be said to be hegemonic, the group that it represents has acquired a hegemonic position over the subordinate groups. At this stage, the party has reached maturity, having a unity of both economic and political goals as well as a moral and intellectual unity – one might say a shared worldview. With this unity behind it, the party sets about transforming society in order to lay the conditions for the expansion of the hegemonic group. The state becomes the mechanism by which this is done: policies are enacted and enforced that allow the hegemonic group to more effectively achieve its goals and to create symmetry between its goals and those of other groups. Although these goals are formulated with the interests of a single group in mind, they need to be experienced by the populace as being in the interests of everybody. In order for this to be effective, the hegemonic group must have some form of engagement with the interests of the subordinate classes. The dominant interests cannot be simplistically imposed upon them. Progressive hegemony While Gramsci considers these pragmatic moves as being requirements for any group to come to power, he also has a very deep ethical concern for the way in which the process occurs. In this sense, we can detect in Gramsci’s work a qualitative difference between the operations of hegemony by regressive, authoritarian groups on the one hand, and progressive social groups on the other. At an ethical level, Gramsci was above all else an anti-dogmatist believing that truth could not be imposed from the top down, but only made real through concrete and sympathetic dialogue with people. Where a regressive hegemony involves imposing a set of non-negotiable values upon the people, chiefly through use of coercion and deceit, a progressive hegemony will develop by way of democratically acquired consent in society. To give some flesh to these differences, the remainder of this article will elaborate on the different ways in which Gramsci talks about hegemonies of currently and previously ruling classes and how these contrast with the progressive hegemony that he hoped to see in the future. It is evident that if we look through history, the capitalist class has retained its hegemony primarily through various forms of coercion, ranging from the direct deployment of the military through to more subtle forms, for example, using economic power to marginalise political opponents. It would, however, be a great mistake to think that capitalism does not also rely heavily upon building consent. Indeed, it could be argued that it is capitalism’s consent-building that we, from a strategic point of view, need to pay more attention to, as it is on this level that we compete with them. The nature and strength of this consent varies. There are ways in which capitalism succeeds in actively selling its vision to subordinate classes. This means not only selling the distorted vision of a society of liberty, freedom, innovation, etc., but also deploying the ideas of bourgeois economics to convince working people, for example, that although capitalist policy is in the ultimate interests of the capitalist class, they too gain some of the benefits via trickle-down effects. Capitalism can also win consent among those who perhaps don’t buy the idea that the system is in their interests, but who have been convinced that there is no alternative or that the alternatives would be worse – in other words, through the promotion of the belief that the system is a necessary evil. The 20th century saw capitalism massively expand this form of consensus, largely through the corporate control of the media and advertising. In the United States in particular, the promotion of the American dream’’, and all of the useless commodities required to attain it, served not only to massively boost consumption and thereby the economic interests of the capitalists, it also sold a way of life which only capitalism could deliver. This was of course aided throughout the Cold War with simultaneous attempts to smear any alternative to capitalism as slavery. The capitalist class, in opposing any policy attempts to close in on corporately owned media, used its hegemonic political power to create the conditions for the building of further consent, in turn expanding their interests. The hegemonic group will continually struggle in this fashion to reach greater levels of consent – in this case by locking people into rigid mindsets and overcoming any optimism. We can look at former Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s attempts to expand privately owned schools, and to change high school history syllabi to make them more favourable to bourgeois perspectives as a part of this ongoing hegemonic process. The ruling class will constantly try to expand its field of interests and win further consent in response to changes in context and challenges to legitimacy. `Syndicalism’ Certain forms of trade unionism can also be seen as examples of capitalist hegemony. What Gramsci calls syndicalism’’ the view that the conditions of the workers can be maximally uplifted via the increasing power of the trade unions reflects a social group (the workers) left in the economic-corporate stage of development due to the hegemonic influence of capitalists, specifically free trade advocates, in the realm of ideology. The free trade advocates argue that the state and civil society should be kept separate, that the state should keep out of the economic sphere, which functions autonomously – leave it to the invisible hand of the market’’ and so on. The syndicalists had adopted this assumption of an arbitrary separation of the social and economic realms on the one hand and the political realm on the other, and assume that they could bring about radical change without political representation. The concrete result of this is that they are left to negotiate for narrowly defined improvements in the economic sphere, with no policy changes that would allow these wins to take on a more permanent basis. Meanwhile, the free trade advocates are themselves actively involved in policy, despite their claims, setting up conditions that will be favourable to the capitalist class! When the interests of the capitalist class are directly threatened, however, the hegemonic forces will inevitably resort to coercion. There is no room to negotiate on this, within the current hegemonic order. On a simple level this can mean legislating to allow police to crack down on workers taking industrial action, who threaten profits in an immediate sense. But a far bigger threat to the capitalists is the development of a hegemonic alternative within civil society. The threat is that people will move from the economic-corporate phase, and recognise that their interests overlap with all of those whom capitalism marginalises and holds back, that they will come to recognise their power and demand radical change. This being the greatest threat to capital, the most effective way for it to use coercion is to break apart emerging progressive alliances between subordinate groups. When confronted with force and economic bullying, the people are less able to relate to the group. Concerns for survival mean that people have to defend their own interests as individuals. The movement of the progressive hegemony is slowed, as people are forced to behave in a corporatist manner. The ruling class can also try to violently break apart movements by stirring up ideological differences, appealing to religion, for example. Democracy and consensus Gramsci saw the development of a progressive hegemony involving a far greater degree of openness, democracy and consensus, rather than coercion. In so far as there is coercion, it should only exist to hold back those reactionary forces that would thwart society’s development. This would allow the masses the space in which to reach their potential. A large part of The Prison Notebooks is devoted to figuring out what would be required for this kind of hegemony to develop, and a lot of Gramscian thinkers since have devoted themselves to this puzzle. As a starting point, we can say that while the existing hegemony tries to keep all the disaffected and subordinate social groups divided, the emergent progressive hegemony must bring them together. Gramsci certainly recognised the challenge involved in this. In his own historical situation (and as is undoubtedly still the case in ours), there were considerable barriers between the marginalised groups in terms of experiences, language and worldview. What all of these groups had in common, however, was that none of them had adequate political representation within the current system. Gramsci calls these groups that lack political representation subaltern’’. The challenge of the hegemonic group is to provide a critique of the system such that subaltern groups are made aware of their commonality and then raised up’’ into the political life of the party. In order to facilitate this incorporation of others, Gramsci stressed the need for the hegemonic group to move beyond its economic-corporatist understanding of its own interests, sacrificing some of its immediate economic goals in the interest of deeper moral and intellectual unity. It would need to overcome its traditional prejudices and dogmas and take on a broader view if was to lead while maintaining trust and consensus (both necessary to overcome existing power). If these aligned forces are to have any historical significance, they need to be enduring and organically related to conditions on the ground, not merely a temporary convergence. To develop mass momentum they would need to demonstrate, both in people’s imagination and in action, that they were capable of coming to power and achieving the tasks they had set for themselves. These tasks must effectively be everyone’s tasks – they must come to represent every aspiration, and be the fulfilment of the failed movements of the previous generations. Such a demonstration of power and historical significance could not be achieved through a passive action, of which Gramsci provides the example of the general strike. If the movement simply represents the rejection of the existing system or non-participation in it, then it would quickly fragment into everyone’s unique ideas of what should replace the system precisely at the moment when unity is most called for. It must be an active embodiment of the collective will, crystallised in a constructive and concrete agenda for change. Clearly this is no small ask, and Gramsci is certainly not of the view that one can just implement these strategies as though reading from a manual. What is called for is for rigorous work on the ground laying the moral and intellectual terrain upon which these historical developments can occur. One develops the unity, self-awareness and maturity of the movement, making it a powerful and cohesive force, and then patiently, with careful attention to the contextual conditions, waits for the opportune moment for this force to be exerted. Moment of crisis This moment is the moment of crisis within the existing, dominant hegemony: the moment at which it becomes clear to the populace that the ruling class can no longer solve the most pressing issues of humanity. Provided that the progressive forces adequately assert the alternative at this moment and the ruling group is unable to rapidly rebuild consent, it becomes visible that the conditions under which the ruling group became hegemonic are now passing away and society can collectively say We don’t need you anymore.’’. Gramsci calls this process of historical purging catharsis’’ in which structure ceases to be an external force which crushes man, assimilates him to itself and makes him passive; and is transformed into a means of freedom, an instrument to create a new ethico-political form and a source of new initiatives.’’ (Gramsci, 1971, p. 367.) For Gramsci the need for this transition from the world as it is to the freedom to create the world anew should be the starting point for all Marxist strategy. So, what does Gramsci have to offer us? His insistence that the socialist political form should be one of openness, democracy and the building of consensus certainly provides us with greater vision and focus and really ought to inform the activities of all progressive political groups – if not for ethical reasons, then at least because in the present environment, without a willingness to genuinely work on building consensus with others, one’s chances of success are very much diminished. (We’re not the ruling class – we don’t have the means to coerce). More than this, however, Gramsci provides us with a way of thinking; he gives us the conceptual tools to dissect the political situation we find ourselves in, to view it in historical context and to understand where we can find the conditions for the further development of our power. †¢ [Trent Brown is a doctoral student at the University of Wollongong and a member of Friends of the Earth Illawarra.] Bibliography Boothman, D. (2008). Hegemony: Political and Linguistic Sources for Gramsci’s Concept of Hegemony’’. In R. Howson and K. Smith (Eds.), Hegemony: Studies in Consensus and Coercion. London: Routledge. Clark, M. (1977). Antonio Gramsci and the Revolution that Failed. New Haven: Yale University Press. Gramsci, A. (1926). Some aspects of the southern question’’ (V. Cox, Trans.). In R. Bellamby (Ed.), Pre-Prison Writings (pp. 313-337). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci, Q. Hoare G. N. Smith, eds. trans. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Howson, R. (2006). Challenging Hegemonic Masculinity. London: Routledge. Howson, R. Smith, K. (2008). Hegemony: Studies in Consensus and Coercion. London: Routledge. Lenin, V. I. (1963). What is to be Done? S.V. Utechin P. Utechin, trans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. From: http://links.org.au/node/1260

Atlanta Braves :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people see the Atlanta Braves in different lights, by asking diverse people about them, you will get some vastly dissimilar answers. If you ask any young person who the Atlanta Braves are, you will most likely hear something like this: The best overall baseball team since I’ve been alive. But if you ask an older wiser person who the Atlanta Braves are, here’s the answer you’ll probably get: A baseball team that has come back incredibly from they’re not so grand past, a great story of a worst to first baseball team. However if you go to an informed person, someone who knows all about the Atlanta Braves and ask them the same question, I’m sure you’ll get an answer like this: The Atlanta Braves are a team with rich history, great victories, and superb leadership that has allowed them to capture 12 consecutive division titles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Atlanta Braves’ history is very deep and very interesting, with 3 moves 3 national titles and numerous stadiums, the Braves have been and will be one of the most fascinating teams in baseball.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Braves started in 1876 in Boston, known then as the ‘Red Stockings’. And in 1883 they became then ‘Beaneaters’ and then the now infamous ‘Braves’ in 1912. Then in 1914 the Boston Braves won they’re first national title, by sweeping Philadelphia.† (Atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/history/atl_history_timeline.jsp)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1953, the Braves moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin, and winning the franchise’s 2nd World Series only 4 years later in 1957. (Atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/history/atl_history_timeline.jsp)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves didn’t have the best teams from 1966-1990, no World Series titles, just not up to where they had been in earlier years. In 1990 the braves had the worst record in baseball, and then in 1991, they went from worst to first, and went to the World Series. They went again in 1992, but unfortunately, they lost both times. However, in 1995 the Braves went to the Championship of baseball once again, they represented the National League, and the Cleveland Indians represented the American League. The Series went six games, and in game six the Braves won, beating the Indians, one to nothing, and winning the World Series.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I myself remember that game, I was in my living room with my family watching the game, and David Justice hit a solo home run, the only run of the game. Tom Glavine pitched a great game, I remember being so excited when they won.

Cold Sassy

Death is spread all throughout Cold Sassy Tree, a novel that begins with the passing of Mattie Lou and ends with the passing of Rocker Blakeley. While the book focuses on mainly on religion and the restrictions of the town Cold Sassy, the Grim Reaper seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. Is a book that revolves around death, and the main character Will Tweedy seems to know lust how to handle himself from the very start. Will Tweedy Is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins.There Is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so It was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made It somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but It does not keep them all from grieving and mourning to Kingdom Come. They linger on her death and restrict themselves from doing anything they fin d pleasurable. This Is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be judged for coming out of mourning too quickly.However, young Will sees that there is something wrong with tying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l just didn't think I could stand anymore mourning. For three whole weeks†¦ They hadn't let me play baseball or go fishing or anything. † (Burns 14). This shows that Will is somewhat ahead of others when it comes to dealing with the demise of close friends and relatives, though he deals with it in a very different way from others. Will Is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy.He does not see why it is wrong for his grandfather, Mr.. Blakeley, to love both his dead wife and his new wife, Miss Love. He knows that it is strange for his grandfather to be marrying a unsung milliner shortly after Mattie Lou dies, yet sees the positive side and recognizes the fact that his grandfather will need help around the house. If Mattie Lou is dead, how can she help Mr.. Blakeley? Will has also almost been killed by a train; this occurred not long after Mattie Loll's death.The event was very surreal to him, and he was extremely scared when he found that he could very well be dead: â€Å"And as knowledge of what could have happened hit me, I started shaking and crying. † (Burns 78). In addition to this, Will's friend Bluffed Jackson died the previous year due to cocoas. Will grieves for him during the camping trip with his friends, but he covers it up with humor. That is the revelation; Will deals with death through comedy so that he can deal with the emotions he does not understand.However, after he himself almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be more appreciative of life, and It makes him want to understand God and death more than ever. This brings us to Will's spiritual mentor, which would be his grandfather, Rocker Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature In many ways through the nov el, never lecturing UT sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes It clear that he Cold Sassy By mahogany seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. S a Will Tweedy is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins. There is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so it was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made it somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but it does not keep them all from homeless from doing anything they find pleasurable.This is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be Judged for coming out of staying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l Just didn't think I could stand Will is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy. He does not see almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be mo re appreciative of life, and it Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature in many ways through the novel, never lecturing but sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes it clear that he

What Is Ethics

1. What is ethics? What is morality? Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. Morality refers to the belief of right and wrong, good and bad, beliefs that can include judgments, values, rules, principles and theories. 2. In what ways are we forced to do ethics? What is at stake in these deliberations? A person is forced to do ethics every time they exam any feeling, choice, or action concerning right or wrong. The thing that is at stake when doing ethics is a person’s values. 3. What is the unfortunate result of accepting moral beliefs without questioning them? Some of the unfortunate results of accepting moral beliefs without questioning them are it undermines your personal freedom meaning if you just accept belief from someone else without thinking about them they are not truly your beliefs. Another result of blindly accepting belief of someone else is when asked to defend these beliefs the person may have no sound argument to back it up. Finally it limits intellectual moral growth. 4. Can our feelings be our sole guide to morality? Why or why not? Feelings should not be sole guide to morality because by solely following feelings a person is not critically examining the problem. 5. What is descriptive ethics? In this field, what do researchers study? Descriptive ethics is the moral study of belief and practices. Researchers in this field try to explain how people actually behave and think. 6. What is normative ethics? Applied ethics? Normative ethics is the study of principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments. Applied ethics is application of moral norms applied to a specific moral issue. . What is metaethics? What is the difference between normative ethics and metaethics? Metaethics is the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs. Normative ethics job is to assume certain things about the meaning of moral terms and the logic relation among them but the job of meteethics is to question all assumptions. 8. What is the difference between judgments of value and judgments of obligation? Ju dgments of value judges what is morality good, bad, blameworthy, and praiseworthy. While judgments of obligation deal with actions and things a person feels what they should do. 9. What is the difference between moral and nonmoral value? Moral Value refer to value in the sense of morality while nonmortal value refers sense of good and bad that are not morality bad or good but rather quality. 10. What is the difference between instrumental value and intrinsic value? Instrumental values are things that are valuable as a means to something else. While intrinsic values are things that are valuable for its own sake. 11. To what does the â€Å"preeminence of reason† refer? The preeminence of reason refers to being able to critically think and logically argue a claim. 12. What is the principle of universalizability? The principle of universalizability states that if a moral statement applies to one situation it must apply to relatively similar moral situations 13. What is the relationship between morality and religion? The relationship between morality and religion is very important because same way critical reason is used to exam moral norms it can be used to exam religion. What is Ethics? Ethics are standards that differentiate right and wrong and how people should conduct themselves. Ethics refer to standards that would prevent someone from doing something wrong, like murder for example. Is it ethical to commit murder? Society has deemed murder as an unacceptable. In the same way ethics help to determine what are appropriate behavior at home, school, and the work place. How we interact with others can be considered ethical, treating others with respect, hospitality, sharing, and helping others in need would be considered good ethical behavior. Ethical standards also include virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. The Virtue Theory The virtue theory deals with the individual, the expectation is to â€Å"cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do (Boylan, 2009). † It deals with the character of an individual. Qualities of a virtuous person would be considered an upstanding, trustworthy, dependable, and honest. In contrast an unethical person would be selfish, unreliable, devious, or careless. People are characterized as â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad† or a combination of both, it does not leave room for a good person to make a bad choice. Once a person commits an unacceptable act, he or she may be branded as a bad person even if they have high morals and ethics instead of a good person who made a bad decision. An example of this would be of a person who drinks and drives. This is bad choice and the consequences of this choice can lead to accidents and death, but does this mean that this is a bad person? More than likely there would be no negative consequence unless the person is caught or there is an accident causing physical or property damage. The Utilitarianism Theory Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that places right and wrong on the consequence of the action that will be for â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number† (Boylan, p. 133, 2009). The utilitarianism moves from the individual’s interest and takes into account the interest of others. An example of this would be when a team member knows that another person is a better fit for a job and steps down so that person can take the lead, which would benefit the whole team in the process. An example of this that comes to mind is: during the plot to kill Jesus, John 11:49-50 â€Å"Caiaphas, being high priest that year, spoke up, you know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man should die for the people than the whole nation perish. † This is an example of the sacrifice of one to benefit the whole group or nation† (â€Å"Caiaphas – High Priest Of The Jerusalem Temple†). The Deontological Theory Deontological theory questions right and wrong by action instead of consequences. It is considered to be wrong when the action intentionally harms others. The deontological approach defines ethics as either right or wrong, there is little or no middle ground for exceptions (â€Å"Deontology Ethics,† 2008). With the utilitarianism theory it is acceptable to lie if it is to prevent hurting a person, with the deontological theory it is wrong to lie because it is a lie. Conclusion The similarities between the ethics theories concern the idea of right and wrong, and good and bad. The differences constitute on how they interpret right from wrong, and good from bad. With the virtue theory deals with the individual, whereas the utilitarianism focus on the group where actions are right when they provide the greatest good to the largest group. The deontology determines rightness by actions not the consequences; deontology is more of an absolute, stealing is wrong, lying is wrong, and murder is wrong, anything that causes harm to another person. All three theories have a place in present society and are used interactively without conscious effort. From a young age people are taught right from wrong from parents, teachers, church, and other people they come in contact with. What Is Ethics? Ethics is not equivalent to feelings. We feel on whether a certain thing is right or wrong. Feelings actively affect our daily choices. It may sometimes prevent us from making the right ethical choices. [Peter Zafirides, 2012]. Some may feel remorse when an unethical deed is done. This can be mainly attributed to persons’ different needs and desires. In 1992, Dr. Cox, a 70 year old, with a lethal injection of potassium chloride had what rheumatologists’ described as the worst case of rheumatoid arthritis ever seen. Conventional medicine was unable to relieve her pain and repeatedly requested to die. The Independent, 1992]. In that case, Dr. Cox was charged with attempted murder. It may seem to some people that it is ethically and morally â€Å"alright† to end a persons’ suffering and misery by taking his/her life, if requested. However it is unethical to end a persons’ life for whatever the reason so. Hence, an ethical standard cannot be judged by feelings alone. Ethics is not religion as well. Many people are religious but not all are ethical. The same applies to people who are not religious are not necessarily ethical as well. However, most religions do practice an ethical code of conduct. Faith in religion does not require ethics but ethical principles apply to everyone. For example, during the 9/11 incident, what happened a decade ago was raging a â€Å"holy war† against the Americans and other western democratic nations in the name of their religion. Although the Islamic religion advocated good ethical standards, some deviate from the path and become corrupted, even in the name of their religion. Al Qaeda and the leader had taken the religion to its extreme. [Scholastic; Natalie, no date] A law abiding person may not necessarily be ethical. Although the law does embody high ethical standards generally accepted by the public, it may easily deviate from ethics as well. The law may become ethically corrupt under totalitarian regimes and turn it into a form of power to serve the interest of certain people or groups. For example, abortion is made legal in certain states and countries. Like China, where abortion is not a criminal offence but in turn is available on request by the patient and is even done by the government as a public service. Furthermore they are able to receive 2 weeks to a month of sick paid leave for abortion. [Act Now AU 2008][UN Abortion Policy, no date]. It may have been made legal by the law but that does not mean it is ethical to do so, unless in certain situation, it may affect maternal health or life. In Malaysia, an abortion is legal when there is risk of life or threat of injury to the pregnant woman. [WAO, 2011] Ethics is also not parallel to socially and culturally accepted norm. Although many cultures are ethical, some are very corrupted and even blind to ethical concerns. One good example would be the Netherlands Drug Law and Cultures. In the Netherlands weed or pot (common name of the drug marijuana/cannabis) is openly traded and consumed every day. There are even specific places (the coffee shops) in the Netherlands where they specifically cater to drug consumption. [Mark Owoll, 2000] Although it is widely accepted culturally, socially and legally in Netherlands, it is still unethical to consume cannabis/marijuana as it does harm to ones’ body through lung diseases, heart diseases, weakened immune system and many more and it is unethical to do harm to oneself. [WebMD, no date] Ethics is not a science as well. Ethics is not based off accurate calculation and scientific formulas and most certainly is unable to certainly predict the correct action to every ethical issue. However, social science and natural science are able to aid in making a better ethical decision. Science may provide the explanation but ethics provide the reason as to how we should act. For example, Cheryl, a mother of one and was pregnant with another at that time, was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. Science had given her the option to have an abortion, and then proceed with chemotherapy or continue without chemotherapy and save the baby, but endangering her own life. Cheryl then decided to have the baby and died shortly after giving birth to her second child in an emergency caesarean birth.

Contentious Bones a Case Study on the Skeletal System Wh Cliff Essays

Contentious Bones a Case Study on the Skeletal System Wh Cliff Essays Contentious Bones a Case Study on the Skeletal System Wh Cliff Essay Contentious Bones a Case Study on the Skeletal System Wh Cliff Essay Your 80 year-old great aunt, Persis, was placing a canning jar on the top shelf of her pantry when she stepped awkwardly off the stool and twisted her leg at the hip. She felt a sharp pain in her hip and, after collapsing to the floor, found she could no longer stand. She was taken to the emergency room where an X ray showed that the neck of her femur was fractured. More detailed X ray images revealed reduced bone mass in the head and neck regions of the injured femur, in the ends of other long bones of the body and in the vertebrae. Surgery was necessary to repair the fractured femur and a biopsy of the bone tissue indicated that the composition of the osteoid was normal. Healing of the fractured femur is proceeding slowly. 1. What organ(s) is(are) involved? 2. What primary tissue type is involved? 3. What specific type of tissue is affected? 4. What specific types of cells produce the normal microanatomy of the tissue? 5a. What is the significance of your great aunts age and gender? 5b. What normally happens to the microanatomy of the specific tissue you identified as it ages? 6. What age-related alterations in the activities of the cells you identified cause this change in microanatomy? 7. What is the significance of your great aunt being a woman? 8. What disease caused the abnormal anatomical symptoms and led to the fracture? Underline one: Osteoporosis or Pagets disease (osteitis deformans) 9. What aspects of the above description help you distinguish these two possibilities? Explain. 10. What notable anatomical features do the diseased locations have in common? 11. Choose a therapy that is listed in your text and explain how it works to prevent this disease. [If modification of the diet is suggested, which of the basic four food groups would you recommend increasing consumption? ] Novel therapies The orthopedic surgeon suggests a new therapy for your great aunts condition that relies upon the administration of the hormone calcitonin. Your relatives want to understand how this hormone works. 12. What effect does calcitonin have on the organ(s) affected by the disease? 13. What effect does it have on the cells involved? 14. What might its effects be on the body when given in excess of what the body normally produces? 15. What dietary supplement might you recommend to accompany the calcitonin treatment? Why? One of your friends suggests treatment with parathyroid hormone (PTH) since it would elevate plasma calcium levels and would presumably enhance bone formation. 16. Based on the actions of PTH do you think it will be effective in reversing the effects of the disease? Explain.

Henrys Law Example Problem

Henrys Law Example Problem Henrys law is a gas law  formulated by the British chemist William Henry in 1803. The law states that at a constant temperature, the amount of dissolved gas in a volume of a specified liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of the gas in equilibrium with the liquid. In other words, the amount of dissolved gas is directly proportional to the partial pressure of its gas phase. The law contains a proportionality factor that is called Henrys law constant. This example problem demonstrates how to use Henrys law to calculate the concentration of a gas in solution under pressure. Henrys Law Problem How many grams of carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in a 1 L bottle of carbonated water if the manufacturer uses a pressure of 2.4 atm in the bottling process at 25  °C?Given: KH of CO2 in water 29.76 atm/(mol/L) at 25  °CSolutionWhen a gas is dissolved in a liquid, the concentrations will eventually reach equilibrium between the source of the gas and the solution. Henrys law shows that the concentration of a solute gas in a solution is directly proportional to the partial pressure of the gas over the solution.P KHC where:P is the partial pressure of the gas above the solution.KH is the Henrys law constant for the solution.C is the concentration of the dissolved gas in solution.C P/KHC 2.4 atm/29.76 atm/(mol/L)C 0.08 mol/LSince we have only 1 L of water, we have 0.08 mol of CO. Convert moles to grams: mass of 1 mol of CO2 12(16x2) 1232 44 g g of CO2 mol CO2 x (44 g/mol)g of CO2 8.06 x 10-2 mol x 44 g/molg of CO2 3.52 gAnswer There are 3.52 g of CO2 dissolved in a 1 L bottle of carbonated water from the manufacturer. Before a can of soda is opened, nearly all the gas above the liquid is carbon dioxide. When the container is opened, the gas escapes, lowering the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and allowing the dissolved gas to come out of solution. This is why soda is fizzy. Other Forms of Henrys Law The formula for Henrys law may be written other ways to allow for easy calculations using different units, particularly of KH. Here are some common constants for gases in water at 298 K and the applicable forms of Henrys law: Equation KH = P/C KH = C/P KH = P/x KH = Caq / Cgas units [Lsoln atm / molgas] [molgas / Lsoln atm] [atm molsoln / molgas] dimensionless O2 769.23 1.3 E-3 4.259 E4 3.180 E-2 H2 1282.05 7.8 E-4 7.088 E4 1.907 E-2 CO2 29.41 3.4 E-2 0.163 E4 0.8317 N2 1639.34 6.1 E-4 9.077 E4 1.492 E-2 He 2702.7 3.7 E-4 14.97 E4 9.051 E-3 Ne 2222.22 4.5 E-4 12.30 E4 1.101 E-2 Ar 714.28 1.4 E-3 3.9555 E4 3.425 E-2 CO 1052.63 9.5 E-4 5.828 E4 2.324 E-2 Where: Lsoln is liters of solution.caq is moles of gas per liter of solution.P is partial pressure of the gas above the solution, typically in atmosphere absolute pressure.xaq is mole fraction of the gas in solution, which is approximately equal to the moles of gas per moles of water.atm refers to atmospheres of absolute pressure. Applications of Henrys Law Henrys law is only an approximation that is applicable for dilute solutions. The further a system diverges from ideal solutions ( as with any gas law), the less accurate the calculation will be. In general, Henrys law works best when the solute and solvent are chemically similar to each other. Henrys law is used in practical applications. For example, it is used to determine the amount of dissolved oxygen and nitrogen in the blood of divers to help determine the risk of decompression sickness (the bends). Reference for KH Values Francis L. Smith and Allan H. Harvey (Sept. 2007), Avoid Common Pitfalls When Using Henrys Law, Chemical Engineering Progress  (CEP), pp. 33-39

Examine the stock returns for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca during the Essay - 1

Examine the stock returns for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca during the bid process and provide possible reasons for changes in price on key dates - Essay Example t a company then price of the company’s stock is likely to rise while price is likely to fall is an expected acquisition is likely to be detrimental. Factors such as â€Å"investment strategies,† â€Å"ownership forms,† â€Å"capital structures,† and â€Å"dividend policies† that are likely to change with an acquisition are also likely to influence stock prices (Moyer, McGuigan, & Kretlow 2008, p. 12). In addition, expressed opinions by investors can either improve or reduce share price at a time (Khan & Zuberi 1999, p. 45) and all these could have influenced prices and return of the two companies’ stock. One of the key dates in the takeover period is November 25, 2013 when Pfizer informed AstraZeneca of intended takeover. Even though it was a private correspondence, it could have spread to stakeholders and a perceived lost value among Pfizer’s stakeholders could have triggered the observed negative change in stock price. Price for AstraZeneca however increased afterwards to indicate perceived benefits by the company’s stockholders. These suggest that Pfizer offered better economic prospects than AstraZeneca did at the time, and its internal environment could be more promising than that of AstraZeneca. On May 1, 2014, Pfizer made public its takeover interest and suffered a subsequent decline in price, which begun two days earlier, and perceived loss of advantage by existing stockholders as well as possible negative investor opinions could have caused the decline. At the same time, stock price for AstraZeneca declines and this could be a response to Pfizer’s price trends that made it less attractive. The fall in stock price for Pfizer continued until 7 May, a time at which the British Prime Minister expressed concerns over the takeover, and then stabilized until mid May. Price for AstraZeneca stock however remained constant over this period. Pfizer’s persistence on the takeover, against its shareholder’s confidence could explain the fall and the

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example In decades, there have been diverse arguments over the corporate social responsibility (Tricker, 1998). The cases against the CSR concept begin with classical economic argument started by Freidman. Freidman holds that management has only one responsibility of maximizing the profits of the shareholders and the owner (Friedman, 1970). He argues that social issues are not a business concern and that the issues should get resolved by free market system unfettered workings. Additionally, the other argument is that business does not have equipment for handling social activities. On the other hand, the argument in favor of the corporate social resource begins with the belief of business’s long-term enlighten self-interest of being socially responsible. The point of view suggests that in order to have a healthy environment for the business in future, the managers should take action now for long-term viability. Additionally, the other argument is that the responsibility wards off the g overnment regulations (Baron, 2013). Therefore, using different corporate social responsibility concepts, this paper will different corporate social responsibility in the two case studies and provide an ethical analysis in each of them. Facebook definition is the online a social networking service that has its headquarters in California. The chief executive officer of the corporation is Mark Zuckerberg. As Facebook turns out to be more synonymous with experience on networks, its shareholders tend to earn more benefits. Facebook has been successful in gaining a greatest share of individual’s attention and time. The customer’s challenge in the coming years is to have that dominance of attention and time to convert into a bigger share for their wallets. Most of the shares they spend indirectly or directly on advertising (Wong, 2014). Being an international brand, the greatest ethical challenge that the company faces is online privacy. Online privacy relies on the