Health Care Reform Reaction Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health Care Reform Reaction - Term Paper Example Language barrier also influences delivery of health care as the inability to comprehend instructions from health care providers diminishes people’s abilities to receive preventative and curative care. Ethnic and personal beliefs also influence the delivery of health care as some people prefer home rem dies to hospital medication. Geographical factors also influence access to health care as people in rural areas encounter barriers such as poor transportation, which impede access to hospitals. Conversely, nursing practice is influenced by factors such as nurses’ work environment and advancement opportunities and legislation (Ellerbe & Regen, 2012). This paper will examine such legislation, discussing its impact on nursing practice. Health Care Reform In 2010, President Obama ratified the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The purpose of the federal statute is to provide a regulatory overhaul of America’s health care system by enhancing access to he alth care by increasing the quality and affordability of health coverage, thereby reducing the price of health care for Americans (Ellerbe & Regen, 2012). ... These gaps are the primary deterrents to the effective delivery of health care for all in the US. With regard to access to care provision, the Act eliminates discrimination practices that hamper access to health coverage (Ridge, 2011). The Act also enhances funding for care delivery programs and locations, including nurse-managed health clinics. On the quality of care, the Act requires all care givers to ensure that their care is effective, patient-centered, safe, equitable, efficient and timely. Consequently, the Act promotes support systems aimed at the improvement of care and the work environment, for instance, by creating opportunities for enhanced nursing leadership and research (Ellerbe & Regen, 2012). The Act builds on the provisions of the Public Health Service Act, which offers federal backing for nursing development and education. On the other hand, with regard to cost of care, the Act provides for consumer protections to ensure basic health coverage to all Americans and le gal residents. Educational and Practice Consideration for Nursing The discipline of nursing must address various practice and educational consideration to keep up with the demands of the Affordable Care Act. Firstly, nursing practice should be to the full extent of training and education. This is because the core of PPACA is the provision of quality care by care givers who have sufficient training and education to meet health care service demands. In addition, it is essential for all nurses to attain higher educational levels and intense training through an enhanced educational system, which advocates flawless academic development. This means nursing professionals should enter programs such as bridge

Sociolinguistics Essay Essay Example for Free

Sociolinguistics Essay Essay INTRODUCTION The research paper deals with personal advertisements presented via the medium of the Internet. This kind of advertising is a relatively new genre because the medium of the Internet is not a very old phenomenon; therefore it is nearly unexplored. The following analysis of personal advertisements appears to be quite interesting as today personal advertisements represent one of the very popular and often used means providing possibility to meet new friends and potential life partners. Ads offer a rich source of written language, as well as research material. They usually facilitate in sending right messages to people of opposite gender identities on dating webpage. The most important goal of the research paper is to focus on the features of online dating from the point of view of gender differences. It tries to find out whether and how the differences between men and women influence the language of personal advertisements. It wants to explore whether some general gender stereotypes also occur in this new kind of personal advertisement. II. RESEARCH PROBLEMS In our society it is believed that men and women talk as they belonged to two different entities. Since personal advertisements are written by both sexes, the research paper tries to explore how language relates to gender and how stereotyped assumptions and beliefs are reflected in the text of online personal advertisements. The paper focuses on how men and women characterise themselves, as well as their potential partners, what kind of expressions they use for this purpose. From the viewpoint of gender stereotypes, the paper will concentrate on the issues of talkativeness and a hedges usage as it is presupposed that women will be more talkative and will use hedges more frequently. It is also presupposed that men will emphasise success in their self – description and appearance in their partner –description. Women are  presupposed to put greater emphasis on their appearance as well as on partner ´s success. 1 III. THEORETICAL PART 1. Advertisement in general 1.1.Role of advertisement Nowadays, advertisement is a usual part of everyday life. Wherever we are, ads are always surrounding us. We can see it everywhere: on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, means of transport, the Internet or in public places. Its goal is to attract people  ´s attention and give information about some concrete product or service. The ultimate aim of ads is to persuade people to buy what is advertised. Information provided by the creators of the advertisement has a strong impact on the addressees, either negative or positive. Advertisement is very often rejected and invokes passionate discussions. However, thanks to it, people or companies can quickly inform about their products or services in a very easy way. 1.2.Language of advertisement A great variety of advertisements for different subjects emerges on the market, ads for e.g.: products, services, ideas or images of organizations, charities, companies, individuals. Language of present advertisements is special. It tries to attract possible customers or addressees and focuses on their attention and consciousness to influence them positively. „ Ads use fictions, word play, compressed storytelling, stylized acting, photography, cartoons, puns, and rhythms in ways which are often memorable, enjoyable and amusing. The word and details of ads often come to people ´s minds more readily than those of novels and poems and plays, and they are often recalled with more laughter and enthusiasmâ€Å" (Cook, 2003, p. 3). It can be said that language used in advertisements plays a very important role. It is obvious that the more extraordinary, peculiar, interesting and original the advertisement is, the greater chance it has to draw addressees ´Ã‚  attention and to go deeply into their subconscious. 2. Personal advertisement 2.1. The role of the advertisement As any kind of advertisement, personal ads are part of everyday life. They can be seen in all media; mainly on the Internet and print media. Personal advertisements serve for the purpose of communication between people. The primary aim is to catch attention of an ideal partner. The 2 options for creating personal ads are limited as their writers depend on the space given and words expressing their intention. 2.2. Language of personal advertisement As it was said, language of advertisement is very specific, especially language of personal advertisements. â€Å"Communication adaptation theory (CAT) (Burgoon, Stern, Dillman, 1995; Giles, Coupland, Coupland, 1991) holds that individuals vary their language choices within interactions, depending on their social goals. Thus, speakers may choose to emphasize (or deemphasize) particular aspects of their identities as a way of aligning with (or distancing from) interaction partnersâ€Å" (http://pdfcast.org/pdf/enacting-gender-identity-in-written-discourse- responding-to-gender-role-bidding-in-personal-ads, p.401,cited 30.11.2010) As Winn and Robin (ibid, cited 30.11.2010) continue, the writers of the personal ads regulate their self- presentations by means of language choice. On the other hand, prescribed requirements of e.g. space can have an influence on the way of writers ´ presentation. The authors of personal ads must be brief when they portray themselves. However, they also have to use such language means which help the writers to present elements of their identities that are supposed to be most important to finding partners. Therefore it is obvious that personal ads writers â€Å" will often converge with, or match, the speech patterns of their interlocutors† (ibid, p. 401, cited 30.11.2010). As the authors of article printed in a magazine Journal of language a social psychology point out, writers of personal ads construct their text and use such a vocabulary to be in harmony with what is preferred by their readers; â€Å" individuals are seen to adapt their language† (ibid, p. 401, cited 30.11.2010). 3. Gender differences Gender study appears to be not a very old discipline. It was introduced in the second half of the last century and explores the field of differences between men and women. It is generally assumed that women differ from men in many attributes. Nowadays, comments like woman will never understand man and vice versa nearly become a proverb. Of course, differences between women and men are of various types; however for the purpose of this research paper only difference concerning language use will be discussed. A theory dealing with issues of gender differences in using language is called sociolinguistic. Its major topic is â€Å" the connection between the structures, vocabularies, and ways 3 of using particular languages and the social roles of the men and women who speak these languages† (p. 315). 3.1. Gender and language Nowadays, linguists still have the same opinion that men and women differ in the language use. The distinction is partly caused by biological differences, e.g. a constitution of human brain depends on gender; however the fact is that women and men are also psychologically different, e.g. â€Å"women are more concerned with making connections; they seek involvement and focus on the interdependencies between people. Men are more concerned with autonomy and detachment; they seek independence and focus on hierarchical relationship† ( Boe qtd. In Holmes, 1995, p. 7). According to Coates ( 1993), usually, emotiveness is a typical feature of women, while rational thinking is characteristic attribute of men. Men put emphasis on success, efficiency, power and ability, whereas women regard as the most important relationship, feelings, family, and confidence. We can say, all these areas affect women ´s and men  ´s acting, their decision making, thinking, and their expressing of their emotions, needs and opinions. The distinctions mentioned can be reflected also in personal advertisements. 3.2. Cultural stereotypes and language Not only history and culture of the society but also gender differences influence the existence of certain persistent stereotypes in the society. There are some linguistic stereotypes  concerning communicative competence of men and women based on gender differences that are believed by almost each member of our society. According to Coates ( ibid ), each of us are familiar with linguistic stereotypes, like that â€Å" women talk more than men, that women â€Å"gossip†, that men swear more than women, that women are more polite and so on† ( Coates, 1993, p. 107). Coates mentions also other language areas in which women are distinct from men, which are â€Å"tag questions, hedges, commands and directives, taboo language, compliments, topic and topic development, formal versus informal language, and minimal responses† ( Coates, 1993, p. 114). 4 3.2.1. Talkativeness As for talkativeness, â€Å" there is a widespread belief in our society that women talk more than men† ( Coates, 1993, p. 115). In spoken language Coates calls this stereotype â€Å"verbosity† (Coates, 1993, p 114). Persistence of this stereotype is closely connected with the topic discussed. In societies, it is believed that women like to talk more about  ´trivial ´ topics, as family cooking or personal issues, and they avoid topics that could be titled  ´serious ´. The triviality of topics is usually connected with abundant usage of words. Coates points out another reason for persistence of this belief that is â€Å"different expectations of male and female speakers: while men have the right to talk, women are expected to remain silent. Then talking at any length can be viewed as talkativeness† ( Coates, 1993, p. 115). However; it should be emphasized that no research has proved this general belief (Coates, 1993). 3.2.2. Markers of hesitation, uncertainty As Coates (1993) says, women ´s speech is often viewed as  ´tentative ´. While men and women telling the same, women are supposed to use more features of hesitation like comment clauses, hedges, interjections, and pauses than men. According to Coates, hedges are â€Å"linguistic forms such as I think, I  ´m sure, you know, sort of and perhaps, maybe which express the speaker ´s certainty or uncertainty about the proposition under discussion† ( Coates, 1993, p. 116). The more frequent use of hedges can be a sign of possible women  ´s markers of hesitation based on some stereotypes again as showing of certainty or confidence during  conversation could be viewed as less feminine. This stereotype about women  ´s hesitation for the purpose to be feminine correlates also with another component of conversation, tag questions. 3.2.3 Asking questions, tag questions Concerning the question usage during a discussion, it is known that women often ask questions to keep conversation in process. As Holmes says, they usually ask â€Å"supportive elicitations† (Holmes, 1995, p. 43) to manifest interest and get deeper into a topic. The author continues and points out: â€Å"While women elicit more questions in private conversations, men tend to ask more queries in formal and public contexts† (Holmes, 1995, p 39). The reason why men use more questions in public places could be that they incline to be dominant in public as they are 5 generally more aggressive than women. Women differ from men also in the frequency of using tag questions. Preisler claims that â€Å"women use tag questions more often than men† ( Preisler qtd. in Coates, 1993, p. 119). 3.2.4. Topics of conversations As it was already mentioned, certain topics that are called  ´trivial ´ , such as relationships, family etc., are often applied to women and topics considered to be serious, such as politics, cars, technology, etc. are related to men ´s conversation. According to Coates (1993), for women an conversation serves for the purpose to share problems, consolidate relationships, gain experience or to offer support. On the other hand, for men an conversation means a source of information, giving advice and presenting knowledge. This different expectation very often leads to miscommunication between men and women. The linguistic differences between men and women can be represented also in personal advertisement. The style of personal ads reflects women ´s desires and ideas about men as well as men ´s wishes and needs concerning the opposite sex. 6 IV. PRACTICAL PART The practical part of the paper research will focus on the analysis of women ´s and men ´s advertisements, gender differences from the perspective of self- and partner-description, using hedges and talkativeness. 1. Methodology The sociolinguistic analysis was applied on the material of 40 personal advertisements presented on the web page www.datingdirect.co.uk that belong to the UK  ´s largest dating services. The corpus consists of 20 women ´s and 20 men ´s advertisements that were under a sociolinguistic analysis. The personal ads were chosen randomly. The age of respondents was between 35 and 45 including. All of the respondents came from Great Britain. Texts of all advertisements that underwent the analysis can be found in Appendix 1. 2. Analysis and results 2.1 Graphical arrangement of online personal advertisements The overall graphical arrangement of online personal advertisements on the web page www.datingdirect.co.uk is as follows: a) prescribed items with only one choice from the list, e.g. : relationship status, occupation, body type, height, hair colour, eyes, children, personality, country/residence, smoking, date of birth, education, ethnicity, I live†¦, my style, appearance, my best feature, political view, religion, romance, etc.; b) prescribed items with a multiple choice from the list, e.g.: entertainment, interests, sports, my taste in music, my favourite films, my pets, etc. ; c) prescribed partner ´s description with a multiple choice from the list, e.g.: relationship status, children, body type, personality, smoking, views on marriage, ethnicity, nationality, appearance, height, weight, hair, eyes, style, best features, education, occupation, religion, political view, interests, sports, films, income, etc.; d) fr ee-production part that is limited to maximum of 2000 characters, and where respondents write more about themselves and the partners they are looking for; this is the most important part of the personal advertisements as it serves as a material for the research paper sociolinguistic analysis. 7 There is also possibility to add photos on the web page. 2.2. Self – description of appearance 2.2.1. Women Focusing on the description of appearance, only six women depict their appearance (ads No. 1,2,4,5,7,20). As it is obvious from Figure 1, majority of the women (5 of them) put  emphasis on their overall impression rather than on describing single parts of their appearance. The words that are used for that purpose are: sexy (used 2 times); attractive (used one time); fit (used 2 times); pretty (used one time). Two women put emphasis on their hair. Both use the word blonde. Only one woman describes her eyes by using the expression blue eyed. In only two ads an emphasis is put on figure, which is described with the words curvy and slim. There is only one advertisement (advertisement No.7) where a woman depicts all categories which are mentioned above. â€Å"I am a pretty blue eyed blonde, slim†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Generally considered, women do not put great emphasis on descri bing their own appearance. Majority of the women, that is 13 of them, do not mention their appearance at all. Although we predicted that the appearance is considered to be significant for women to attract men  ´s attention, this prediction is not proved. 2.2.2. Men Concerning the description of their appearance, the men do not put a great emphasis on their appearance. Only four of them (ads No. 2,7,8,11) try to catch women  ´s attention by focusing on their look. They use adjectives good looking (1 time) and handsome (1 time) for describing of their overall appearance; expressions athletic (1 time) and in good shape (1 time) for their figure. As it can be obvious from the Figure 1, the men absolutely do not put an emphasis on their eyes or hair. One of the advertisements (No 9) is special concerning the way how a man describes himself. He chooses a totally different way how to attract a women  ´s attention. He does not say whether he is â€Å"handsome† or â€Å"ugly†. The author of this advertisement probably wants to stay mysterious as for his appearance and so to awaken a women  ´s interest: â€Å"I am no George Cloony but am not a Frank Galliger either† Generally considered, as we previously predicted, the men do not seem to put a greater emphasis on their appearance. 8 2.2.3. Differences in self – description of the appearance 80% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 70% 25% 10% 10% 10% 10% 0% 0% 5% women men Figure 1: Comparison of women ´s and men ´s self-description of their appearance Dealing with the appearance, Figure 1 illustrates the fact that neither women  nor men put emphasis on their own appearance. 70 % of the women and 80 % of the men do not describe their look at all. This fact does not correspond with the stereotype that appearance is very important for women. 2.3. Description of partner  ´s appearance 2.3.1. Women Concerning the description of partner’s appearance, only four women depict how their ideal partner should look like. They use general adjectives, such as attractive (used in No. 17); tall (used in No.16); handsome; and young-looking (both used in No 18). One woman puts emphasis on the partner  ´s eyes, as she uses expression attractive eyes (No 1) , and one women is even more specific in her description of an ideal partner as she writes :†¦. taller men, with nice teeth, 34/36 waist ( in No 16). An overall majority of the women (16 of them) do not mention their ideal partner  ´s appearance at all. 2.3.2. Men At the beginning of the analysis we assumed man will emphasise the appearance of their ideal partners. However; the analysis shows that only two men concentrate on the women ´s look. Those men who mention appearance of their partner use general adjectives such as attractive and slim: I am looking for someone slim and attractive (No 12); †¦someone †¦that†¦is attractive†¦(No 1) The rest of the men do not mention the women  ´s look at all. It seems men prefer other qualities rather than appearance of their ideal partners. 2.3.3. Differences in partner-description of the appearance 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 90% 80% 5% 10% 10% 0% 5% 0% 0% 5% women men Figure 2: Comparison of women ´s and men  ´s partner appearance description Focusing on the description of the ideal partner ´s appearance, the results are very similar in both groups. 80% of the women and 90% of the men do not mention how their ideal partner should look like at all. The stereotype that men emphasise the women  ´s appearance is not proved. 2.4. Self- description of qualities and personality 2.4.1. Women When creating a personal advertisement, to mention people ´s positive qualities seems to be a very important part. It is a useful way how to easily draw a potential partner ´s  attention. The authors of personal ads do it by various means, however; the most common is using adjectives that help to describe human qualities clearly and briefly. In the advertisements the women use a wide range of adjectives to depict their qualities and personality in the best way. More than 40 adjectives have been used for this purpose. The adjectives are divided into several groups expressing the same element of character: sense of humour; feminity; i ntellect; emancipation; moral qualities; social qualities; success; and others. Figure 3: Women  ´s description of their qualities and personality To compare description of appearance with the description of qualities and personality, only one woman do not put emphasis on description of her personality. It is obvious this part of personal ads is significant for the women. The most important qualities are those belonging to the categories of emancipation, sense of humour and feminity. Concerning the category of success that is connected with a good job, owning a car, or a house, the women to describe themselves as being successful do not use adjectives, but other expressions, such as †¦ I work hard, own my house and car †¦(No 10); †¦ I have a great job in advertising and media which I love. I work hard and long hours, †¦(No 12); or †¦ I have my own home car and good job so i am looking for the same(No16). 2.4.2. Men Focusing on men  ´s qualities and personalities, the men use approximately the same range of vocabulary as the women. They use more than 40 adjectives for the purpose to describe themselves from the point of personal qualities. Again, the adjectives are divided into several groups according to their meaning (see Appendix 3). The  following categories were possible to create: sense of humour; affectionate; intellect; moral qualities; social qualities; success; masculinity; others. Figure 4: Men  ´s description of their qualities and personality As it is obvious from the Figure 4, the vast majority, even 75% of the men, put emphasis on their success. This category includes not only adjectives, however other expressions, such as mentioning their profession, a successful career, owning a company, a car or a house:.. .i own a small yet busy painting and dec firm. .of which ive been doing for 15years now (No 4); I have a successful professional career that I enjoy (No 7); I own a plumbing and heating company (No 10); I have a couple of jobs firstly I head up an International Charity†¦(No 11); I have a fantastic job, Im financially solvent and I own my home own, which is located within a beautiful part of Wales (No 11). The men put great emphasis not only on their success; however they stress also such qualities that belong to the category  ´affectionate ´- even 55% of the men, which is very surprising. Six of the men depict themselves as caring, five of them as romantic, or three as hearted. By contrast, personal quali ties that are part of the group  ´masculinity ´ appear only in seven ads, which is 35%. 2.4.3. Differences in self-description of the personal qualities Concerning the qualities, some considerable differences have been found between men and women (see Figure 5). As it was predicted at the beginning of the analysis, women do not stress their success at all. It seems to be unimportant for them when they try to attract potential partners. Surprisingly, the women attach importance to the personal qualities that are part of the category  ´emancipation ´. They describe themselves as adventurous, confident, hardworking, down-to-earth, independent, or even strong. The women emphasise also their feminity. It is in 12 contrast with the appearance that the women consider being not so relevant for catching men ´s attention. They apparently try to attract more men by typical women ´s qualities as they depict themselves as feminine, warm, sensual, passionate, and caring. The women are may be persuaded that men desire to have such a women alongside. Unlike the women, the men put great emphasis on their success. For the men being successful seems to be rather significant for attracting an ideal partner. On the other hand, they do not stress their masculinity; however emphasise the qualities that soften their personality. Probably, they want to approach a women  ´s ideal of the perfect partner. As it was previously discussed in the theoretical part, the authors of personal ads write their text and use such a vocabulary to be in harmony with what is preferred by their readers. The men present elements of their identities that are supposed to be most important to finding partners. It can be an explanation why even 55% of the men stress the qualities belonging to the category  ´affectionate ´. 2.5. Use of hedges As it was already discussed in the theoretical part of this paper, hedges are markers of hesitation and uncertainty. MiÃ… ¡Ã… ¡ikovà ¡ offers another explanations of hedges: â€Å"†¦hedging is the qualification and toning-down of utterances†¦in order to reduce the riskiness of what one says† ( 13 Wales qtd. in Topics in Linguistics, 2007, p. 76 ), or hedges are â€Å" linguistic expressions that enable the speaker to avoid being too direct in her/his utterance† ( Watts qtd. in Topics in Linguistics, 2007, p. 76 . Mentioned previously, according to gender stereotypes, more frequent use of hedges is typical for woman speech. Concerning frequency of hedge using, the analysis of the personal ads shows following results: total number of elements in ads 2170 Men  ´s ads 3655 Women  ´s ads Figure 6: Number of hedges As it can be seen in the Figure 6, our analysis confirmed the gender stereotype that women use hedges in their utterances more frequently than men. While the women use the hedge expressions in every single advertisement, eight men do not use them at all. Average number of hedges per one women ´ s advertisement is 4,95 and per men ´s only 1,85. Probably, the women use them not to look very direct or confident. By showing certain degree of uncertainty (with the use of hedges), they try to express their feminine identities. 2.6. Talkativeness The theoretical part of the research paper discussed cultural and linguistic stereotype concerning talkativeness. In many societies, it is taken for granted women talk more than men. The analysis of the chosen personal advertisements reveals that the number of elements per advertisement is 182,75 in the women  ´s ads and the total number of elements is 3655, which is more than in the men  ´s ads, where the number of elements per advertisement is 108,5 and the overall amount of elements is 2170. The longest woman ´s advertisement has 354 elements (No 3), the shortest 76 elements (No 7). Surprisingly, the longest man ´s ad has 376 (No 11) elements, which is more by 22 elements than in the longest woman  ´s ad. The  shortest man ´s advertisement has only 33 elements (No 20). Although the analysis finds out that the women use more words, the number of the advertisements under analysis is not sufficient to be able to prove definitely the general myth that women are more talkative than men. V. CONCLUSION The aim of this research paper was to analyse men ´s and women ´s personal advertisements from the sociolinguistic viewpoint and to find out whether there are considerable differences between genders. Because personal advertisements are written by both sexes, the research paper tries to explore how language relates to gender and how stereotyped assumptions and beliefs are reflected in the text of online personal advertisements. The research paper dealt with 40 personal advertisements presented via the medium of the Internet. It concentrated on the issues of talkativeness and use of hedges from the perspective of gender stereotypes. The presumptions stated at the beginning of the analysis were proved as the research explored that the women used hedges more frequently than the men, as well as they were more talkative than the men. The supposition that men emphasise success in their self – description in order to attract potential partners was also proved. However; they do not stressed the appearance of their partners at  all. For the women, neither success nor their appearance and appearance of their partners were important. On the other hand, the women put greater emphasis on their personal qualities. To sum it up, the men and the women differed in their language. Some of the common beliefs and myths were proved, some not. In order to attract attention of a potential partner, both sexes probably varied they language according the expectations of the opposite gender. The extent of this research paper, as well as the number of the advertisements under the analysis did not allow going deeper into language of men ´s and women ´s advertisements. It was not possible to explore and analyse all the differences. However; this research paper can serve as an idea or a source for further research of personal advertisements. There is a great amount of issues which could be studied, such as gender differences in sentence structure or structure of  personal ads; differences in using formal, informal language; differences in doing grammar or spelling mistakes; way of self – identification; differences in intended relationships; way of opening and invitation for respond; use of abbreviations, emoticons; idiomatic and collocative expressions; and others.

The Face of the Other Essay -- Culture Cultural Ideology Essays

The Face of the Other Everything seen is seen with the help of the Others. At birth, we are thrown into a specificity of culture that is alien to us. We are engulfed in this culture and the networks of ideologies entailed by culture that define the world because there is a grounding for the possibility of ideology that lies not only in our existence of a subject with Others, but also in the way that culture, as a form of existence with Others, manifests meaning and understanding. Although we are thrown into culture, we cannot recognize us as beings alien to the cultural process itself, there is a primordial ethical responsibility that our existence with the Others calls forth. Culture arises at the same moment it disperses, it is constantly being remolded by the individuals that take part in their everydayness as subjects. Commonly understand, culture is the products of a given society. Value is assigned to these products through their historical relation to the crumbling network of production that we call ‘culture’. Commonalities in personalities of Others begin to arise exponentially as individuals encounter different experiences. There are some commonalities within all of our personalities, and more of these commonalities the specific subjectivities within a culture, these cultural codings are how the Others define each other. Culture is maintained and sustained through individuals. But, what is it that maintains similar subjectivities among each other, consisting us as neighbors? The term most readily available in English would have to be â€Å"ideology†. Ideology functions through the use of language as it transmits culture; it acts as a systematic body of concepts that transgresses into an individual not only th... ...rhetorical language as ideology. The same set of meanings that defines the terrestrial world affects all of us relatively equally. All of our reception is received into our thought-processes through the same â€Å"ideological† process as our encounter with language. It is ideological in that the elements are received as a whole, as a systematic body of beings. To receive the plenum of elements is to receive an ideology of sorts. And this reception is essential to ourselves as Visions, as looking out and understanding the world. There is a difference between the acceptance of the meanings in language and the acceptance of substance in the world. But this is preceded by an acceptance and a vision. Mythical social structures envisioned by sociologists are words and only words. Ideology and language are inseparable; they arise and interact with us experientially.

How Does Fitzgerald Tell the Story in Chapter 9 Essay

In the Great Gatsby, the last chapter of the novel is told two years later still from the perspective of Nick. Nick is writing two years later after the events with Gatsby, showing that a considerable amount of time has passed between its occurrence yet it is still fresh in Nick’s mind. The fact that Nick is still reminiscing about Gatsby and has written a book about him highlights the huge impact that Gatsby has had on Nick’s life. The strong connection that Nick feels has been created between Gatsby and himself is evident particularly in chapter 9 as it is apparent that Nick feels â€Å"responsible† for him. Even two years later Nick feels a sense of responsibility and loyalty towards Gatsby and that he is owed the truth instead of all the malicious lies which are created by the reporters, similar to that of all the party goers. The idea that nobody respect Gatsby the way he does leads Nick to believe that there was a â€Å"scornful solidarity between Gatsby a nd me against them all†. And so the start of his book begins two years later, the book that Nick hoped to clear Gatsby’s name with and right the wrongs that occurred that summer. In the final chapter of the ‘Great Gatsby’, Fitzgerald creates a sense of finality for the reader suggesting â€Å"the party was over†. Through the use of the repetition of the word â€Å"last† Fitzgerald also demonstrates the end of Nicks experience with Gatsby. The reader acknowledges that Nick finds it hard to move on and accept Gatsby’s death as he tries to keep him alive through the creation of false memories as a result of his grief, believing Gatsby to have told him that â€Å"I cant go through this alone†. The obsession that Nick has with Gatsby is more evident as Nick tries harder and harder to create the funeral he feels that Gatsby deserves, however he was met with much disappointment by those who Gatsby had done so much for. During Nick’s attempts at assembling Gatsby’s funeral he tries very hard to get the people Nick thought were Gatsby’s friends to attend. The difficulty that occurred as a result of Nick’s attempt highlights just how little an impact Gatsby truly had on any of their lives as â€Å"nobody came†. Fitzgerald uses this two-word sentence at the end of the paragraph to emphasise the betrayal Nick felt towards Gatsby, that after everything he did for everyone else, no one other than himself truly cared about him. The disappointment that Nick shows when nobody other than Gatsby’s father and a few servants came, made Nick feel angry towards everyone else as the contrast between Gatsby in life and death is so hugely different and it is now a world in which Nick takes a while to accept. In life, Gatsby was someone who burned bright through his dreaming, yet in death he had become someone who was forgotten in an instance, indicating the little influence he had on the lives of so many.

Body & Cultural Text Essay

When a person has watched a film, advertisement or read a book, there are distinct elements that are evident throughout the work of art that seemingly communicate more than their surface meaning. This essay seeks to demonstrate how metaphor, connotation and metonym are usually used in distinct cultural texts such as in books, film and others. It specifically applies the basic concepts of communication theory to cultural texts, objects and images. Body Communication theory lays emphasis on exchange and production of meaning and information through symbols and signs (Littlejohn, 2002). It draws its argument from encoding and sending of a specific message, where it is received and decoded by the recipient and synthesized for a meaning and information to be drawn out of it. What communication theory depicts is that communication does permeate all evels of human experience while being central to comprehending a certain human behavior (Griffin, 1997). Through metonym, metaphor and connotation, the main elements of communication theory are brought into focus, since they are figurative use of sending certain messages but in distinct ways. Through them, cultural texts are deciphered and understood, where meanings are drawn beyond the surface meaning. Metonym Metonym, a figure of speech, is rhetorically used where a concept or entity is not called by its name but through the name of another thing that is associated intimately with it. It is the use of a single object or thing to identify another, which might be related. For example, in Act III, scene II of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, (Lines 74-77): ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears’ (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982). ‘Ear’ in this case represents attention, since it is the ears that we use to pay attention to speech. Once the ‘lending ear’ (attention) has been heard, the basic understanding of ‘lend’ (to borrow something) is stretched to include nonmaterial things, in this case attention. Washington might be the capital of the United States, but it is usually used as an obvious metonym for the U. S. government. In film, metonym gives meaning to distinct elements of plot, such as in the recent movie, American Beauty. It is a comedy where personal, inner conflict is depicted through metonyms. For instance, the protagonist, ‘Tootsie’, shows signs of inner conflict when he lacks confidence to carry out a scam. In another level of conflict, metonyms in the form of coworkers, boss, father, friends, TV audience and his love depict the protagonist’s social conflict. The movie is all about different levels of conflict that are splendidly shown metonymically, through different contexts. This is achieved through outward projection of different levels of conflict on other characters it is seen, creating a very dramatic impact. Particular types of metonyms in substitution do influence our thoughts, actions and attitudes. This is achieved through focusing on a specific aspect and suppressing another inconsistent with a particular metonym. For example, Lakoff and Johnson argue that when you think about ‘Picasso’, your thoughts move beyond a piece of art (1980). You start thinking of it in relation to the individual, his artistic conception, technique, art in history and other relations. Connotation Connotation in texts, expressions and in mere words shows the expressed and emotive part of a language. Seemingly, all connotative signs and expressions lie vaguely midway between ambiguity and symbolism. For instance, the word ‘iron’ denotes a very tough metal but can connote that a man is a piece of ‘iron’ since he has won a boxing match without a problem. Connotations form a major component of poetry, where its power of expression, suggestion and emotion offers parameters that gauge the literary capability of an author while the cultural text awareness of the reader is revealed. This means that connotation must be culture and text bound to be of any significance. For instance, in Elizabethan times black was synonymous to piracy, lust, infidelity and cruelty. This is shown in Shakespeare’s depiction of Elizabethan disgust of the connotation black in more vivid racial terms. In Othello, Iago expresses that â€Å"†¦ an old black ram is tupping your white ewe† and â€Å"arise†¦or else the devil will make a grandsire of you† (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982). This association of Othello shows the established historical connotation that Western nations had concerning black as pure evil. The communicative element of connotation is pervasive and everywhere. It is expressed in all cultures and dwells across all ages in all literary styles, genres, cultural expression such as music, architecture and painting. Music offers something more to people beyond the rhythm and stones, thus connotation end up being capable of having double meanings and creating euphemisms. In film, connotation makes a communicative entry, as in the official poster of Ugly Betty, Season 2. In the poster, there is a darker background that lies behind Alexis, Amanda, Daniel, Marc, Claire and Willie, connoting Mode as being business and in that juncture, wealth and money equals evil and power. In the same poster, there is a white and blue background behind Betty, Hilda, Henry, Justin, Christina and Iganscio. This connotes family, happiness, tranquility and deeper peace. In hair product advertisements, the portrayal of hair as free flowing and seemingly in motion in an immaculate style connotes a woman readying herself to socialize, in that the free-flowing hair connotes freedom, as elaborated by Williamson, (1978). Metaphor Metaphors are simply comparisons showing two things, unlike in a major way, but importantly similar in a certain way. Being an analogy, a metaphor lies between two ideas or objects and elaborated through the usage of a certain word, which communicates figuratively. In books, metaphors communicate a poetic imagination that enables authors such as Shakespeare to show a comparison between the world and stage, where humans enter and leave the stage, as seen in the drama â€Å"As You Like It†, while Robert Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’ compares the life of a person to a journey. In film, metaphors elaborate issues figuratively, such as in a short film entitled The Unique Oneness of Christian Savage. In the film, a child loses a best friend who falls from a tall tree where they had been playing. The child then runs away from the funeral and the words spoken, and starts beating the â€Å"evil† tree that killed the friend using a broken branch. This is a visual metaphor introducing an element of conflict without the use of words but very powerful. In adverts, metaphors are used in associating products using semantic domains that have positive connotations. The truth in an advert appears like a law for advertisers to keep off from explicitly making such statements that might be either true or false. For instance, in an air freshener advert, it might be said in an advert that it will bring a tropical breeze in your home. While it is obvious it cannot do this, what is metaphorically communicated is that your house will have fresh air. In addition, the communicative element of metaphors also takes a visual course, where it becomes a window of new thinking. These visuals give the individual a chance to escape while those who are creative can explain and interpret a novel world. In understanding the metaphor, the interpretation is on the world we live where we establish the relationship. In advertising, this is even clearer and true in the recent highly creative and digital images in advertisements. In fact, the smarter a metaphor is the more unforgettable and memorable the advert campaign. In some Ford Motors adverts, the car transforms itself in different terrains, into a metallic ape along a mountain and a crocodile in a river. This is a visual metaphor for strength and safety. Most importantly, the more fun and creative the metaphor, the more unforgettable the message it conveys. It has been a major sell for adverts with figurative images. For instance, there are adverts on the campaigns on Aids by the French. It has images which are very captivating and fearful but communicate their intention. One is a naked man having sex with a gigantic venomous arachnid, while another shows a female doing the same with another, a metaphor for unprotected sex. It is disgusting and scary to say the least, but aptly effective. Such graphical metaphors depict the underlying element of communicative theory, where the way communication is done might not be important, rather, it is whether the message has been communicated at all (Littlejohn, 2002). In the case of the French Aids Campaign adverts, the emotional figurative hook connects well with the audience. Conclusion Metonyms, connotation, and metaphors are demonstrated in cultural texts with a communicative element that edifies the spirit of the communication theory. All of them work in different ways to aid communication. References Griffin, E. (1997). A first look at communication theory (3rd edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of human communication (7th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Pickering, J. & Hoeper, J. (1982). Literature. London: Macmillan. Williamson, J. (1978). Decoding Advertisements. London: Marion Boyars.

How to Conjugate the Verb Potere in Italian

How to Conjugate the Verb Potere in Italian Talking about what you can and can’t do is a basic cornerstone of everyday conversation, so you’re going to want to know the verb â€Å"potere† and its conjugations inside and out. What’s more, it’s an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the typical -ere verb ending pattern. Below you’ll find all of its conjugation tables as well as examples. Some definitions of â€Å"potere† include: To be able toCanMay What to know about potere: It’s a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object.When it’s used as a modal verb, it usually takes the auxiliary verb required by the verb it is paired with.The infinito is â€Å"potere†.The participio passato is â€Å"potuto†.The gerund form is â€Å"potendo†.The past gerund form is â€Å"avendo potuto†. INDICATIVO/INDICATIVE Il presente io posso noi possiamo tu puoi voi potete lui, lei, Lei pu loro, Loro possono Esempi: Possiamo andare al Colosseo? - Can we go to the Coliseum?Mi puà ² aiutare? - Can you help me? (formal)Loro possono fare tutto quello che vogliono. - They can do whatever they want. Il passato prossimo io ho potuto noi abbiamo potuto tu hai potuto voi avete potuto lui, lei, Lei ha potuto loro, Loro hanno potuto Esempi: L’anno scorso ho guadagnato un sacco di soldi, cosà ¬ ho potuto comprare una nuova macchina!   - Last year I earned a bunch of money, so I was able to buy a new car.Non ti abbiamo potuto aspettare. - We couldn’t wait for you. L’imperfetto io potevo noi potevamo tu potevi voi potevate lui, lei, Lei poteva loro, Loro potevano Esempi: C’erano tante lingue tra cui potevo scegliere ad imparare, perà ² alla fine, ho scelto l’Italiano. - There were a lot of languages I could have chosen to learn, but in the end, I chose Italian.Quando mi ha raccontato la storia, non ci potevo credere! - When he told me the story, I couldn’t believe it! Il trapassato prossimo io avevo potuto noi avevamo potuto tu avevi potuto voi avevate potuto lui, lei, Lei aveva potuto loro, Loro avevano potuto Esempi: Non avevo mai potuto studiare all’estero. - I had never been able to study abroad.Era il massimo che loro avevano potuto fare. - It was the maximum they had been able to do. Il passato remoto io potei/potetti noi potemmo tu potesti voi poteste lui, lei, Lei pot/potette loro, Loro poterono/potettero Esempi: L’esercito di Napoleone non potà © sopravvivere nella campagna sperduta della Russia durante l’inverno. - Napoleon’s army couldn’t survive in the hopeless countryside of Russia during the winter.I nostri bisnonni non poterono/potettero viaggiare dapertutto come possiamo attualmente. - Our great-grandparents couldn’t travel anywhere like we can now. Il trapassato remoto io ebbi potuto noi avemmo potuto tu avesti potuto voi aveste potuto lui, lei, Lei ebbe potuto essi, Loro ebbero potuto Esempi: Quando i bambini ebbero potuto, mangiarono le caramelle. - When kids were could, they ate candies.Continuai a ripetere la stessa frase, finchà ¨ Mary ebbe potuto capire. - I kept repeating the same sentence, until Mary was able to understand. TIP: This tense is rarely used, so don’t worry too much about mastering it. You’ll find it in very sophisticated writing, and that’s about it. Il futuro semplice io potr noi potremo tu potrai voi potrete lui, lei, Lei potr loro, Loro potranno Esempi: Quando tornano a casa, potremo andare a cena. - When they return home, we will be able to go to dinner.Potranno guardare il film con noi? - Will they will be able to watch the movie with us? Il futuro anteriore io avr potuto noi avremo potuto tu avrai potuto voi avrete potuto lui, lei, Lei avr potuto loro, Loro avranno potuto Esempi: Avevi il pomeriggio libero, avrai potuto dedicarti a te stessa! - You had a free afternoon, you must have dedicated time to yourself! Come avrete potuto notare avete passato l’esame! - As you will have noticed, you passed the exam! CONGIUNTIVO/SUBJUNCTIVE Il presente io possa noi possiamo tu possa voi possiate lui, lei, Lei possa loro, Loro possano Esempi: Penso che, dato che ho gi il visto, io possa vivere in Italia per un anno. - Given that I already have a visa, I think that I live in Italy for a year.Sono contenta che tu possa venire con noi. - I’m happy that you can come with us. Il passato io abbia potuto noi abbiamo potuto tu abbia potuto voi abbiate potuto lui, lei, Lei abbia potuto loro, Loro abbiano potuto Esempi: Sono felice che Leonardo abbia potuto aiutarti. - I’m happy that Leonardo was able to help you.Non siamo sicuri se abbiano potuto trovare la scuola. - We’re not sure if they were able to find the school. L’imperfetto io potessi noi potessimo tu potessi voi poteste lui, lei, Lei potesse loro, Loro potessero Esempi: Speravo che lui potesse aiutarmi! - I hoped that he would be able to help me!Credeva che potesse cercare un nuovo lavoro senza problemi. - She believed she would be able to find a new job without problems. Il trapassato prossimo io avessi potuto noi avessimo potuto tu avessi potuto voi aveste potuto lui, lei, Lei avesse potuto loro, Loro avessero potuto Esempi: Vorrei che loro avessero potuto vederci! - I wish they could have seen us!Loro sono entrati alla festa, senza che la padrona di casa avesse potuto fare niente. - They showed up at the party, without the owner of the house could have done anything. CONDIZIONALE/CONDITIONAL Il presente io potrei noi potremmo tu potresti voi potreste lui, lei, Lei potrebbe loro, Loro potrebbero Esempi: Potrei andarci, perà ² non voglio. - I could go there, but I don’t want to.Lei vuole viaggiare? Potrebbe andare in Francia e fare WOOFing. - She wants to travel? She could go to France and do WOOFing. Il passato io avrei potuto noi avremmo potuto tu avresti potuto voi avreste potuto lui, lei, Lei avrebbe potuto loro, Loro avrebbero potuto Avrei potuto dirtelo, ma ho pensato non fossi pronta. - I could have told you, but I thought you weren’t ready.Avrebbe potuto scrivere almeno una e-mail! - She could have written at least one e-mail!

Sitting on tables in NZ essays

Sitting on tables in NZ essays Sitting on tables and teacher modelling An invitation to reflect on meanings This is an attempt to share with you some of the issues involved in the prohibition against sitting on tables and how it might be viewed by educators. Under the umbrella of tapu and noa (or restrictions and freedom therefrom), there are three distinct concepts involved from pre-colonisation Mori world view and these are ideas about tables, ideas about bodies and ideas about kai. Note that the central meaning of tapu is restriction. Often it is translated as sacred and that is a valid translation in concept and I invite you to reflect on the meaning of sacred in your own understanding and make the links with the idea of restriction. What is a table? First thread of restriction. Pre colonisation Mori did not have an item of furniture or technology that equates to the Colonisers concept of a table. In the first days of meeting each other, Pkeh looked for a platform with legs to describe the closest equivalent of their concept of table and found outdoor rods or poles upon which a platform might be laid at different times. This accident of linguistic linking had the Mori name thu and if you look in the Williams Mori dictionary, you will see that it is translated as altar and was used for the express purpose of divination. So from the very beginning, this was not a place to sit freely. What about the body? Second thread of restriction. The tapu of the human body is a very simple concept to grasp at once. Every culture has enormous respect for the human body and has its own hierarchy of restriction, and every individual within that culture will have her/his own personal practices. Under what circumstances and with whom will you sha...

Take Care with Dysphemisms

Take Care with Dysphemisms Take Care with Dysphemisms Take Care with Dysphemisms By Mark Nichol You probably know what a euphemism is: putting lipstick on a pig, as in using the expression â€Å"pass away† in place of the word die, or â€Å"enhanced interrogation† instead of torture. Is dysphemism essentially, the opposite concept any more problematic? Just as a euphemism cloaks a disagreeable or offensive concept with an innocuous or vague label, dysphemism assigns a mildly or scathingly pejorative term to a concept or person that may be considered neutral or positive or may already have a negative connotation or reputation. For example, doctors are sometimes called quacks, and psychiatrists and psychologists are often referred to as shrinks. (Quack derives from quacksalver, from a Dutch word meaning â€Å"seller of salves,† or ointments; quack is equivalent to hawk, a verb meaning â€Å"to sell by calling out.† Shrink is a truncation of â€Å"head shrinker,† from the idea that mental health professionals are no more knowledgeable about the mind than witch doctors who shrink human heads for ritualistic purposes.) Shrink is often used inoffensively, even by psychiatric patients or by psychiatrists themselves. But quack denotes an unscrupulous doctor or someone posing as a doctor or otherwise fraudulently offering to heal others and is rarely used jocularly. Because of the variable connotations among dysphemisms, writers should take care when considering whether to use them. Such terms are unlikely to appear in formal writing, but they may show up in more casual prose, especially in opinionated comments. An accountant might, in jest, refer to himself as a bean counter, but the connotation is of an excessively meticulous person unable to focus on anything other than saving money, and the term is generally offensive. An attorney, on the other hand, would never call herself a shyster, even in a moment of levity, and the word is provocative. â€Å"City slicker†? I’m a relative newcomer to a rural area from a metropolitan one, and I might jokingly self-identify as such, but for anyone else who might think of calling me that, as the (mis)quote from a Gary Cooper movie goes, â€Å"Mister, smile when you call me that.† The same policy applies to tree-hugger or redneck, bookworm or â€Å"frat boy,† â€Å"pencil pusher† or â€Å"talking head†: Use with caution. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesTop 11 Writing Apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad)Ebook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

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

Pressure Groups - Term Paper Example The term ‘pressure group’ was coined after the post World War II era to put pressure among the higher authorities that has the power to make decisions. These pressure groups do not take part either in the elections nor do they have any interest in seeking power of the political office, their aim is just focused on implementing their opinions onto the powerful authorities (Baggott, 1995). Most of the time these pressure groups compete against the other pressure groups to make their demands fulfilled but when their aims are common, they often work together to achieve the shared interest. These pressure groups have increased rapidly in the 20th century duet to the increase in population around the world, advancement in the technology due to which many groups have started to raise their voices in the social media networking, the society is becoming more diverse and the increase in the welfare state has given rise to the pressure or interest groups (Walter & ZÃ ¼rn, 2005). The pressure groups are considered as a mouthpiece for the members operating the group, which are not elected through formal electoral processes nor are they a part of any political parties but however they sometimes assist the parties in achieving their goals. Their main function is to mobilize the public opinion and persuading the government through different means in adopting the policies outlined by these groups. They educate the general public about specific issues from which they are unaware and they represent the minorities who are unable to represent themselves (Key, 1978). The other most common function of a pressure group is to develop and recommend laws and policies and to ensure that these laws are implemented. These groups make the democracy healthy by indicating different issues to the government that have been overlooked. They are always scrutinizing the government policies and providing recommendations in

Argue for or against the elimination of speed limits Essay

Argue for or against the elimination of speed limits - Essay Example (Reddy) Germany's autobahn is free of speed limits for most of its 12,000 km. The Germans' pride in their free-speed autobahn is wellknown. The autobahn was in the news recently when Greenpeace ctivists put up banners that read "120", demanding a speed limit of 120 km/h on the Autobahn. But the powerful German car makers' lobby disagrees. Car manufacturers argue that emissions from cars are already very low. Limiting the speed has no additional benefit, they say. One car maker went as far as to say that the idea of speed limits was like "hitting the automobile industry between its legs!" (Connolly) This is not surprising, since car manufacturers promote their products as macho machines. Reckless speed is equated to manliness. Their stance that emissions from cars are low does not address the safety issue or the fuel wastage. Predictably, politicians are on the back foot - unpopular decisions are best postponed indefinetely. The public mood in Germany is also said to be one of "anger" - anger at the perceived erosion of their freedom. A strong, sustained campaign targeted at the grass roots is the need of the hour.

Unit Plan Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Unit Plan Design - Essay Example By using a Webquest research project, the students will learn how the survival of organisms is affected by human activity, and seek ways to minimize this human impact on local populations. They will prepare a presentation to the conservation board of the area they come from whereby they provide a description of the needs of the species that they have been researching and provide practical and economically viable solutions that can guarantee its survival. There are five habits of learning taxonomy. These are: analysis which requires connecting, comparing and appraising data; synthesis which involves proposing, planning and formulation; evaluation which concerns predicting, assessing, supporting and defending; problem solving; and finally, thinking flexibly. There are numerous ways that two organisms can interact with one another: this could be parasite/host, predator/prey, or producer/consumer relationship. The organism can also decompose or scavenge another. There may be competitive or mutually beneficial relationships. Some species have adopted a symbiotic relationship, adapting to each other to the extent that neither can survive alone. Some ecosystems can be relatively stable over several thousands of years. There are environmental factors that hold in check the growth of any population of organisms. These include exhaustion of food or nesting sites or loss of numbers due to predation or diseases. In situation of disasters such as fire or floods, there is a high chance of the damaged ecosystem recovering in stages that finally lead to a system almost the same as the original ecosystem. Ecosystems seem to have recurring fluctuations around a state of rough equilibrium just like many other complex systems. Ultimately, the ecosystems change when there is change in climate or when more species are introduced as a result of migration or local evolution. The students will be given

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed Essay

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed to the spread of slavery in the context of the mexican war and the Kansas-Nebraska act - Essay Example The Kansas-Nebraska act also pushed the country into civil war and divided the nation into two factions. The act also gave rise to a new Republican Party arguing abolishment of slavery. The arguments of Republicans against slavery were based on morality. Republicans treated everyone equally and considered freedom the most basic right. Lincoln said in his famous Lincoln-Douglas Debate â€Å"I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects—certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man† (Lincoln). It is important to note that those who opposed slavery were not in favor of total social equality between people of all races. However they believed that blacks were also humans and they should be treated with respect. Lincoln was actually afraid that popular sentiment would be in favor of slavery and then it would be impossible to demolish the institution of slavery from America for ever. The moral arguments of Republicans were not ideal but still they provided room for some sort of acceptance of blacks. They were saying that blacks were not equal but this does not mean that their freedom should be taken away. Social equality was not argued but practicality and humanity was made basis for abolishment of slavery. The famous poet James Russell Lowell called those people slaves who did not dare to speak for the weak (344). He was a poet who was strongly against slavery and his poems reflected his passion towards abolishment of slavery. He considered slavery immoral and devoted his poetry against it. Wilmot Proviso can be seen as an attempt to curb the spread of slavery and mitigate differences between pro and anti slavery politicians. It was presented by a Democrat David Wilmot and the

Inquiring Minds want to know Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Inquiring Minds want to know - Case Study Example It also has an acceptable margin of error for the survey was  ± 4 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence The stratified disproportionate random sampling allows Penton to focus on the reply of the decision makers of which their ads were directed making the sampling a more accurate representation of the target market. It can also be relatively cost efficient because having 676 respondents as an accurate representative of the 1.7 million subscribers saves the company money in handling a huge population. Above all, this guarantees that their intended market is well represented in the study. The other groups can also be subjected to another study which Penton no longer to spend to get representatives from said population. This however has a weakness of requiring more administrative effort and therefore time consuming and laborious because the huge population has to divided into 42 cells. 4. Describe the research design. Analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The method of getting the sample from a huge population of 1.7 million domestic subscribers through stratified disproportionate random sampling may have an effective in getting the right respondents of their target market. The coverage of the research was also extensive covering 1992 with 648 ads and 1997 with 697 ads. The research design however defeated the efficacy of the sampling because it made a faulty comparison of these subgroups by the sheer gap in the years of comparison. They are measured by the same parameter of the number of leads generated by each ad but their circumstances were entirely different. Thus, the result of increase from 3.3 in 1992 to 4.1 in 1997 is a suspect because the sample population in 1997 had more facility where potential customers can respond compared to 1992 whereby customer’s response was limited to traditional snail mail and perhaps telephone call where it can be tracked by cards to track inquiries from customers. Compared to 1997, there are more convenient th rough Information and Communication Technology options where customers can respond to the ads. They can conveniently send an email, go to the advertiser’s website and perhaps can chat in addition to traditional toll free call and fax. Tracking is also convenient because it is done digitally compared to cards previously used. The availability of website address in 1997 was also 60.9 percent (3 out of 5) where they can email at 17.7 percent of ads compared to 1992 which were non-existent. Postal mailing address may be up in 19992 at 69 percent and only 55.5 percent in 1997 but this is almost irrelevant when customers can send an email. The base of the sampling population but the research design was able to get samples that decently represent the entire population. When a survey was done, it had 710 completed questionnaires were received out of 1.7 million subscribers and 4,000 managers, executives, engineers, and purchasing agents selected from the U.S. Penton database. Of the 710 completed questionnaires, 676 respondents were decision makers indicating that the survey has indeed reached the right respondents. One of problem in quantifying the survey was also responses is weighed by their percentage mark up in the overall population. All other things being equal, this would have been an ideal method since it can accurately measure the increment or decrease of response to ad in relation to their representation from the overall population. Except that the 1997 population had access to information

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed Essay

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed to the spread of slavery in the context of the mexican war and the Kansas-Nebraska act - Essay Example The Kansas-Nebraska act also pushed the country into civil war and divided the nation into two factions. The act also gave rise to a new Republican Party arguing abolishment of slavery. The arguments of Republicans against slavery were based on morality. Republicans treated everyone equally and considered freedom the most basic right. Lincoln said in his famous Lincoln-Douglas Debate â€Å"I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects—certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man† (Lincoln). It is important to note that those who opposed slavery were not in favor of total social equality between people of all races. However they believed that blacks were also humans and they should be treated with respect. Lincoln was actually afraid that popular sentiment would be in favor of slavery and then it would be impossible to demolish the institution of slavery from America for ever. The moral arguments of Republicans were not ideal but still they provided room for some sort of acceptance of blacks. They were saying that blacks were not equal but this does not mean that their freedom should be taken away. Social equality was not argued but practicality and humanity was made basis for abolishment of slavery. The famous poet James Russell Lowell called those people slaves who did not dare to speak for the weak (344). He was a poet who was strongly against slavery and his poems reflected his passion towards abolishment of slavery. He considered slavery immoral and devoted his poetry against it. Wilmot Proviso can be seen as an attempt to curb the spread of slavery and mitigate differences between pro and anti slavery politicians. It was presented by a Democrat David Wilmot and the

Clinton Trial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Clinton Trial - Essay Example However, in 1998, he was accused for perjury and obstruction of justice during a case against him. These two accusations were related to a scandal concerning a white house intern. Although he was acquitted by the U.S Senate and completed his term in office the trial marked a great part of American history. Clinton’s Trial President Bill Clinton’s trial for the charges brought up against him of perjury and obstruction of justice, started in January 7 1999, in the Senate. As indicated in Article 1 of the United State Constitution, Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the Supreme Court was sworn in to preside over the trial and the juniors sworn in were the 100 senators. This was the second time in the United State history that the senate conducted a trial of a head of state (Sigelman et al, 2001). The origin of Clinton’s trial was in a sexual harassment lawsuit claimed by one Paula Jones in Arkansas in May, 1994. Paula Jones was a former Arkansas state employee. Paul a claimed that in May 8, 1991 while she was helping to staff a state-sponsored conference at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, a member of at that time Governor Bill Clinton’s security, Danny Ferguson, came to her and told her that the Governor was asking to meet her in his hotel suite. Jones saw this as an opportunity to advance her career therefore she took the elevator to the Governor’s suite. According to her statement, Jones claims that when she got to the suite, the Governor, Clinton at that time, continuously made increasingly aggressive moves on her. In her account, she claimed that the Governor forced her to do sexual things but, according to the security guard outside the suite, Jones looked happy when she got out of the Governor’s suite. The lawyers of Clinton asked the court to dismiss Jones claims in 1997 saying it would only disrupt his work at the white house but the supreme court ruled against the president and allowed the discovery of the case to continue that was in May 1997. An independent Counsel Ken Starr was the one in charge of the investigation (umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/). Counsel Ken had history with investigating the officials in the white house although many of his cases had failed to hold in court for example his case on the land deal years earlier known as White-water. It was during this investigation that he got prove of Clinton’s misuse of power by being intimate with an employee, Monica Lewinsky. Consequently, Clinton’s trial had a lot of impact to the political sector mainly in Clintons rating and publicity. During this Lewinsky/impeachment controversy, Bill Clinton received the highest job approval ratings of his administration. Furthermore, as the Lewinsky situation unfolded, Clinton's approval in terms of his job went up, not down as was expected. Moreover, his ratings remained high for the duration of the impeachment proceedings. However while Clinton's job approval rati ng went up during the scandal with Lewinsky and the trial, his poll numbers though went down concerning the question of honesty, integrity and moral character as a political leader. As a result of this low ratings about his moral character and honesty led to change the political leadership of the United States. George.W.Bush was the president elected defeating Gore in the 2000 presidential elections and according to

Ethical Dilemma Essay Example for Free

Ethical Dilemma Essay The situation at hand involves an ethical decision between two possible courses of action relating to the promotion of tobacco as a product in the market. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is a corporation that earns huge amounts of money in selling tobacco and is concerned about keeping its profits despite the negative image now associated with tobacco. Therefore, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. hired Acme Global Advertising to again promote the product in the market. Being recommended by the company’s Director for Global Accounts as the new head of the R.   J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. account, I am constrained to decide whether to accept the position or not. There is no doubt that this is a once in a lifetime career opportunity, as the last manager to handle the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. account had already retired after receiving a huge sum of money after his successful campaign. Indeed, a successful promotional campaign would result in huge profit for both R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Acme Global Advertising, which would translate into big earnings for me. On the other hand, a simple refusal on my part would mean another eager person would immediately be taking my place and my big opportunity. The problem is not as simple as it looks, however. This is because the World Health Organization already declared tobacco as the second major cause of death in the world. Therefore, any effort on my side in promoting the consumption of tobacco would mean that I am personally exerting effort in favor of a product that causes death to millions of people arounf the world. It is clear, therefore, that the present situation presents an ethical dilemma that needs serious consideration. I have to make a decision between personal success and the health of innumerable people. In order to solve this dilemma, I turn to the philosophical writings of Aristotle in his work entitled Nicomachean Ethics, as well as utilitarian ethical philosophy as explained by well-known ethical philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Based on these ethical principles, I shall explain why it would be ethical for me to accept the challenge and exert my best effort in promoting the sales of tobacco products of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. this paper shall discuss the relevant principles characteristic of each theory, and then apply such principles to the facts of this particular scenario. In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he expounded on the notion called virtue, which to him is that which determines the character or nature of anything, be it a person or a specific thing (Ross). Virtue is that thing which makes a knife a good knife, and it is also that which makes a man a good person (Ross). Aristotle makes a distinction between two kinds of virtue, namely natural virtue and moral virtue (Kilcullen). For him, the former relates to characteristics that humans possess from birth, such as a particular temperament (Kilcullen). On the other hand, the latter kind of virtue refers to the act of submitting one’s acts to reason (Kilcullen). It is in the latter kind of virtue that habit, an essential part of Aristotle’s ethical philosophy, enters the scene (Kilcullen). Aristotle posits that moral virtue is developed through habituation, whereby the exercise of reason results in a specific course of action (Kilcullen). Applying Aristotle’s ethical philosophy based on virtue and habit, I conclude that accepting the challenge would determine my character as a person in general, and as a leader in an advertising firm in particular. Accepting a project such as the one in the case would help me develop habits that would hone my leadership and creative skills, which would increase my competence as a leader. The other ethical philosophy that supports my decision is utilitarianism, which is a notion that belongs to the normative ethics tradition. Since the late 18th- and 19th-century, utilitarianism had been in existence to attempt to answer the question, â€Å"What ought a man to do? (West). † Utilitarian philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were the foremost believers in the school of thought, and their main thesis was that an action would only be considered morally right if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. This has been popularly known as the â€Å"Greatest Happiness Principle. † John Stuart Mill explained said ethical principle in 1863, when his published work entitled Utilitarianism came out. He explained, thus: The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure (Mill). It appears therefore, that utilitarianism attaches moral value, not on the motive behind man’s actions, but on the effect that such action makes on people. Bentham and Mill assumed that pleasure and pain are the basic motivations of man, such that he avoids pain and seeks pleasure (West). Applying this principle to my ethical dilemma, I deduce that accepting the project would promote the happiness of many people, namely, myself and the executives of the two corporations that would derive monetary benefits from the success of the project. The people who could be consuming tobacco would likewise find happiness in the availability of a product that they enjoy having, albeit this happiness comes with the danger of disease or even death. Nevertheless, I leave such choice to the holders of the lives concerned, namely, the consumers. It is, after all, ultimately their choice whether to remain healthy or otherwise. In sum, two ethical principles, namely Aristotelian and utilitarian ethics, support the decision to accept the position as head of the project and promote tobacco products.

South Africa: Federal or Unitary?

South Africa: Federal or Unitary? Abgenia Rivoningo Hlophe South African Governing System Introduction The governing system of a country is a crucial component in understanding the manner in which the political sphere functions. This essay will examine the federal and unitary system of government and relate it one to South Africa. In this respect, this essay will focus on the key features of the systems. Notably, this essay aims to prove that the governing system of South Africa, despite having come to existence in 1909 with a constitution that was unitary (Welsh, 1994:243), is federal. However, an inclusion of the unitary system is mandatory for the sake of comparison. Federal and Unitary systems definitions and affirmative argument. Andrew Heywood defines the federal system of governance as a system where power is decentralized, meaning that the central and peripheral levels of government are sovereign (2013:381). He further emphasizes the statement that power is decentralized in a federal state by expanding on the concept of decentralization, reviewing its strengths, as the ability to encourage participation, responsiveness, legitimacy and liberty (Heywood, 2013:383). Adding to this assertion, Kenneth Newton credits the federal system for having many strengths that will make a country successful if it is utilized. He describes the federal system as a way to separate power and encourage consensus within the government (2010:60).Another advantage that he outlines is that the federal system provides the government with an opportunity to address the different needs of people irrespective of geographical location (2010:61). To contrast the federal system, Heywood speaks of the unitary system of government. In this system, power is centralized and there is only sovereignty of power in one authority (2013:385). Additionally, he draws attention to the fact that there are instances where power can be decentralized, which is when there are devolved assemblies (2013:386). Furthermore, the unitary system’s centralization of power has the advantage of having national unity, encouraging uniformity, equality and progress (Heywood, 2013:386). Also adapted from Newton’s dissertation, are the strengths of the unitary system. He writes that unitary systems having central government increases accountability and promotes more organized decision making and fairness (2010:112). With an understanding of the respective systems of government, it places one at an advantage to grasp how a country resembles a particular system, when looking at the key features of the system which follow. Key features associated with South Africa’s governing system. As priory stated, South Africa is a federal system. A federal system has certain characteristics and features which aid in the understanding of what it means for a country to be federal. The features are prescribed as the existence of a written constitution, two relatively autonomous levels of government, a constitutional arbiter and linking institutions (Heywood, 2013:384). Each of these features will be investigated and referred back to the South African context. Firstly, the existence of a written constitution. This is perhaps the most important feature. In any federal system, the constitution must be a formal written document that outlines how government works, the role of each section of government as well as the legislative framework. South Africa has a written constitution which is regarded as the ‘supreme law of the Republic† (South African constitution, 1996:08). Any law that that exists in South Africa must be justified in accordance with the constitution, otherwise it does not have any validity. The presence of a written constitution is vital to the classification of South Africa as a federal system, the constitution forms the foundation of the argument being presented. There are three levels of government namely the national, provincial and local government. Of these levels of government, two levels are â€Å"relatively autonomous† (Heywood, 2013:384). That means that the national and state government each have a certain range of power. In the constitution of South Africa it is clearly stipulated that the spheres of government are distinctive, interdependent, interrelated (South African constitution, 1996:40). It may appear to present a complexity to the initial definition, however when closely reviewed, the constitution says that the spheres are merely interdependent not that they don’t hold separate reins of power. In fact there is further evidence in the constitution to prove the decentralization of power, it states that the different spheres of government have legislative authority (South African Constitution, 1996:44). Indeed, the national and provincial level of government have power, they are only obligated to remain within the borders of the constitution. Also, the fact that all levels of government have a right to be represented in parliament through the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, shows that there is autonomous power because the procedure to get a law passed, is the same for both national and provincial government. Not only the abovementioned but the fact that each province has a legislature where there is a structure separate from national government and has the power to pass bills that affect the province without having to attain permission from national level. Of course, the bill would have to be constitutional but the fact that it can be implemented by provincial authority shows the decentralization (South African Constitution, 1996:82). Since South Africa places great emphasis on the Head of State, the laws implemented at national level, which are constitutional, are of the greatest authority. Even with that understanding, there are matters which the Head of State cann ot check such as the dispute between two provinces, or to suppress a rebellion or establish a productive impose (Molteno, 1896:40). Comparatively, critics might present the structure of the world’s largest economy and oldest federal system, the United States of America (USA) to dispute the claim made about South Africa being solely federal, on the basis that it does not have separate branches but rather it has levels of government that are interdependent. While that might appear plausible, John McCormick writes about how the USA is a unique federal system because of its set up but even so, there is â€Å"shared power, checked and balanced with one another† (2009:48). Another feature of a federal system is exposed, specifically, the presence of a constitutional arbiter. Heywood tells us that this is the formal undertaking of the constitution which is implemented by the Supreme Court and hereby has the authority to arbiter in the event of a dispute between the national and the provincial government (2013:384). Nowhere is this better outlined than in the South African constitution, the courts are independent and are accountable only to the constitution and the law, no entity can interfere with the courts (1996:84). Although the courts, whether being the high court or a magistrate’s court in a particular province, rule according to national legislation, it should not be mistaken as being under the national government. It complies with the constitution particularly, not with a certain level of government, therefore the provincial government cannot have its own laws in the magistrate’s court. Thereby adhering to its main characteristic of being a federal feature. Another interesting feature of a federal system, is the linking of institutions. An assertion by Heywood will be implored upon to understand this feature. He explains this as an effort to garner cooperation and understanding between the national and provincial government because these are the autonomous levels and the local government adheres to the provincial rule (2013:384). This is done through bicameralism, which in the South African context would be the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. Kenneth Newton raises an awareness of a weak and strong bicameralism, which means that one house is stronger than the other (2010: 113). Keeping this in mind, the South African parliament is made up of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces and they both participate in the legislative proceedings, however, there are some issues such as war and peace treaties, army and navy, currency and taxation (Molteno, 1896:118) which are left to national government, where the National Council of Provinces may not vote upon. From that we can say that South Africa has linking of institutions with a â€Å"weak bicameralism† system because the National Assembly is stronger than the National Council of Provinces. While the evidence seems to correlate with the claim that South Africa is a federal system, supporters of unitary systems many present the argument, that South Africa is unitary because the National government has a lot of power vested in it and there is a parliament. However this naysayer’s argument can be countered by David Welsh’s information that when South Africa began to function as a republic in 1909, there was a unitary system in place and the key players of the Inkhata freedom party who proposed federalist policy were attempting to strip the central government of power, which granted the constitution we have today, was a successful attempt (1994:243). This has been mentioned because it explains why South Africa has a parliament. Bearing in mind that South Africa used to be a British colony and as it is a widely recognized fact that, Britain is where the concept of a parliament started. This does not suggest that South Africa is unitary but rather there are remn ants of colonization which proved to be effective and were not eradicated. Conclusion This essay has defined as well examined the key features of a federal system without isolating the unitary system, and further related the features to South Africa. Based on the evidence of the presence of a written constitution, two autonomous levels of government, constitutional arbiter and linking of institution as well as decentralized power in the South African political sphere, it is with concrete knowledge that the initial stance, that South Africa has a federal system of government is found to be correct. Regardless of the presence of a parliament. South Africa evidently has decentralization of power and thus shows all the attributes of a federal system. Bibliography Heywood, A. 2013. Politics. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. McCormick, J. 2009. Comparative Politics in Transition. Indianalopis: Cengage learning. Molteno, P. 1896. A federal South Africa. London: Sampson Law and Marston. Newton, K Van Deth, J. 2010. Foundations of Comparative Politics. South Hampton: Cambridge University Press. South African Government. (1996). South African Government. 9108-96. [Online] Available from www.gov.za/documents/constitution/9108-96.pdf . [Accessed: 03 March 2014]. Welsh, D. 1994. Evaluating federal systems. Cape Town: Jutaco.

Costcos Unorthodox Management Essay -- Costcos Success

The success of a company all falls on the shoulders of good management. If you have great management the company will run very smoothly. There are so many things that take place when you have good management. It encourages initiative, encourages innovation, helps with growth and expansion, improves the life of workers, motivates employees and much more. Without good management there would be no success. Costco is the company that I have chosen to write about in this essay. Costco is a membership only warehouse club that provides a huge merchandise selection. They are the second largest retailer in United States. Costco had 2.3 million members in 2009 and in the year of 2011 they had four million members sign up. It’s not just their attractive bargains that persuade people to become a member. It is also their management style. It is the environment at Costco and the attitude of the company that also sells them on a membership. Costco is a very successful company that will continue to rise and become even more successful in the future, all because of the management. It is inevitable that Costco has to have a great management style because the company is so large and is doing so well. How do they keep the company running great though? How do they keep their employees and customers happy, while making money at the same time? In this essay we will find out how the CEO’s and managers run this company. We will learn the style of management and how Costco keeps the employees and customers happy. â€Æ' Costco Wholesale was founded on September 15, 1983 by Jeffery H. Brottman and James Sinegal. There are fifteen people on the board of directors, Jeffery H. Brottman is the chairman at Costco whole sale. He is on the board of director ... ... customers, it all improves Costco that much more. The management at Costco has made their success soar sky high. The success is still rising today. With their great management that is being instilled, Costco’s success will continue to progress. In conclusion, I believe that the board of director’s ways of managing this company is brilliant. They have great technique’s that will continue to carry the company to the top. All of these techniques that Costco uses are the reasoning behind their success. This is why I believe their success will only progress. They are great to their employees, customers and partners and that is why their company will do even better in the future. Works Cited http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830&p=irol-homeprofile https://www.openforum.com/articles/what-costco-ceo-james-sinegal-can-teach-you-about-management/ Costco's Unorthodox Management Essay -- Costco's Success The success of a company all falls on the shoulders of good management. If you have great management the company will run very smoothly. There are so many things that take place when you have good management. It encourages initiative, encourages innovation, helps with growth and expansion, improves the life of workers, motivates employees and much more. Without good management there would be no success. Costco is the company that I have chosen to write about in this essay. Costco is a membership only warehouse club that provides a huge merchandise selection. They are the second largest retailer in United States. Costco had 2.3 million members in 2009 and in the year of 2011 they had four million members sign up. It’s not just their attractive bargains that persuade people to become a member. It is also their management style. It is the environment at Costco and the attitude of the company that also sells them on a membership. Costco is a very successful company that will continue to rise and become even more successful in the future, all because of the management. It is inevitable that Costco has to have a great management style because the company is so large and is doing so well. How do they keep the company running great though? How do they keep their employees and customers happy, while making money at the same time? In this essay we will find out how the CEO’s and managers run this company. We will learn the style of management and how Costco keeps the employees and customers happy. â€Æ' Costco Wholesale was founded on September 15, 1983 by Jeffery H. Brottman and James Sinegal. There are fifteen people on the board of directors, Jeffery H. Brottman is the chairman at Costco whole sale. He is on the board of director ... ... customers, it all improves Costco that much more. The management at Costco has made their success soar sky high. The success is still rising today. With their great management that is being instilled, Costco’s success will continue to progress. In conclusion, I believe that the board of director’s ways of managing this company is brilliant. They have great technique’s that will continue to carry the company to the top. All of these techniques that Costco uses are the reasoning behind their success. This is why I believe their success will only progress. They are great to their employees, customers and partners and that is why their company will do even better in the future. Works Cited http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830&p=irol-homeprofile https://www.openforum.com/articles/what-costco-ceo-james-sinegal-can-teach-you-about-management/

Business, Government and Society

Odwalla, Inc. , the largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetable-based juices in the Western parts of United States, was founded in 1980 by three people Steltenpohl, his wife and a friend. Initially the business was started by a $200 worth of used juicer in the backyard of California from which it moved a step forward by transporting the juices to restaurants in the local vicinity. Gradually the business started expanding its distribution and production facilities by increasing its product lines as well as by acquiring other juice manufacturing companies. Growth of the company was financially backed by bank loans and private stock offerings.The strong marketing and product line helped in grasping consumer attention which further enhanced the company’s image. With intensive marketing, pricing, product innovativeness and creativeness of the value driven product line of the company it succeeded in completed its best-ever fiscal year in 1996 when sales reached about $59 million w hich were about 40 percent higher than the last year. Situation The company Odwalla Inc. has just celebrated its best fiscal year but is facing a health related issue with its products because of a virulent bacterium called E. coli 0157:H7 which causes food poisoning and other such stomach problems.This problem is especially very serious in infants and older people whose immune systems aren’t very strong. Although the overall class of this bacterium is present in the human intestinal tract and plays a helpful role in synthesizing vitamins and to suppress harmful bacteria. However some, especially E. coli 0157:h7, cause a lot of harm for a person producing a toxin which affects the inner lining of the gut. This type of bacteria lives in the intestine of animals like cows, sheep, deer etc. and thus infects the meat of the animal thus rendering it unhealthy for human consumption.This bacteria however also travels through fecal contamination of the food e. g. if a fruit falls fro m the tree and comes into physical contact with the manure of the infected animal the fruit then also carries the germs of this bacteria. This bacterium is also infected when a person doesn’t wash his hands after using the toilet and touches the food, which has to be later on consumed, by his unclean hands. It was initially believed that the bacterium cannot exist in acidic environment and so all the drinks especially those containing citrus acid were protected from this virus as their pH level is 4.3. These acidic drinks included apple and other such juices. However recently this concept went under a change when it was found that it can and does exist under a pH of 4. 0. This was known when some of the bacterium was found in acidic drinks which shouldn’t have been possible. After extensive research it was concluded that the bacteria must have undergone a mutation process because of which they can now exist even in acidic environment. The company Odwalla is very cautio us health and nutrition wise because of which the fruits are selected after careful analysis.The company recognized its values, vision and mission because of which a carefully designed plan is implemented to ensure that no unclean product goes into the manufacturing line. The fruits are carefully picked from the tree and no fallen fruit is accepted. Similarly the bin is checked and rechecked to see if any contact with the ground has been made. If there were any dirt or debris found the whole bin is rejected. Even after this careful handpicked selection the fruits are washed with a sanitizing solution of phosphoric acid and then scrubbed with whirling brushes.Later on all the juices are manufactured under strict hygienic conditions which aren’t to be compromised ever. Even after such careful analysis a few bacteria were found in some drinks which caused a huge amount of responsibility and tension for the company. Issue The company follows a strict code of conduct which ensures that the highest amount of product quality is delivered to the customers while maintaining the natural taste of the fruits. To deliver the promised quality and taste the company doesn’t pasteurizes its juices because of which the bacteria, if were present in the drink, couldn’t be finished.After the bacterium were found in the juices the company faced a serious problem dilemma as to what their course of action should be because they obviously didn’t wanted to lost their customers along with their profits but they did not want to risk the health of their customers as well. Even one health issue case was very big for them as they were socially and ethically a very responsible company. So now the company had to decide what to do. After a serious of meetings it was decided that the products affected by this bacteria would be called back.So in a record breaking speed the products were pulled back from the shelves until the company can find a way to kill the bacteria . This was a major decision which costed the company almost $5 million. Despite the financial loss the company’s main focus was on finding a way to eliminate this threat so that it wouldn’t harm the consumers. For this purpose investigations were conducted by the company and federal and state health authorities. The company after recalling the apple juice product also recalled back those products in which apple juice was used to further reduce risking consumer health.The company then sought to devise a plan which would reduce the risk as well as increase its sales and would help in the reintroduction of these products in the market. On a short term level the company thought it would be best if it only sold those products in which apple juice wasn’t an ingredient. For this the products in which apple juice was used were manufactured again without apple juice in them and were then sold in the market. But this procedure was only best for a short term purpose so as to reduce or minimize the effect of the losses however they couldn’t cut out apple juice as it was a major selling product of the company.Because of this the company decided to opt for flash pasteurization which is a modified form of pasteurization in which the juice is quickly heated to almost 160 degrees and then maintaining the temperature for a very short span of time so that the bacteria is killed. This reduces the actual taste somewhat but is still better than the pasteurized juice. This decision was made after careful analysis of the demands and wants of the consumer. Option Every dilemma has more than one option; similarly this issue had more than one option which the company could have selected.Regarding this case the company also had a series of actions from which it chose the best. The other options are as follows †¢ Discontinuing all apple juice products so that safety of the consumer is fully assured. This means that apple juice would have to be cancelled no t only as a product but as an ingredient from other products as well. This wasn’t a very feasible option as more than 80 percent of the revenue was generated because of the apple juice and cancelling it out from the product line would mean to cut or throw away the most profitable aspect of the business.†¢ The second option the company had was to improve its manufacturing processes and tighten all the rules and regulations to further ensure that no unsafe or unhygienic product goes through the production cycle and ends up as a juice product. This would mean more inspection and washes of the fruits. †¢ The third option is modifying label in a way which ensures that the consumer knows that the juices isn’t for infants or for older people. This way the infants and elder people would be safe because they are the most likely to get effected by the bacteria quiclkly.†¢ The fourth option the company can consider is to use standard pasteurization in which the jui ce is slowly heated to a certain temperature which is maintained for some time so that the bacteria are killed by the heat. This also increases the product life of the juice i. e. it will take longer for the product to be expired. But this type of method is not feasible as the company is highly focused on maintaining the quality and taste which is almost destroyed by this method. †¢ Using other alternatives technologies to remove the pathogens.These methods include a high pressure process which exerts a lot of pressure to cause the walls of the bacteria to explode. Other such methods include using electricity to kill bacteria and herbal antiseptic products etc. Recommendations The company showed a vast amount of ethical and social responsibility towards its customers throughout the dilemma. The company showed the problem in a very professional and morally upright way and according to my perception using flash pasteurization is a very good way to kill the bacteria because by thi s the actual taste of the product and quality is not lost.My recommendations for the company is that rather than just focusing on flash pasteurization the company should incorporate other options as well to make a perfect blend. The company should tighten and improve its production process so that no harmful substance is left. Overall I agree with the decisions of the organization and the way it solved the problem. Conclusion This case study is about a company Odwalla Inc. in which it faced serious problem in its product line despite having a very rigid and vigilant checking of the raw materials. Due to this bacterium some people fell critically ill and a girl even died.But nobody blamed the company because the company was doing its best to eradicate the bacteria and was helping the effected people in any way they can. The company even called back its products and then carried out a research as to what the customers wanted and finally thorough flash pasteurization they were able to solve out the problem. Overall the company showed immense amount of ethical and corporate standards while dealing with the problem. ? Bibliography Nestle. M. , 2003 Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Marion Nestle University of California Press