Abortion: Should Abortion Be Legal?

Abortion: Should Abortion Be Legal? Throughout the history people have agreed and disagreed with many significant issues. And in the face of controversial arguments everyone has their very own opinion. Even though it is more likely that reasonable people might agree with a logical argument, there are some that are not very easy to convince because it contradicts their view points. Such is the case of the controversial issue of abortion. To understand better why people support abortion, first we have to comprehend what abortion is.According to the National Right to Life, the term abortion refers to â€Å"any premature expulsion of a human fetus, whether naturally spontaneous, as in a miscarriage, or artificially induced, as in a surgical or chemical abortion. † (www. nrlc. org, March 4, 2013). The definition is only useful to appreciate the real problem more precisely. In this paper I will focus on four key arguments that support pro-abortion; and I will present my opinion on e ach one to evaluate if the argument works or not through the usage of rhetorical thinking.Finally, I will conclude by briefly stating my opinion regarding this issue after analyzing these arguments of the other side of the coin. One of the most talked about arguments that support abortion is â€Å"Abortion is a Fundamental Right. † In Jan. 22, 1973 the US Supreme Court recognized â€Å"A woman's right to choose abortion is a ‘fundamental right’† in the case Roe v. Wade. Lower federal courts had declared†¦ denying a woman the right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term violated basic privacy and liberty interests contained in the Constitution.The court concluded that Constitutional rights to privacy and liberty protected a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy. †(NAF. org, 5 March 2013). This is a strong argument because it is about abortion in the terms of its legal premises. The Supreme Court had to give the woman the reason because that is what is written in the Constitution. Besides, it is much easier to let a person win a case than changing the Constitution. Even though the arguments presented in court defended the woman very assuredly.The final decision did not even mention any rights of the potential life that was forming or whatsoever, which is wrong because the woman can do anything that she wants with her body, but the fetus that I inside her is a totally distinct individual with different DNA and factions. For these reasons, this argument is a dilemma because while abortion gives the woman the right to make decisions on her body, it eliminates the legal rights of the unborn child. Another slightly more sensible pro-abortion argument is â€Å"Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. According to the website Libertarians for Life, â€Å"Pregnancy due to rape acts against the woman's liberty. In some sense, it's a perpetuation of the aggression of the rapist. Regardless of the practical problems of pregnancy, rape is a major trauma, and the pregnancy complicates that still further. † (Walter, 10 March 2013). This argument has a sense of pathos, in the way that it conveys a tragic experience with an undesired pregnancy. The author highlights how keeping the pregnancy could lead to a major psychological trauma.A different but as well as sensible pro-abortion topic is the issue of â€Å"Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to birth babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions. † According to PROCON. org, â€Å"The X syndrome, the most common genetic form of mental retardation, affects about 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females. One in 800 babies have Down Syndrome, and one in 3,500 babies are born with Cystic Fibrosis. It is not right to sentence a child to life with an acute handicap. † (PROCON. org, 5 March 2013) This argument conveys a lot of sense of pathos.It is effective because the only people that can actually understand this deeply are the parents and family involved. However, I still strongly disagree with taking away an innocent human’s life. Besides, with so many technological advantages, it is sad to see that people don’t test themselves before deciding to have a baby and later find, during the pregnancy, that the baby that’s coming will have a mental or physical disadvantage. In addition, there is no proof that showing that Down Syndrome people feel ‘sentenced’ or in any disadvantage.It is just the parents that see that the baby is different, not the baby himself. Therefore, this should also be considered a hasty generalization because the family and others see that the baby will be born with a disadvantage, they think that the baby will be miserable—but there’s no proof of that. Mary Gordon, a pro-choice woman author of A Moral Choice, gives her opinion and brings up a very important issue in favor of abortion: â€Å"Abortion transformed from a public into a private issue. She stated that â€Å"The RU-486 pill, which can induce abortion early on, exists. † She added that women were going to obtain it whether or not it is â€Å"legally available. † Her claim is that â€Å"If abortion can occur through chemical rather than physical means, in the privacy of one’s home, most people not directly involved will lose interest in it. As abortion is transformed from a public into a private issue, it will cease to be perceived as political; it will be called personal instead. † (Gordon 190).I think Gordon is right at some point—when she softens out the issue that by making a medical rather than a physical abortion it would then become more personal rather than political, some people might even change their view point, just like they did with the morning-after pill. However, I still believe that if there is already a morning-after pill, then there should be no reason for any woman to wait until conf irming her pregnancy in order to take action. Why not taking the morning-after-pill after an unprotected intercourse to avoid any problem on the first place?Time is very crucial in all aspects; women that wait to see if they are pregnant take a very high risk that can lead to either an unwanted pregnancy or worse—an abortion. On the other hand, I think she is trying to cover the sun with one finger. She is exposing a slippery slope fallacy by sort of saying that if people don’t see the problem, then there should be no problem at all, which isn’t true because not by covering the problem, it will make it disappear. Who knows maybe by doing abortions at home there could be more risks involved.In conclusion, I believe that Abortion is a cruel, immature and unfair way to end a pregnancy. No one should end a pregnancy because it is their responsibility to use contraceptives on the first place. If a woman cannot afford to buy contraceptives, then she should control her instincts instead of getting pregnant to get rid of the unborn baby afterwards. Besides, medicine is so advanced nowadays which really makes abortion a despicable choice for an apathetic woman.Even though, I do respect their opinions regarding their â€Å"freedom†, I do not think that they have much of consideration for the lives of their unborn babies. The reasons why a woman could end her pregnancy are endless. There are tons of excuses—some good others not much—that will always come into sight, but if we start taking wise choices from the beginning, then, we will be able to determine that who pays the consequences is not the person that made the damage but the innocent baby that the mom-to-be does not want to give the right to live.Moreover, if abortion was made illegal again, then hundreds of lives would be saved every year. Besides, life is the most valuable gift anyone can have and possibly give. But like the saying goes: to each their own. Since abortion is legal, it is really up to the woman to take a wise and moral decision and to opt for different alternatives before abortion. Works Cited: Gordon, Mary. â€Å"Should Abortion Be Restricted? † Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues. By George McKenna and Stanley Feingold. 18th ed. N. p. : McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc, 2012. 188-96. Print.Taking Sides Ser. NAF, Staff. â€Å"National Abortion Federation: Pro-Choice and Proud. † National Abortion Federation: Pro-Choice and Proud. N. p. , n. d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. NRL, Staff. â€Å"Abortion: Some Medical Facts. † Abortion: Some Medical Facts. National Right to Life, n. d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. ProCon, Staff. â€Å"Abortion ProCon. org. † Abortion ProCon. org.  © 2013 a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. Walker, John. â€Å"Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. † Libertarians for Life – Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. N. p. , 1998. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

Family Life During Civil War Essay

As a pivotal point in our nation’s history, the civil war holds a special fascination in the land and minds of the American people. It was a war entirely fought by Americans, often dividing families and even brothers against brothers. The American civil war was unforgettable. It was fought between the United States of America and the Southern slave states of the nearly formed confederate state of America under Jefferson Davis. The Civil War made really a tragic long lasting effect on a family unit of that period. During Civil War, families on both sides of the war had to bear a pain of personal loss. Husbands and fathers and sons died not in hundreds but in thousands of numbers in both the North and South and many of them returned home either handicapped or wounded manner. So many men not only injured physically but due to their wartime experiences, they had suffered more emotionally also. This effected their already burdened struggling families more. This way, the families ha d suffered with physical and psychological pain a lot. Also the families were divided during Civil war. The only bread winner of any family – may be a father or husband or an elder son had to go far off the home. So in those families, especially middle class, wives and mothers had to work in the home and also out of the home. They were the only to take care about every aspects of the family including children. And for this they were not much trained. This situation for city women was much more difficult (.netplaces.com). The painting from the article of war sprits at home by Lily Martin Spencer shows that she herself is sitting in the kitchen with her children and a servant. Lacking an adult male figure, the painting reflects the absence of men in the home during this period in American history. The painting from the article of war sprits at home by Lily Martin Spencer shows that she herself is sitting in the kitchen with her children and a servant. Lacking an adult male figure, the painting reflects the absence of men in the home during this period in American history. Northern families lost a great many loved ones over the course of war and experienced their share of problems and grief, but southern families suffered far more. Many southern towns and cities were destroyed and the impact on the confederate civilian population was enormous in all eras (netplace.com). Most people and families in the south led the pastoral life, organized around agricultural activities. Many people in south had no slaves or very few, so all the man does physical labor. Due to war, families lost their able-bodied man, which had changed the condition of family that women had to do all the work in the house and farms to keep farms functioning with the other works such as cleaning, making and fixing cloths, and raising the children (civilwar.org). As war went on, people also started suffering from hunger. With confederate troops, to feed and burning all the remaining food, combined with the lack of available rail transportation which was being use by war efforts. They also suffered from the lack of goods as all the industries and factories were busy preparing the goods for civil war. As many men and sons were forced to leave their house they were not able to concentrate in the war. Handwritten letters were the main form of communication between soldiers and their relatives during civil war. Soldiers became desperate to hear from their families and for news from home. They even gladly read each other’s letters just to hear about familiar places and everyday situations; anything to take their mind off the war and their struggles. Robert T. Tallman, wrote to William Brown, with an interesting suggestion as a possible means to encourage more communication (ozarkscivilwar.org). â€Å"I have not had a letter for two weeks what is our folks doing. tell them I am dead and maybe they w ill send for my bounty and wages, and I will hear from them that way if no other.†( Robert T. Tallman letter to William Brown – February 11, 1865). Civil war had the same impact on northern families. White families in Virginia first confronted the war’s impact with the enlistments of their male kin. To provide food and protect families, men were pulled away from their loved ones to serve in the confederate army. As one Virginia solider put his duty in the war encompassed â€Å"the defense of our country, our liberty and the protection of our parent, wives, children, and all that is dear to a man† (encylopediavirginia.org). 50 percent of the male enlisted from Virginia tried to help both families and the confederacy. But it was of no use. Wives, daughters, sisters, and other female kin assumed much of the work normally pursued by men- managing plantation, harvesting crops, running business. This pressure took toll on women. â€Å"We felt like clinging to Walter and holding him back†, wrote one Virginia woman in reaction to a family member’s enlistment. â€Å"I was sick of war, sick of the butchery, th e anguish† (encylopediavirginia.org). Virginia Civilians After a Battle Often soldiers tries to maintain their role in family through home letters, but their correspondence proved an imperfect surrogate when the mail, disrupted by war, was slow in coming. Some women also tried to bring their men home by filing petition with the confederate secretary of war for a man’s exemption, or by urging a soldier to desert the army, which were often unsuccessful and so the women has to wait for her man until the war end or sometimes she never gets to see him. These lines from the letter were included in the Civil War diary of Samuel Bennett, a Daviess County native who fought for the Union Army. In it, Bennett’s mother expresses her worries about his welfare. â€Å"Wilson I dreamed last night that you had come home you may be sure that I was sorry when I waked and found it was a dere dream Wilson the crop is in tolerable good order you father commensed mowing yesterday and Amas thought he could mow and your father concluded that he might to get it he does very well Wilson we will get your janes today and if you want a pair of everyday pants I want you to let me know and I will make them and bring them if we get to come and if not I will send them I hope we will get to come yet I must bring my broken lines to a close by saing I hope that it will not bee long till we see each others face Write as soon as this comes to hand I remain your devoted and loving mother untill death†(ket.org). Political divisions sometimes compounded the separation experienced by families. Regions with high unionist concentrations, witnessed the division of house members against each other-pitting father against son, husband against wife, and sometimes brother against brother. John fee wrote in his autobiography that â€Å"The next morning just as I was about starting back to my home, my father said to me, â€Å"Julett is here on my premises, and I will sell her before sundown if I can.† I turned to him and said, â€Å"Father, I am now that woman’s only guardian†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. yet if you sell that woman, I will prosecute you for so doing, as sure as you are a man.†(ket.org) Civil war had made a enormous effect on the family life. Many lost their loved ones and very few got their loved ones back. Thus the civil war era was very hard for every women, men, and child. To claim that the Civil War was unlike any war before or since is an argument this overlooks many of the continuities of time displayed in a history of warfare. Certainly it can be claimed to be the first type of war in several of its features, but entirely different isolates it from this history and leaves out very important aspects of it. Citation * â€Å"The American Civil War.† 123helpme.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * Civil War Trust. â€Å"Civil War Lesson Plans: Southern Life during Civil War.† Civilwar.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * Stoddard, Brooke C., and Daniel P. Murphy. â€Å"Family Life during Civil War.† Netplaces.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * Slipp, Naomi, ed. â€Å"Unpacking Feminist Content in Lilly Martin Spencer’s â€Å"War Spirit at Home†.† WordPress.com. N.p., 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * â€Å"Women and Children at Home.† Ket.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA, ed. â€Å"Tallaman- Brown Family Papers.† Ozarkscivilwar.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * â€Å"Impact of the Civil War on the Tennessee Homefront.† Liberary.mtsu.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. . * Taylor, Amy Murrell. â€Å"Family Life During the Civil War.† Encylopedia Virginia. Ed. Brendan Wolfe. 2 February 2013 Virginia Foundation Humanities 6 feb 2012

Philippine Culture and Filipino Essay

Understanding the Filipino Values and Culture To a person who is not familiar or aware ot the Philippine culture, understanding Filipinos is like playing a game one has never played before and of which the rules have not been explained very well. understanding the values of Filipinos pose a challenge, to enjoy the game without missing the Joys and fun of like living in the Philippines. A stranger or foreigner who has a knowledge of or exposure to the Filipino societys customs, etiquette, and manners, is less likely to experience intense culture shock. The Philippine Islands and Filipino Profile: The Phlllpplnes Is composed of 7,107 Islands with a total land area of 296,912 square kilometers (1. 6 kilometers equal 1 mile). This makes it a little larger than the British Isles and a little smaller than Japan. Its land area Is eight times larger than Taiwan, 213 the size ot either Thailand or spaln, but less than 1/30 ot the size ot the united States or Mainland China. The country is bounded on the west by the China Sea, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the south by the Celebes Sea. It lies a little above the equator and is 965 kilometers (600 miles) off the southeast coast of the Asian mainland. It Is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) below Taiwan, and 24 kilometers above Borneo. Just being above the equator. puts the Philippines in the typhoon belt. The two pronounced seasons in the Philippines are the rainy months from June to October and the dry months from November to May. In between these seasons come a number of typhoons that hit the country yearly. The Philippines has a population of more than 50 million. The population of the country is rather unevenly distributed on the larger islands due to livelihood opportunities, social and economic organizations and historical factors. Its biggest islands In addition to the three (3) main islands (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) are Mindoro, Samar, Panay, Cebu, Palawan, Leyte, Bohol and Masbate. Its largest cities are Manila, Quezon, Davao and Cebu. The Philippine population Is characterized by an almost equal number of males and females. ot Flllplnos are below 15 years of age. Literacy stands at 82. 9 percent. The Philippines has for its languages Pilipino, English and Spanish; it has 87 different major dialects. English is widely spoken; In fact, this country is the third largest English-speaking nation In the world. Philippines is the first democratic country in Asia. Welcome to the Philippines! Welcome to this country of warm smiles and vivacious people. Getting to know the Filipinos is easy enough. If you speak English, you will find that most of the Filipinos speak the language; and what’s more, they are only too happy to make your acquaintance in English. Even if you don’t, the Filipino is so outgoing by nature that making friends out of total strangers or chance acquaintances is simply being in character. The Filipinos are a happy blend of several races, basically Malay with Chinese, Spanish, Indian and American admixtures. Their values and ways of life were shaped by several, sometimes conflicting cultures and the resulting blend is what makes their own uniquely Filipino. In their veins run the rich Christian values of Europe, the pragmatic and democratic values of America, and the spiritual values of Asia. The seven distinct elements in Filipino culture are: values, basic personality, basic social unit, politics, economics, technology and ecology. Each of these aspects of the Filipino culture has a body of ideas called â€Å"content† which gives form and meaning to each aspect. This form and meaning are expressed through â€Å"structures† or institutions which the Philippine society creates for the orderly regulation of behavior in established ways. Filipino cultural values are widely held beliefs which make some activities, relationships, goals and feelings important to the Filipino people’s identity. When these Filipino values coalesce and mesh in a mutually supportive system, it is called â€Å"Filipino value system. † The content of the Filipino values are the Filipino myths and religion while the structures are the Filipino oral and written traditions, churches, acred places, temples and mosques. The Filipinos internalize these values of their culture and thus create for themselves a â€Å"world of meanings. † The Filipino basic personality is determined by the Filipino culture because of the selection of those congruent types that are congruent with the culture. The content of the Filipino basic personality is made up of Filipino beliefs and knowledge while the structure is formed by the Filipino initiation and various rituals and formal and informal education. The Filipino basic social unit is the family which contributes to and maintains the Filipino values. The content of the Filipino social unit is the family, groups and community life while the structure is the lineage, marriage descent, neighborhood, peer group and villages. The Filipino politics are the Filipino ideas and structures related to the distribution and channeling of power within the Philippine society for its well-being, order and regulation. The content of politics is the Filipino traditional power units and democracy while the structures are the law, parliament, councils, elders and chiefs. structures which it creates for provision of food, clothing and shelter for its members. The content of Philippine economics is the production by private enterprises while its structure is capitalism and socialism. Filipino technology includes all that the Filipinos have invented to make their life easier, less arduous, and shifted from the brink of mere survival thus changing their way of life and giving them more control of their physical environment. Its contents are communication and health while its structure is composed of the various media, professional organizations, medicine, hospitals and laboratories. Filipino ecology is the relation of the Filipino to the ecosystem such as temperature, ype of soil, amount of moisture, types of crops that can be grown or types of animals present in the Philippines and other environmental features. The content of Filipino ecology is the identification of the Filipino with nature and its structure including hunting, fishing, nature worship and irrigation. Cultural Contrast: The Filipino, compared with Westerners, prefers a â€Å"structured† way of life rather than one in which he can be assertive of his own individuality. Thus, a Westerner will find the Filipino less autonomous and more dependent. This is because of the social oncept of the Filipino self-esteem. His concept of self is identified with his family. Right from childhood he is made to believe that he belongs to the family. Since childhood a Filipino is encouraged to tell all of his thoughts to his parents and submit to his parents’ direction, counsel and advice. He is admonished to be good because any disgrace that he commits is a disgrace to the family. In times of misfortune he is assured of his familys support, sympathy and love. By western standards, the Filipino parents can be considered overprotective and sometimes intrusive. However, if one understands this seemingly unreasonable control in the context of the Philippine culture wherein exists the belief in the primacy of the extended family over that of the individual and that the only source of emotional, economic, and moral support is the family, one will be more tolerant and respectful of such actuation. The Filipino Family and Kinship: The basic units of the Philippine social organization are the elementary family which includes the mother, father and children, and the bilateral extended family which embraces all relatives of the father and the mother. Of special importance is the sibling group, the unit formed by brothers and sisters. There are no clans or similar unilateral kinship groups in the Philippines. The elementary family and the sibling group form the primary bases of corporate action. influence of kinship, which centers on the family, is far-reaching. The persuasive influence of the family upon all segments of Philippine social organization can be illustrated in many ways. Religious responsibility, for example, is familial rather than church-centered. Each home has a family shrine. The influence of the family upon conomic and entrepreneurial business activities is also great. The so-called â€Å"corporations† found in urban areas are generally family holdings. The prevailing family structure emphasizes loyalty and support of the family, not of any higher level of social organization. The Filipino family is the nuclear unit around which social activities are organized – it is the basic unit of corporate action. The interests of the individual in Philippine society are secondary to those of the family. Ethical and Normative Behavior of Filipinos: Ethics bases itself on what is human. Not everything is universal in human nature. As Clyde Kluckholm and Henry A, Murray say â€Å"Every man is in certain respects (a) like all other men; (b) like some other men; (c) like no other man. It is within the context of (b) that ethical and normative behavior of people in the Philippines has its distinctive characteristics. The Filipino cultural orientation is supported by shared values which function as the basis of shared behavior common to most Filipinos. Values have reference to standards people use for evaluating what is right or wrong, good or evil. Values are elated to norms which are rules of conduct specific to given social situations. The Filipinos have two set s of paradoxical traits and patterns of relationship that are imbued by his culture. The first set is the highly structured and authoritarian familial set-up where roles are prescribed especially for younger members of the family. This is characterized by autocratic leadership of the elder-members, submitting one’s self to the decision of the family elders, and almost one-way communication in the pecking order. The second set of social relationship that the Filipino has, which ronically exists side by side with the highly structured set-up, is the strong communitarian practice called â€Å"Bayanihan† which literally means â€Å"being a hero. This practice ignores social ranking, structures, leadership roles and authority relationships. The roles in the structured set-up mentioned earlier cease to exist. Surprisingly, the Filipino is at home with both cultural practices in his social life. He shifts from one setting to another with unbelievable ease and grace. In the first set up, there is no way that a child can lead the elders in any form of decision- making. In the Bayanihan set-up, however, if a child proves that he has the right qualification needed for the task, he may lead the elders, not excluding his father and elder brother. There are three main imperatives that underlie Filipino value orientation: relational imperatives (actual person to person encounters), emotional imperatives (emotionally perceived and that the most powerful moral imperative in Filipino culture is â€Å"utang na 100b† or debt of gratitude/loyalty or commitment). Unlike in other Asian countries, women in the Philippines occupy a high status. Equality with men is a birthright of the Filipino women. Unlike her Western sisters, they didn’t have to march the streets to be heard. Women are highly respected in the Philippines. They may walk alone on the streets. They can also drive alone. Filipinos are fond of giving and attending parties. Any event can be an excuse for having a small or big party – the baptism of an infant, a birthday, a daughter’s debut, a wedding, or an engagement. Even a promotion in a Job, passing a government exam, getting one’s first paycheck or recovery from illness is enough reason to give a party.

Alzheimers Disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alzheimers Disease - Research Paper Example He begins to forget the names of acquaintances, relatives or even members of the family. When the disease starts getting worse, the patient may even forget how to eat, drink or go to toilet. His behavior may become violent and intolerant. Such patients are in need of proper care despite the frustration arising among the members of his family. One is more at the risk of having this disease if he had a similar case in his family. Alzheimer’s disease has become the seventh major death cause in the United States and at present 5.3 million Americans are Alzheimer’s patients (Alzheimer’s Association, 2010). These are anomalous collections of a protein, known as beta-amyloid, inside the neurons, which may form due to abnormal processing of this protein. When an inflammation occurs in the region of these plaques, it causes the death of the neurons. Let’s discuss the symptoms with respect to stages. Stage 1, mild stage, may have symptoms like losing way, trouble in calculating bills, asking something repeatedly, taking longer to perform daily tasks, having trouble in decision-making and problem-solving, putting things in weird places, withdrawing from social life, and showing attitude problems. Stage 2, moderate stage, shows symptoms like requiring assistance in performing daily tasks, forgetting recent happenings and acquaintances, mixing up distant past with recent past, having language problems, wandering away, becoming depressed, facing insomnia and eating troubles. Stage 3, severe stage, has symptoms like being unable to feed oneself, control bowel and urinary movements, speak, read, write or recognize members of the family. Memory vanishes away totally (American Health Assistance Foundation, 2010). Alzheimer’s disease does not have a specific treatment; however, measures can be taken to help patients maintain their mental health and normal behavioral patterns to slow down the progress of the disease (National Institute on Aging, 2010). The

The impact of american TV series 'Gossip Girl' on young adult females Essay - 1

The impact of american TV series 'Gossip Girl' on young adult females (consumerism, product placement, luxury lifestyle) - Ideol - Essay Example With more access to social media and exposure to advertisements, today’s youth are receiving overwhelming amount of information. Besides leisure choices, Television is moulding their day-to-day preferences and trying to influence them to adopt a certain unrealistic lifestyle as they view in their favourite TV series. Another major theme is unhealthy influence of media on the health and personality building decisions. Be it an attempt to follow an unhealthy lifestyle, acting like an adult or having an access to recent branded goods, there is a constant comparison between real lives and what is being portrayed on the TV (Toffoletti 2008, pp.72-5; McRobbie 2008, pp.534-42). On the contrary, these TV shows provide an opportunity to view how certain characters exhibit an ideal behaviour in difficult situations which can be learned by the audience (Hill 2011, pp.354- 357). Consumerism has affected spending patterns and buyer’s behaviours significantly all around the globe. Th e era’s prominent brands occupy major market share by strategizing techniques that appeal to the youth. This is in spite of buyers’ prior awareness of the fact that advertisements only show the brands that they want viewers to buy. The effort to induce positive perception in the consumers is so overwhelming that it has a tendency of affecting decisions of even the most knowledgeable buyers (Romeo 2009, pp.18-25). The Television sector is not far behind in this race and they also strive to increase their viewership. Television is a powerful medium that reaches billions of viewers on a daily basis (Turow 2005, pp.105-113). Trends introduced through this medium affect millions of young viewers on daily basis (Spalding, 2010). An upcoming trend that continues to gain prominence over traditional television commercials is marketing brands in television series or movies; whereby, big corporations avail their products to actors in a television series as part of costume and dec or as a marketing strategy as is the case in the TV series Gossip Girl. The TV series is based on a best-selling series of novels written by Cecily von Ziegesar about the tumultuous life of Manhattan's Upper East Side's elite young adults. The main themes in the TV series revolve around the love life, relationships, deceit, rivalry, power, and money together with luxury lifestyle of the main characters. The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, was first premiered on The CW in late September, 2007 (Spalding, 2010, p.3-67). Although, researches done by Turow (2005, pp. 105-113) and Saplding (2010) illustrate how TV, especially sitcoms, affect behavior and preferences of consumers; Keum et al. (2004, pp. 372-391) present a different opinion by saying that media creates social consciousness and status consciousness which leads to spurring an awareness of the social responsibilities associated with consuming and a pursuit of status-oriented lifestyles. These researchers were of the opinion that the shift in social and status consciousness occurs as a result of viewers’ obsession with emulating the behaviours and attitudes portrayed with the characters they hold in high esteem. This approach infers that TV series such as Gossip Girl plays a role in influencing viewers’ social and status consciousness, which in turn affects their attitudes and behaviours with regard to lifestyle and consumer choices. For example,

Southeast Asia in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Southeast Asia in the US - Essay Example For Ricky, the sea journey was difficult as explained by Hai, one gang member who gave their account while on a sea travel with pirates said that he was only ten years old and his mother was beaten up and thrown into the vast seawaters an experience he will never forget. Most of the Vietnamese had other painful stories to tell about their experience during the war. For instance, they state that on their way to U.S.A, pirates attacked them.. For a period of two years, the South East of Asia became the home for many ‘boat people’ refugees before they were taken to United States. In the camps, there were many crimes and they engaged in survival tactics.In our close association with Ricky, we felt that there were unfamiliar faces either from the gang or from the others who lived in the house at one time. He also informed us that many of their recruits were coming down from Minneapolis. He did not explain the condition they were in at that time. Johnny, a friend of his was a victim who was on the run. His foster father had beaten him and he adapted slowly to the conditions. He seemed to very cautious and afraid of the group members. His friends were cool with him and allowed him to adapt slowly. Though their experience varies, they had similar themes. Most of the members gave their experience as school dropouts, they had language barrier between them, and they could not assimilate it successfully. After two years, they were two years adrift and their parents were forced to adjust their birth dates. In similar life experience, Tam a victim focuses on the family unity that existed in Vietnam that was dismantled by the war. The split families found it difficult to adjust with the transitional life in United States. This has caused a change in the gender roles of most

SHORT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

SHORT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT - Essay Example The roles played by the piano, the bass and the drums are all very important. The piano is the lead and it starts out with the tone, melody and rhythm it wants to set for the whole song. The drums and bass play a similar role of maintaining the rhythm for the rest of the performers. The 12-bar blues chord progression (Rickert) is followed throughout most of the song. The pianist plays some variations during the performance. The bassist comps for the soloists by playing the root using slapping technique. The drummer uses fillers in between the performances of brass instrument players. The sequence of events in the song start with the pianist and bassist, then the saxophone, trombone and trumpets with the drummer play their sequences. The sequence displays head riff technique where the saxophone soloist performs his piece, the trombone player takes over for a while reiterating the chorus music and the saxophone soloist resumes his piece. The trumpet soloist also gets to showcase his variations. What is interesting to note is that the drummer and the trombone player have brief little duet which is very pleasant and emphasises the rhythm and melody of One O’clock Jazz. The light and upbeat melody of the entire piece is rejuvenating. The tone is simple yet energetic. The sequence of performances by the soloists and the sections is very well balanced. The video is visually appealing because the rhythmic motion display of the musicians rubs off on the listener and sets them

London Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

London Economy - Essay Example This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. Since the implementation of the London Living Wage campaign in 2001, majority of the lowly paid employees have advocated for them to be paid the living wage. The living wage is not only of benefit to the employees, but also to the employers. In this study, we considered the impact of London Living Wage on the banking sector. Employers in this sector benefit by; improvement in the employees’ morale, recruitment and retention of workers, increase the overall productivity of the firm, workers motivation and also on the goodwill of the firm as a whole. Employees will also benefit through better working conditions and improved living standards and life styles. This has enabled them manage their bills accurately, pay for tuition and further training and have a better family life. Living wage can be defined as, a wage rate sufficient to provide and meet the necessities and other social amenities that are essential, at an acceptable standard of living. There is a distinction between living wage and minimum wage. Minimum wage is defined as a wage determined by the legal authority which employers cannot pay their employees below it (Waltman, 2008). On the other hand, the London Living Wage is the threshold at which individuals can live above the poverty line, and they can have sufficient net to provide and maintain a quality life (Luce, 2005). The first campaign of LLW was launched in 2001 by London citizens. They included; schools, faith organizations, community groups and trade union branches. They argued that low income had effects on the community as a whole. This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. The main aim of the campaign was to establish a living wage that was distinct from the already existing legal obligatory minimum wage. They argued that

The Effect of Globalization on Anthropology Essay

The Effect of Globalization on Anthropology - Essay Example This research tells that globalization has been characterized by rapid technological developments (especially in telecommunications and the development of the Internet) that have made it less difficult for people around the world to travel, communicate and conduct business dealings on the global basis. Technology is transforming the world. The market for telecommunications has crossed the $ 1 trillion mark, highlighted by the United States’ $ 150 billion in Latin America. Spurred on by two giant pro-globalization organizations, The World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum, globalization is becoming a more and more common characteristic of world economics. The effect of Globalization on all areas scrutinized by anthropology, such as lifestyles, religion, language and every other component of culture, has been so profound that, for the very first time in world history, every person in every level of society can observe and experience the strong effect of internation al changes in every walk of life (such as the audio-visual impact of their media, the availability of new and exotic meals, and the revolutionary change in the wide variety of products available for purchase). Perhaps the greatest effect has been the emergence of a global labor pool that is estimated to take in nearly 2 billion workers from developing countries during the next 10 years. Every person in the world today has been touched by globalization – he or she may stand to benefit from it, or may be endangered by it. Globalization does not involve a uniform, even natured characteristic. The U.S, in its role as the â€Å"indispensable nation† in the management of world affairs, and the foremost producer of information products, is the undisputed leader of the globalization process. Some countries (the U.S and Europe) have emerged as bigger players than the others, while poor countries gain very little from it. Globalization demonstrates the Darwinian theory of  "survival of the fittest† whereby powerful countries will survive ‘naturally’ because they are fated to survive, while weak countries are looked upon as undesirable and therefore destined to be separated because of being unable to satisfactorily perform as nation-states.

Human employes vs Robot employes Research Paper

Human employes vs Robot employes - Research Paper Example The paper tells that using human employees versus robot employees is a controversial subject. As there are several advantages and disadvantages to using both types of employees in the workforce. it is sometimes hard to choose which is actually better for the economy, the society and individuals themselves. The history of robot use for roles that human employees once carried out exists for a period of at least the last two centuries. Humanity has arrived at a whole new level of existence because of the use of robots and their employable functionalities. Even though robot employees have not affected the human employee force to the degree that there are severe job shortages occurring, some experts fear that there may be an upper limit as to how many robot employees the economy can sustainably employ before human labour losses are experienced and people are negatively affected. For more than two centuries the effect that using robotic employees has had on the work force has created a pos itive overall economic benefits to society. Although in theory, jobs that were once performed by humans are now being performed by robots, does not fully reflect the true circumstances of the labour market. What has happened is that jobs that have been transferred to robot employees have now freed the previous labourers from simpler tasks so they can do other jobs, and put a greater focus on the development of new aspects of technology and business. This effect has actually created more jobs due to an increase in the production of new industries, technologies and businesses. The standard of living has risen in many areas in the world. Jobs that were lost in one particular sector or niche were in number replaced by jobs that were able to have been created in other areas. The use of robots as employees has led to an increase in gained employee time for companies to use their workers; to focus on other tasks that have allowed for the development of new aspirations. Since the labour for ce has not been devastated by the use of robots over such a long period of the last two centuries, it is more than likely it will not happen in the near future. The use of robotic employees was first evident in the textile industry around the year 1811. A group of textile workers called the Luddites first proposed the idea to economists that their jobs would be taken over by robotic employees or more simply put, by automated processes. The traditional weaving jobs that they were doing were being taken over by the automated weaving machine. In the 1930’s it was predicted that in a time frame of about one thousand years, the new work week would be approximately 15 hours long. There was expected to be a problem that people would have too much leisure time on their hands rather than having to work long hours. This was proposed by John Maynard Kennedy, however in the future years that have already come and past, this theory has obviously been inaccurate. The world wars did see a d isruption in employment, however post world wars actually proved to be economically expanding. Between the years of 1950 to 1990, again fears arose which were similar to those of the Luddites that again human labour forces would be taken over by robot employees (Rifkin 1995). Companies experienced a large degree of resistance from their employees to preserve their jobs and create contracts that were protective in the event that a job was lost to an automated machine. Smaller companies that were not subject to unions did not have to

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Essay Example for Free

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Essay The enterprise resource planning system attempts to integrate or integrates all the data and also processes of an organization into a system that is unified. A typical system of the enterprise resource planning uses the multiple components of the computer hardware and software so as to achieve the integration. The key ingredient of most of the systems in enterprise resource planning is the usage of a unified database in storing the data for various system modules. Comparison between customer relationship management and supply chain management Similarities Both customer relationship management and the supply chain management are examples of modules in the enterprise resource planning system which formally would have been stand alone applications. (Monk and Wagner2006) Differences The data that is contained in the supply chain management software includes; inventory, commission circulation, order entry, claim processing, purchasing, inspection of goods, product configurator, supplies scheduling and the supply chain planning. On the other hand the data that is contained in the customer relationship management software includes; sales and marketing, call center support, customer contact service as well as commissions. On the other hand the supply chain management is a process of planning, implementing and controlling all the operations of the supply chain with a lot of efficiency. While the customer relationship management covers the concepts which are used by various companies in managing their relationships with the customers and they also include capturing, storing, analyzing the customers, vending, partnering and also information on the internal processes. The operational functions of the customer relationship management involve providing support to the front office business processes which include service and sales and marketing. The operational functions of the supply chain management includes activities such as; the daily production and distribution planning, sourcing planning, inbound operations, production operations and also order promising. (Monk and Wagner2006) The supply chain addresses problems on the distribution network configuration, the distribution strategies, information, inventory management as well as the cash flow. On the other hand the customer relationship management addresses the issues marketing sales and service. The customer relationship management has the capability of executing all the three sub modules through the multiple communication channels and the data that is gathered by the CRM considers the privacy of the customer as well as the security of the data. On the other hand the supply chain management components are the third elements of the four square circulation frameworks. Differences between financial accounting and managerial accounting Type of information and confidentiality Financial accounting mainly concentrates on the production of the financial reports which includes profitability, the basic reporting requirements, stability, solvency and liquidity. The reports of this nature can easily be accessible by the external and the internal users. On the other hand management accounting is a branch of accounting which deals with primarily very confidential financial reports for the restricted use of the organizations top management. (Monk and Wagner2006) Whereas the financial accountants follow the GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) that have been set by professional bodies in each country, the managerial accountants make use of the processes and also procedures that are not regulated by the standard setting bodies. On the other hand the multinational companies prefer employing the managerial accountants who have passed the certification in CMA. The certified management accountant (CMA) is an examination that is given by the institute of management accountant which is a professional organization for the accounting professionals. (Monk and Wagner2006)However the certification is very different and also unique from the chartered accountant certificate or CPA. Time period The managerial accounting provides the top management with reports which are future based while on the other hand the financial accounting provides reports that are based on the historical information. However even though the management accountants base their reports on the historical values they also employ the statistical methods so as to arrive at the future values. In both the financial and managerial accounting the enterprise resource planning systems benefits the workers in various ways. (Monk and Wagner2006) Information on the payroll of the sales people This information will be very useful in the management o the sales team in the Snackers sales department. This is because the manager will be able to know the consistency of each sales persons pay in relation to their performance. On the other hand such information will help the manager to pay the sales people according to the defined contract which could be inform of incentives, commission or a basic salary. (Monk and Wagner2006) Information on training of the sales people This information will be helpful in the management of the sales people since it will help in identifying the extent to which the sales people have been trained and also how far hey have been able to go with their training. This information is also useful since it helps in showing what the sales people have not been trained in and the consistency in their training. Such information will also be useful in the identification of the refresher courses on the sales people since such training is very important to the company sales and marketing strategies. (Monk and Wagner, 2006) Information on time and attendance of the sales people This information will help the management identify the employee’s trends in reporting and attending to their official duties. It will also help in identifying the employees who are consistent in their attendance and those who are not. Such information would be very useful especially when promoting the employees , increasing their   responsibilities, giving them incentives, taking any disciplinary actions and also in retrenchments and transfers. Information on the benefits of the sales people This information would be helpful to the management since it will give the basis of the benefits of the employees. Such information would help the company’s management to award the sales people with their correct benefits and incentives which they are entitled to during or after their term of service.

Children’s Functional Health Pattern Essay Example for Free

Children’s Functional Health Pattern Essay Toddlers believe rules are absolute and behave out of fear of punishment. The toddler will respond with good behavior for positive feedback. These  values and beliefs are learned. Preschoolers frequently express their values by stating who or what they like or what they want to be when they grow up. Preschoolers receive modeling of values from involved adults, peers, as they develop their morality. School-Age children’s values come from religion, cultural, and parental values influences. These factors shape a child’s moral development, and concept of right and wrong. School-age children are able to make decisions related to moral and ethical issues. Parents may cater to their toddler when they are misbehaving, giving them more attention when they are bad than when they are good. This make the toddler believe that behaving badly gets their parents attention. Parents need to remember to reward good behavior, and to emphasize rewards for acceptable behavior and minimizing attention for unwanted behavior. Parents may not have firm and established rules, making it confusing for the toddler to distinguish right from wrong. Peers or inappropriate content on television can negatively influence preschooler’s values and beliefs. Parents may have a poor morals and value system themselves, inadvertently teaching their preschoolers the same behaviors. School-age children may bend to peer pressure to gain the acceptance of their peers. School-Age children may cheat due a desire to win, or pressure from their parents and peers to be great. Short Answer Questions Address the following based on the above assessment findings. Expected answers will be 1-2 paragraphs in length. Cite and reference outside sources used. 1) Compare and contrast identified similarities as well as differences in  expected assessment across the childhood age groups. Across the stages of development from toddler up to school age children there is a significant difference in the amount of guidance needed and the amount independence required. The differences are evident when examining how each developmental phase interacts and responds within each health assessment pattern. Toddler and preschool children need more structure and routine, whether it’s brushing their teeth or bedtime rituals. School-aged children, on the other hand, require more independence and trust in decisions while still being guided and reassured as the develop their own sense of identity. There are similarities as amongst the age groups as well, such as all of the children moving towards a state of autonomy and the ability to express themselves adequately and be heard by either their parents, their peers, or both. Additionally, all of the different age groups have the need for a structured and healthy home environment in order to grow and develop. 2) Summarize how a nurse would handle physical assessments, examinations, education, and communication differently with children versus adults. Consider spirituality and cultural differences in your answer. When the nurse is caring for a child, the nurse must remember that they are essentially caring for the child and the parent (Jarvis, 2012). For a nurse, the assessment, examination and interaction with a child patient offers its own set of challenges and requires a different approach from that of an adult. When dealing the toddler and preschooler, the nurse should visit with the parent first, letting the child size the nurse up. The nurse can assess child on how they interact and react to the parent and the nurse. This allows the child to see that the caregiver has accepted and trusts the nurse. For the toddler and the preschooler, the parent will be providing most, if not all of the health history. When beginning the physical assessment on the child, move slow and approach them slowly while seeming happy and unthreatening. The nurse should allow the child to hold instruments, like a stethoscope, during the physical exam to help them feel like they are involved in their own care. Having parents there add security and support for children, and also can help with the ease of assessing the  child without them realizing that they are being assessed. With children of each stage of development, the nurse must be cognizant of verbal and non-verbal cues provided by the child. The nurse should be mindful that there could be cultural and/or spiritual considerations to take into account, like when undressing a child of the opposite sex. The nurse needs to ensure that the caregiver and the child feel comfortable. With both children and adults, assessment should start with least invasive and progress leaving most invasive last. School-Age children should be assed like either children or adults depending on their developmental age. Adult assessment can be more direct than that of a child. Ask adults open ended questions, listen to their complaints, and educate as needed. References Current Nursing. (2012). Theory of Psychosocial Development: Erik H. Erikson. Retrieved From http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/theory_of_psychosocial_development.html Edelman, C., Kudzma, E., Mandle, C. (2010). Health Promotion throughout the Life Span [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books /9780323056625 Jarvis, C. (2012). Physical Examination and Health Assessment [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books/978-1-4377-0151-7

NDT Robotic Technology

NDT Robotic Technology

Essay --

The Segregation of Éire Ireland has a very conflicted history. Just when that history may seem to take a turn for the better, it seems that there is always another event to keep the trend of depression ongoing. The separation of the Protestant and Catholic Church would be the center of these events. However, the two different groups could potentially work together for the betterment of the nation. Through an analysis of why Protestants and Catholics split in the first place, disadvantages that Catholics would face in the coming years and also how these disadvantages were lifted, an argument will be developed in that there is perhaps the chance that they may end up working together in the future for the betterment of Ireland. Although these two groups would fight over the countless decades, they need to join into one entity if they wish to see a better future for Ireland. The traces of the split can be seen nearly five hundred years ago during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. During King Henry VIII’s rule, Henry had wanted a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn. When the Pope would refuse to allow a divorce between Catherine and Henry, Henry would decide to start his own church so that he could be in a position of power to proceed with the divorce. This church would become the Church of England. Through this radical break away from the social norm, Henry VIII would be remembered as a man who would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. This break would also signify the beginning of the Protestant Reformation across Europe. This event marks the first time that two groups are seen as a national friend and foe recognition. As Bartlett notes, â€Å"By the 1570’s loyal and disloyal ... ...ehind leaders such as Wolf Tone, pledging their support in the form of the United Irishmen. Even though the 1798 Uprising would ultimately fail, this milestone in Irish history had the other citizens of Ireland that the Catholics were willing to lay aside their past differences for the betterment of their nation. This begs the question that will they continue to work together in the future. Based off the past evidence, Protestants and Catholics have little to lose in assisting each other and having Ireland progress into a nation that is one unified completely. What needs to happen though is that each side has to lay out the terms with no outside influence. There can be no ambiguous statements surrounding these terms and officials have to free of bias, as much as a person can be, to effectively write equal terms that ensure economic progress and religious tolerance.

Euthanasia Essay -- mercy killing physician assisted suicide

Euthanasia The right to die with dignity, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is a very sensitive issue debated in this country today. Euthanasia is the act of painlessly ending the life of a person for the reason of mercy. It is sometimes referred to as mercy killing. Americans are hearing more and more horror stories of the elderly tragically killing his or her spouse in order to avoid painful and horrible deaths. It is sad and amazing the extreme measure one had to go through to accomplish his or her death. More and more Americans are speaking out and fighting for the right to die. This however goes against all morals and ethical codes, for a physician’s role to sustain life, not take it away. Although euthanasia and assisted suicide is not morally and ethically accepted, it should be an individual issue for those who face imminent death because death should be a personal choice, because death should be without unnecessary pain and suffering, and because most importantly death should be peaceful. Granted, euthanasia and physician suicide assisted seem to threaten the traditional medical values. All physicians take the Hippocratic Oath upon receiving their degree. This oath states those physicians are to prolong life and minimize suffering. In an article written by John Glasson he argues: Physician assisted suicide presents one of the greatest contemporary challenges to the medical profession’s ethical responsibilities. Proposed as a means toward more humane care of the dying, assisted suicide threatens the very core of the medical profession’s ethical integrity (Glasson 91). Physicians have a moral and ethical responsibility to sustain life. They are in no position to render aid in a person’s death... ... die with dignity. Works Cited Dority, Barbara. â€Å"The Ultimate Civil Liberty.† Humanist. July/Aug. 1998: 16-20. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Spring 1999. Sirs 1998 Death and Dying, volume 5, article 14. Glasson, John. â€Å"Report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association.† Issues in Law & Medicine. Summer 1994: 91-97. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Springs 1999. Sirs 1994 Death and Dying, volume 4, article 50. Kamisar, Yale. â€Å"The Future of Physician-Assisted Suicide.† Minnesota Law Review. July 1998: 48-53. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Springs 1999. Puchalski, Christina M. â€Å"Life Before Death: Facing Death with True Dignity.† World & I. July 1998: 34-39. Strasburg, Jenny. â€Å"Last Rights: Speaking the Language of Death.† Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN). Scipps-Howard News Service.

Should Teacher Pay Be Based On Student Test Scores? Essay example -- m

For years, educators and government officials have argued what the most effective system of payment is for teachers in the United States. Government officials state that a â€Å"merit pay† system, where teacher pay would reflect the students’ test scores, would be the most effective and would increase teacher performance. Teachers, on the other hand, see the merit pay system as a threat to their salaries and fear that they cannot control student performance. The debate will continue for years to come. However, many people will agree that set teacher salary systems are more conducive to teaching students and maintaining a stable learning environment for all. Merit pay, also known as performance pay, systems have existed since 1862. Beginning in England, these systems focused on how many students attended classes and the number of students passing (Harris). The main goal of this particular system, in the Progressive Era, was to attract the finest teachers to certain areas and to make sure that children in the schools were learning a sufficient education. As time progressed, the same basic goals of the program have remained relatively the same. However, the popularity of the pay-for-performance program has wavered since its origination. For example, when the Russians launched Sputnik, there was a drastic push for academic excellence across the United States (Harris). In turn, many merit pay systems were implemented in hopes of giving teachers plenty of incentives and enticing them to perform to the best of their abilities. Most schools that applied the pay-for-performance plan within their school systems had dropped the program in t he next ten years. Many other countries, like Mexico and Bolivia, have also experimented with s... ...ty of Wisconsin-Madison, Aug. 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Kobakhidze, Magda N. "Teacher Incentives and the Future of Merit-Based Pay in Georgia." Editorial. European Education 2010: 68-89. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Rosales, John. "NEA - Examining Merit Pay." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Smarick, Andy. "Diplomatic Mi$$ion." Editorial. Education Next 2011: 56-63. Education Full Text. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Springer, Matthew G. Performance Incentives: Their Growing Impact on American K-12 Education. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2009. Print Williamson, Ronald. "Education Partnerships, Inc." Education Partnerships Inc. 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .

A note on Porter’s Five Forces Model Essay

a) Rivalry between established competitors What are the major factors determining the nature and intensity of competition between established firms? Concentration In general, the fewer the number of firms in an industry, the easier is coordination of pricing behaviour, and the smaller the chance that one firm will initiate aggressive price competition An industry dominated by a single firm displays little competition and the dominant firm can exercise considerable discretion over the prices it charges. Diversity of competitors The ability of the firms in an industry to avoid competition depends not only upon the number of firms but also on their similarities in terms of objectives, costs, strategies. Example: Oil suppliers in OPEC: they were aligned in the 70’s and prices rose up. They were disaligned in the 80’s and prices decreased Product differentiation The more similar the offerings of rival firms, the more willing are customers to move from one supplier to the other. Where products are indistinguishable, the product is a commodity and the sole basis for competition is price Example of commodities: Raw materials : crude oil, gold bullions; Some finished products: DRAM chips, US Treasury bills Excess capacity and exit barriers The propensity of firms in an industry to resort to aggressive price competition depends upon the balance between capacity and output. The presence of unused capacity encourages firms to compete for additional business in order to spread fixed costs over a greater sales volume. Excess capacity may be the result of declining market demand or cyclical market demand or overinvestment. The period during which excess capacity overhangs an industry depends on the ease with which firms and resources can leave the industry. Costs and other impediments to leaving an industry are â€Å"barriers to exit†. Barriers to exit may be substantial where resources are durable and specialized, or where employees are entitled to job protection Example: Closure of mines in the 80s in Western countries were difficult as miners were heavily unionized Cost condition: economies of scale and the ratio of fixed to variable costs The more important the economies of scale are, the greater are the incentives for expanding sales at the expense of competitors. The higher the ratio of fixed to variable costs, the greater the willingness of firms to reduce prices in order to utilize spare capacity Example: This is typically the case in petrochemicals, tires, steel. b) Threat of entry If an industry is earning a return on invested capital in excess of the cost of capital, that industry will act as a magnet to firms outside the industry. An industry where no barriers to entry or exit exist is contestable. However in most industries, new entrants cannot enter on equal terms to those of established firms. The size of the advantage of established over entrant firms measures the height of barriers to entry, which determines the extent to which an industry can in the long term enjoy profits The principal barriers to entry are: Capital requirements Example: Exxon in the 80s spent almost $1 Billion in a vain attempt to catch up with existing players and become a player in the office computer systems market Economies of scale In some industries, particularly those which are capital intensive or research intensive, efficiency requires producing at a very large scale. New entrants are faced with the choice of entering either on a small scale and accepting high unit costs, or a large scale and running the risk of drastic under utilization of capacity while they build up sales volume Example: Commercial jet engines for commercial airliners: Big economies of scale, thus only 3 players [General Electric/Snecma; Pratt and Whitney; Rolls Royce] Absolute cost advantages Such advantages are usually associated with â€Å"first mover advantages†: by being early into the industry the established firms may have been able to acquire low cost sources of raw materials and by being longer they benefit from economies of learning. Example: in petroleum: ownership of oil fields prevents any second mover Product differentiation In an industry where products are differentiated, established firms possess an advantage over new entrants by virtue of brand recognition and customer loyalty. New entrants must spend heavily on advertising and promotion to gain similar levels of brand awareness, or accept a small market share which can be gradually expanded Example: Auditing, advertising, investment banking: established reputations and relationships are entry barriers Access to channels of distribution This barrier to entry is due to the distributors’s preference for established firms’ products: Limited capacity within distribution(eg shelf space), risk aversion, and fixed costs associated with carrying an additional product result in distributors’ reluctance to carry a new manufacturer’ product Exemple : Ice cream storage in small outlets Governmental and legal barriers Several barriers: Granting of a license by a public authority Examples: Taxi-cab services, broadcasting In knowledge intensive industries: patents, copyrights and trade secrets Procurement regulation: the costs of becoming listed as an â€Å"approved supplier† are a barrier Environmental and safety standards: the costs of compliance weigh more heavily on newcomers Retaliation The effectiveness of all these barriers to entry in excluding potential entrants depends upon the entrants’ expectations as to possible retaliation by established firms. Example of retaliation: Aggressive price-cutting, increased advertising, or legal maneuvers c) Competition from substitutes When there are few substitutes for a product, customers willing to pay a potentially high price In micro economic terms, demand is inelastic to price Examples: Gasoline; Cigarettes If there are close substitutes for a product, then there is a limit to the price customers are willing to pay and any increase in price will cause some customers to switch towards substitutes In micro economic terms, demand is elastic with respect to price. Example: frozen foods versus canned food and fresh produce The extent to which the threat of substitutes is high depends upon two factors: The propensity/willingness of buyers to substitutes Example: Efforts by city planners to relieve traffic congestion either by charging the motorist or by subsidizing public transport have been ineffective in the US in encouraging motorists to forsake their cars for buses The price performance characteristics of substitutes (ie the relative performance of alternative products in relation to their price) If two products meet the same customer needs and one performs better than the other across all criteria, the price of the superior products determines the maximum price for the inferior product  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ example: batteries of identical size and voltage: the one with the shorter life expectancy will only sell if it undercuts the price of the longer-life battery Where products are meeting more complex needs and no product dominates all performance dimensions, a niche position in the market may be sustainable despite premium pricing Example: Harley Davidson : inferior speed, acceleration, technical sophistication than Japanese motorcycles, but priced higher Difficulty in perceiving performance differences can also inhibit substitution on the basis of price Example: The subjective nature of flagrance makes comparison difficult for the consumer. Direct copies (same ingredients!) of popular perfumes at less than half the price have not gained substantial market share d) Bargaining power of buyers Firms operate in two markets: the market for inputs (raw materials, components, finance, labor services) and for outputs (products and services sold to customers – be distributors, consumers or other manufacturers). In both markets the relative profitability of the two parties to a transaction depends upon relative economic power. Two factors are important in determining the strength of buying power Buyers’price sensitivity Some key points on buyers’price sensitivity: 1) It depends on the importance of the item as a proportion of their total cost Example: For food processing companies, metal cans are one of the largest single items in their purchase of materials. These companies are highly sensitive to the prices of metal cans 2) The less differentiated are the products of the supplying industry, the more willing is the buyer to switch suppliers based on the basis of price Example: Supermarket chains can switch suppliers of packaged white breads 3) The greater the competition between buyers, the lower their profit margins, the greater their eagerness to achieve price reductions from their sellers Example: Automobile manufacturers place high pressures on their component suppliers 4) The greater the importance of the sold product to the quality of the buyer’s product or service, the less sensitive are buyers to the prices they are charged Example: PC vendors had to accept Microsoft’s Software prices Relative bargaining power Bargaining power rests ultimately upon refusal to deal with the other party. The balance of power between the two parties to a transaction depends on the credibility and effectiveness with which each makes this threat. Key determinants of the relative bargaining power: – the relative costs which each party sustains as a result of the transaction not being consummated – the expertise of each party in leveraging its position through gamesmanship 3 factors are likely to be important in determining the bargaining power of buyers relative to that of sellers: 1) Size and concentration of buyers relative to suppliers The smaller the number of suppliers, the less easy is it for a supplier to find alternative customers if one is lost. The bigger the purchases of the customer, the greater is the damage from losing the customer. The larger the size of the buyer relative to the supplier, the better able is the buyer to withstand any financial losses arising from failure to reach  agreement. Example: Buying consortiums are created to pool orders 2) Buyer’s information The first essential for the exercise of bargaining power by buyers is that they are able to compare the prices and qualities of different suppliers’ products or services. Examples: Lawyers, doctors, traders in the bazaars of Istanbul do not display the prices they charge Note that knowledge of price is of little value if the characteristics of a product or service are not easily ascertained before purchase Example: It is difficult to assess beforehand the value of investment advices, management consulting (or baldness treatment!)

Kants Moral Thoery Essay

(1) Explain Kant’s moral theory. Explain and critique Kant’s response to â€Å"The Nazis Objection. † Immanuel Kant is one of the most respected and studied philosopher of all time and is known for his basic yet in-depth moral theories and the belief that morality stems not from divine command or cultural conditioning but from reasoning and human freedom. His straight forward beliefs come from his very strict Lutheran upbringing which consisted of universal rights and universal wrongs with no exceptions He believed his moral laws to be universal and applied to every being including God, spirits and extraterrestrials. His ethics made him a leading figure in deontology which judges people on their actions, not the consequences of their actions, as morally significant. And actions are only as good as their intent to be morally permissible. Kant introduced two commandments of reason, called imperatives, from which all obligations and duties arise. The first imperative is called a hypothetical imperative which Kant describes as, â€Å"the practical necessity of a possible action as means to another end†(Kant, p. 327). This means if you want â€Å"A† then you must do â€Å"B†, such as if you want people to think you a thief, then you shouldn’t steal. This imperative is dependent upon our wants and goals which are ultimately rooted in self interest. The second imperative, which Kant bases the majority of his moral theory on, is called a categorical imperative which has no â€Å"if† in it and is a concrete universal law. Kant defines this imperative as â€Å"an action that is objectively necessary in itself without reference to any purpose†(Kant, p. 327). The categorical imperative of the example listed above would simply be â€Å"don’t steal†, because it against moral law. These imperatives rule out all self interest and are very blunt to what is right. Kant’s moral laws are laws that apply to everyone and everything without question. All things that should be done are required by moral law and all things that should not be done are forbidden by moral law. The method of determining these moral laws can be derived by what Kant describes as the only real categorical imperative in which he tells people to â€Å"Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by your will, a universal law of nature(Kant, p. 328). This makes the reasoning of a moral obligation or action a very simple process. You must simply ask if your action can be made into a universal moral law and if it cannot then you must not do it. And if they answer is yes, then that means that the action can or should be performed by every being in the universe with no grey areas or exceptions to the rule. One example Kant uses is a man who is seriously depressed and debating with the thought of ending his own life. Kant describes his maxim as â€Å"from self-love I adopt it as a principle to shorten my life when its longer duration Is likely to spread more evil than satisfaction(Kant, p. 328). † Even though he may think he is doing a good thing for the world out of self-love, a universal law to destroy life could not exist. One major argument against Kant’s moral theory where a grey area is obviously present is whether or not it is okay to lie under the right circumstances. The main objection here is called the Nazi objection which asks that if you lived in Nazi Germany during the 1930’s and officers were at your door asking if you were harboring any Jews; would it then be morally permissible to lie because if you told the truth, the Jews would be killed? According to Kant’s moral theory you must tell the officers where you are hiding them, but after the Nazis go after the Jews, it then becomes your moral obligation to help the Jews from being killed which turns into a huge contradiction(Furman). If we listened to Kant in this situation, the owner of the house as well as the Jews would both be murdered and the moral right that you tried to accomplish would be wrong. Therefore, Kant’s theory is false and it is okay to lie as long as your reason is to preserve a higher duty such as the duty to preserve human life. While Kant’s moral theory does have a fantastic base for many ethical issues and moral issues, his theory runs into problems because of its absoluteness. Another example of this is the moral dilemma that would occur if you have made two separate commitments and are somehow only able to fulfill one of them because of unforeseen circumstances(Furman). Kant leaves no instruction on how to deal with this situation because you are breaking a promise when you fulfill one but not the other. The solution would be to use your intuition and reasoning and make a decision on the importance of each commitment. So although his theory does provide good rules to live by, it Is too restricted to become fully accepted.

Optical Distortions, Inc. Case Study Essay

A contact lens for chickens invented by Optical Distortion, Inc, is probably an amazing tool for farmers to handle their chickens easily. A chicken wearing the ODI lenses has its vision reduced enough to obtain the good behaviors the farmers expected. These good behaviors would significantly reduce cannibalism, which is the main reason for high mortality among chickens. Assuming that a farmer with 20,000 chickens(The target market of ODI lenses is farms which have at least 10,000 birds), he would save 0.21/2*20,000=$2100 per year(Exhibit5)by decreasing allocation for replacing dead birds(the chicken mortality due to cannibalism can be reduced from 9% for debeaked chickens to 4.5% for wearing ODI lenses chickens). Furthermore, reducing chickens’ vision can also lead less trauma and greater egg production efficiency. Another discovery ODI made has promoted the value of lenses as well. ODI lenses had the potential of reducing a farmer’s feed cost. If the depth of feed in troughs goes down from 2’’ to 1’’, 100 birds would reduce 0.78 pounds(i.e. 24.46 pounds – 23.68 pounds)chicken feed per day. Assuming 20,000 birds remaining the same, the expected value of reducing feed cost would help the farmer save 20,000/100*0.78=156 pounds per day. Since $158 per ton=158/2205=$0.072 per pound for chicken feed, this would represent considerable saving of 156*0.072*365=$4080 per year. In order to figure out the expected value of the lenses to farmers, we should also calculate the cost of using ODI lenses assuming 20,000 birds. ODI decided to price the lenses on minimum of $0.08 per pair or $20 per box of 250 pairs. Also, farmers would pay 0.14+0.18=$0.32 per box for packing, order processing and shipping cost. Because a farmer with 20,000 chickens need 20,000/250=80 boxes, the total cost for purchasing ODI lenses is (0.32+20)*80=$1626.(Suppose ODI lenses could be reused for a whole year, and it is unnecessary to figure out insertion cost due to approximately the same labor costs between debeaking and insertion.) It is not difficult to find the change of â€Å"cash flow† after accessing to ODI lenses. â€Å"cash inflow† is 2100+4080=$6180 per year. â€Å"cash outflow† is $1626 per year.

Zeus Research Paper

rZeus Beginning around 700 B. C. , stories by Homer and other Greek poets told of the lives of powerful gods who involved themselves in human affairs. Supreme among these gods was Zeus, but to the Romans he was known as Jupiter. Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. He was known by many titles: Lord of the Sky, the Cloud- gatherer, the Rain-god, and Zeus the Thunderer. All of which are the most popular names dating back to ancient Greek history and mythology. Zeus was the child of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, and was the youngest of all his siblings.Cronus , Zeus’ father, had been warned that one of his children would overthrow him. Cronus knew the consequences, for he had overthrown his father, Uranus. To prevent this from happening Cronus swallowed his newborn children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, but according to legend his wife Rhea and her mother Gaia, wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes in the place of the infant Zeus. Cronus thinking it was the n ewborn baby swallowed the stone. Meanwhile Rhea and her baby were taken to Crete, and there, in a cave on Mount Dicte, the divine goat Amaltheia suckled and raised the infant Zeus.When Zeus had grown into a young man he left the cave and returned to his fathers domain, and with the help of Gaia, tricked Cronus to vomit the five children he had previously swallowed. However, this led to war and Zeus led the revolt against his father and the dynasty of the Titans. In the end theTitans were defeated and banished to â€Å"Tartarus†, which was a region lower than the underworld. Once Zeus had control, he and his brothers divided the universe amongst themselves: Zeus gaining the heavens, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld.Being the supreme ruler he upheld law, justice, and morals, and this made him the spiritual leader of both gods and men. Zeus has always been associated as being a weather god, as his main attribute is the thunderbolt for which he used to rule Olympus. Her a was Zeus’ wife and was very jealous of her husband's many affairs. His wife Hera, bore him Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, and Eileithyia, however Zeus had numerous other children with both goddesses and mortals. His affair with a woman named Leto led to the birth of the twins Apollo and Artemis.Hera being the jealous wife she was, forced Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth, for Hera had stopped her from gaining shelter on land or at sea. The only place she could go was to the isle of Delos in the middle of the Aegean Sea, for Delos was a floating island. This would be one of many of Hera’s revenges on her husband’s affairs. Zeus used many different disguises to seduce women. When he seduced the Spartan queen Leda, he transformed himself into a beautiful swan, and from the egg which Leda produced, two sets of twins were born.They were Polydeuces and Castor and Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy. He also visited princess Danae as a shower of gold, and from this, the hero Perseus was born. He kidnapped the Phoenician princess Europa, disguised as a bull, then carried her on his back to the island of Crete where she had three sons. They were Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon. These were just some of his many children. Zeus had many Temples and festivals in his honor, the most famous was Olympia, the magnificent â€Å"Temple of Zeus†, which held the gold and ivory statue of the enthroned Zeus, which was sculpted by Phidias.It was later to become one of the â€Å"Seven Wonders of the Ancient World†. Also the Olympic Games and many other numerous festivals throughout Greece were held in his honor. In art, which was a big part of Greek culture, Zeus is usually shown as bearded, middle aged, but with a youthful figure. He seems very poweful and imposing. Artists always try to show the power of Zeus in their art, usually by giving him a pose as he is about to throw his bolt of lightening. To this day Zeus is still consider ed to be one of the most interesting parts of Greek mythology.

An Exegetical Essay On John Chapter 1 Religion Essay

An Exegetical Essay On John Chapter 1 Religion Essay INTRODUCTION Unlike the synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not begin with the historical Jesus, instead, the author exalts his eternal existences over his earthly entrance into the world. The eternal existence of Jesus is perceived by the use of ‘Word’ (logos) in the prologue. Thus, the author begins his gospel with the words, ‘In the beginning was the Wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ John’s Gospel stresses on the deity of Jesus, he strikes the reader straight with the Greek ‘Word’ (Logos) as a replacement of Jesus until the end of the prologue. One could say that the understanding of this Gospel is centred on the ‘Word’ (logos) as a key affirmation of the entire Gospel. The prologue affirms that Jesus used the eternal ‘Word’ which has been translated from the Greek word (logos). In chapter (1:1-5) the author talked about the pre- existence, in (1:6-8) he elaborated on the witness of John the Baptist, in (1:9-13) he highlighted on the light coming to the worlds, in (1:14-18) he accounted on the incarnation of the Word. This prologue is specially or specifically designed to prepare the way for the evidence of the doings of no ordinary person but Jesus Christ. This paper is an attempt to exegete the passage of (John 1:1-18). The Pre-existence Word (1:1-5) The commencement of this Gospel as stated, ‘in the beginning was the word’ has something to do with (Genesis 1:1). John was trying to say that Jesus Christ was in the beginning and He was the ‘Word’ which existed in the beginning before creation or before the world began and ‘was fully God’ (John 1:1-3). Jesus is indeed the creator, sustainer of all belongings, our source of living and the establishment of eternal life. To understand this concept one must commence with the Father-Son relationship which is the central revelation of John’s Gospel and also the key to understand the sayings and deeds of Christ Jesus (17:5, 24). Extensively, this term (logos) which has a meaning in English as â€Å"the Word† was used in Greek literature or theologians and philosophers; among them were the ‘Stoics who used the term to describe the principle of divine reason which caused the natural creature to grow.’   [ 1 ]   Philo of Alexander was the mastermind of this idea in his writings and maintained it as an instrument of the world creation. There are dissimilarities between the usage of the ‘Word’ by John and Philo. In the mind of Philo, he by no means consider the ‘Word’ as a person and he did not maintain its pre-existence, he denied the incarnation of the ‘Word’ which is known as Jesus. But in Johns mind the ‘Word’ was maintained and became ‘flesh.’ This points to Jesus Christ who came to save humanity and dwell among them. One could say the fifth verse of this chapter shows the compassion of the auth or as a beloved disciple and an eyewitness of Jesus who is trying to communicate the good news to the Jews, Greek philosophers and all kinds of people from generation to generation in his writings. Here John declares that Jesus Christ is the true light, who shines in the darkness, but the darkness which can be translated as sinful man ‘has not understood it.’ The better understandings of this verse rely on (verse10-11).   [ 2 ]

European Modernist Artwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

European Modernist Artwork - Essay Example The largest tear is placed on the top of the artwork, with a small piece slightly below the larger piece. On the left there is also a small tear. The grain of wood is well utilized to create a balanced posture of the painting (Mundy, 2003; Masson, Alix & Museo Reina Sofà ­a, 2004). The lining is well done using a thin layer; thus, making it less exaggerated. The use of light and shading is also exemplary. A thin glossy polish covers the painting giving it a smooth texture (Mundy, 2003; AndreÃŒ  Masson, 2004). The author is of the intent to let out his feelings on the times after the First World War. The world was slowly coming back to order. Through his painting, he explains life and death, probably of the soldiers of war. There is a portion of the art that consists of a dead bird, a fruit and flowers. The dead bird would imply the death of the soldiers while the flowers and fruit explain the advent of new life (Mundy, 2003). The seeds on the other side explain the force of life. Just like after death there is birth, the painter aimed at explaining that regeneration is

International Management Decision Making Assignment - 1

International Management Decision Making - Assignment Example To do market segmentation properly, Tesco collects demographic and psychographic data. Both these types of data are very crucial for the success of an organization. Demographic data is the kind of data which can be put into categories and labeled statistically. Demographic data includes age, race, income, religion, gender etc. It comprises of basic facts. For instance, Tesco finds out what age bracket visits their super market very regularly, which age bracket does not, what kind of products do they prefer, what is it that they don’t like, when do sales rise and when do sales dip. It then shapes up its promotional offers accordingly. On the other hand psychographic data cant be quantified it is used to understand consumer behavior, how target market feels, what they want and how they go about getting what they want in their daily lives. It helps them in their purchasing decisions. Tesco utilizes all this data, then analyzes it and comes up with reports to assist it in forecast ing demand and making promotional offers. J Sainsbury Plc was established in 1860. It is home to more than 872 stores and 537 super markets all over UK and has some 335 convenience stores. It currently owns Sainsbury’s Bank and LIoyd’s Banking Group. It has two joint ventures namely the Land Securities Group PLC and the British Land Company PLC. Sainsbury’s brand was built to offer a certain heritage to customers. They deliver healthy , safe, fresh and tasty food. The quality of their food is kept in tact and goes hand In hand with a reasonable approach to business. Their food is particularly known for fresh food and they continuously strive to improve products so that they are in line with customer needs. Sainsbury’s is currently serving 19 million customers per week and has a market share which is over 16%. They have more than 30,000 product s to

The equal pay for men and women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The equal pay for men and women - Essay Example This gender-wage inequality naturally carries over into the world of pensioners, where sex discrimination and occupational segregation have an even greater effect. In fact, â€Å"the pay gap which already exists between men and women during their working lives becomes a vast pension gulf in later life† (BBC, 2003). The result is that, on a whole, women pensioners are poorer than male pensioners. In fact, according to the same report, women receive â€Å"just 32p for every  £1 of income received by men in a pensioner couple† (2003).   Many women suffer from this disadvantage in pension rates because of interruptions in their service in the labour force due to maternity and child/home care, and also because of receiving lower pay in their working years via the same occupational segregation and sex discrimination. Research shows that 45% of all women work part-time and 25% of those who do are shop and care assistants or cleaners (US-UK pensions dialogue).   Across th e board, women suffer from the effects of lower wages.  This gender-wage inequality naturally carries over into the world of pensioners, where sex discrimination and occupational segregation have an even greater effect. In fact, â€Å"the pay gap which already exists between men and women during their working lives becomes a vast pension gulf in later life† (BBC, 2003). The result is that, on a whole, women pensioners are poorer than male pensioners. In fact, according to the same report, women receive â€Å"just 32p for every  £1 of income received by men in a pensioner couple† (2003).   Many women suffer from this disadvantage in pension rates because of interruptions in their service in the labour force due to maternity and child/home care, and also because of receiving lower pay in their working years via the same occupational segregation and sex discrimination. Research shows that 45% of all women work part-time and 25% of those who do are shop and care assi stants or cleaners (US-UK pensions dialogue).   Across the board, women suffer from the effects of lower wages.   It has been found through research that â€Å"in every country in the world, women continue to be paid less for comparable work than men† (Women work more). Although the government has been taking action to revalue the jobs that women do, the current state of affairs leaves women poorer than men at almost every level. Women have been disadvantaged for many reasons, but arguments everywhere are that women are victims of sex discrimination and occupational segregation. To those who say women choose their own fate by opting for lower positions or accepting low first offers, Smithson et al.  ... This is especially true of older women, who lived in a generation where women were much less likely to attain higher levels of education. As a result, women find themselves in general receiving less money than men. This scenario, however, does not account for the many women who are as skilled as the men they work with, yet receive much lower wages. Evidence supports the claim by Grimshaw et al. that there exists a "need for a multi-faceted approach to closing the average gender pay gap" (2001, p. 209). This is true in several areas where sex discrimination occurs. According to Iona Heath (2004), general practitioner at Caversham Group Practice in London, women doctors earn an average of about 20.7% lower than men in the same position. A similar situation exists in universities. According to research done in 2004 by the Association of University Teachers (AUT), the wage gap is lower in academia than in other sections of the employment world. However, it is possible to argue that at 15% the average is still embarrassingly high in that section of the employment world that is populated with the so-called progressive intellectuals who should be doing much better at leading the UK to a more gender-equal economy. In fact, as that percentage represents only the average, it has to be noted that several higher-educational institutions pay women at a rate much lower than 85% of what is given to men. The same AUT research reported that The University of Wales College of Medicine pays women at a rate of 33% lower than men who hold similar positions (2004, p. 7). In addition, several other institutions had the wage gap above 20 percent. Another interesting finding of that study