Moral Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Moral Philosophy - Essay Example Locke shows in Part V of the Second Treatise that in essence, the right to property springs from natural law, and is ordained in so many words by God himself. He begins by saying that all of the earth after all is given to men so that he may find in it his home and his sustenance, and in so far that he enjoys all the fruits of the earth without his interventions he shares all of the earth with his fellow men as common property. Then he goes on to say that be that as it may, the work of the hands of men in his own capacity is and the fruits of his own labors must be his own property. The distinction is that whatever it is that he fashions out of the common lot in nature, removed from that which nature provides in common with all other men, is his. This is the spring of the notion of property as it is envisioned by Locke. It is something inalienable to private persons in their own capacity, as something that is in the natural state of things too. It is the labor that he adds to the wor k that he undertakes on nature and its constituents that creates ownership and the notion of property.... On the other hand, by the same argument, whatever else that exceeds the needs of a particular man by his own labor, exceeding his enjoyment, is beyond his property, and this excess is therefore something that goes back in essence to the common realm, as the property of all. Whatever is in excess that can spoil, is beyond what man can enjoy, and is therefore beyond his own capacity to own. This is also according to Locke part and parcel of what he considers the self-evident bounds of one man's property (Locke). This is not a capitalistic notion, though it lends itself well to capitalistic lines of thinking, because in the main what Locke is saying is that there ought to be a limit to what a man can own beyond his needs, and that the bounds are there to make sure that man does not own anything beyond what he can cultivate presumably with his own labor. This applies too to the idea that there is enough to go around for everyone, if everyone works hard to secure his own needs and enjoyme nt with his own labors rather than the labors of others (Locke). Question 1 Machiavelli in Chapter 8 makes an example of the Sicilian known as Agathocles to say that although the man rose through the military ranks by his own cunning and skill, yet he is not someone who can be considered as possessing virtu. Yes he achieved his success without the help of anybody, and that in itself is admirable, but he did that by cunning and by betraying friends among others. He killed and he deceived, he had no mercy and no religion, and he had no faith. Machiavelli implies that the man of virtu achieves glory too, and Agathocles may have gained the world so to speak, but he falls short of virtu and his victory and success lacks

Intro To Philosophy 1030-202 Essay Example for Free

Intro To Philosophy 1030-202 Essay Socrates was not a Sophist; he never took money for his teaching, and rejected sophistical arguments.For one thing, the sophists taught for money. Socrates did not. For another, the sophists used language to win arguments and to sway peoples opinion regardless of the truth. Socrates used language to attain the truth. Socrates lived as an independent man. he did not want to go under any category. He was not paid for his irony and maieutics. Therefore he was not a sophist, as being a sophist was having a profession. Socrates was genuinely worried about why the young men were so disappointing. Socrates young students had been a particular disappointment to him. If Socrates could figure out exactly how the fathers had failed to properly educate their sons, he could save the city and restore Athens to its former glory. Socrates’ interesting idea was that human excellence was really a kind of knowledge. Sophists were skilled in elaborate argumentation; were they would try and make the argument they were focusing on the stronger side, even if it was wrong or weaker. This often made them seem devious as they were working only for the benefit of themselves and their students, who were aiming to become high profile speakers or politicians. Socrates was unlike this in that his main focus was not on argumentation or speaking, he rather focused on questioning virtues to understand morals and ethics. He believed that all opinions were valid which also opposed the views of the Sophists who assumed that the wisest of people were genuinely correct and only they had the ability to teach. The main goal of socrates was unlike that of the sophists. The aim of the Sophists was varied around material possession and desire. They believed knowledge is a means to power and is to be used for political or material gain. Socrates believed his questions would encourage personal growth and create a better society as a whole who would understand philosophy and ethics. Him only questionig rather than focusing on teaching separates him from the Sophists. This is due to the fact that questioning isn’t a real method of teaching and Socrates himself stated â€Å"I know one thing, that I know nothing†. This puts him on the same level as his interlocutor and gives him an insight to other opinions. In Ancient Greece, the sophists were a group of teachers of philosophy and rhetoric. This group of Greek philosophers and teachers in the 5th century BC, who speculated on a wide range of subjects flawed arguments superficially correct in its reasoning, which deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone. There was a difference between the two, sophists showed that equally good arguments could be advanced on either side of any issue; they were skeptics who doubted that there could be any certain or reliable knowledge. On the other hand, socrates was committed to the pursuit of truth and considered it his mission to seek out certain knowledge. Unlike philosophers before them, Sophists claimed to be wise enough to teach whatever you might want to know as long as you. Socrates said he was a citizen of the world. Whether in Athens or elsewhere he was meditating, and he was helping others finding their true selves. Furthermore, Socrates did not travel from city to city seeking new students to teach. He was the opposite in that he remained loyal to his home town of Athens. This is evident as he started becoming popular amongst the people who would often regard him as ‘annoying’. His popularity therefore proves that he wasn’t a travel like the sophists. Socrates has some attributes of the Sophists, such as having students, his overall method and aim was contrary to theirs. Socrates himself states in his apology â€Å"I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs!† which reinforces the fact that he may be good in rhetoric but his goal is not to teach argumentation and political skills. As a result it is clear that Socrates wanted to simply question people on ethics and morals and not teach for material or prolific gains.

The Battle of Gettysburg as the Turning Point of the Civil War Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War. This is the most famous and important Civil War Battle that occurred over three hot summer days, July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. More importantly Gettysburg was the clash between the two major American Cultures of their time: the North and the South. The causes of the Civil War, and the Battle of Gettysburg, one must understand the differences between these two cultures. The Confederacy had an agricultural economy producing tobacco, corn, and cotton, with many large plantations owned by a few very rich white males. These owners lived off the labor of sharecroppers and slaves, charging high dues for use of their land. The Southern or Confederate Army was made up of a group of white males fighting for their independence from federal northern dictates (The History Place Battle of Gettysburg 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Union economy was based on manufacturing, and even the minorities in the North were better off than those in the South most of the time. The Northern politicians wanted tariffs, and a large army. The Southern plantation owners wanted the exact opposite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The South was fighting against a government that they thought was treating them unfairly. They believed the Federal Government was overtaxing them, with tariffs and property taxes making their life styles even more expensive than they already had been. The North was fighting the Civil War for two reasons, first to keep the Nation unified, and second to abolish slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the commander and chief of the Union or Northern forces along with many other Northerners believed that slavery was not only completely wrong, but it was a great humiliation to America. Once can see that with these differences a conflict would surely occur, but not many had predicted that a full-blown war would breakout. One did and after three bloody and costly years for both sides we come to the date of July 1, 1863.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before the battle, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington, were under threat of attack from General Robert E. Lee?s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had crossed the Potomac River and marched into Pennsylvania.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On Tuesday morning, June 30, an infantry brigade of Confederate soldiers searching for shoes headed toward Gettysburg (The Hi... ...equal, the Battle of Gettysburg was the second and last great invasion the of the North, for the South had neither arms nor numbers to continue an assault, but the War dragged on for two more years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On November 19, President Lincoln went to the battlefield to dedicate it as a military cemetery. He spoke for a short period of time delivering what is called the Gettysburg Address, surprising many present in the audience with its shortness and leaving others quite unimpressed, but over time the speech has come to symbolize democracy as we know it today (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia Vol. 11 385).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Battle of Gettyssburg was a turning point because the South was desperately relying on that War for supplies and perhaps help from an outside source. They felt if they would have won that battle they would have been able to win the war when before they were just hoping to hang with the so-called well-prepared Union Army. The North needed a good, hard fought battle on their part because up until this point they had been men handled and out strategized. The Civil War was expected to be a quick battle easily won by the stronger northern army but had dragged on for years.

Carter cleaning

Honesting testing at carter cleaning company. Questions and Answers. 1 -What would be the advantages and disadvantages to Jennifer's company of routinely administering honest tests to all its employees? Polygraph testing raises a large number of legal and moral issues; issues Carter Cleaning must avoid. using some of the available â€Å"paper and pencil† honesty tests may be a possibility. In general, these have been shown to be reasonably reliable and valid.They are still controversial. The costs associated with these tests may also make them prohibitive to a small operation like Jennifers carter cleaning. 2. SpecifIcally, what other screening techniques could the company use to screen out theft-prone employees? How exactly could these techniques be used? More thorough background checks are a recommend technique to eliminate thieves. Some firms chose to contract this out to a private security agency (Costmay be an Issue to Jennifer.However, the company can quickly check to se e If savlngsfrom educed theft would offset the cost of an outside agency. As part of the job preview,Carter must communicate that jobs in her company are worth keeping; dishonesty and theft will not be tolerated. Further company policies regarding theft should be clearly communicated to new and existing employees. 3. How should her company terminate employees caught stealing and what kind of procedure should be set up for handling reference calls about these employees when they go to other companies looking for Jobs?Terminating employees for theft should include the involvement of proper authorities and should only be done when there is absolute proof of the theft and who committed it. Such an action will also send a message to the other employees that you will not tolerate theft of company resources . While many employers are reluctant to prosecute employees for theft , developing evidence with police and through the courts can be beneficial in providing future employers of the ind ividual with truthful and factual Information.

Racism Without Racists

Either you’re with us or you’re Against Us Throughout Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s Racism without Racists, he attempts to describe a new form of racism that has emerged in today’s society. Bonilla-Silva refers to this new style of racism as, â€Å"color-blind racism. † During the Civil Rights Era and other previous time periods, racism was characterized by brutal physical, verbal, and emotional battering of minority races through actions such as Jim Crows Laws and other inhumane acts.However, unlike violent-forms of racism that were practiced years ago, this new-age â€Å"color-blind racism† incorporates subtle, institutional, and apparently nonracial practices (Silva 2010). In order to counter this new form of racism in society, Bonilla-Silva explains how civilians need to become actively involved in the fight against color-blind racism. In order to actively fight against color-blind racism Silva distinguishes the difference between a non-racist and an anti-racist and the certain implications and repercussions that accompany each label.Although the transformation from a non-racist culture, to a new, anti-racist community could produce outcomes that solve racism altogether, with this transformation comes a major moral dilemma: whether receiving white privileges outweighs the moral obligation of promoting equality in society. Through this interpretation of the text, I will try to rationalize what it means to be an anti-racist in today’s world and Bonilla-Silva’s call for social movement, along with the responsibilities and moral obligations that are incorporated with both.Bonilla-Silva suggests that a major change, from non-racists to anti-racists, needs to take place in order for color-blind racism to diminish in society. The distinction between a non-racist and an anti-racist is characterized by moral obligations and active participation in combating racism. Likewise, Bonilla-Silva suggests that being an anti- racist begins with understanding the institutional nature of racial matters and accepting this stand involves taking responsibility for your unwilling participation in these practices (Silva 2010).One who claims to be anti-racist actively takes responsibility for their unwilling participation in these practices and beginning a new life committed to the goal of achieving real racial equality (Silva 2010). Bonilla-Silva suggests that the conversion to an anti-racist will be challenging because in order to fulfill the role, one is struck with a moral dilemma; whether receiving white privileges outweighs the moral obligation of equality in society. According to Bonilla-Silva, a non-racist is a person who does not actively combat against societal norms regarding race and privileges.A non-racist is seen as a passive person who does not take a personal interest in combating the â€Å"new racism. † A major problem in the author’s eyes is that white Americans are considered the dominant race in today’s society, and most people who belong to this group are unaware of the privileges that they receive just by being white. For instance, many white Americans gain special privileges regarding education, job opportunities, social contexts, and more. While these privileges positively influence whites, they also help to reinforce the racial barrier that exists in the United States today.In Bonilla-Silva’s eyes, if the white society does not acknowledge the hidden privileges that they receive, and society continues to portray waves of color-blind racism, then societal norms related to color-blind racism will circulate within culture for ages. Bonilla-Silva states that a social movement needs to take place in order to debunk the â€Å"new racism† that America is facing today. To challenge societal norms, people need to refrain from using stereotypical white ideals to justify racial issues that arise throughout life. These interpretations are wid ely used by whites claiming to be non-racist.Bonilla-Silva suggests that many non-racists’ often resort to particular frames, or sets paths for interpreting information, as a way to justify certain racial situations that appear in life. These frames include abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism. Abstract liberalism incorporates concepts related to equal opportunity and choice in an abstruse way to justify racial experiences. For example, in regards to identifying people as â€Å"individuals† with â€Å"choices,† many non-racists fallback on the notion that people have the right of choosing to live in segregated neighborhoods.Next, the naturalization frame allows whites to blame certain racial matters as natural occurrences. Within this frame, many whites claim that the segregation that is seen today is natural and a result of people gravitating toward likeness (Silva 2010). According to Bonilla-Silva, this frame can be characterized by the saying, â€Å"that’s the way it is. † Another frame, or path, used by many non-racist whites is cultural racism. This frame relies on culturally based arguments to explain the current societal status of minorities. For instance, many hites resort to the claim that, â€Å"Mexican’s do not put enough emphasis on education, that is why they are behind in society† (Silva 2010). This particular frame allows for whites to highlight the mishaps and negative stereotypes about certain minority groups as their reason for not excelling in society, rather than the fact that minorities have been historically behind the dominant white race in aspects such as education, socio-economic status, occupations, and living conditions. The final frame that Bonilla-Silva uses to strengthen his argument is referred to as the minimization of racism.This frame suggests that discrimination is no longer a major factor that impacts the daily lives of minorities. T his concept incorporates the beliefs that racism is a thing of the past, and minorities are products of their own efforts and capabilities. These frames are used, in collaboration, to provide whites a way of expressing their beliefs about racial matters without coming off as demoralizing to minorities or flamboyantly racist. They also provide the justification that the racial inequality that occurs today is strictly logical, democratic, and non-racist.In Bonilla-Silva’s eyes, once society, as a whole, deviates from using these frames, then our culture can begin to make the shift from non-racists to anti-racists. According to the author, American society needs to make this transformation from non-racists to anti-racists for a multitude of reasons. First, he suggests that this movement needs to take place in order to educate the black population on the aspects of color-blind racism, because this new form of racism has tinted blacks recognition of its existence.He also suggests that the current group of anti-racists need to engage with all whites regardless of gender, socio-economic status, and educational status in order to gain a collectively larger group of followers. In turn, he suggests that power is in numbers, and with this power, anti-racists can begin challenging color-blind ideologies internally. Another reason for this movement that Bonilla-Silva points to is that fact that activists need to provide counter-arguments for the current color-blind frames that non-racist whites’ are using to justify racial scenarios.Likewise, we need to counter-balance common white arguments including equal opportunity and affirmative action. A major issue within today’s society is that many whites firmly believe that discrimination during past and current times does not significantly impact the lives of minority groups, when in turn; this subtle discrimination enhances the privileges of the white race, while severely limiting minority’s privile ges.Furthermore, â€Å"Bonilla-Silva claims that the most important strategy for combating â€Å"new racism† is to become militant with it† (Silva 2010). The strategies that Bonilla-Silva proposes above to combat color-blind racism are all grounded on specific and plausible reasons and explanations. Bonilla-Silva states that in order for this movement to be effective, it must defile the domination that color-blindness has over our whole country. Also he suggests that the overall demeanor of whites regarding race related issues needs to be exposed and challenged.Another motive for this anti-racist movement incorporates the idea that there should be a focus on white segregation and how this physical separation from minorities ultimately affects the white races’ values, beliefs, and emotions about race related matters. Finally, he states that in order for this movement to be successful in changing the cultural norm of color-blind racism in society, we need to chall enge a position that might seem impossible to overcome, however it is the only way to genuinely achieve racial equality in future times.After analyzing this book through readings, blogs, and class discussion, the moral dilemma of white privilege or equality has puzzled me for some time. Along with white privilege, I have been contemplating whether to classify myself as a non-racist or an anti-racist, and whether to join the social movement against color-blind racism that Bonilla-Silva claims needs to happen in order to defeat racism indefinitely. Before studying racism I never thought about the concept of white privilege and the tremendous influence it has on my life on an everyday basis.After my analysis of the different components of a non-racist versus an anti-racist and the certain privileges that resonate within each category, I feel almost guilty referring to myself as a non-racist. However, after analyzing Racism without Racist’s explanation of anti-racism and claim fo r an anti-racist movement, I believe that I still consider myself a non-racist, contrary to the author’s wishes. In spite of Bonilla-Silva’s argument, I believe that I can still combat racism without necessarily taking an â€Å"active role. I am not currently taking an active role in this movement, however in the future; I believe that I could possibly take a passive role in regards to this movement. The transformation from â€Å"nonracist† to â€Å"antiracist†, that the author describes, I think is an aggressive approach that could potentially generate substantial positive results in regards to combating racism. However, I personally don’t believe that the only way to fight racism is to take a military-like approach against it and resort to an in-your-face attempt to flip societal norms.Falling-back on a militant-style attack plot and fighting socially grounded powers could quite possibly work against achieving the collective goal of ending racis m. In order to accomplish this idea, the anti-racist coalition (which is an extreme minority) would have to convert massive numbers of the non-racist majority to a belief system that fundamentally contradicts the basic roots of their current values.Currently, I do not have an alternative solution to racism in America, however I do know that educating the population as a whole about this concept is a necessary step to accomplishing the overall goal. Through Bonilla-Silva’s distinction between non-racists and anti-racists, along with his call for a social movement against color-blind racism, I have determined that something has to be done about certain aspects of color-blind racism, such as the overall mindset of the American population.Be that as it may, combating color-blind racism will be an almost impossible task to accomplish for that fact that it is very difficult to get people to buy into a motion that they themselves are not emotionally invested in. Until the American s ociety can buy into the notion that color-blind racism is an actual cultural problem that is affecting minorities of all backgrounds, we will be a society filled with white privilege and subtle discrimination against non-whites. References Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo . 2010. Racism without Racists. Lanham, Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS is the most common death in the postneonatal period. This means that infants between the ages of one month to one year’s old are diagnosed with SIDS. SIDS is a syndrome that stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and is defined as a sudden death of an infant that is unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including an autopsy, examination of the scene of death, and a review of the clinical history. The cause or causes of SIDS vary. The triple risk model proposed by Filiano and Kinney suggest that SIDS represents an intersection of factors. These factors include vulnerable infant possessing intrinsic abnormalities in cardiorespiratory control, a critical period of development of homeostatic control mechanisms, and exogenous stressors. Another part of the triple risk model is that when vulnerable infants are subjected to stressors at times when normal defense mechanisms are structurally, functionally, and developmentally deficient. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} Studies have shown that in a number of cases dealing with SIDS evidence of delayed development of the brain stem has been demonstrated as well reductions in the degree of myelination in specific brain regions. Some infants with SIDS have been noted to have fewer acetylcholine-binding receptors in the arcuate nucleus. This nerve cell is critical to the integration of cardiorespiratory and arousal responses. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} There are a numerous amount of symptoms for infants including blood-tinged discharge from the nose or mouth, signs of livor mortis and rigor mortis. Accidental head entrapment, source of heating carbon monoxide, minor inflammatory changes within the tracheobronchial tree, or signs of passive congestion of the organs may all be contributors to the symptoms of SIDS. SIDS has demonstrated a higher rate among African-American infants than white infants. These racial... Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS is the most common death in the postneonatal period. This means that infants between the ages of one month to one year’s old are diagnosed with SIDS. SIDS is a syndrome that stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and is defined as a sudden death of an infant that is unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including an autopsy, examination of the scene of death, and a review of the clinical history. The cause or causes of SIDS vary. The triple risk model proposed by Filiano and Kinney suggest that SIDS represents an intersection of factors. These factors include vulnerable infant possessing intrinsic abnormalities in cardiorespiratory control, a critical period of development of homeostatic control mechanisms, and exogenous stressors. Another part of the triple risk model is that when vulnerable infants are subjected to stressors at times when normal defense mechanisms are structurally, functionally, and developmentally deficient. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} Studies have shown that in a number of cases dealing with SIDS evidence of delayed development of the brain stem has been demonstrated as well reductions in the degree of myelination in specific brain regions. Some infants with SIDS have been noted to have fewer acetylcholine-binding receptors in the arcuate nucleus. This nerve cell is critical to the integration of cardiorespiratory and arousal responses. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} There are a numerous amount of symptoms for infants including blood-tinged discharge from the nose or mouth, signs of livor mortis and rigor mortis. Accidental head entrapment, source of heating carbon monoxide, minor inflammatory changes within the tracheobronchial tree, or signs of passive congestion of the organs may all be contributors to the symptoms of SIDS. SIDS has demonstrated a higher rate among African-American infants than white infants. These racial...

Summary Analysis of Ray Bradburys The Last Night of the World Essays

Summary Analysis of Ray Bradburys The Last Night of the World Essays Summary Analysis of Ray Bradburys The Last Night of the World Paper Summary Analysis of Ray Bradburys The Last Night of the World Paper Daniel S. Meltzer Professor Bridget Bell English 121 07 October 2013 The Unanswered Mysteries of the End of the World Throughout the book The Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury, there are a lot of vague generalizations that are left unanswered. Ray Bradbury is known for his descriptive literature and vast amounts of emotion and mystery; most of which is never completely understood by the reader. Ray Bradbury is well known for his articulate literature as he often portrays thorough coherency throughout his stories. Modern day literature is straight to the point and easy to understand but Bradbury is ot only able to connect his stories to real world events but he also engages the reader by personally connecting his literature in a way the reader never would truly understand. I plan to summarize and analyze Ray Bradburys, The Last Night of the World to help readers better comprehend his style of literature; a style that directly relates to the real world and to his readers While reading The Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury, there was an evident pattern throughout that tells the story of what it may be like during the end of the world. But, throughout the book, the story portrayed is a story completely different from what most readers would expect. In the beginning, Ray Bradbury starts the story off by asking two questions. The reader is then more engaged in the reading as asking a question allows the reader to think and helps boost the readers interest in the story; helps make the reader want to read on. Ray Bradbury then proceeds onward as if the main character was answering the question that was asked in the beginning. If an author asks a question, it is usually rhetorical and not meant to be nswered; this is interesting as most stories do not start off the way it has started off. Through the beginning of the story, The Last Night of the World, two characters whose names are never disclosed (which is another interesting part of the story) are talking about what they would do if it were the last night of the world. Well, in the story, it is the last night of the world and is an interesting topic to write about as the end of the world has always intrigued others and has always had people wondering, what would it be like if it were the end of the world? Ray Bradbury continues his riting by asking rhetorical questions such as: how would the world end or why the world would end but those questions are never actually answered. Rather than answering the questions, Bradbury expands on the thoughts and brings out details that most people would not bother thinking about. He also writes as if the story were an onion, peeling back the layers one by one and slowing getting to the middle rather than cutting right into the onion [story] and answering all of the questions at once. Towards the middle of the story, the characters sit down to have a cup of coffee to iscuss how the world would end and after they continue to live as if they normally couple) go about their evening cooking dinner, washing the dishes and then, at the end of the story, tucking themselves into bed and shutting the lights out as if they will wake up tomorrow and everything will be okay. But, Ray Bradbury never explains why he wrote the way he did or exactly why the characters went about their lives as if it was not the end of the world. Most skeptics would believe the end of the world would be hectic and crazy. Not only that but it would be emotional with everyone unning around like crazed people and doing things that some would never imagine themselves doing. So, the real question is why he wrote the way he did and the reasons behind his writing. The next paragraphs will analyze the reasons behind his writing. Ray Bradbury, growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, probably faced financial struggles through not only the great depression but as well as the three famous Wall Street stock market crashes and other worldwide financial market failures. Although finances doesnt directly correlate with the end of the world but it connects in a way ome may not understand. Losing money drives people crazy which are similar to the end of the world; whereas people would be going crazy to get things done and to do things they need to do before they pass. Not only this but most people will come to think about the end of the world and most people will Just believe the end of the world will be hectic and crazy; as is the story by Ray Bradbury. Now, why would Ray Bradbury write the way he did. Although Ray Bradbury had passed in mid-2012, he is no longer alive to tell the stories himself, leaving his legacy lose by him and pressuring those close to him to pass on the stories of his life. In todays world, most people are obsessed with perfection and most people get more bored than they did 50 years ago. But, Ray Bradbury still writes as you would find a book in the General Store, back in the 1940s. Most authors nowadays get straight to the point and if they dont, they often find a way to keep the reader entertained with adventurous or mysterious details. But, instead, Bradbury finds a way to engage the reader by asking questions, throwing interesting twists into his stories and telling tories most authors would never even think about writing. Literature is all about creativity as William Shakespeare never earned the worlds greatest writer ego by writing about a tomato and peach or about a farmer on a farm. In order to be successful, your writing has to be unique from all the rest and without the uniqueness; the reader would never be engaged. If a reader reads something they have read before, it would be more boring to them then it would if they were reading it for the first time. Originality is always what the reader is looking forward to and ometimes, an author has to put him or herself in the readers shoes (to think about what the reader truly wants to read and what they would not) and that is exactly what Bradbury did. That is what made Ray Bradbury such a legend, his uniqueness and relativity in his literature, not the originality and common practice. Creativity is what everyone looks for and what readers continue to look for, whether they are reading a book from 1920, 2013 or even 30 years from now; it is what will make a legend. As the great Babe Ruth would put it, theres Heroes and theres legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. As you can now tell, Ray Bradburys writing is legendary. Not only that but he writing with the real world through personal events and issues; through personal thoughts and imagination. Although Ray Bradbury was able to connect to the reader and to his or her mind, his writing is known to be the most creative and innovative than any other author. Ray Bradbury had passed on in 2012 but through his life, his stories and how he portrays his real life experiences, his literature and his soul will live on forever.

Funny Valentines Day Sayings to Woo Your Beloved

Funny Valentines Day Sayings to Woo Your Beloved Tickle your honeys funny bone with these funny Valentines Day sayings. Its been said that sharing a sense of humor is one of the marks of a strong and satisfying relationship. So go ahead dispense with the mushy stuff this V-Day and have some rollicking good laughs instead. Funny Valentines Day Quotes Ingrid BergmanA kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. Helen RowlandBetween lovers, a little confession is a dangerous thing. Author UnknownI dont understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentines Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. LinusI love making friends. It’s people I can’t stand. Barbara BushI married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell my children that, they just about throw up. Dorothy ParkerI require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid. Hilaire BellocI’m tired of love; I’m still more tired of rhyme, but money gives me pleasure all the time. Groucho MarxInstead of getting married again, Im going to find a woman I dont like and give her a house. Fred AllenIt is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each other for the achievement of shared and private goals. Lynda BarryLove is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke. Pauline ThomasonLove is blind. Marriage is the eye-opener. Judith ViorstLove is much nicer to be in than an automobile accident, a tight girdle, a higher tax bracket or a holding pattern over Philadelphia. Julius GordonLove is not blind; it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less. Basta Man loves little and often. Woman much and rarely. Judith Viorst One advantage of marriage, it seems to me, is that when you fall out of love with him, or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until maybe you fall in again. Albert EllisThe art of love is largely the art of persistence. Mort SahlThe bravest thing that men do is love women. George Bernard ShawThe perfect love affair is one which is conducted entirely by post. John Kenneth GalbraithThere’s a certain part of the contented majority who love anybody who is worth a billion dollars. Brendan FrancisA man is already halfway in love with any woman who listens to him. Author UnknownIf love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? Henry KissingerNobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. Theres too much fraternizing with the enemy. Erich SegalTrue love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.

Strategic Action Plan for Food Waste Management Essay

Strategic Action Plan for Food Waste Management - Essay Example ch requires urgent action is how to reduce the dumping of food waste in the landfills so as to minimize the economic, social and environmental impacts. Langham Hotel is one of Hong Kongs most reputed and largest chain of hotels. Langham was recently selected as the first site to evaluate the feasibility of the new food waste composting program of the Hong Kong Governments’ Environmental Protection Department because of its active implementation of â€Å"green† initiatives. As a pioneer in sustainable food waste management practice in Hong Kong, Langham has the objective to be the leading eco-hotel in the hospitality industry. The effective resolution of the problem through development and implementation of novel strategies to reduce and avoid food waste, is likely to help not only the hotel but also support the national efforts to reduce food waste, reduce the carbon footprint and protect the environment. It will also encourage the others to follow in its footsteps and contribute to a greater social and environmental cause in the long run in the process. CSR TV is the project consultant of Langham’s Sustainability Task Force reviewing their CONNECT Programme. How to continuously improve the existing food waste prevention and recycling program and extend support to the staff and local communities with regard to management of food waste has been in the mind of the CEO for some time. In the analysis paper, recommendations for the future review of sustainability challenges are: 1) avoid food waste at source 2) reuse and recycle food waste through innovation 3) minimizing food waste disposal to landfills. The CEO has asked CSRTV to source for global guidance on preventing and reducing food waste more effectively so as to create a sustainability strategy that would lead the company to do things in different and better way. CSR TV represents the Strategic Task Force in presenting this paper for CEO endorsement. This paper will focus on implementing a food waste

Russia - National Security Presentation Speech or

Russia - National Security - Speech or Presentation Example NEXT SLIDE (TALK ABOUT THE FLAG (VGT) d. Overview: At 6.6 million square miles Russia (also known as the Russian Federation) is the largest nation-state in the world today. It encompasses all of northern Asia and north-eastern Europe. On the south, from west to east it borders on Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China (and furthest east, for a mere 11, miles it borders on North Korea. On the west, from north to south it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belarus and the Ukraine. e. It's national flag is a tricolor with bands of white, blue and red. Officially adopted in the 1890s and again in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the abandonment of the 'hammer and sickle' flag, it has been in use since the 17th century and its origins are shrouded in the mists of history. f. The total population is approximately 142 million and the capital city is Moscow with a population of 8.6 million. NEXT SLIDE In the wake of the Second World War a bi-polar world emerged wi th the Soviet Union and the United States as the world's two superpowers. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s some analysts suggested that the United States was the world's sole superpower and that the 'Cold War' had ended. Francis Fukuyama went so far as to suggest that capitalism had defeated socialism and history had ended. This proposition has proven to be ridiculously utopian. As is true of every state, Russia's national purpose remains advancement of its international interests, national security and national prosperity. In pursuit of these goals its major adversary remains the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); the alliance developed during the Cold War to ensure the security of Europe and link the United States with Canada and the democratic states of western Europe. The Russian Federation's minor adversaries are principally internal. Russia faces threats and terrorist adversaries in Chechnya, the northern Caucasus and througho ut the predominantly Muslim south-eastern portion of the country. On January 29, 2011 Reuters reported that the January bombing at Moscow's main airport was an operation carried out by North Caucasus separatist, terrorists. The report also identified the ethnic, religious and economic conflict at the root of the adversarial relationship: â€Å"Russia's leaders are struggling to contain a growing Islamist insurgency in the region, a strip of impoverished, mainly Muslim provinces along predominantly Orthodox Christian Russia's southern border.† (Reuters, 2011) Russia and the United States share an opposition to Muslim fundamentalism and terrorism. However, there are also multiple, potential points of conflict with the United States. The United States is committed to global democratization and human rights while the legitimacy of Russian democracy remains questionable. It is widely believed that the current Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin moved to the Prime Mi nistership to maintain control and subvert term limits on the President while remaining the 'power behind the throne'. Additionally, Russian corporations have often used accusations of economic malfeasance and other trumped up charges to take over the assets of foreign investors. These infringements on the rights of individuals and corporations remain potential trouble spots between the United States

Developing a Question-PICOT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Developing a Question-PICOT - Assignment Example Research indicates that Obesity prevention results into a lot of complications in cases of older patients especially at the age of fifty and above (Tesauro, & Cardillo, 2011). It takes a lot of time for such patients to recovery quickly from metabolic Obesity attack. This is because the disease affects their respiratory system resulting into breathing problems (Tesauro, & Cardillo, 2011). However, healthy eating habits, avoiding of smoking and regular physical exercise has been found to reduce Obesity at high percentage and this is very effective for the disease control and prevention (Wu, Wu, & Huang, 2013). This usually helps the patients to keep better healthy life and avoid risk factors such as high blood cholesterol and difficulty in their breathing system (Meeusen, Hoekman, & van Zundert, 2014). The problem identified in here is that in case of Obesity, older patients usually face higher risks of the disorder associated conditions such as respiratory challenges pressure as well as heart problems when compared to younger patients and children. Furthermore, Obesity conditions are more common in adults than children globally (Tesauro, & Cardillo, 2011). Therefore, aged care system is one of the important aspects of nursing profession as well as nursing training practices. Most people usually face a lot of health care problems at old age including heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure, mental problems as well as depression and anxiety (Bottone, Musich, Wang, Hommer, Yeh, & Hawkins, 2014). Physical exercise at this time of old age is very difficult leading to old age patients being too much vulnerable to a number of infections and disorders (Tesauro, & Cardillo, 2011). This calls for the need of medical and clinical students to fully understand old age problems during their training sessions (Meeusen, Hoekman, & van Zundert, 2014). The nurses as well as students in clinical training should be

Analyzation paper on the Novel the bluest eye by Toni Morrison Essay

Analyzation paper on the Novel the bluest eye by Toni Morrison - Essay Example At the beginning of the story she is ruled by two desires. The first one is to understand love and to know how makes people love her. And the second is considered not to observe parent’s quarrels that make her feels horrible. She has been interested in the feeling of love, and her life experience gives her an opportunity to face with the special and even strange manifestation of love. The matter is that Pecola has been raped by her father Cholly Breedlove. This man has problems with the alcohol that may be predetermined by his hard childhood. He loves his daughter and reflects this love in a brutal and violent form. The feelings, that he is experienced in the moment of raping Pecola, may be described as love and hatred. His character has been cruel and alcohol helps him to become mad. Still, that is considered to be the only form of love that Pecola knows in her life, and as it is suggested in the novel â€Å"wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never save† (Morrison, 163). Her father’s freedom in love is considered to be dangerous and it reflects on a daughter. Pecola is represented as fragile and delicate child through the entire story. Her life is suffering with no positive implications in reality. She is in need to endure the boys who tortured her after school, the classmates who ridicule her, or Mr. Yacobowski who rejects to touch her hand. Pecola is a true victim of the entire society in general and of her own views in particular. The matter is that this girl is considered to be sure in her ugliness and uselessness in this world. Her black skin is interpreted by her as a huge drawback in her life and in all the society. Black means ugly for Pecola and nothing can change her vision. Her dream is represented as a desire to have blue eyes and white skin. Pecola has an imaginary illusion

Nutritional science Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nutritional science - Assignment Example However, protein intake was 7% compare to the National Reference Value (NRV) of (15-25%) means less protein could cause serious health risks. The energy intake compared to expenditure reveals that intake was less than the population benchmark. This was attributed to by the medical condition the participant had known as lap band laparoscopy had only selective type of food. Generally the study concludes that most dietary assessment methods are limited by both bioavailability and natural variations in nutrients. Dietary assessment is the processes of evaluating nutrient intake by employing appropriate methods in order to identify the type of nutrients that are either under taken or overtaken by individual or a population. The appropriate method for dietary assessment is determined by the purpose and the target individuals. However, an appropriate dietary assessment must report all foods consumed by individuals including quantification, frequency and the nutrient content of each one (1). It is also important to note that quantification is very critical in assessment of nutrient intake and physical activity levels because of the need to compare individuals’ intakes of energy, macro and micronutrients with the recommended targets such as national reference values (NRV), Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). One of the best methods for assessing nutrient intake and physical activity is the Weighed Food Records. Weighed food record is a dietary assessment method that involves an individual taking actual weights of foods and drinks prior to their consumption (2). The records also contain details of eaten foods including full description and the time of consumption. The precise weight of food eaten is gotten by subtracting the left over from the original weights before consumption to improve on accuracy. High calorie foods have been

Analyzation paper on the Novel the bluest eye by Toni Morrison Essay

Analyzation paper on the Novel the bluest eye by Toni Morrison - Essay Example At the beginning of the story she is ruled by two desires. The first one is to understand love and to know how makes people love her. And the second is considered not to observe parent’s quarrels that make her feels horrible. She has been interested in the feeling of love, and her life experience gives her an opportunity to face with the special and even strange manifestation of love. The matter is that Pecola has been raped by her father Cholly Breedlove. This man has problems with the alcohol that may be predetermined by his hard childhood. He loves his daughter and reflects this love in a brutal and violent form. The feelings, that he is experienced in the moment of raping Pecola, may be described as love and hatred. His character has been cruel and alcohol helps him to become mad. Still, that is considered to be the only form of love that Pecola knows in her life, and as it is suggested in the novel â€Å"wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never save† (Morrison, 163). Her father’s freedom in love is considered to be dangerous and it reflects on a daughter. Pecola is represented as fragile and delicate child through the entire story. Her life is suffering with no positive implications in reality. She is in need to endure the boys who tortured her after school, the classmates who ridicule her, or Mr. Yacobowski who rejects to touch her hand. Pecola is a true victim of the entire society in general and of her own views in particular. The matter is that this girl is considered to be sure in her ugliness and uselessness in this world. Her black skin is interpreted by her as a huge drawback in her life and in all the society. Black means ugly for Pecola and nothing can change her vision. Her dream is represented as a desire to have blue eyes and white skin. Pecola has an imaginary illusion

Rocky movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rocky - Movie Review Example He collects loans for a certain shark and also fights in the towns shady clubs where he is lowly paid. His success begins when a heavyweight champion Creed, selects him to be his opponent in a fight where Balboa gets a chance to prove that he is not worthless (Didinger, Glen & Gene 14-16). This is because he gets mocked a lot when he fights at the clubs. He loses the match but this does not deter him from trying more. Thus, he is not successful in job searching, which makes him decide to stick to boxing. While training under Mickey he improves his skills to a better boxer. Meanwhile, his opponent at the first match Creed is criticised by his fans. He is pressured to overcome his fight with Balboa which makes him taunt Rocky publicly. During their fifteenth round, Balboa knocks Creed and this makes him get declared heavyweight champion for the first time (Didinger, Glen & Gene 16). This makes Rocky famous and he appears in a number of television advertisements as well as programs. After the fight what follows is a stream of wins making him more famous than his earlier opponent. While preparing to retire from boxing, he is publicly challenged by the number one contender James â€Å"Clubber† Lang. This time round Rocky is not fit to fight as his trainer dies of heart attack during their second round where he loses to Lang. Surprisingly, Rocky’s old rival Creed becomes his trainer and during the third round, he knocks Lang out. Another contender Ivan Drago from USSR challenges him to an exhibition match which does not take place. Instead, they fight on Christmas day where rocky knocks him out some seconds to final round. After this fight, Balboa gets diagnosed with brain damage which makes him retire from fights. To add on this, he is bankrupt due to poor accounting of his fortune. This forces his family to return to their earlier neighbourhood. His son follows his footsteps in the ring

Restructuring & Downsizing Essay Example for Free

Restructuring Downsizing Essay Human resource management has evolved from a largely administrative and operational role to one that plays an important part in strategic planning. This shift is more evident in its role towards downsizing. The decision to downsize is a decision that requires careful planning and consideration. It is critical to consider the long-term effects that short-term cost cutting measures can bring. Downsizing creates disruptions in the organization’s relationships with customers, suppliers and employees, organization’s structure, culture and climate. As Wayne F. Cascio says â€Å"if you must downsize, do it right, that no class of employee can be disproportionately affected. † Finding the best way to downsize is crucial, because the success of organisations that have downsized in the past has not been particularly laudable. Downsize Decision The downsizing decision is the most demoralizing and stressful aspect of the emerging Human resource managerial role. Downsizing is viewed as having a profound effect on the organization and the personnel including those who are terminated and those who survive. Yet it is the integral part of any workforce management decision. It involves understanding the tangible pitfalls of a reduction in workforce and analyzing the emotional and practical ramifications. Downsizing may occur intentionally as a strategic, proactive response designed to improve organizational effectiveness, increase productivity and cost cutting strategy. This response may involve mergers, acquisitions, sell-offs, or restructuring to better enable the organization to meet its mission or fill an environmental niche. It may involve reduction in personnel through transfers, outplacement, retirement incentives, buyout packages, layoffs, attrition, and so on or may occur in which new products added, new sources of revenue are opened up, etc. It affects work processes. Fewer employees may be left to do the same amount of work and the quality may suffer. Downsizing activities may include discounting functions, abolishing hierarchical levels, merging units, or redesigning tasks. Downsizing can impact financial well-being, health, personal attitudes, and family relationships. Before downsizing HR need to explore possible alternatives such as reducing hours across the board, introducing forced vacation, asking for layoff volunteers, compressed workweek, hiring freeze, and early retirement or implementing other cost-cutting measures. Human resource managers should weigh in on several factors that influence downsizing decisions. They need to identify the specific problems downsizing is expected to solve, consider overall financial health of the company, fiscal operating policies, and industry benchmarks before proceeding, and review all legal implications. Managing Process One key to a successful downsizing plan lies in management’s ability to clearly convey to employees the purpose behind the cost-cutting efforts. Secondly, consider any oral or implied contracts of employment, review employee files, plan for the contingencies, know the stakeholders, clearly define criteria for selection factors on which downsizing decisions will be made. Downsizing may have variety of adverse effects on layoff individuals, survivors and organizations such as loss of morale, distrust, anxiety, feelings of job insecurity, anger, job stress, physical ailments, poor mental health, decreased loyalty, lowered motivation and productivity, increased resistance to change, crisis mentality, politicised special interest groups, occupational violence, lack of teamwork, perception of unfairness, lack of leadership and overall commitment to the organization. Downsizing decision has to be a prudent one because it deals with lives of people. The managers will be faced with a work force at least partly staffed with survivors of downsizing. Providing information regarding the type of severance packages or outplacement benefits will be given to those displaced will alleviate some fears and let those who remain will know that their colleagues are being taken care of. The personnel attribute of downsizing usually involves reductions in personnel. However, downsizing is not limited entirely to personnel reductions. In some downsizing situations new products are added, new sources of revenue opened up, and/or additional work acquired. Even though some people may be added, the overall process results in fewer numbers of workers employed per unit of output as compared to some previous level of employment. Human resources must also position the company to be able to respond quickly and effectively when the economy recovers. The approach taken by the organization to the downsizing process can have an ongoing impact on the companys reputation with clients and potential future recruits. An inability to recruit critical talent later can mean an inability to rebound, so human resources must provide information openly and promptly to manage perceptions and rumors both internal and external about the fairness of any reductions and the need for additional downsizing in the future. Job placement services, employee assistance programs and financial counseling are all services that human resources should consider offering to affected employees. In the aftermath of a mass downsizing, employee morale will undoubtedly be affected. Employers should strive to be as open as possible during the process. Information should not come as a surprise to employees. If the company repeatedly assured workers everything was fine before announcing an unexpected layoff, it will be difficult to regain the trust of the workers who remain. Similarly, if the company focus has always been on meeting the needs of employees and taking active steps to motivate and encourage staff, a forced layoff may actually be more detrimental because it is so contrary to employees expectations of the organization. Management and human resources should meet regularly with employees to keep them informed, answer questions and respond to concerns. Any downsizing of the workforce is likely to result in the loss of key knowledge and critical skills. In the case of a voluntary separation program or early retirement initiative, Because turnover increases in the wake of a layoff, human resources must connect with key workers to outline their importance to the organization and provide information about how the company plans to recover. HR should also detail future career opportunities that can be realized by remaining with the business. Clear documentation, particularly regarding the layoff process itself, is important. Therefore it is vital that HR management weigh the relative costs and benefits against the negative impact downsizing has on employees and identify hazards, undertake risk assessment, consult with employee representatives, pursue compliance with legislative duties and take appropriate steps to manage any significant hazards that are identified, including psychosocial hazards. Downsizing refers to activities undertaken by management to improve the efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness of the organization by reducing the workforce size. Implications of Organisational Restructuring to HR Planning Restructuring: A Perspective Organizations and businesses today are faced with increased demands to become leaner due to global competition and rapid technology change. Many organizations have responded by corporate restructuring and downsizing or streamlining their operations and often outsourcing many functions originally assigned to permanent employees. Restructuring can lead to changes of ownership, radical changes in the internal management structure, mergers, acquisitions and significant downsizing or hiring trends. Internal factors can also include the addition or removal of a major product or service, addition or loss of a major client or the restructuring of departments. Restructuring is not a quick fix. Before restructuring we need to spell out the expectations and objectives and effectively communicate with the all the stakeholders to improve organizations ability to move through change effectively. Restructuring is a formal system of re-aligning tasks and reporting relationships that controls, coordinates, communicates, decides and motivates employees so that they cooperate to achieve an organizations goals. Restructuring may be carried out to expand and create new departments to serve growing markets or to downsize or eliminate departments to conserve overhead. Depending on the size of the organisation and type of business one may adopt a flat or tall structure and model it according to functional, divisional (product, market or geographic) or adaptive lines. Implications of Organisational Restructuring to HR Planning In the event of restructuring HR planning becomes critical because HR is typically responsible for handling all aspects of an organizations restructuring. HR departments provide or support announcements to employees regarding restructuring. HR is typically present when employees are informed of layoffs or permanent downsizing related to restructuring. Changes in employment policies, organizational structure, workforce, and location and job descriptions are announced to employees by human resources and management. HR also calculates changes in compensation and benefits resulting from reorganization. Organizations rely on human resources to provide a smooth transition during restructuring while retaining desired employees and integrating new employees into the new organizational plan. Restructuring leads to a new organization chart and HR need to reassess and alter their existing roles and responsibilities to better reflect the dynamics of the shifting workplace environment. HR departments also fulfil staffing recruitment needs including preparing job descriptions, posting and publishing available jobs, screening and interviewing candidates for employment and integrating new staff members into their assigned work areas. HR will often be called on to act in an advisory capacity salary ranges and often making changes to benefits, profit-sharing and other corporate perks. HR also institute training and educational programs and seminars and assist employees with transitions in and out of positions and in and out of the company. It may provide information, updates and job seeking resources for employees displaced from their jobs due to restructuring. HR departments are responsible for researching, recommending and implanting employee retention strategies during restructuring. Restructuring brings in changes to corporate cultures, which directly affects employees and may result in loss of identity, shrinkage in compensation, distrust, stress and conflict. HR has to ensure the internal processes accommodate the changes and the communication base is prepared to sensitize the various stakeholders.

Was Karl Marx a Determinist?

Was Karl Marx a Determinist? The aim of this essay is to address to what extent Karl Marx could be considered a determinist. In doing so it will consider: (a) what constitutes determinism; (b) Marx’s theories on history; and (c) whether these theories are compatible with the notion of determinism. Precedence is given to section (b) due to the sheer volume of existing literature in this field. Analysis is limited to Marx’s personal theories on history as opposed to Marxist theory on history, as the latter is largely tangential to the issue in question.[1] (a) Determinism Determinism has many facets. In the broad sense it can be summarised as the philosophical proposition that every historical event is causally determined by an unbroken or predetermined chain of prior events. In rudimentary terms, therefore, determinism is the antithesis of free will – the notion that there is no predestined fate for mankind except that which it determines for itself. Determinism should not be confused with fatalism, which dictates that all future events are already predetermined and will definitely occur. Rather determinism is associated with and depends upon the concepts of materialism and causality. More specifically, it is economic determinism with which, rightly or wrongly, Marx has become associated. Economic determinism can be defined as a form of determinism which explains social structure and culture as a product of the social and technical organisation of economic life.[2] It essentially lends primacy to economics over politics in the development of human history. It has been interpreted as the belief that economic laws determine the course of history, in much the same way as Auguste Comte considered that laws governed society.[3] On a more elementary level, Fleischer writes that as self-preservation is the supreme instinct in man, therefore the entire pattern of human conduct must always have been governed by the fundamental laws governing survival – a dialectical process between man and nature. This reasoning gives rise to the conclusion that all elements of historical consequence result from economic determinism, or man’s instinctive effort to survive.[4] In order for us to understand Marx’s association with economic determinism, an analysis of his theories on history is essential. (b) Marx’s theories on history Jon Elster writes that Marx had ‘both an empirical theory of history and a speculative philosophy of history.’[5] It is the former, better known as historical materialism, which concerns us. Historical materialism as an explanatory system has been expanded and refined by many academic studies since Marx’s death in 1883, despite no formal exposition of the concept ever having been published by Marx himself.[6] It looks for the causes of developments and changes in human societies in the way in which humans collectively make the means to life, thus giving an emphasis, through economic analysis, to everything that co-exists with the economic base of society, such as social classes, political structures and ideologies. While Marx claimed only to be proposing a guideline to historical research, by the twentieth century the concept of historical materialism had become a keystone of modern Communist doctrine. An understanding of the origins of Marx’s attachment to materialism is essential in appreciating its concept. These origins can largely be attributed to his research on the philosophy of Epicurus and his reading of Adam Smith and other political economists. Historical materialism builds upon the idea that became current in philosophy from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries that the development of human society has moved through a series of stages, from hunting and gathering, through pastoralism and cultivation, to commercial society. Marx argued that the history of Western society had progressed though the following stages or ‘modes of production.’ Each mode of production had its own economic system which gave rise to a system of class division based around ownership of the means of production: (i) primitive communism (ii) slave society (iii)feudalism (iv)capitalism Marxists say that society moves from one stage to the next when the dominant class is displaced by a new emerging class. The final stage in the chain, communism (as we know it today), would eventually supplant capitalism on a global scale, and would therefore represent both the intended target and end result of social history. The fundamental theory of historical materialism stems from the fact that people must procure or produce the necessities by which they can survive and reproduce themselves. Human beings are producers, and their production consists of two distinct aspects: the material and the social. The material refers to the physical necessities of life. In producing physical necessities, human beings create the social form, within which they produce. The social form of production is a social process by which people cooperate (through a division of labour in more complex social forms) to produce the things they need. This aspect always involves the social relations of those involved. These relations crucially concern the control of the process of production and the distribution of its products. The material aspect of production implies a certain organisation of production, possession of the appropriate tools, and knowledge. This material aspect of production is known as the ‘productive forces .’ The social form in which people produce is called the ‘relations of production.’ Together, the forces and relations of production make up the ‘mode of production.’ The next stage in the argument is more controversial. Initially, the interacting factors in the productive system of a class-based economy, including the forces and relations of production, are in a state of relative equilibrium. The forces of production determine and limit or at least correspond to the relations of production. Let us consider an example to help make this relationship more transparent. The earliest humans reproduced themselves by hunting animals and producing simple crops. Such a society could not produce cars, computers or engage in the mass production we have today. They lacked the tools and knowledge to do so. Knowledge and tools are part of the productive forces, which constrain the nature of the relations of production. This material limitation on what earlier societies could produce also constrained the types of relationships that existed between people. However, at some point the expanding forces of production clash with the contracting relations of production . In mankind’s harnessing of technology, the forces develop more rapidly, and in a direction incompatible with the relations of production. As the capacity to produce expands, the ownership of the means of production contracts. Consequently, the forces of production can no longer freely develop within the confines of the class structure. This conflict between the forces and relations of production intensifies until, by means of revolution, the social relations are reorganised so as to harmonise with the productive forces. It is anticipated that mankind will ultimately establish control over the material powers of the economy.[7] Historians such as Jon Elster and David McLellan have scoured Marx’s writings for evidence of his rationale on historical materialism. Elster points to Das Kapital, Marx’s preface in A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, and what he refers to as ‘rambling, disconnected passages’ in The German Ideology as key sources.[8] He explains: Historical materialism is not simply a theory that accords a privileged place to economic factors. It is, more specifically, a form of technological determinism. The rise and fall of successive property regimes are explained by their tendency to promote or fetter technical change.[9] On Marx’s writings on the historical modes of production, Elster argues that Marx ‘does not provide applications and clarifications of the general theory.’[10] According to Elster, there is no suggestion that each of the three precapitalist modes of production (primitive communism, slave society and feudalism) divides into a progressive stage (in which the relations of production correspond to the forces of production) and a regressive stage (in which the correspondence becomes a contradiction). On the contrary, Marx consistently claims that technology was essentially unchanging from antiquity to the early modern period (with the exception of the invention of gunpowder, the printing press and the compass), and that the destabilising element in the ancient world was not the development of the forces of production but population growth. Elster is also critical of Marx’s account of the (then) impending transition from capitalism to communism. He argues that as Marx insisted that technical change in capitalism was accelerating rather than slowing down, he could not claim that capitalism was moribund in its stagnation. Rather, Elster insists, Marx would have to argue that the proletariat would be motivated by the prospect of a communist society which would benefit from technical change at an even more accelerated pace. This in itself is an unlikely motivation as people revolt when conditions deteriorate or when their expectations of improvement are not fulfilled, rather than when there is an abstract possibility of a society in which conditions could be even better than they are already. McLellan is less critical, appearing to methodically signpost the scholar through the confused abstracts. While he does not specifically mention determinism, he points to it by highlighting the inevitability of worldwide communist revolution above all else. He draws the reader’s attention to the following Marx quotations: Things have come to the point where individuals must appropriate the existing totality of productive forces not merely to achieve self-activity but to secure their very existence. In all appropriations up to now a mass of individuals remained subservient to a single instrument of production. In the appropriation by the proletarians, a mass of instruments of production must be subservient to each individual and the property of all. The only way for individuals to control modern universal interaction is to make it subject to the control of all. Communism is not [†¦] a state of affairs still to be established, not an ideal to which reality will have to adjust. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of affairs. [11] The salient point here is that McLellan draws on these passages to illustrate that socialism for Marx was an economic reality rather than an ethical ideal. This represents a paradigm of determinism in Marx’s writing. The fundamental assumptions of historical materialism as viewed by Marx, irrespective of any period of history, can therefore be summarised as follows: humans are social animals who live in a complex society; human society consists of humans collectively working on nature to make the means to life; human society develops a complex division of labour; over time humans advance their harnessing of nature through the development of science and technology; human beings have the ability to reflect on their society and interaction with nature, but their thinking and organisation are always preconditioned by and dependent on the state of development of their society and of the power structures in their society. Let us now consider whether these assumptions are compatible with the concept of economic determinism. (c) Marxist theory and economic determinism As discussed in section (b), according to Marx, each social mode of production produces the material conditions of its reproduction, that is ideology (which encompasses all the political, law and cultural spheres). Thus ideology permits the mode of production to reproduce itself. Marx also believed that in the event of a revolutionary force changing the mode of production, the dominant class would immediately set out to create a new society to protect this new economic order. In the nineteenth century, Marx felt as if the bourgeoisie had essentially accomplished the establishment of a new societal and economic order, instinctively creating a society protective of their capitalist interests. This prompted Marx (and Engels) to direct this statement from the Communist Manifesto at the bourgeoisie: Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class.[12] From this, it is argued that Marx and Engels did not believe men could arbitrarily choose any one of several forms of society, but only that one which promotes the prevailing mode of production. The very nature of man’s materialistic constitution requires that he do this. Marx hence criticised man’s alienation, a concept which he latter replaced by the critique of commodity fetishism. ‘Vulgar Marxism’ has considered that the relation between the economical infrastructure and the ideological superstructure was an unicausal one, and thus believed in economic determinism. This has been criticised by Marxist theorists such as Helmut Fleischer, who dismissed it as a form of economism or economic reductionism. He claimed the relationship is much more reciprocal and complex than unilateral determinism would have it. There are also scholars who reject this view. Fleischer highlights those who objected that economic determinism is a meaningless generality, and that any serious historical explanation of economic realities must also refer to non-economic realities. This becomes a more conspicuous problem when it is unclear which branch of determinism is implied. In this respect, when Marx writes of the ‘economic base’ and the ‘ideological superstructure’ of society, he was making a generalisation about the broad sweep of history, to the effect that people ultimately will follow their material self-interests, whatever else they may imagine about their motivations. However, according to Marx, the dynamics of history were shaped precisely by the clash of those interests (class struggle), and that clash could not be understood simply in terms of economic self-interest, because it also involved human traditions and values. The end result of economic determinism in this view is b oth economism (a narrow focus on how people earn their livelihood) and economic reductionism (the attempt to reduce a complex social reality to one factor – i.e. the economic – such that this one factor causes all other aspects of society). This plays directly into the hands of the business class, and ultimately ended in an anti-working class position, whereby the allegiance of the working class is merely a ‘tool’ to be used by the political class to modernise an economy, with the aid of forced labour if need be.[13] Taking the above points into account, it could be argued that Marx considered economic determinism as the creative force in human evolution. He clearly advocated a change in economic structure as the only feasible means by which to effect social change and to refine the intellectual make-up of humanity. His advocacy of the inevitability of worldwide socialist revolution and communist society could certainly be described as deterministic in outlook. At the same time it should be remembered that Marx was fully aware that the economic aspects of life did not constitute the sum total of mankind’s preoccupation and social make-up. On this basis, therefore, it would appear that Marx’s historical materialism is compatible with the specific notion of economic determinism, rather than falling under the broader category of determinism as a whole. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore (ed.), Karl Marx (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1973) Easton, Loyd D. Guddat, Kurt H. (trans. ed.), Writings of the young Marx on philosophy and society (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967) Elster, Jon, An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge: CUP, 1986) Fleischer, Helmut, Marxism and History (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973) McLellan, David, The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction (London: Macmillan, 1971) Rader, Melvin, Marx’s Interpretation of History (New York: OUP, 1979) Web references Economic determinism, Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences, maintained by Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada (http://bitbucket.icaap.org) Karl Marx Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Australian National University (www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html) 1 Footnotes [1] It is almost impossible to discuss Marx’s theories on history without referring to Friedrich Engels, Marx’s lifelong friend, fellow philosopher and co-author of many works. The influence of Engels has been intentionally minimalised for the purposes of this essay as the issue in question refers to Marx alone. [2] Economic determinism, Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences, maintained by Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada (http://bitbucket.icaap.org, accessed July 28, 2006). [3] Helmut Fleischer, Marxism and History (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973), passim. [4] ibid. [5] Jon Elster, An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge: CUP, 1986), p. 103. [6] Isaiah Berlin, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore (ed.), Karl Marx (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1973), p. 56. [7] Isaiah Berlin, ‘Historical Materialism’ in Tom Bottomore, op. cit., pp. 58-60; Melvin Rader, Marx’s Interpretation of History (New York: OUP, 1979), pp. 12-14. [8] Jon Elster, op. cit., p. 104. Marx published A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy in London in 1859. Marx and Engles co-wrote The German Ideology during the spring of 1845. It was published posthumously by the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow in 1932. [9] Jon Elster, op. cit., pp. 104-105. [10] ibid, pp. 106-108. [11] Loyd D. Easton Kurt H. Guddat (trans. ed.), Writings of the young Marx on philosophy and society (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967), pp. 426, 467 et seq, reproduced in David McLellan, The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction (London: Macmillan, 1971), p. 36. [12] Karl Marx Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party (first published 1848), accessed online at the Australian National University website (http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/ marx/classics/manifesto.html, July 30, 2006). [13] Helmut Fleischer, op. cit., pp. 45 et seq.

Technologies of Seduction Essays -- Seduction Cinematic Body Film Essa

Technologies of Seduction â€Å"There can be no question of escaping the twisted logic of theoretical writing; there are only different ways of coming to terms with it.† (Shaviro 11) Blind Beast (Masumura Yasuzo 1969), Ghost in the Shell (Ohii Mamoru 1995), and Spirited Away (Miyazaki Hayao 2001) sustain the relation between the ‘body’ and ‘technology’: its terrific horror is its seduction. Captured bodies cut, cybernetic bodies hacked, and fattened bodies served. These three films all capture the viewer and take us to another place, and even in the seduction of representation understood as events (the theory-fiction of film analyses), such films can be understood as narratives, images, and sounds of losing the self in the moment, an abandon to seduction that constitutes a relation between technologies and bodies. The terrific is the pleasure of the seduction, and the horrific the unavoidable and, indeed, necessary trepidation felt in falling into the utterly convincing and charming seducer’s reality. Steven Shaviro’s theory of film fatale offers a thorough account of what sustains and characterizes the relationship Fri edrich Kittler describes between body and technology: â€Å"Wherever media were unable to connect, human interfaces filled the niche.† What is seduction? To answer this question would be to work productively, a principle of production that is very much oppositional to seduction. Seduction is something like persuasion or convincing, but does not work at a level of cognition. The cinematic image is at once intense and impalpable. On the one hand, film (even more than other visual forms, and in sharp contrast to the articulations of language) is inescapably literal. Images confront the viewer directly, with... ... the same level of suspicion as the productive and representational. The salvation, then, of this argument, a string of mediations that claim to produce an effect on discourse or understanding, is in its denied seductive ulterior. An allurement that occurs just where it is not spoken of, and for just the reasons that remain unsaid. Theory against itself is here a most cunning seduction. WORKS CITED Carpenter, Novella. â€Å"Avant-Prof. An Interview with Steven Shaviro.† Alt-X Press. Dec. 11, 2002. http://www.altx.com/int2/steven.shaviro.html Creed, Barbara. â€Å"Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: an Imaginary Abjection.† in Jancovich, ed., Horror, The Film Reader. New York: Routledge, 2002. Haraway, Donna. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. London: Free Association, 1990. Shaviro, Steven. The Cinematic Body. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

John Proctor Essay

This description adds an air of mystery to him – he seems subversive and breeds paranoia, which is bound to encourage the audience to dislike him. This unpleasantness about him rubs off on the characters who side with him such as Parris, Danforth and Abigail, and hence rubs off on the society that gets caught up in his hysterical witch-hunt. Similarly to Proctor therefore, we feel alienated from this society, so different to our own. So while characters such as Hale may be portrayed as popular in the community, and therefore as good citizens following the teachings of their society, the audience sees Proctor as a good man. Furthermore, as the audience comes to dislike this society more and more, partly due to Hale’s influence upon it, and as the events of the play become more serious, our disgust with Salem as a society grows. This leads us to side even more with the characters that are portrayed as ‘good people’ (not only Proctor, but those accused of witchcraft more generally such as Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor) and against the ‘good citizens’. This is simply due to the fact that the ‘good citizens’ chose to distinguish themselves from the ‘good people’ in the eyes of the audience by accusing them of witchcraft, thus forcing us to side against them. However, the audience’s sympathy with Proctor is perhaps not absolute. In his relationship/interaction with Elizabeth, we may find a darker, less appealing side to Proctor. When we first meet her, Elizabeth is â€Å"softly singing to the children†. She obeys John’s orders, seeming mild, sweet and gentle. This serves to instantly ingratiate her with the audience. But similarly, she gains our sympathy. She has the air of a repressed housewife. In obeying John’s every command, Elizabeth appeals to the hearts of the modern liberal audience living in an age of comparative equality. Everything down to the way she laments â€Å"Pray God. I hurt my heart to strip her, poor rabbit† makes her ever more sweet and sensitive and worthy of sympathy in the eyes of the audience. Because of the audience’s sympathies with Elizabeth, when Proctor begins to grow angry and shout at her, for the first time we are encouraged to side against Proctor. Elizabeth, seeming weak and sensitive plays on our sympathies, so when John shouts â€Å"Woman †¦ I’ll not have your suspicion any more†, the audience sees her as the victim of the ‘bully’, John. Even then however, John manages to redeem himself. Elizabeth’s sweetness does seem to have an effect on him. Eventually, he recognises Elizabeth for the good woman she is, and when he comes to resolve his inner battle between truth and life, he values her opinion above all others. He appears therefore, to be a man of some compassion. He begs her to judge him, something that he had rejected bitterly before then, and was the source of their original argument. In his own words â€Å"You are a – marvel, Elizabeth†. In Proctor’s struggle at the end of the play – his choice between a virtuous death and a haunted life – we see open, frank and emotional expressions of his goodness and compassion. Indeed, it is here that we see the true evidence that John Proctor really is a good man. Here, for the first time, he openly recognises his flaws – â€Å"I cannot mount the gibbet a saint †¦ Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that wasn’t rotten long before†. The audience now recognises him as a man of great humanity, who will own up to his past sins. Furthermore, his benevolence shines through in his recognition of Elizabeth as a better person than he. This is most prominently displayed in his desperation to be judged by her. He recognises her goodness and begs forgiveness, and when she sullies her own name his pain is most apparent: â€Å"PROCTOR (In great pain): Enough, enough – ELIZABETH (Now pouring out her heart): Better you should know me! PROCTOR: I will not hear it! I know you! † Never before has Proctor used such emotion as this, denoted by the short sentences, exclamation marks and short bursts of pained speech. It is clear that he loves Elizabeth above all other things, and would willingly die for her to think better of him. He is a man of true compassion and love. But most revealing of his good nature is Proctor’s ultimate choice. When it comes down to it, he cannot lie. As he tries to give the confession, he has great trouble in physically saying it. His jaws lock, we are told, as if God himself were intervening to stop a good Christian from sullying his name. His confession is short, pained and brief. He cannot bear to elaborate, simply uttering â€Å"I did †¦ He did† in answer to the charges against him. It is too much for this good man. He cannot darken his soul to save his life. He would rather die a good and honest Christian, than live a lie and stoop so low as those who interrogate and imprison him. It is here that he proves himself truly heroic, as he rises above the hypocrisy of Salem and dies a martyr to the cause of good and truth, and this he recognises himself – â€Å"I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. † Clearly then, John Proctor is absolutely the central character of ‘The Crucible’. He is purposely detached from Salem society and moulded into the key to a play with a deeper underlying meaning. In many ways he represents Miller himself, and shares a viewpoint with the modern audience, providing a window into a very different world. In order to do this it is vital that the audience sympathises entirely with his plight. His respectable and likeable character draws the audience to him, before Miller pits both him and us against the misguided witch-hunters – Miller’s own House Un-American Activities Committee. We side and sympathise with Proctor, just as Miller requires us to side and sympathise with him, before a greater evil. 6 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section. Download this essay Print Save Not the one?

Terrible death of Abraham Lincoln

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman expresses the terrible death of   Abraham Lincoln. â€Å"And the great star early droop’d †¦. † taken from the second line of the poem demonstrates the reference to President Abraham Lincoln with â€Å"Great Star† as the representation being the 16th president of the United States. Whitman’s yearly reminder of Lincoln’s death is symbolizes by the blooming of the lilacs in April which justify the same month in which Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman makes use the imagery of lilacs to successfully convey the vigor of the poem.Lilacs here emphasize the things about the death and elegy of Lincoln. The first one is that the lilacs symbolize sorrow in the beginning but currently represent closure. It means the death of the president brought them sadness but the lilacs place on the coffin gives them hope because it is a symbolic gesture of honor and respect. It also signifies that even though the flower is rotten, again and again there will be new lilacs when spring comes. Just like Lincoln, through his elegy his memories will be revived. The turning point of this poem which was written by Whitman deals with death and acceptance of it.This line explains it â€Å"I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves; I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring†. He proves his optimistic outlook here. Lilacs also indicate the repeated sequence of life. Whitman perceives from the lilacs, that passing away is an unavoidable factor of this cycle. The images of the lilac represent love, hope, life, despair, and rebirth. They also serve as a channel that leads Whitman to understand death. Through this poem, Whitman honors Lincoln as a magnificent leader and a noble person. Aside from this, it is also important because it provides end for the nation in bereavement.Above all, the poem of lamentation efficiently shows that Lincoln's heritage will alway s be reborn among the blossoming lilacs when spring returns. In my own opinion, Whitman changes poetry forever by having a concrete representation of his feeling about the person whom he adores and respects too much. The way he delivers the details of his poem, it shows that the whole nation involves here and he tries to comfort all of them even himself. In that aspect, it’s very hard for a poet or writer to address wholeheartedly the entire story of the person being emphasized.Because it may lead him to the wrong motives and implications, it can be a big issue to the readers or listeners, it maybe biased and more on criticism. But as he connects one line of the poem to the other, we will notice the strong feeling of Whitman that he is affected by the tragedy happened to the president. And he tries his best to put the details into figures of speech so that the true essence of poetry will not be erased. I do believe that Whitman change poetry forever by simply putting his hear t in his poem, his true feeling and the lesson that he learns after making the whole poem.

Crazy Eddie Essay

1) Red flags were the increase on short-term investment receivables why would an electronic company have short-term investments in the first place. Increase of prepaid inventory in 1987 should be alarm nearly double from 1986. The company gross profit margin was stable of around 13%-16% average there was no need to increase inventory prepaid. Also lack of accounts payable and account receivable was a sign every retail company should have bad debt expense or allowance for doubtful accounts as customers may commit fraud to purchase products. The inventory age of went from 80 in 1986 to 111 in 1987 yet cost of goods sold primarily consisted of inventory was average from 1984 to 1987 2) Several audit procedures could have been performed to attest Crazy Eddie wrong doing A) The falsifying inventory count sheet would be detected if the auditors randomly performed inventory count and compare it to the Crazy Eddie sheet and consulted with inventory experts of how companies can deceive auditors. B) Bogus email could been investigated by requesting back support documentation to support the memos and also if this was mentioned  during executive meetings by reviewing the executive board minutes. Also by contacting the vendor and reconciling their receivables to payables of Crazy Eddie. C) Transhipping sales would have been by reviewing account receivable process from start to finish. Review payment of the sale invoices and checking shipping department log of when transshipment was done and of course contact the buyer to authenticate the sale to place. D) Consignment of inventory is to also audit their inventory and compare it to Crazy Eddie log and review of the contra ct between both parties how they operate the consignment agreement 3) As auditors they analyze the industry they are in and even compare financial records of other companies in the same industry for regularities and irregularities. During the 80’s it was evident that the electronic industry was declining and ever changing leaving certain products to being obsolete. Transhipping made it difficult, as they were able and justify the reasoning for buying large number of products however auditors should be able to communicate with supervisors of the life shelf of products and be able to produce aging schedule for each product they sell. 4) Lowballing in the audit context is to charge a client cheap in order to offer other services at fair or premium costs. Other services perform by the same firm of the independent client does violate its independence as the firm footprint with the company gets bigger and creates conflict of interest as some can be audits of services they provided to the company violating external independence and objectively 5) Member of the audit team if a third of the sample size I requested cannot be find I would suspicious and question if the sale even took place. Also means that I will need to select more sales with that time period to see if more exceptions appear. Also I would receive their sales process and witness the process for deficiencies and evaluate other ways to detect red flags for example selecting sales from shipping department or warehouse department for possible red flags as well. 6) I believe its common for audit members to join clients team as management already know the value he brings and since Sarbanes Oxley and PCAOB does not prohibit the practice will continue on. That person is familiar with their accounting system therefore he will be more efficient that bringing a person new also the relationship with audit firm can be strengthen and less problematic having that person as an liaison during the audit period. The cons are the negative light and question the independence of the audit firm. The person may have extensive knowledge how to deceive and commit unethical transactions without his former employer knowing. Facts Eddie was born in 1947 into a large close Syrian family. and dropped out of high school at the age of 16 years old and peddled television in Brooklyn neighborhood. By 1969 Antar and one of his cousins have funds to open consumer electronic store called Crazy Eddie. Crazy Eddie was nickname given to Antar through his behavior towards customers, vendors, and subordinates. For example Antar would block the exit door even locking door until the individual agreed to buy something anything Antar distinctive trait was the inability to trust anyone outside his big family circle and mostly relatives hold company positions in all capacity. Crazy Eddie was know for marketing advertising antics in 1972 Antar hired radio personality know as Dr. Jerry as Crazy Eddie’s advertising spokesman. Discounting policy was the theme to the campaigns promising to refund the difference of the selling price and lower retail price with the 30 days of purchase. In the early 1980’s electron industry exploded lead to increasing growth to Crazy Eddie by 1987 the company product sales were the following Antar encourage to upsell the customer and to purchase extended warranty as the electronic was already insured by the manufacturer lead to high profit margin Crazy Eddie would purchase large amount of quantity and avoid large concessions expenses that allowed him ‘’transhipper ‘’ commonly known as secondary supplier to smaller stores in the New York City area . In1983 Crazy Eddie decided to go public to raise capital for expansion but  was delayed over year for the IPO as underwriter discovered several discrepancies of the company financial records and relatives role in the business key example his wife and mother received 6 figure salaries for little or no work. Recommended Antar to hire CFO with public company experience and hired his cousin Sam Antar as his CFO. The sale of stock was tremendous success and with the permission of the SEC issued 200,000 more stock. One way to sway financial analyst for positive reviews was to invite them to his store and show his salesman skills to close sales . One analyst wrote ‘’Crazy is a self disciplined competently organized firm with a sophisticated management and a well trained, dedicated staff’’ Based on the 1984-1987 financial statement and rave financial reviews investors from the IPO realized 1,000 percent increase In 1986 Antar resigned from the company but remained chairperson member but after a few weeks he completely withdrew from the company. By 1987 the end of the electronic bubble, increased local competition, diminished supplier leverage, and family issues most notably bitter divorce as a result family members picking sides were the indication of the Crazy Eddie downfall. Mismanagement of the company and poor financial reports plummeted the stock as regulatory officials started investigating. November 1987 the company was taken over by two individuals while performing due diligence they uncovered 65 million inventory storage Extensive investigating SEC alleged Antar was worried about company stock and ordered staff commit fraud by overstate/understate balance sheet items like overstate receivable by 2 million the following yellow understating payables by 9 million dollars. Overstated inventory with non-existent products Prepare bogus memos reports and entered in company accounting records Included consignment & goods to manufacturer as revenue Overstating transshipping inventory transactions Understating COSGS Peat Marwick was the Crazy Eddie accounting firm but the underwriters  suggested to hire bigger recognizable firm and comply to hire Main Hurdman that merged with Marwick was the independent auditor for modest ‘’lowball’’ fee while offering over non-auditing services to make up the difference. Hurdman charged Crazy Eddie 85 thousand for auditing service while charging millions to do their computer inventory systems. Questioning Hurdman independence and objectively as Crazy Eddie accountant were former Hurdman staff. Hurdman defense was Antar would properly stock year end inventory to hide any shortages and systematically conceal documentations of shortages and to junk their computer operated inventory system and return to manual system making difficult to determine actual ending inventory at time period the entire accounting department participating in the collusion to throw off auditors. In 1989 Crazy Eddie lost line of credit and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Antar was arrested with 17 counts of financial fraud in 1993 and publicly admitted to defrauding investors by manipulating accounting records in May of 1996. Lawsuit was settled in 1993 in the amount of 42 million to various defendants including Peat Marwick Analysis Crazy Eddie problems started with the idea to increase its expand the heavily tied family business and decided to take the company public than have venture capitalist provide the capital instead. We can see why it went public electronic started becoming the norm and disposable income complimented the fast growing industry. Crazy Eddie had the advantage similar to Wal-Mart being able to purchase large quantities at a low rate and taking a step forward to being second supplier to small business. Crazy Eddie failed to acknowledge or wasn’t aware of the product cycle and wasn’t able to forecast of where the industry was headed nor did it know the life of technology it was buying would not outpace demand. Management at Crazy Eddie raised concerns regarding experience and education to make sound decisions to operating and financing structure the company needed also family had to be problem as some relatives received a salary just because they’re family. After going public the Antar realized financial ratios had to be sound and used his power to convince the public that his company was  growing despite the current trends. His power was used to commit fraud and deceive the public in order to maintain the stock price like Enron would do a decade later and had the support of the entire accounting finance decision as no one reported to the SEC of their wrong doing Recommendations Recommendations for Crazy Eddie are to have the right management in place from executives to senior positions. Individuals that understand the industry trends and operate as efficiently possible. Finance department needed not only strong accounting department but an even stronger internal audit department that can properly perform Sarbanes Oxley section 404, SAS 69, SAS 99, SAS 109, SAS 115 for internal control practitioners to identify, prioritize, evaluate, and test the controls in place to prevent fraud and other financial statement material errors. Internal audit needs to be candid with external auditors and share information that can benefit external auditors during the financial audit a lot of sensitive valuable information went rogue that could been used to detect operations inventory fraud. References Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 Internal Control Practitioners Statement on Auditing Standards 69 The Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity With Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Statement on Auditing Standards 99 Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit Statement on Auditing Standards 109 Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement Statement on Auditing Standards 115 Communicating Internal Control Related Matters Identified in an Audit