Saturday, August 31, 2019

Come a-knocking on Death’s door Essay

The Ode is used as a poetic form for philosophical contemplation. Compare two odes by Keats in the light of this observation How much do you agree with the statement: John Keats was unfortunate in his upbringing to some extent? On one hand there was a chance for a budding surgeon but he gave that away to his literary awakening which drew him to write odes such as the ones I am going to analyse. Personally, learning about his life prior to literature, I feel that the situations he dealt with, at such a young age were remarkable but perhaps had he not faced those decisions, he wouldn’t have come to write such poetry brimming full with philosophical contemplation. John Keats was born on the October 31st, 1795 in Finsbury Pavement, near the centre of London. He learnt to deal with death from an early age as his father died in an accident when he was only eight years old. Seventeen years later in 1810, his mother died due to consumption, leaving John in the care of his grandmother. Subsequently, under the care of guardians he left school to become an apprentice to a surgeon. Unfortunately, before the completion of his apprenticeship, John had a quarrel with his master and therefore left to pursue a stronger path in literature, deftly in the company of his good friend Cowden Clarke. Three years of receiving scarce and negative feedback on his sonnets and poems, John was once again in the presence of a dying man: this time it was his brother. Tom Keats was also taken by consumption in 1818. Though by this time, distinct signs had begun to show in the decent of Keats’s own health. Keats himself was fighting illness and death in his latter years. Despite the fact of his deteriorating wellbeing, Keats continued to delve deeper into love and time. His mental understanding of what lies beyond was perhaps something that I could never even begin to contemplate. His dying wish was to have the words: â€Å"Here lies one whose name was writ in water,† on his gravestone when he died on 23rd February, 1821. Writing his most famous odes in his dying years was a sign of great character; I think that being able to face such a prospect of dying young, his mind matured faster than that of others. Increasingly throughout the odes, I can see that John has indeed spent many thought provoking sessions in front of the artefact he describes. He sees, he feels, he waits and then he writes. The form of poetry which Keats was most celebrated for was the Ode. This style of elaborate and stately lyric poem was lengthened or shortened at the whim of the poet. However, the basic arrangement of the stanzas was patterned in sets of three – a strophe and an antistrophe, of which both had an identical metrical scheme, and an epode, which had a structure of its own. Dating back to the Greek choral songs, the ode has appeared in many centuries over the world. Roman poets such as Catullus took the form of poetry to their own meaning. The ode was generally used to express strong emotions that flooded the poets mind at the time, the poet would be transfixed onto the idea and he would try to convey his meaning through the literary form.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies

The two novels, Animal Farm by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding were both written over 50 years ago, meaning there is much to be said about both. All you have to do is type in the name of each of the novels into Google and out pops tonnes of information about each. If someone were to research enough of the two books they would be able to see that they are quite similar in plot and themes. Both books take a look at a newly built society which is slowly destroyed by the characters or people within them.The concept of one having power over the rest is what corrupts the societies and ends in death and adversity for all others within the society. The authors both use their characters in the novels to portray what society might be like in that type of situation and use their actions to demonstrate how it can fall apart if the correct steps are not taken to maintain a functioning society. Therefore, both authors show how power can corrupt a society and create great har dship for the people ruled through its stimulating characters and their fraught actions.The main characters in both of the books are the ones who ultimately cause the societies to crumble. In Animal Farm George Orwell uses pigs to satire the leadership of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky and how they manipulated their people into thinking what they are doing is right (NovelGuide). The pigs led a revolution on the farm owner to take the farm and leave it in the hands of all of the animals, instead of man. They stated that the farm would be run by the animals with no rules other then that to never act like a human (Orwell).Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which (Orwell 88). At the start of the revolution, there was no clear ‘leader’ of the anima ls and they did as they pleased, however the much smarter pigs started changing some of the rules that were set forth to make sure none of the animals would behave the way the humans had.The much smarter pigs took advantage of all of the other animals and started changing rules, giving them increasingly more power over the group. In the end, the power hungry pigs ended up becoming exactly what they set out to destroy, humans. The result of this corruption of power ended with a couple animals dying and others working night and day endlessly. In the novel Lord of the Flies author William Golding uses children lost on a deserted island to represent a newly formed society.Two boys choose to take different approaches to surviving on the island and running the rest of the group, so they split up into their own little societies. Jack, one of the leaders chooses a more violent role of surviving; he disagrees with the methods of Ralph (the other leader) and takes command of most of the boys (Golding). Jack began his adventure on the island as a normal boy just like any of the others, however after he was elected into power by all of his friends, it quickly got to his head. â€Å"I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them.After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things† (Golding 42). The power which is corrupting Jack causes him to do many things no person would think of doing while trying to survive (Bookrags). In the end, Jack’s power ended in the deaths of two boys and the utter destruction of an island. All in all, power was what lead the main characters in each of the novels to corrupt a society they had longed to be apart of, leading to deaths of others and the hardship of the rest.Both the pigs and Jack used manipulation and their power to control the others in their respective societies. Within Animal Farm the pigs used their smarts to out wit and manipulate the others into giving them power over the rest. When the revolution first happened, the animals established ‘The Seven Commandments’ which consisted of rules preventing any animal from acting like a human (Golding). Over time the farm animals grew suspicious of the pigs actions and reverted back to ‘The Seven Commandments’, which was no use since the pigs were the only ones that could read, and they changed the rules in their favour.‘It says, â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets†,’ she announced finally. Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so (Orwell 42). Over time the pigs became more and more like the humans, and with no questions asked as well since none of the animals understood what the pigs were up too. The pigs used the saying â€Å"Four legs good, two legs bad† to justify most of their actions to the less inte lligent animals (NeoEnglishSystem). The pigs rise to power andthe corruption of the animal farm was aided by the smarts the pigs possessed over the other less clever animals. In Lord of the Flies, main character Jack uses persuasion and other un-ethical tactics to recruit other children into joining his ‘group’. Some of these tactics include threatening and bribing the others in order for him to gain power over the majority of the kids on the island (Bookrags). Jack’s methods of gaining the majority of the boys on the island results in him having complete power of what goes on, on the island.â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! † (Golding 168). Jack orders an attack on the so called ‘monster’ that is living on the island with them. Without second guessing him, his tribe attacks the ‘monster’ which turns out to be one of the boys. All in all, the corruption of the others in the society by the leaders using manipul ation and other methods to gain power is what leads to the ultimate demolition of the two novels societies.Due to their mad hunt for power and the means they went through to achieve it, the pigs and Jack had a bunch of repercussions for their actions against their respective societies. The pigs used their brains as a way to gain power and control of their group of animals, however by doing this it resulted in the deaths of a couple of the animals as well as the expulsion of one of the other pigs (Orwell). About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck stretched out, unable to even raise his head.His eyes were glazed, his sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth (Orwell 74). Even though the pigs are the ones that organized the revolution on the humans, they ended up becoming what they had feared. They over worked the other farm animals and made them thi nk it was all for a better cause (NeoEnglishSystem). Lord of the Flies’ main character Jack also had major repercussions for his actions. Jack did not put him self in the leadership role, he was chosen by Ralph to help him run the group of boys.Things quickly got out of hand for Jack and he soon wanted to lead all of the boys by himself instead of with Ralph. Jack’s actions to get into power are what corrupted the small society of boys and those actions came with the repercussions of death for two of the boys and the near death experience for another. If anyone peered under the bushes and chanced to glimpse human flesh it might be sameric who would pretend not to see and say nothing. He laid his cheek against the chocolate coloured earth, licked his dry lips and closed his eyes.Under the thicket, the earth was vibrating very slightly; or perhaps there was a sound beneath the obvious thunder of the fire and scribbled ululations that was too low to hear (Golding 220). Ja ck told his tribe that they needed to kill Ralph and the only way to find him was to burn the jungle down. Ralph ran for his life away from the blood thirsty tribe of children and the fire (Cliffnotes). Jack’s actions to gain power have dire repercussions for the two boys who ended up dying and Ralph who was chased and nearly killed if he had not ran into a Naval Officer.All in all, the actions of the main characters who attempted to gain power over the others in the society were what eventually lead to the corruption of both societies. In conclusion, both William Golding and George Orwell do an amazing job of demonstrating how power can corrupt a society by using their characters in their novels. Both of the novels give the reader an insightful look at how society might be if the leaders of our countries grew corrupt with the power that they held over the rest of society.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Attachment and Infant Child Care Centers

There are many advantages in an infant and toddlers emotional attachment to caregivers. Infants pay special attention to attachment figures. This attention helps the child learn from how the adult reacts and how they speak. Infants learn through informal direction, not a formal lesson or instruction from a teacher. Infants and toddlers learn how to respond to events based on how their caregiver(s) react. Emotional reactions affect an infant or toddlers response to an event. The child learns from caregivers what to think about things (a toy, a spider, an open door). This kind of learning comes from observation of the caregiver’s facial expression, gestures, posture, and tone of voice. Infants carefully observe the responses of attachment figures to unfamiliar events. Emotional attachment to child care providers helps infants learn about emotional reactions during the many hours they are at the child care center, just as they would do if they were cared for at home throughout the day. Infants and toddlers also learn by exploring their surroundings, but they refrain from doing so unless an attachment figure is present. This is because the child views the attachment figure as a â€Å"secure base†, a place where they can go to in order to feel safe when there are unknown objects or strangers around. When a child is securely emotionally attached to an adult, they will make short ventures into an unfamiliar environment, occasionally looking back at the secure base for emotional support. If an attachment figure is not present, then the child is much less likely to explore and may stay in one spot, crying or rocking themselves to soothe their anxiety. Infants and toddlers are able to emotionally attach to people who are biologically unrelated to them. Infants and toddlers have no more than three or four emotional attachment figures. Developing emotional attachments to caregivers in a child care center does not take away from the child’s primary emotional attachment to their parents. Although a child who has a revolving door of caregivers will probably not develop a secure attachment to any of them, it is common for infants to have secure attachments to mother and father, a primary caregiver, and another caregiver who regularly comes to take care of the child. The child care center itself can either help or hinder attachment. If a child is to develop an emotional attachment to their caregiver, she must have the opportunity to spend long periods of time with hat child, to be reliably available to respond to the child’s needs and communications, and to have responsibility for a small enough number of children. Good child care center policies will want to encourage child-caregiver attachment. In order to do so the center would structure the classroom schedule so that the caregiver can talk and play with each child for periods of time every day. She will know each child’s likes or dislikes, their facial expressions, vocalizations, and other methods of c ommunication used by each child in her care, and she will respond to these communications in a helpful, playful, and affectionate way. This style of regular attention and responsiveness is where attachment is built. Another important factor in the development of attachment to child care providers pertains to a caregiver’s salary. In order to maintain a consistent staff at any child care center, (and thus building secure emotional attachments with children), caregivers must be paid a worthy wage that reflects the hard work that they perform. This can reduce the number of revolving door teachers (teachers who come and go within weeks or months of being hired).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Science Fair Project & Evaluating the Effectiveness of Diverse Personal Statement

Science Fair Project & Evaluating the Effectiveness of Diverse Learning Environments Assignment - Personal Statement Example I realized that through writing down, the vocabularies would stick on the students’ mind and they could manage to pronounce them correctly later. Writing down also offered the students a chance to practice and memorize while on their own. Most of the students who had difficulties in pronunciation as I figured out were non-English Speakers. Another issue that I managed to figure out is that students had a positive response related to their ability of pronouncing the terms when learning in groups. On this activity, the students would come up with several words in their group that they were unable to pronounce correctly. My main role was just to help them pronounce the vocabularies correctly and then allow them to practice on their own. Through independence practice, I observed that students were able to pronounce the vocabularies correctly in a faster way. I also managed to observe that students, who were not able to pronounce the vocabularies together with others, could underst and quickly and respond effectively through direct instruction. On direct instructions, I could manage to teach the students either individually or as a group and emphasis on the problematic terms. I observed that on these particular children, repetition and drill work posed as the best method to help them understand quickly. Another observation I managed to make is that by giving the students oral and theory exams they were able to assess themselves of what they understood and which questions they need to ask. Oral tests, where each student could pronounce various vocabularies managed to give me an opportunity of identifying whether the student was making any progress or not. I also observed that testing the students contributed in enhancing a strong relationship with them because of the interaction I managed to make when correcting them. I also observed that it was easy to assess each student’s strengths and weaknesses through giving them a test. This assisted me in identif ying the next strategy I should employ in order to help the students develop more skills. In order to improve on this particular activity, there are certain changes that I would like to make. One of the changes is questioning of the students during lecture. I managed to observe that some students feel embarrassed when they are not able to answer a particular question correctly. On this case, I realized that it is not advisable to correct an English Speaking Student mistake especially in front of other students. The best way to deal with this issue is to correct the students’ individual later after the lesson. However, in some situations I may correct the students in case the content of their information is unclear during their pronunciation. For example, in a situation where a student may say, I am here for one year. This information is unclear because the student may mean I have been here for one year. In another angle, the student may mean I will stay here for one more year . The other change I would like to make in order to improve on this activity is increase the material to use for experiment. I noticed that some students understand well while writing down rather than oral teaching alone. This call for more materials like text books, exercise books and pencils. This will help in assessing the students’ ability on understanding pronunciation of words by dictating to them while they write

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Shortcomings in WHP Management Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shortcomings in WHP Management Style - Essay Example The management is required to follow the guidelines laid down by the Healthcare Commission. Some of the highlights of the commission’s recommendations that are followed here are sound clinical and organisational management, and assessed and managed risks; supporting staff to raise any concerns about the quality of care or services provided to patients; having systems in place to support all staff in their development, including the minority groups; storing, using and dissemination of information about patients; to make sure that healthcare staff are appropriately recruited, trained and qualified; making sure that staff continue to develop their professional skills and to make sure that national guidelines for carrying out research are followed throughout the organisation.   The management is through a committee of ten medical practitioners that is headed by a Chairman who is the manager of the facility and policies are framed according to normal NHS guidelines outlined above. WHP scores a fair result in the services that it offers to its captive population and it appears that it is perceived as an average performer in its services. The pursuit of this report is to find the shortcomings in its management style and to make recommendations to overcome them. Management Styles are of three kinds; Autocratic, Consultative and Democratic. As the names suggest, the first is where the leader independently declares policy and the organization have no choice but to follow it. In a Consultative set up the leader seeks opinions from all departmental heads and then formulates policy. In the Democratic setup opinions from the rank and file have a bearing on the final policy and the leader is more like a guide and mentor.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Luther the movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Luther the movie - Essay Example ement; "I live in terror of judgment, have you ever dared to think that God is not just threatening us with the fires of hell.† Martin can be viewed to be repulsing God. When you compare this to â€Å"The Recital of the Deceased Egyptian† Martin will be seen as repulsing God because the situation is so strict and that makes it almost impossible for one not to sin. "I have not repulsed the God in his manifestations, I am pure, I am pure, I am pure," is a complex statement for any human being. But Luther tries to live and attain these abnormal standards and that is the main reason he has to live in a Hinduism way of life. He has to live and be fully devoted to God as it is the primary goal. Martin is also obliged to follow the ways of salvation which are clearly shown throughout the movie. The first way is that of good works and is seen when Martin gives back the money the money that had been paid for indulgences to the mother of the girl that could not walk. He tells her that paying indulgences is not the right way to get to God. The way of salvation through knowledge is seen when Martin becomes a preacher and decides to teach differently. When Martin translates the Bible into German language, he was portraying the way of devotion. This was crucial as he was dedicated to letting the people making sure that people had a chance to understand religion by reading the Bible and know what they were getting into. When Martin teaches a young girl how to learn to walk again he was practicing the physical discipline way (Chaffee 36). It is hard to imagine any social being that is pure. Though Martin is seen as a hero by many people who believe that he was a reformer and the greatest one that the religion has ever had, some people see him as one who wrestled with God. In the beginning, we see a tormented Luther that is willing to become a monk if only he is saved d by the heavens from a thunderstorm. We see him wishing there were no God and longed to a God that he that is

Good Will Hunting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Good Will Hunting - Essay Example The social penetration theory establishes the fact that as relationships develop, the parties’ communication moves from relatively shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, and levels that are more personal. The theory applies in interpersonal communication and aims at reaching the core personality or sense of self among the communicators (Griffin 10 -18). A cyclical and dialectical approach suggests closeness occurs through a gradual process of  self-disclosure if the participants proceed in a gradual and orderly fashion. The theory is thus not subjective to personal feelings or bias but solely relies on facts instead of opinions. This paper will draw the relationship of the social penetration theory to the relationships portrayed in the film. It will also confirm if relationships move through and how the characters self-disclose. It will also explain if any over-discloses too quickly and whether the lack of disclosure harms any of relationship. To achieve this, the paper wil l consider the Will Hunting relationships with a mathematics professor at MIT, Gerald Lamdeau (Stellan Skarsgard) and that with Sean McGuire (Mr. Williams), a therapist. Relationship of the social penetration theory to the relationships portrayed in the film The most significant relationship in the film Good Will Hunting is the relationship between Will Hunting and Sean McGuire (Mr. Williams), the therapist. This relationship relates to the social penetration theory in many ways. This relationship emanates from an earlier relationship between Will and Lamdeau. Initially, Will would solve mathematical problems and go his way without waiting for recognition. However, after the professor realized his talent, he decided to search for him. Indeed, when Lamdeau found him at work Will Hunting run away but Lamdeau tracks him down in a jail for assaulting a police offer. Here they advanced their shallow communication to a deeper level when Lamdeau bails him out with a condition that Will Hun ting will agree to spend one day a week meeting with a therapist. This leads to the relationship between Will Hunting and Sean, the therapist. They initially had shallow communication. However, subject to the fact that Sean is the survivor of a tough Southie upbringing like Will Hunting, there communication developed deeper as Sean would help him in appreciating his talents. Additionally, Will had intimate relationship with Skylar. Together, Skylar and Sean took the communication with Will to a more personal level where they taught to remove barriers in his life and advance his talents. This was a clear demonstration of the communication theory, social penetration theory. If the relationships moves through and how the characters self-disclose Both relationships move through from relatively shallow communication levels, non-intimate, to more deeper and personal communications. Indeed, were beneficial to all parties as they share their knowledge, experiences, and concern to help one a nother. Actually, out of concern, the professor sought to help Will come to his right senses and went ahead to involve his therapist friend, Sean to help in the mission. The relationships were relevantly relying on facts from education and life experiences. Where Sean was quick to self, disclose to Will, Will pass through many therapists before

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 4

Business Strategy - Essay Example This led to the request for an ombudsman to provide a non-partisan view on retailer and supplier disputes. A code of conduct is intended to be introduced into the contract agreement between retailers and suppliers. Employee compensation must satisfy the requirements of the National Minimum Wage Law. Labour laws are stringently implemented. Supermarkets take up 73% of the food retailing industry in UK. Food and drink account for 65% of total retail sales (including non-food items). The economic system of the UK is capitalist in nature. The liberal economic policies foster competition. The stagnating growth and reduced profits of the retailing industry are facing the spectre of a 5% increase in doing business with effect from April 1, 2009. The decision has been delayed for the moment. The economy has seen recessionary trends in recent times. This has affected the willingness of customers to spend on discretionary items though the outgo on food continues. The food retail industry has matured in the country and profit margins are pinched (2-6%) as the fight for market share heats up. Inflation has been high though and retailers have had to cut prices and offer higher quality to drive sales. The big players in the food retail industry have seen pay hikes at an average of 3.7% while other retailers have limited the outgo t o 3%. Retailers are under intense pricing pressure due to customer demand for high quality low priced goods. The customer demographics have undergone a change. Single and dual member families with smaller purchase requirements have taken the place of the larger families of the past. Increase in the number of working women. The customers are growing older with single pensioners forming a large part of the customer population. The customers are not limited to a retail outlet and are likely to search for good buying options. They are aware of the price and quality that they can

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 11

Project management - Essay Example Planning involves the certain establishment of policies, process and systematic methods to aim for achieving the goal associated to the project management. Planning is continuous phenomenon and should be progressed as the project progresses. The planning of the project as the part of the project management involves the scheduling of the project, budgeting of the project, directing the project and controlling the project. Each part of planning requires the managers to systematically control the project. There are mainly three types of business planning; strategic, tactical and operational. The strategic planning has most often a period of about 5 or more years. The business employing the tactical planning often restricts the planning to a period to 1 to 5 years. However, the operation planning regarding the project management is planned to implement at the time of planning and at the place of planning. Long term strategic plan having a span of 10 years is often utilized in business. While, three years plan and this year budget plan are the plans that are also employed by businesses. The planning as the part of project management is acquired to various level of the organization. Managers try to motivate the individuals to work better for the good of the organization. At this stage, managers plan of themselves and for the other individuals. However, team or group planning is also an important level for the working environment. The upper level managers plan for the organization and set the goals of the organization that comes in the Strategic project planning level. A good manager should have good communication and should be responsive to deal with the planning problems. A project manager should know how to deal with the situation to be a successful project manager. According to Kerzner, the nine steps involve in the planning of the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Management accountiong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management accountiong - Essay Example asure of two projects, this project favors the project with which has a higher present value though its likely to have a higher initial capital outlay, its not dependable when projects have different capital outlays. It's difficult to calculate as well as to understand and use in comparison with the pay back method or even the returns on the capital employed. Advantages of internal rate of return It considers the time value of money. It takes into account the total cash flows and outflows. It's easy to understand It's consistent with the overall objective of maximizing the shareholders wealth. Limitation of the internal rate of return It involves tedious calculation. It produces multiple rates which can be confusing. 3. ACTIVITY BASED COSTING This is a controlling and a planning tool which allocates costs to products in value chain analysis. It enables the overhead costs to be allocated to the respective product which incurred it rather than using the traditional methods where by the overhead costs were allocated as a percentage of the total overhead costs. It enables the managers to identify the products which incur higher costs therefore to charge them at a higher price or look for means to control these costs. 4. PEST ANALYSIS Political environment: These affect the operations of the business in UK; these laws encourage the existence of free markets where the market forces set the equilibrium hence there is fair competition. This encourages the supermarket to compete at a fair ground with its competitors. Economic environment: this affects the consumer consumption depending with the disposable income; this affects the way in which the supermarket will stock its products. Corporate taxes will also determine the manner in which it will price its products. If the...It enables the overhead costs to be allocated to the respective product which incurred it rather than using the traditional methods where by the overhead costs were allocated as a percentage of the total overhead costs. It enables the managers to identify the products which incur higher costs therefore to charge them at a higher price or look for means to control these costs. Political environment: These affect the operations of the business in UK; these laws encourage the existence of free markets where the market forces set the equilibrium hence there is fair competition. This encourages the supermarket to compete at a fair ground with its competitors. Economic environment: this affects the consumer consumption depending with the disposable income; this affects the way in which the supermarket will stock its products. Corporate taxes will also determine the manner in which it will price its products. If the taxes are very high then this will be reflected in the prices. Technology: the level of technology used in production affects the prices of the products of the supermarket, if the competitors are well off with better technology then are likely to have higher returns if the market prices are equal. Performance related pay is known to improve manager's production due to the fact that they have a budget against which controls them in using the firm resources.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Young Modulus of Copper Essay Example for Free

Young Modulus of Copper Essay Theory The following quantities is important for the experiments concerns: Stress is defined as ? =Force / Cross-sectional area ( F/A ) Strain is defined as ? = Extension / Natural length ( e/l ) The ratio of Stress to Strain, is the Young modulus (E= ?/?) Since a stiffer material requires larger stress to produce the same strain , a stiffer material would have a greater Young modulus ( a greater slope in a graph of ? against ? ) . For a non brittle material, usually there are two stages of deformation before breaking. Stage 1 : Elastic deformation In this stage, the wire would return to its natural length when the stress is removed. Hookes law is usually obeyed in this stage, therefore the graph is almost a straight line. When the wire is further stretched, it reaches the elastic limit and get into stage 2. Stage 2 : Plastic deformation In this stage, the stress is not directly proportional to the strain and and a small amount of stress can produce a large strain. If the wire passes the yield point, its will have permanent extension and will not return to its original length. Finally, when the wire is kept to stretched, it will break at the breaking point. Procedure Experiment 1: Study the stress-strain behaviour of a copper wire 1.A micrometer screw gauge was used to measure the diameter of the copper wire at several points. Mean value was taken and the cross-sectional area of the wire was calculated. 2.A pulley was mounted on one side of the table. A 2 m segment of the wire was cut out and was clamped firmly by using a G-clamp which was at a distance about 1.5 m form the pulley. 3.The wire was placed over the pulley. Some newspapers were put one the ground below the pulley. 4.A label marker is sticked on the wire at a distance about 0.5 m from the pulley. A metre rule was placed below the wire and was fixed on the table by sticky tape. 5.A 100g hanger was tied to wire. 6.The length between the G-clamp and the sticker, which represents the natural length, was measured. 7.100g load was added to the hanger one by one , and the extension was recorded each time. 8.Load was kept increasing until the wire broke. Experiment 2 : Elastic deformation and Young modulus 1.A new wire of the same length and thickness was used and steps 1 to 7 in experiment 1 were repeated. 2.Load was added to the hanger carefully. All the load were removed each time to check whether the wire would return to the original length. Results were recorded. 3.Step 2 was repeated until the elastic limit was just exceeded. Precautions 1.The hanger should be more than 0.5 m above the newspapers. This allows the wire to get enough space for extensions before it breaks. Also it should not be kept too high from the ground, this may cause the tiles of the floor to break. 2.The sticker should not be placed too close to the pulley. If not the wire may touch the pulley when the wire is extended. A distance of 0.4 m is preferred. 3.The load should be added to the hanger slowly and carefully. This is to avoid exerting impulse to the wire and making the masses to oscillate. Otherwise the wire may get extra extension and make the records not appropriate. 4.Records should be taken only after the sticker stops moving. This is because the wire takes time to extend itself, especially at the later stage when the wire passed the elastic limit and was near breaking. Results Diameter of the copper wire: D1 D2 D3 D4 Mean Value (in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.005mm) 0.370 0.365 0.670 0.370 0.3688 Natural length of the wire=1.15m Experiment 1: Load(kg) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 Extension(10^-3 m) 0 0.5 0.5 1 1 1.5 1.5 2.0 Load(kg) 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Extension(10^-3 m) 2.5 2.5 3.0 3.0 3.5 4.0 5.5 12 Load(kg) 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Broken Extension(10^-3 m) 19 34 46 60 77 98 125 / Maximum load for elastic deformation=1.3 kg Load for breaking the wire=2.3 kg Experiment 2 : Load(kg) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 Extension (10^-3) 0 0.5 0.8 1 1.2 1.5 1.5 2 Load(kg) 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 Elastic limit exceeded Extension(10^-3) 2.5 2.5 3 3.5 / / / Calculations Graphs Maximum possible error of metre rule = 0.1 cm=0.01m Maximum possible error of micrometer screw gauge =0.005mm=510^-6 m Cross-sectional area of the wire = 1.06810^-7 m^2 Percentage error = 26.77810^-3 =1.3557% ?Cross-sectional area = (1.071 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.01)x10^-7 m^2 Experiment 1 Stress Strain relationship: Stress (M Pa) 9.345 18.69 28.03 37.38 46.73 56.07 65.42 74.76 Strain (10^-3) 0 0.4348 0.4348 0.8696 0.8696 1.304 1.304 1.7392 Stress (M Pa) 84.11 93.45 102.8 112.1 121.5 130.8 140.1 149.5 Strain (10^-3) 2.174 2.174 2.609 2.609 3.043 3.478 4.783 10.44 Stress (M Pa) 158.9 168.2 177.6 186.9 196.3 205.6 215.0 Broken Stress (10^-3) 16.52 29.57 40.00 52.61 66.96 82.61 108.7 / Stress at elastic limit=124 M Pa Percentage error=Percentage error of the area of the wire =1.3557% ?Stress at elastic limit=(124 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 2)M Pa Breaking stress=(215 Pa à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 3)M Pa Experiment 2: Stress Strain relationship up to elastic limit: Stress (M Pa) 9.345 18.69 28.03 37.38 46.73 56.07 65.42 74.76 Strain (10^-3) 0 0.4673 0.7477 0.9346 1.121 1.402 1.402 1.869 Stress (M Pa) 84.11 93.45 102.8 112.1 Elastic limit exceeded Strain (10^-3) 2.336 2.336 2.804 3.271 / / / Mean of the stress=60.7 M Pa Mean of the strain=1.5610^-3 Slope of the best-fit line=38.9 G Pa Maximum slope=42.2 G Pa Minimum slope=30.0 G Pa Mean error=(38.9-36.1)=2.8 G Pa ?Young modulus of the copper wire=(38.9 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 2.8)G Pa Errors and Difficulties 1.There were systematic errors in this experiment. The masses were not weighted to check what its actual weight is. The wire may not be made of pure copper. The air temperature may vary due to air-conditioners. Besides, gravitational acceleration is taken as 10ms^-2 instead of 9.8ms^-2 2.There was a random error in viewing the sticker. Since the sticker had a few distance from the ruler, errors due to parallax would arise if we view form a little bit right or left. So it is difficult to obtain the precise value. To improve this, a nail can be added onto the sticker. The nail was more stable and gave readings very sharply. 3.At the beginning of the experiment, the wire is very uneven. The first few extensions we taken may be only due to the reform of the wire into a straight shape.(just like stretching a spring into a straight wire) Discussion 1.Near the breaking point, the shape of the wire is very narrow. 2.During elastic deformation, the hanger falls and loses gravitational potential energy. This energy change to elastic potential energy. If the wire is unloaded, the energy will be restored to GPE and the wire will return to is original length. 3.During plastic deformation, the loss of gravitational potential energy becomes the work done to increase the length of the wire (increase the separations of the particles in the wire). This energy would not be restored even the wire is unloaded. 4.Double of the amount of the load is required to break the wires. Conclusion To obtain the Young modulus of the copper wire by this experiment is convenient. A few apparatus and steps are needed, and it only involves easy calculations. But by comparing to the actual value(124G Pa), the result we get (38.9 G Pa) has a great difference from it. This may due to the experiment is done in several assumptions and estimations. We assumed g=10ms^-2 and the wire is made of pure copper. We neglected environmental factors and assumed the wire was stretched evenly in every parts. In short, although the experiment is not accurate enough, it provides a good chance for students to practice what they have learned. It is quite shocked that a very thin and long wire can withstand more than 2 kg load.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and Stone Cold by Robert Swindells Essay Example for Free

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and Stone Cold by Robert Swindells Essay Edgar Allan Poes The Tell Tale Heart, is about a man who wants to kill an old man, because the old mans eye freaks him out. After he killed the old man, he starts hearing the old mans heart beating, constantly under the floorboards, driving the man insane. The police come round to see what had happened, after one of his neighbours had heard a scream, he cracks under the pressure and shouts at the top of his voice to the police, as the beating of the heart get louder and louder. Although he can hear it extremely loudly in his ears the police cant hear it at all. So he tells the police what he had done. I think this is a clever way of expressing the mans insanity and it sets the scene well. Robert Swindells Stone Cold however is slightly different. At the beginning of Daily routine Orders 15, Shelter, who is insane, is laughing this shows that he is mad because he also does this at the end of the chapter. Ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Thats the sound of Shelter having the last laugh. is the first sentence. As you can see, it is slightly different from Edgar Allan Poe. One of the main reasons for this is that they were written nearly 200 years apart so The Tell Tale Heart will be a lot more formal, such as But why will you say that I am mad and Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story., whereas Stone Cold kind of uses colloquial language, such as Confront the enemy, Shelter old lad. No retreat. No surrender. So this is just one reason why they are different, but why are they the same. Well, they both have a murderer who is insane, and they both have something against the person or people they kill. If you did not know the titles or the authors of these two pieces you would know by the way they have been written that one was written many years ago as the English is very elegant and olde while the other is very modern. They are both similar as when the police arrive they are both trying to hide the fact that they have killed someone even though in Stone Cold he does not admit in this chapter that he has actually killed someone the reader just thinks he has. In Stone Cold, Shelter is cleverer than the man from The Tell-Tale Heart as he keeps his cool through-out very clever insane person, but Poes character has taken his time over his killing and finally at the end he cracks and admits that he has committed the crime. I found the Poe extract quite difficult to understand because Im not used to olde English but read a couple of times you get the understanding of it, where as Swindells extract was much easier to understand, as it is more recently written. Overall I thought both extracts where creative and enjoyable, even if it took a while to understand Poes.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Singer Solution To World Poverty

The Singer Solution To World Poverty Poverty is the state of people who do not have a certain amount of income to achieve the basic needs. Peoples buying power is not enough to pay their basic need from food. In the article Peter Singers to ground the conclusion that it is morally wrong not to donate time and money to aid agencies. In Singers analogy it is stated that not saving a child who is drowning in a shallow pond, given that the sacrifice one has to give is relatively small, is morally analogous to not donating time and money to aid agencies that save the lives of the global poor. Because most people have the intuition that not saving the child is wrong then not donating time and money to aid agencies is also wrong. An important consequence of this restatement of the argument is that we avoid the discussion of the validity of the life-saving analogy: The discussion of whether we can actually liken the two cases in the analogy together. Much of the writings on the analogy have revolved around the question how analogous and disanalogous the two cases are. One of my aims in the paper is to show that we do not need to answer that question in order to reach the conclusion that it is morally wrong not to donate time and money to aid agencies: We do not need the analogy at all. If we show that we can annul the analogy then we are free from the problems and the vagueness which are a consequence of the use of analogical reasoning. If the universal moral principle in the deductive argument above is reasonable then we owe it to the global poor, who are dying by the millions every year, to state the argument which grounds our duties to them as simply, directly and convincingly as possible. The hope is that by redesigning the argument for this conclusion then the citizens of the affluent world will rather be convinced to act according to the conclusion of such an argument than to the conclusion of the argument which contains the lifesaving analogy. All of which raises a question: In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need? Bobs situation resembles that of people able but unwilling to donate to overseas aid and differs from Doras situation. The author Singer is like his name conveying beautiful and kind ideas and theories to people in this world. However, maybe he forgot to realize that Sirens song also pertains to singing. As there are different kinds of human beings in this planet, each with a unique personality and growth environment, we thus could not judge everyone in a same standard and could not ask everyone to perform the ways you want them to act. Let alone, the so-called standards and the principals are all created and manipulated by men. Singers conclusion is unprecedented and encouraging but is lack of cogency. His conclusion was obtained under an ideal situation where human beings could evolve themselves of their own accord. According to what he said, under the ideal situation, we people care others first (to some extent equals to selfless and generous); keep abstinent, especially be moderate in eating; and sacrifice ourselves in order to help others, all of which in my point of view could be treated as virtue of Sage. Singer holds that if we value the life of a child more than going to fancy restaurants, the next time we dine out we will know that we could have done something better with our money. For this statement, I have got two points to contend. Firstly, how come would people be aware of donation? It is because those who would like to contribute their money are the ones who do not need to care too much about their food, their shelter, their cars and their spiritual world. Those people are always the main force in charity industry. But what is the motivation of these kind acts? Some of them are because of redemption, like there are churches setting up service wholly for rich men: if they could donate a big sum of money, they would be logically forgiven by the God. Some of them are due to faces, since the public always criticize the rich for not being so generous to the poor. The rest are unfeignedly on account of kindness because those wealthy men all bear a heart that cares the whole world. But no matter from which starting point, the essence of their donation is because that they are rich and that they donate is because that all of them could still keep their living standard. Yes, living standard. Singer also referred to this phrase when he mentioned how much money one should give away in their donation. Here comes the second point of my judgment. So how much on earth should we donate? Is it the percentage that a person should save for donation matters? Or is it the number $20,000 really matters? Indeed, they are just all simple numbers. Provided we abandoned the prejudice and expected the most ideal state that everyone attempts to share some of his income with the poor, the base increased, then we really dont need to worry about the number exactly cause we have got much more people and their money is in anyway sufficient. In this way, with a large number of people joining the base, the problem is solved. Thus, we could draw the conclusion that it is whether people would do that matters but how much money they would like to give away decides. People are not sage. To err is human. People are born in distinct ways. People in different levels (here levels means the amount money different people own) have imbalanced desire. We are all familiar with Maslows hierarchy of needs. Maslow used the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. (Wikipedia) thus, before we are about to plan, there is also a process, which happens to be the pyramid of Maslows hierarchy of needs, for people to go through. Thus, we can tell that people always firstly meet their physical requirements such as cloth, eating, shelter, sex and so on. As for donation it pertains to the highest level-self-actualization. From the first level to the highest level, there is a long distance and area to cover. People must conquer all the difficulties in order to actualize themselves. So it then becomes easy for us to understand those rich people The more sweet he or she has already tasted, the less money he or she would donate. This is because $20,000 is nothing to rich people compared to that of the same money in a middle-level family. Especially for rich people, their living habits have been developed and are hard to change. Plus, seldom rich people would change their current habits in order to save more children. As for those relative poor people but rich than those Slum kids, their problems are always concentrated on roles. The most common mental state of those people is collective guilt. People in that level would always argue that I am poor myself and those donation things are for the rich. Rich people are obliged to give away more. Collective guilt is a very dangerous behavior in every society throughout the history. Not only German but Japanese as well, the good thing is that the former confessed crime in public. We have seen some horrible news everyday via different media about people commit crime as a group, such as rape by turns, Amway returning of goods and so on. In The Singer Solution to World Poverty, Singer didnt employ the same word collective guilt but showed us another less severe phrase-crowd ethics. Since we couldnt judge those people who dont donate as collective guilt, but to some extent it is about crowd ethics. In recent years China, we have seen many cases referred to c rowd ethics. We have seen people passing by a dying kid hit by a car; we have seen people turning a blind eye to thieves and we have seen officials being irresponsible. All these people are not guilt but all lack of sympathy. Donation is alike. We have talked much about the groundless of Singers conclusion to the poor. But it is still undeniable that Singer is a great man. He is few in number person whose actions always follow their words. He contributes a great deal to morality research and paves ways for animal protection as well as promotes the worlds ethic levels. Although it is hard to build up a world as Singer has described in the article: If that makes living a morally decent life extremely arduous, well, then that is the way things are. If we dont do it, then we should at least know that we are failing to live a morally decent life not because it is good to wallow in guilt but because knowing where we should be going is the first step toward heading in that direction. But in every era, Sage would eventually appear. There are people even in a few numbers who themselves live under poverty but still donates their limited money day and night and there are people who help each other when confronted with catastrophe. Human beings are strange Higher Beings, but are educable. Only under the leadership of great people like Singer and educating human beings in a correct way, can we eventually live a morally decent life. Work cited Singer, Peter. The Singer Solution to World Poverty. 1999. Wikipedia writer. Maslows hierarchy of needs.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Cinderella vs. Danielle de Barbarac Essay -- essays research papers

Cinderella vs. Danielle de Barbarac   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the weaker sex. Truthfully, many women are just as physically and emotionally strong as men. Cinderella’s strengths have been shown in the movies Ever After and Cinderella. In Ever After, a woman lost the only person that she ever really loved, but later found true love through the hardships of her lonely life. In Cinderella, a woman eventually found the love that she had always dreamed of throughout her slave-driven life. In both versions of this classic tale, Cinderella is strong, self-reliant, and fearless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cinderella’s true strength was shown in Ever After and Cinderella. One major part in both versions is that Cinderella attends the Prince’s ball alone. In Ever After, Danielle was persuaded by all of her friends to go to the ball, against her stepmother’s wishes, in order to tell the Prince that she is really a peasant girl. She was only pretending to be a countess to save a friend’s life. Danielle’s friend, Leonardo DaVinci, finally said to her, â€Å"If you don’t go, the Baroness wins,† (Tennant). This changed Danielle’s attitude because she was not about to let her stepmother win. In Cinderella, Cinderella just wanted to go to the ball because she had always dreamed of it. The Prince’s invitation said that every girl in the kingdom was allowed to come to the ball, so Cinderella thought that she was going to be able to go too. Aft...

Sonnys Blues (An Insight) Essay -- essays research papers

Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, set in Harlem in 1957, was largely about the struggles of an ethnic minority and the stagnation they feel, but moreso how two brothers come to understand each other due to their struggles and from years of living their own, very different lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baldwin’s constant, detailed, reflections helped me immensely in understanding this story. I feel that they served as a constant reminder of the social context in which this story takes place. It helped to have those incessant reminders because I kept thinking it takes place in recent years, versus the 1950s, before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. The biggest idea that I had to keep in mind was that the racism (ultimately leading to stagnation/oppression) presented in the context was â€Å"accepted† at this point in time. By â€Å"accepted† I mean that there were not yet any written laws in place to protect blacks against these acts, not that the actions were morally correct or acceptable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sonny’s side of the story represented one perspective of the African American experience in this time period. He accepts his status & tries to live within the black culture and deal with it distress that goes along with it, just to keep his dignity. At first, he channels his afflictions through music. There eventually becomes a time in his life when can no longer deal with the pain or suffering and Sonny takes the well-beaten path of turning to heroin, t...

Sunday, August 18, 2019

ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Essay -- Explorat

ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, â€Å"C’mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far.† I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn’t think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: â€Å"[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations—children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents,† which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled â€Å"parent† rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely â€Å"a label of forgiveness† (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses† and â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder† (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding. Recent media coverage might lead one to believe that ADHD is something new, a nineties thing, some vogue malady that somehow explains our disaffected modern youth. Yet the hyperactive child has always been around. He was class clown, the kid in the back row who never shut up. He was the kid whom the teacher constantly sent out of the room or to the office. In the past, these were the children... ..., Inattentive, Impulsive, Obstinate. . . . New York: Villard, 1990. â€Å"Josh.† Personal Interview. 13 March 1995. Levine, Melvin D. â€Å"Attention Deficits: The Diverse Effects of Weak Control Systems in Childhood.† Pediatric Annals 16.2: 117-30. Perkins, Kathryn. â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Disorder Diagnosis.† Sacramento Bee 5 Dec. 1994: A1. Safer, Daniel J., and John M. Krager. â€Å"Effect of a Media Blitz and a Threatened Lawsuit on Stimulant Treatment (lawsuits and Ritalin prescription).† Journal of the American Medical Association 268 (1992): 1004. â€Å"Shaun.† Personal Interview. 9 March 1995. Vatz, Richard E., and Lee S. Weinberg. â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder.† USA Today Jan. 1995: 84. Wallis, Claudia. â€Å"Life in Overdrive.† Time 18 July 1994: 42. Weiss, Lynn. Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults. Dallas: Taylor, 1992. ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Essay -- Explorat ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, â€Å"C’mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far.† I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn’t think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: â€Å"[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations—children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents,† which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled â€Å"parent† rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely â€Å"a label of forgiveness† (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses† and â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder† (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding. Recent media coverage might lead one to believe that ADHD is something new, a nineties thing, some vogue malady that somehow explains our disaffected modern youth. Yet the hyperactive child has always been around. He was class clown, the kid in the back row who never shut up. He was the kid whom the teacher constantly sent out of the room or to the office. In the past, these were the children... ..., Inattentive, Impulsive, Obstinate. . . . New York: Villard, 1990. â€Å"Josh.† Personal Interview. 13 March 1995. Levine, Melvin D. â€Å"Attention Deficits: The Diverse Effects of Weak Control Systems in Childhood.† Pediatric Annals 16.2: 117-30. Perkins, Kathryn. â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Disorder Diagnosis.† Sacramento Bee 5 Dec. 1994: A1. Safer, Daniel J., and John M. Krager. â€Å"Effect of a Media Blitz and a Threatened Lawsuit on Stimulant Treatment (lawsuits and Ritalin prescription).† Journal of the American Medical Association 268 (1992): 1004. â€Å"Shaun.† Personal Interview. 9 March 1995. Vatz, Richard E., and Lee S. Weinberg. â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder.† USA Today Jan. 1995: 84. Wallis, Claudia. â€Å"Life in Overdrive.† Time 18 July 1994: 42. Weiss, Lynn. Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults. Dallas: Taylor, 1992.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Threat of National Id

William Safire’s â€Å"The Threat of National ID† Comprehension 1. According to Safire most people are willing to give up their privacy â€Å"in return for greater safety. That’s why we gladly suffer the pat – downs and ‘wanding’ at airports†. Such precautions contribute to our peach of mind. He believes that law enforcement officials are already taking advantage of this situation. He says that Police are â€Å"unconcerned with the sanctity of an individual’s home† and developed â€Å"heat sensors to let them look inside people’s houses. And claims that the Justice department has an electronic bug that the F. B.I can plant on your key board to read every stroke. This is really ironic because Safire has typed his article and must question what infringes of his privacy have already been made that he isn’t aware of. 2. Safire says that â€Å"national ID cards give Americans a â€Å"false sense of securityâ₠¬ . I believe Safire is referring to the security of your identity. Identification cards are supposed to prove who you are: approve purchases, entry, travel, etc. They are used so that another person can not just take your name and replace you. They ensure the safety of your identity, salary, house, and other personal things.I agree with Safire. Although I feel that there should be some sort of way to identify yourself you will only be able to do that if you give up more of your privacy, like providing a â€Å"fingerprint, description of DNA and details of your eye’s iris†. Even with national ID cards it is difficult to ensure its accuracy due to fake ID cards. 3. People will not be able to choose not to carry a national ID card because it is a requirement. The government has made it essential for people to have this source of verification. Without this card you will not be able to â€Å"travel, or buy on credit, or participate in tomorrow’s normal life. Soon enough police as well as employers will considers those who resist full disclosure of their financial, academic, medical, religious, social, and political affiliation to be suspect. He says that Police are â€Å"unconcerned with the sanctity of an individual’s home† and developed â€Å"heat sensors to let them look inside people’s houses. 4. In paragraph 6, Safire says â€Å"But in the dreams of Big Brother and his cousin, Big Marketing, nothing can compare to forcing every person in the United States – under penalty of law – to carry what the totalitarians used to call ‘papers’†.Safire compares the United States government to a totalitarian government if they force everyone to have â€Å"papers†. The idea of having to prove who you are goes against American ideal of living in a free country, or even being able to start over. If you force a permanent identity on someone you revoke their chance of having a brighter future . I believe that everyone has the right to seek a better future. There is a movie where they present the idea of your identity being written in your DNA. The protagonist’s was supposed to die at 31, it was written in his DNA however he wanted to become an astronaut.But because his DNA says that he will die at 31 no one is willing to hire him which forces the protagonist to go to someone who has broken both his legs and pays the man for his DNA. 5. There are advantages and dangers of national ID cards that everyone should be aware of. Having such personal national ID cards would â€Å"speed you through lines faster or buy you sure-fire protection from suicide bombers†. However the disadvantages seem to out way the advantages. With all this important information found on a single card this card has now increased in value immensely.Forcing you to protect the card as a part of yourself. The copy of that card in a national databank supposedly confidential but available to a ny imaginative hacker. The universal use and most likely abuse of the national card will most often trigger personal questions. This card is the ticket to losing much of your personal freedom. Purpose and Audience 1. Safire sees his readers as either friendly or neutral. You can tell because Safire informs the reader so the audience must not be hostile towards his view.However it is very plausible that he is also trying to convince his reader. Forcing you to protect the card as a part of yourself. The copy of that card in a national databank supposedly confidential but available to any imaginative hacker. The universal use and most likely abuse of the national card will most often trigger personal questions. This card is the ticket to losing much of your personal freedom. 2. Safire’s purpose does not seem to be changing his audience’s behaviour but changing their ideas or at least rethinking them.Safire mentions the dreams of Big Brother and his cousin, Big Marketing, nothing can compare to forcing every person in the United States – under penalty of law – to carry what the totalitarians used to call ‘papers’†. Safire compares the United States government to a totalitarian government if they force everyone to have â€Å"papers†. The idea of having to prove who you are goes against American ideal of living in a free country, or even being able to start over. 3. Safire assumes that his readers are well informed about national ID.He believes that they should be well informed about their rights and especially support the fourth amendment. He feels that people should protect their right to privacy and feels that having a national ID infringes on their right of privacy which he mentions many examples. I believe that everyone has the right to seek a better future. There is a movie where they present the idea of your identity being written in your DNA. The protagonist’s was supposed to die at 31, it was writ ten in his DNA however he wanted to become an astronaut. Style and Structure 1.The writer begins his essay with discussion of losing an animal. This strategy is very effective, however I don’t understand why. By introducing the new device animal ID he makes an allusion to identification of people. Safire introduces the idea of implanting a little chip implanted under the skin in the back of the neck so that a shelter can quickly pick up the address of the owner. Safire later mentions having identification in the back of their neck alluding to the beginning of the essay which ties the whole thing together. I cannot think of a better opening.Satire mentions a lot of problems with national ID however he leaves the reader to figure out all the different ways national id could be a problem. He forces you to think about whether you are willing to give up so much information with one sweep or scan. 2. Safire’s argument is primarily appealing to deductive reasoning. Because it is proceeding from general presumption to a specific conclusion. According to the textbook, deduction holds that is all the statements in the argument are true the conclusion must also be true. Thus Safire must not use inductive reasoning to argue his case.Cops of course would insists on a record of arrests speeding tickets, E-Z pass auto movements, and links to suspicious Web sites and associates. All this information and more is being collected already which is very scary and by including all the different possiblilties it only makes having a national ID seem more of a threat. 3. The writer uses various kinds of evidence to support his points. You can tell because Safire informs the reader so the audience must not be hostile towards his view. However it is very plausible that he is also trying to convince his reader. Forcing you to protect the card as a part of yourself.The copy of that card in a national databank supposedly confidential but available to any imaginative hacker. T he universal use and most likely abuse of the national card will most often trigger personal questions. However Safire does not provide a source for his evidence which forces the reader to question whether or not the is relevant. I think that Safire could’ve used more solid evidence to prove his points but it is hard to find that sort of information so its ok. 4. Safire refutes the idea of having National ID. He believes that law enforcement officials are already taking advantage of this situation.He says that Police are â€Å"unconcerned with the sanctity of an individual’s home† and developed â€Å"heat sensors to let them look inside people’s houses. And claims that the Justice department has an electronic bug that the F. B. I can plant on your key board to read every stroke. This is really ironic because Safire has typed his article and must question what infringes of his privacy have already been made that he isn’t aware of. 5. He uses rhetor ical questions as a stylistic device to move his argument along. A few examples of this devise are: â€Å"Think you can encrypt your way to privacy? â€Å"How about a chip providing a complete medical history in case of emergencies? † â€Å"What about us libertarian misfits who take the trouble to try and ‘opt out’? † his entire paragraph 11 asks a bunch of rhetorical questions and the list goes on. By using rhetorical devices Safire forces his readers to think about their answer to the question even though it doesn’t necessarily require an answer it creates an emphasis on the unknown answer that only the reader can provide. 6. Safire basically concludes his essay with a summary. The hospitals would say: how about a chip providing a complete medical history in case of emergencies?Merchants would add a chip for credit rating, banking accounts, and product preferences, while divorced spouses would lobby for a rundown of net assests and yearly expendi tures. Politicians would like to know voting records and political affiliation. Cops of course would insists on a record of arrests speeding tickets, E-Z pass auto movements, and links to suspicious Web sites and associates. All this information and more is being collected already which is very scary and by including all the different possiblilties it only makes having a national ID seem more of a threat.

Friday, August 16, 2019

My Experience Essay

As I reflect upon my life I will describe facts and events believed to have contributed to the person I am today. I like how Merriam Webster’s online dictionary explains experience as something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through. I have encountered difficulties, circumstances, and triumphs that have helped me to grow as a person. I am pursuing a higher education as my future goal. In this paper, I will apply theories from Adult Development and Life Assessment in my explanation of challenges I have faced during childhood to adulthood. I was born in Chicago, one of six girls and the middle child of twelve. As early as I can remember we worked as a group. We played together and we worked in the garden that my parents made in our back yard. I hated the garden because every time I wanted to go play, I first had pick vegetables out of the garden. I didn’t understand at the time that my parents used the garden to help feed our large family. My dad always worked two jobs; his primary employment was with a company called Central Soya. When my father retired from there we moved to Alabama because the cost of living was cheaper. We didn’t have a lot of material things like clothes and shoes. My mother would buy tennis shoes from the grocery store and my brothers would be so embarrassed because their friends saw them trying on the shoes in the store. I can remember my dad making me a pair of pants for school; I thought they were the prettiest pair of pants I had ever seen. It was cheaper to make a pair of pants than to buy them. My parents cut corners any way they could. We may not have had material things but what we did have was love and lots of talent. Not real talent but talent that’s appreciated in a family. On rainy days mom and dad would have us put on a talent show. It was so much fun that we kept the tradition even until adulthood. On birthdays and holidays we would use our talents to entertain mom and dad. Birthdays were especially special because my dad would make me a birthday cake. He was a really good cook and everyone in the neighborhood wanted a piece of his cake. My sixteenth birthday marked a significant shift in my life. I became pregnant and it was one of the biggest mistakes that started a downward spiral in my life. I hung out with older girls that had children. They were into partying and so called having a good time. Our environment plays a huge role in how we develop, what pathways are open to us, and which are closed (Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). I feel like the environment that I chose to be in led to early exploration of drugs and alcohol. I could see myself going in the wrong direction with more terrible consequences if I didn’t make a change. I stopped hanging out and got my first job. It was on a military base in the mess hall. I met a soldier and we got married on our way to work one day when I was twenty one years old. We dated for four months then he went overseas for a year. We married a year later after he returned to the states. Being married was a challenge because he was abusive physically, verbally, and mentally. I had listened to his insults for so long that they became part of my own vocabulary. I began to think that maybe he was right, maybe if I could cook, clean, dress or talk better it would fix our problems. In our text Freud believed that the mind uses defense mechanism to protect itself from severe distress. In the beginning I rationalized everything he did, in rationalization: we look for an acceptable reason to justify our thinking or behavior (Witt & Mossler 2010). I got involved in church and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. As a result I think a lot of the abusive behavior was able to continue because I simply forgave, thinking it was the Christian thing to do. According to Haan (1977), coping strategies involve choice and purposive behavior, are oriented toward reality, involve differentiated thinking that integrates conscious and preconscious aspects, and permit affective satisfaction in an open, ordered, and tempered way (Psychology and Aging 2000 ). It came to a point after seventeen years of abuse I couldn’t take it anymore. I had done all that I could physically to have a successful marriage but it wasn’t working out for me. I had to face the cruel reality that my marriage was over. Finally I filed for a divorce, which was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. Going through the divorce gave me a sense of freedom and strength that I had never experienced in my marriage. Getting a divorced was the best thing I could have done for myself. It started me on a journey to find out what I want out of life for myself. It marked a new beginning to a better, brighter future in my life. I was free to make my own decisions that impact my life. One of those decisions was returning to school for a degree. I really want to be an example to my daughter and her children that education is the key to success, and you are never too old to be successful in life. I must admit that I was very afraid of returning to school because I thought that I would not be successful. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to remember things or comprehend how to do the work. Some researchers contend that intellectual functioning is a process of irreversible decline. However, most scholars agree that intelligence either remains relatively stable through the adult years, with substantial intellectual changes occurring only very late in life, or that intelligence declines in some respects, remains stable in others, and may even increase in some functions, depending on a person’s educational level, life experiences, and overall health (Intelligence and Aging 2007). I am now encouraged to pursue my education. I’m not too old, I plan to finish my courses and earn my degree. My goal is to apply for higher positions that require a degree. There will be many opportunities open to me once I earn my degree in my field of study. In conclusion, I have shared different experiences that have influenced my personal life. I have used theories from this class to support my experiences and I have shared my future plans to achieve my academic goals. Every lesson I complete moves me one step closer to my goal. References Intelligence and Aging (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyla/intelligence-and-aging Witt, G. A., Mossler, R.A., (2010). Adult Development Retrieved from http://content.ashford. edu /AUPYS202.10.1 Vief, G. L., Diehl, M., (2000) Cognitive complexity and cognitive-affective integration. Psychology and Aging. Vol.15 (3) US: American Psychological Association pp. 490 -504.doi:10.1037/0882-7974.15.3.490

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Coffee consumption Essay

Faculty of Farm Management, Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Timisoara, 119 Calea Aradului, Timisoara; Romania; petz_elena@yahoo. com 2 ) Faculty Economics Science, University Tibiscus Timisoara, 1/A Daliei St. , Timisoara, Romania Abstract. The coffee market is a dynamic market due to the numerous mades, to the wide range of assortments and to the high number of people that are more and more sophisticated. There has been lately a trend toward pre-packaged coffee, i. e. towards high quality produce and to larger weight coffee packages. Despite the high price of the coffee, Romanians drink more and more coffee. The leading assortment is ground coffee followed by soluble coffee. Keywords: needs, aspirations, demand, offer, consumption, behaviour, market INTRODUCTION Marketing research is not an exact science, and it is not an exact science either. It is about working with people, with their ever-changing needs and desires under the impact of hundreds of factors that are more or less known. Market analysis shows what people wish to purchase, to consume, or to use. As a rule, this means something different from what companies want us to believe, to produce and to sell. It is not enough to must study people’s needs; we should also know people’s desires and aspirations. The main component of marketing research is the study of consumer behaviour. The research of consumer behaviour concerns different attitudes in the process of buying decision (e. g. people’s attitude towards information, the choice of the purchase place, fidelity towards the made, getting aware of the price, knowing consumer’s difficult nature, etc. ). Consumer behaviour is a complex phenomenon and, at the same time, an interdisciplinary field. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study aims at presenting the coffee consumer profile, the way the choosing and purchasing of the different types of coffee on the market is done, and the way coffee made notoriety is determined. The target population consisted of all the people aged over 18 and living in Timisoara. The sampling method we used was the quotas method. In applying this method, we started from the characteristics of the target population (e. g. age, sex, occupation, etc. ). Sample size varies depending on the thrust threshold and on the accepted error. The way the questionnaire was applied consisted in a field survey, i. e. questioning people outside the shops. 362 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION At present, consumers are masters of their incomes. Social stratification differentiates incomes and determines significant variations of the consumption structure. Knowing the structure of the consumer’s attitude is a good opportunity to investigate the causes determining the acceptance or rejection of a produce. The most important means is researching consumer’s desires. Question no. 1 in our questionnaire, â€Å"Do you drink coffee? † is a filter question. As a result of the answers we got to this question, we could see that 56% of the people we questioned drink coffee; 17% answered hey do not drink coffee at all; and 27% answered they only drink coffee sometimes. Thus, the 17 people answering they never drink coffee were removed from the study. The answer to question, â€Å"How often do you drink coffee? † resulted in the following answers: 92% of the respondents answered they drink coffee daily; while 8% answered they drink coffee occasionally. The answer to the question, â€Å"Who purchases the coffee in your family? † showed that it is the housewife who does it (76% of the cases). As for the question, â€Å"How often do you purchase coffee? † 40% of the respondents answered they purchase it once a month, 28% answered they purchase it twice a month, and 20% answered they purchase it rather seldom. As for the amount of coffee people purchase, the figure below shows that 40% of the coffee purchasers prefer packages of 500 g, while 36% prefer packages of 250 g (Fig. 1). 40% 40% 36% 35% 30% 25% 20% 16% 15% 8% 10% 5% 0% 250 g 500 g 1000 g More Fig. 1. Amount of coffee purchased The answers to question, â€Å"On what occasion do you purchase coffee?†, 72% of the respondents said they purchase coffee for the daily consumption, while 8% said they purchase coffee for other goals. The questionnaire showed that 64% of the respondents purchase their coffee at the hyeprmarket and supermarket, 24% of the respondents purchase coffee from the corner shops, and 12% purchase coffee from the market. As for the coffee made, we could see that 48% of the respondents prefer the Jakobs made, 24% purchase the Elita made, 16% purchase the Amigo made, 8% purchase the Tchibo made, and 4% purchase the Amaroy and Lavazza mades (Fig.2). The answers to question, â€Å"What do you appreciate most in the coffee you purchase? †, 50% of the respondents answered it is flavour, 40% answered it is the taste, and 10% 363 answered it is strength. Asfor the factors influencing purchase decision, we could see from the respondents answers that 44% of them are influenced by the price, 28% answered they are influenced by the made, and 20% of the respondents admitted it is the advertising (Fig. 3). 48% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 24% 16% 8% 4% Elita Jacobs Amigo Tchibo Other specifications. Fig. 2. Coffee mades 44% 45% 40% 35% 28% 30% 25% 20% 20% 15% 8% 10% 5% 0% Advertising Price Packaging Trade Fig. 3. Factors influencing purchase decision 40% 40% 32% 35% 28% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Home, in family At the cafe/ At w ork (school), terrace, w ith the automatic friends coffee Fig. 4. Favourite place for coffee consumption 364 The answers to question, â€Å"Where do you usually have your coffee? †, showed that 40% of the respondents answered it is at home, 32% answered they have their coffee with their friends, at coffee shops, on terraces, etc. , and 28% of the respondents said they have their coffee at their work place, from the coffee machine (Fig. 4). As for the age of the respondents, we could see that 36% of them are aged 26-40, 28% are aged 18-25, 20% are aged 41-65, and 16% are aged above 65. From the point of view of their income, 56% of the respondents earn less than 1,000 LEI /month, 20% earn between 1,000 and 1,500 LEI /month, 16% of the respondents earn between 1,501 LEI /month and 2,000 LEI /month, and only 8% of the respondents earn more than 2,000 LEI /month. CONCLUSIONS. In order to get higher performances, any company needs a strong consumer-oriented marketing strategy. Therefore, it is very important to monitor and study the consumer behaviour from all points of view: type of consumer, age, sex, occupation, group of appurtenance, personality, culture, etc. the questions marketing operators should use in their studies and shaping of purchase behaviour and consumption behaviour in their attempt to better decide how to react are such questions as Who? , When? , How? , How much? , From where? , How many times? , etc. To have a closer look at the factors influencing the behaviour of the coffee consumer we have carried out the present study by applying a questionnaire to a number of 60 people whose main common feature is that they all live in the city of Timisoara. On the ground of this study, we can draw the following conclusions: 56% of the respondents drink coffee, 27% drink it sometimes, and 17% never; 92% of the respondents drink coffee daily, while 8% drink it occasionally; 76% of the coffee purchasers are women; 40% of the respondents purchase coffee once a month, 28% twice a month, and 20% rather seldom; 40% of the respondents prefer packages of 500 g, while 36% prefer 250 g packages; 72% of the respondents purchase coffee for their daily consumption, while 8% purchase it for other reasons; 64% of the respondents purchase their coffee at the hyeprmarket and supermarket, 24% from the corner shops, and 12% from the market, 48% of the respondents prefer the Jakobs made, 24% Elita, 16% Amigo, 8% Tchibo, and 4% Amaroy and Lavazza; 50% of the respondents purchase coffee for its flavour, 40% for its taste, and 10% for its strength; 44% of the respondents are influenced by the coffee price in their purchase, 28% by the made, and 10% by the adds; 40% of the respondents prefer have their coffee at home, 32% in town, and 28% at the work place; 36% of the respondents were aged 26-40, 28% were aged 18-25, 20% were aged 41-65, and 16% were aged above 65. 56% of the respondents earn less than 1,0 00 LEI /month , 20% earn between 1,000 and 1, 500 LEI/month, 16% of the respondents earn between 1,501 LEI /month and 2 ,000 LEI /mon th, and on ly 8% of the respondents earn more than 2,000 LEI /month. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Baker J. M. (1997). Marketing – Societatea Stiintifica si Tehnica S. A. ,Bucuresti Balaure V. (2000) Marketing – Ed. Uranus, Bucuresti Demetrescu M. C. (2000) Metode de analiza in marketing – Ed. Teora, Bucuresti Foltean Florin (2000) Cercetari de marketing editi a II-a – Ed. Mirton, Timisoara Kotler Ph. (1997) Managementul marketingului – Ed. Teora, Bucuresti Niculescu Elena (2000) Marketing modern – Ed. Polirom, Iasi Pet Elena (2004) Marketing agrar, Ed. Marineasa Pruteanu Stefan, Corneliu Munteanu, Cezar Caluschi – Inteligenta. Marketing plus – Ed. Polirom 365.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Implications of Affirmative Actions on Business

Implications of Affirmative Action on Business ` Affirmative actionprograms, as we know them, are less than 50 years old, and are usually viewedas a series ofpositive steps taken to ensure the representation of minority groups in fields that have traditionallyexcluded them. It protects both racial and ethnic minorities, as well as women, in the areas of education, business, and government. Affirmative action, whichhas its roots in the Constitutional ideal of equal opportunity, is the government’s way of both eliminating inequality and making amends for past discrimination. Sometimes viewed as â€Å"reverse discrimination† for blatantly favoring one group over another, affirmative action programs often differ in the extent to which they attempt to rectify discrimination by either instituting reviews of the hiring process for minority groups or explicitly preferring members of select groups. In many ways, affirmative action has helped women and minority groups obtain and keep positions in either work or school that they would otherwise have been unable to attain. However, since the beginning of affirmative action in the 1960s, these policies have had many implications for businesses—both positive and negative—and have instituted many changes. ` ` President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 in March of 1961. The order was originally designed with governmentcontractors in mind, and stated thatsaid contractors would â€Å"take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during their employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin. Executive Order 10925 did not advocate special treatment of minority groups, as would later come to pass, but was initially intended to eliminate discrimination from hiring and employment practices. In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,the government’s position on the policy of affirmative action was solidified, and a new branch of the U. S. Department of Labor was created: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commi ssion (EEOC). The purpose of the EEOC was to serve as a mediator between plaintiffs and private employers who disregarded the tenets ofaffirmative action, and to ensure restitution to the affected. These changes to hiring and employment practices caused many to voice concerns: Should minority groups receive preferential treatment in fields they were previously excluded from? Does this constitute a violation of the principle of equal opportunity in the form of â€Å"reverse discrimination†? ` ` In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required government contractors to actually document their efforts to ensure equality in hiring practices, and gave the Secretary of Labor the right to investigate and rectify anyaccusations of discrimination. The government could punish violations of the order by canceling contracts, barring companies from future contracts, and other measures† (Kowalski, 27). In 1967, Johnson’sorder was furtherexpanded by Executive Order 11375 to include women as well as minorities and, in 1968, under the administration of President Nixon, specific goals or â€Å"quotas† for the hiring of women and minoriti es wasinstituted. By 1972, the â€Å"four-fifths rule† was in effect, which â€Å"held that firms contracting with the federal government should not be allowed to hire any race, sex, or ethnic group at a rate below four-fifths that of any other group† (eNotes). The EEOC was also strengthened in 1972 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Now, the Commission was able to file class action law suits against corporations in violation of affirmative action policies. The Carter administration, in 1977, initiated the Public Works Employment Act, requiringat least ten percent of federal money given to certain projectsto be allocated toboth minority and women business enterprises. ` ` During the 1980s, affirmative action felt little government support under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Both resisted expansion in government contracting, and court decisions began to negate some affirmative action programs. Universities and businesses were struggling to conform to theguidelines of affirmative action while still maintaining certain standardsof operation. Eventually, many of these programs were either scaled-back or set-aside altogether. In the 1990s, Clinton vowed to â€Å"mend, not end† affirmative action programs. He began to reevaluate the programs of several federal agencies, which some believe had positive results. ` There are many arguments for affirmative action in hiring and employment practices. Historically, almost 90% of all jobs are filled internally, with positions going to relatives and friends of those already employed. Employers often fill these positions with people who are under-qualified, and had the position been advertised properly, the hiring managers may have found a better candidate for the job. Affirmative action has â€Å"encouraged ma ny companies to engage in employment practices that set minimum standards of job definition, recruiting, outreach, and evaluation hat result in choosingthe right person for the job† (Diverse Strategies). These practices also promote diversity. When properly managed, diversity can â€Å"increase creativity and innovation in organizations as well as improve decision making by providing different perspectives on problems† (Judge, 20). Greater diversity in certain fields, such as medicine and law, will increase the aid given to underrepresented groups. ` ` The main focus of affirmative action, however, is to level the playing field and counter both ongoing discrimination as well as bigoted attitudes. Even in this day and age, minorities and women continue to lag behind white Anglo-Saxon protestant men in the business world. Male employees may be promoted over women, because some companies still put women on a â€Å"mommy track† without their consent, and many people publicly lie about how they feel with regards to race. Studies have shown that many people â€Å"found it easier to link women’s names with home-related words than with career-related words† (Kowalski, 45), and test subjects â€Å"are often quicker at linking black faces with negative words than with positive words† (Kowalski, 45). ` With all of these arguments for affirmative action, there are still critics that believe these policies not only perpetuate continued racial tension, but alsolead members of these groups to believe they cannot succeed on their own. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is quoted saying â€Å"It never ceases to amaze me that the courts are so willing to assume that anything that is predominantly black must be inferior. † Affirmative action is also seen to stigmatize people. Others may assume that someone obtained their position because of affirmative action, and this breeds resentment and anger. People relate to each other as either inside or outside the groups benefiting from affirmative action, and it becomes a â€Å"them versus us† mentality. Managers,who have never done anything wrong, may feel painted with a bigot or chauvinist brush. ` ` Opponents of affirmative action also believe itviolates the idea of a merit system. Choices in hiring, raises, and promotions should benefit the people who worked hard and deserve them. Any hiring decision istheresult of an interview, given bymanagers who already have ideas about the qualities an employee should have, and as such, should be based on the skills and education the candidate brings to the table. Managers feel constrained by words such as â€Å"quota† and â€Å"preferential treatment† when it comes to hiring decisions, and developa negative outlook on the idea of affirmative action. ` ` Not only do managers find it interferes with hiring decisions, many businessesalso feel that affirmative action is a burdensome procedure. Scores of businesses protested â€Å"they were wasting too much time on paperwork and spending too much money defending themselves against discrimination charges† (Anderson, 167). During the Reagan years, research into the cost of affirmative action policies for businessesestimated that â€Å"a contract compliance review cost a contractor over $20,000, and that such appraisals were costing the Fortune 500companies $1 billion annually† (Anderson, 167;that estimate has only grown. ` Another issue is that some employees, or potential employees, now use affirmative action as a form of revenge if they feel they have been slighted in some way, such as by not being hired or notreceivinga promotion. It is very difficult to prove that someone was discriminated against based on their race or gender, but the case can still take many court hours and much money. Because of this, many businesses are more likely to settle out of court, rather than tie up thousands of dollars in court fees. This ends with the company taking a financial hit and the angry employee with a settlement. ` ` Since the introduction of affirmative action in the 1960s, affirmative action has had many implications for businesses. Businesses now have to fill certain quotas based on how many people they have working for them, they are subject to reviews of their policies and procedures,and businesses owned by minorities and females are given special privileges and loans that are not offered to others. Businesses arealso responsible for the financial burdens placedon them as a result of affirmative action. Many employees feelthat affirmative action is â€Å"reverse discrimination†,because hiring managers are openly favoring one group over another based on their race or gender,and many believe affirmative actioncontinues to perpetuate racial tension. ` ` With all of these issues, it’s no wonder that some peoplehave negative feelings and attitudes toward affirmative action. They feel that jobs should be given to the people that most deserve them, and that raises and promotions shouldbeawarded basedon the merit system. It is impossible for businesses to operate fairly to all within the guidelines of affirmative action since, by definition,it requires businesses to base their hiring standards on what the government requires rather than ontheir business needs. Hiringthe best possible candidate for a job, no matter what race or gender, should be the main goal when making hiring decisions, and not what minority group may be underrepresented in your company. As long as affirmative action is law, businesses will have to finda way to meet its requirements or face harsh fines and lawsuits, and while there are many compelling arguments against affirmative action, its policies will not be changed any time soon. ` Works Cited â€Å"Encyclopedia of Small Business/ Affirmative Action†. eNotes. com. April 8, 2009 http://www. enotes. com/small-business-encyclopedia/affirmative-action. com. Anderson, Terry H. . The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. , 2004. Coulter, Ann. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must). New York, NY: Crown Forum, 2004. Grapes, Bryan J. . Affirmative Action. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc. , 2000. Judge Timothy A. , and Robbins, Stephen P.. Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2009. Kowalski, Kathiann M. . Open for Debate: Affirmative Action. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2007. Skrentny, John D.. The Minority Rights Revolution. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002. Tong, Clifford M.. â€Å"Diverse Strategies†. Diverse Strategies Incorporated. April 8, 2009 http://www. diversestrategies. com/Affirmative_action. htm.