Wednesday, July 31, 2019

What advantages or disadvantages are there of having a telephone mast at your school?

I deliberated in finding you a result, never the less I will give you an unbiased view point and give you a pragmatic answer†¦ Consequently I have prepared a list of bullet points for and against for the answer†¦ For * Good phone signals are in place so a teacher can easily contact others (via mobile phone) if the conditions are stormy. * If a phone mass was put into place, company's across the country would manufacture there businesses nearby so all employees could conveniently access strong phone signals meaning Clayton would be popular village meaning a boost in local economy†¦ * People would see Clayton as a more business friendly town, meaning more leisure prospects because companies might set up major offices and buildings†¦ * Small towns may be transformed into a thriving city because a brilliant signals†¦ * May bring protesters although they would need transport and accommodation therefore it puts money into the economy again†¦ * If major company's construct big offices near by other people may be persuaded to create other things nearby to cater for the business men's every need for example coffee shops and luxury outlet stores for rich people who work in the offices†¦ * If thriving company's start up in the town other buildings will come as well, for example the company may want a building nearby were they can host there website (lots of servers) so they don't have to travel far to maintain equipment, meaning that they will buy more land leading to estate agents and nearby people gaining lots of money, which will further more be pumped back into the economy†¦ * If major company's set up in the nearby town, big companies such as BT etc will feel pressured not to have a office in the town because the town will be popular full of people†¦ * More shops would appear because the town would be so popular meaning lots of people would buy products from there shop†¦ * There is no real evidence to suggest that the EM radiation used in cellular communications is harmful. Against * There are fears that mobile phone masts present a threat to health, these fears begin with the warming of the brain direct from mobile phones, this leads onto the possible causes of cancer that come from phone masts e.g. brain tumours, this is the cause of microwave radiation. * You might have trouble sleeping as time goes on and you could be at risk from catching a brain tumour. Also if someone was to stand near a phone mast they might be at risk of catching the flu. * Seven different studies had concluded that mobile phones could increase the chances of both malignant and benign brain tumours'. * Can be seen as unattractive for example, if there is elegant view around the town the mast would instantly destroy it†¦ Meaning that if the town is seen as a rural, it is no instantly transformed as an urban town†¦ * Newcastle is aimed at older people (London is aimed at younger people) Therefore they will be against the change†¦ How it works Mobile phones work using radio signals in a similar way to radio and television. The system is based on geographic areas known as cells. When you make a call, your mobile phone sends a signal to the nearest base station that controls a cell. The base station then transmits the signal through mobile and fixed line networks to connect you. Cells vary in size depending on location and demand. A large base station may be able to carry 100 to 150 calls simultaneously while a smaller one may only be able to carry around 30 calls. More base stations will be needed in areas where lots of people want to use their mobile phones. There are around 51,000 base stations in the UK, two-thirds of which are integrated into the design of existing buildings or structures. Conclusion This is a very debateable subject, however I hope the bullet points I have willingly provided have made it easier for me to make a strong decision†¦ If I was put in charge of making this decision I would be for the telephone mast because it would bring major companies to Newcastle-under-Lyme which would be excellent for the economy, There are about 70 million mobile phones in use in the UK which of whom need to base stations, this is why one should be made in Newcastle because they have to be made! People may protest and rebel about this although this wouldn't matter too much because after a while people will forget†¦If we did put a telephone mast in Newcastle there is a chance that Newcastle under Lyme could be completely transformed for the best! Some major disadvantages would be that it could cause harm towards the civilians and that the change could anger the more older public because they might not like thriving city's and prefer the quite villages†¦

Image and Customer Satisfaction Essay

Select a restaurant where you have eaten recently. Analyze the atmosphere and physical environment of this service establishment. What image does the environment convey? Were you satisfied with the experience? Did it meet your expectations? Should the owner change anything to make the environment more appealing to customers? I recently ate at Alquimia Bistro Club at Gallery Plaza in Condado. The restaurant is a joint venture between the entrepreneur Tony Hernandez and singer Gilberto Santa Rosa. It is conveniently located on the ground floor of the building and you have the option of entering the restaurant through the main entrance or through the bar if you don’t want to enter the dining room. The dining room consists of an upper and lower level. There is a wine â€Å"cellar† which can be dined in and a room for private activities. Aside from the main dining room there is a small theater with a stage for performances. We sat in the upper level of the main dining room. The restaurant aims to provide a relaxed and comfortable yet sophisticated atmosphere. The lighting is relatively low and the music is soft and inviting. The tables are immaculately set. If all worked, had it not been for previous engagements we would have stayed well into the afternoon. The ambience was one that invited you to relax and get acquainted with friends. If satisfaction was based solely on the atmosphere then Alquimia would have been a hit, but in the end it isn’t. The food did not live up to expectations. You are led to believe that you will be taken on a journey of culinary alchemy but you are not. What you end up with are plates made up of ingredients that do not work well together. The satisfied members of the group were those that opted for the â€Å"criollo† dishes. One of my suggestions for Alquimia would be to tone down on the dishes, maybe just stick with the typical food and elaborate a bit not go off the deep end. Sometimes less is more! As for the environment the owners have the right idea. It is inviting and relaxing, you want to stay and continue to consume throughout the day with good drinks and good conversation.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Installing 70/30 Copper-Nickel Pipe

Installing 70/30 copper nickel (cuni) pipe sometimes can be a test of human patients, mechanical knowledge, and dexterity. It is, however, well worth the effort, because once you complete the job whether you’re a novice or connoisseur of the art you gain a sense of pride for a job well done. Additionally, you will have confidence in knowing that your pipe will stand the test of time and vigorous challenges they’re used for. The only problem that comes with working with 70/30 cuni pipe is, having a concrete way to approach even the minutest step(s) when installing, cleaning, and inspecting your pipe.Initially, you should have gathered your tools that will you need for this job. Assuming that you have the proper tools for the job we will begin by taking the copper nickel pipe a prepping it for installation. To prep copper-nickel pipe you want to start by gathering your pipe and you’re fittings, so you can obtain the measurements for the length off your pipe, square it off, and then touch it up. By doing this it eliminates dirt and debris, and allows for cohesiveness between the mechanical joints when you’re mating them together.Too do this you’re going to measure out the proper length of your pipe by taking your ruler (which should be measured in inches) and mark on your pipe how much you’re going to need. Once you have done that you’re going to cut the pipe at its designated mark. At the same time, be careful not to cut too much off, because if you do then you will have to either buy more pipe or go through another process of adding the pipe back. You can cut copper pipe with a regular hacksaw or a copper tube cutter.Although both will make a satisfactory cut, the tube cutter ensures a square cut every time. Use a jig or miter box when you're cutting copper pipe with a hacksaw. This helps to ensure a square cut in the pipe. After making the cut, remove the burrs inside the pipe with a half-round file. A pipe cutte r usually leaves more burrs in the pipe than a hacksaw. When cutting pipe for a specific run, be sure to make allowances for the distance of pipe that fits into the fittings. Also, remember to add the extra length the fittings will give the entire run of pipe.Figure about 1/2†³ for each fitting. In addition to doing this your also simultaneously doing something else called chamfering (chamfering is the process of filing the tip of the inside of the pipe so that the flux and stick to the pipe). Now that your pipe is squared off your going to take a strip of emery cloth and clean the outside of the pipe a half-inch away from the tip of your pipe (doing this allows for proper flow of the soldering ring between the fitting and pipe) until you have a bright gold shade of pipe, which is the natural color of copper-nickel pipe.Now that your pipe is ready for mating, you know have to prep your fitting for mating as well. To do this you’re going to take another piece of emery clo th a clean the inside of your fitting up to a half-inch in diameter on both sides of the fittings. Once you’re done with that procedure use a different strip of emery cloth to clean your brazing rings, and then place them in the slots inside your fittings. Once you have prepped your pipe and fittings you’re ready to mate the pipe and fitting together. Apply a light coat of soldering paste or flux to the cleaned end of the copper pipe.Use a flux brush, an old toothbrush or a wooden paddle for spreading the flux. Flux or soldering paste ensures a firm bond between the copper and the solder. Also apply flux to the inside of the cleaned fittings. The flux or soldering paste will keep the copper from oxidizing when heated. Place the copper fitting on the pipe only after it is thoroughly cleaned and coated with soldering paste). When the fitting is firmly in place, rotate both the pipe and the fitting several times to spread the flux evenly. A propane torch is an ideal tool for mating copper pipe.If you look at the flame of a propane torch you will notice there is a lighter blue, well-defined flame in the middle of a darker blue flame. The tip of this light blue flame is the hottest part of the flame. Play (move) the flame along the fittings and the pipe to bring them up to soldering heat. Then concentrate the heat in the middle of the fitting. The light blue flame should be just touching the fitting. You can do both ends of the fitting at the same time by heating in the middle like this. Do not apply the heat directly to the solder or the area that has been fluxed.Do not overheat the copper pipe. If you look at the flame on the side of the pipe away from the torch, you may notice a green flame develop. This means the fitting is ready to solder. Another way to tell is to touch the solder to the hot pipe. If the solder melts and begins to run, the pipe is at soldering temperature. Remove the flame from the pipe and apply the solder to the pipe where it joins the fitting. The solder will flow into the fit. Keep melting the solder until it appears completely around the fitting.The old saying, â€Å"If a little is good, then a lot is better,† does not apply here. Excess solder can run down inside the pipe, causing a restriction or even a blockage. You can experiment with different tips on your propane torch until you find the one that spreads the heat evenly along the pipe you are using. After you have successfully measured, square-off, and used a propane torch to mate your pipe and fittings you’re ready to clean your pipe. Cleaning your pipe throughout this procedure is a nonstop evolution.After mating your pipe together cleaning it is extremely important, it’s the first step in recognizing any malfunctions. You should be able to notice the thin black film that’s coated around the pipe and the fitting. This black coat of film comes from the rise in temperature of the pipe after you have heated it properly . To clean your pipe now you are going to have to have a bucket of water and a wire brush. Take your wire brush and dip it in the water and start cleaning the pipe and fitting(s) where you brazed at. You should continue to do this until both the pipe and fitting(s) becomes bright gold.In the meantime, while you’re cleaning your pipe you should have adequate lighting available, so you’re able to spot check for insufficient mating around the radius of your pipe and fittings. If you have thoroughly cleaned your pipe and notice small holes around your pipe then you need to go back a re-heat your pipe and apply more solder using a soldering stick. Once you have reached the point where you have no pen holes between your pipe and fittings, then you have completed the installation and cleaning of your 70/30 cuni pipe job.You are now ready to perform a system and inspection check of your project. Now that you have successfully installed and cleaned your pipe it’s now tim e to inspect your pipe for mechanically cohesiveness and system performance. This process is very important, because your craft is successful only if it can pass inspection. It requires a great deal of attention to detail when inspecting the pipe and fittings, so that you’re careful to not miss any pen holes. To this inspection, you have to do is submerge the part of the pipe that you brazed in clean and clear water.After doing this, if you notice water pockets form in the water remove the pipe and clean it with a rag and try it again. When you have tried it again and you notice water pocket again then that means you have tiny pen hole between your fittings and pipe. To fix this problem you will have to locate where the water pockets are forming at and solder that part. Once you have done that submerge your pipe and check for water pockets. After you have successfully corrected the pen holes you can now begin to clean up your job and apply the finishing touches to your pipe.I n conclusion, installing pipe can be difficult if you don’t have a proper foundation of rules to follow. Having an easy to understand guide line for performing such a job can be cost effective, uncomplicated, and less time consuming. Learning how to install, clean, and inspect 70/30 copper-nickel pipe can prepare you for the rigorous challenges that comes with working with pipes and fittings of different sizes and materials. Whether you’re an apprentice or authority of the art of pipe fitting, this guide line for installation, cleaning, and inspect 70/30 cuni will be of great assistance to you.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Analyse the data sets provided and report the results of the data Essay

Analyse the data sets provided and report the results of the data analysis in the most appropriate format - Essay Example Given that there are three dependent variables that are known to interact with each other (Bandura, 1989); the MANOVA was chosen as the ideal test of analysis. The MANOVA is best used when the dependent variables are moderately correlated; and are liable to affect each other. The omnibus test ensures that there is reduced chance of a Type I error by taking shared covariance of dependent variables into account. The null and alternative hypotheses postulated for this study are: Null Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in the mean cognitive anxiety between the winning positions. Alternative Hypothesis 1: There is a significant difference in the mean cognitive anxiety between the three winning positions. Null Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in the mean somatic anxiety between the three winning positions. Alternative Hypothesis 2: There is a significant difference in the mean somatic anxiety between the three winning positions. Null Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference in the mean self confidence between the three winning positions. Alternative Hypothesis 3: There is a significant difference in the mean self confidence between the three winning positions. Data was collected from 83 athletes of both genders (40 male and 43 female participants) within the age range of 18 to 43 years. The participants were not evenly distributed across the three categories; and data was available on 36 first place holders, 29 second place holders and 18 third place holders. The mean scores, standard deviations and Standard error are noted in Table 1.1 Table 1.1 Descriptive Statistics of Psychological Variables Relative to Winning Positions Dependent Variables Wining Position N Mean SD SE Cognitive Anxiety 1 36 24.17 5.316 0.886 2 29 22.93 6.035 1.121 3 18 24.11 5.040 1.188 Total 83 23.72 5.487 0.602 Somatic Anxiety 1 36 23.56 6.068 1.011 2 29 22.69 6.077 1.129 3 18 23.28 6.515 1.536 Total 83 23.19 6.106 0.670 Self Confidence 1 36 22.61 4.777 0. 796 2 29 19.17 4.489 0.834 3 18 18.67 3.970 0.936 Total 83 20.55 4.817 0.529 The data was analyzed using MANOVA, and was tested using all four tests. The F value using the Wilks' lambda was 3.488 which was significant beyond the 0.01 level of significance [Wilks' = 0.777; F (6,156) = 3.488; p

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Chapter Analysis Theistic Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter Analysis Theistic Realism - Essay Example The term ‘theistic realism’ was defined by Gutek to describe this kind of approach (Hart, 2006: 56). Man is perceived as a rational being with free will exercised through choice and capable of acquiring knowledge of reality. Human conduct is thus guided by objective truth and values. Reality though is accepted as both material and spiritual. Having free will and conscience also means people are responsible for their own behaviour (Young et al., 2007: 84). Under theological realism, the teacher would likely employ a range of methods with an emphasis on helping to develop skills of observation and critical reasoning. The teacher would also provide copious facts and guide the student to becoming knowledgeable about the world around them as a route to self-realisation. The lecture method would therefore be common with skilful use of audio-visual aids, and teachers would encourage discussion among students. The teacher is very much sympathetic towards her students, and students in turn would be given choice in the activities they can engage in. As John Locke advocated, the children would not be pushed beyond their ability or natural inclinations. To assist students in their learning, the use of objects features prominently, which includes pictures and illustrations. This practice was promoted by the theologian and educator Comenius who also stressed on learning by doing (Gordon & Browne, 2010: 10). The overall objective is to perfect students’ natural abilities through training their senses. Also, rather than stressing on memorisation, students learn by understanding and applying knowledge. As Thorndike in the empiricist tradition believed, this higher level thinking ability in students develops from the aforementioned basic habits (Cox et al., 2009). The curriculum emphasis under theological realism is on subjects that are deemed practical and useful. In particular, the study of nature would be considered as very important,

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Music and the society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Music and the society - Essay Example The lyrics therefore fuses with the instruments to resulting a holistic peace that does not only entertain but also communicates the basic aspects of the society. Set in the society and targeting the same society for audience, musical compositions limit their creativity to the similar attributes of the society. This implies that the themes in the songs and the musical instruments used in the songs must come from the societies in which either the composers or the audience belong. Songs therefore portray the social, political, economic and cultural aspects of the society. In doing these, the draw lyrics from the specific features of the above elements that affect the society daily (Chris, Gerald and Allen 44). Through time, societies develop their technologies and cultural behaviors alongside other pertinent attributes. Songs and other works of art should therefore communicate the constant change in their presentation. This includes the type of instruments they use and the level of cre ativity in composing the songs. Songs must therefore reflect the changes through time. This implies that songs produced in different times should portray the difference in the features of society. The difference should be easily evident in the lyrical composition of the songs and even the instruments used. The technological changes often result in improvements in the instruments and other technological aspects of the composition. Songs should therefore always have better quality owing to the fact that they subsequent song productions employ better technologies. Due to the modern telecommunication developments, the world has eventually become a global village denoting that people easily trade cultural products key among which are songs and other works of arts. With such developments, any work of art that targets the global audience must address issues that are familiar to the global market. This compels detailed researches to identify the prominent aspects of the global society. Song s determine the trends in the global popular culture, composers of songs and other global works of art therefore have increased responsibility of regulating their cultural products to limit their compositions to uphold the values and virtues in the wider global society. From the above discussion, it is obvious that comparing to musical compositions is synonymous to comparing the different times of production for the two or more songs. Through the themes in the songs, the instruments used and the composition styles, the social, economic, political and technological state of the times become evident. Two of such songs composed and produced at different times in history but are still classical master pieces are The Four Seasons by Antonio Vilvadi in 1723 and Music for the Funeral of Queen Marry written by Henry Purcell in 1965. The time differences between the two songs is more than three centuries a time within which the society changed its structure. Political, social, economic, cult ural and even technological factors all changed thereby creating a big difference in the nature of the songs. They both have a representation of each of the five aspects of the society and the nature of representation in the two communicate the difference in the time lines. As its name suggests, The Four Seasons describe the seasons in the year and the activities in them. In his composition, Vilvadi composes and produces four concertos to represent he four seasons. Published for the first time in 1925, the four were part of the twelve concerti named the contest between harmony and invention. Each of the four concerti has unique composition structure and uses different instruments to create the difference in the tempo and therefore the general composition. The first two represent the warm seasons of

Friday, July 26, 2019

Healthcare and Business Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthcare and Business Goals - Essay Example Health care managers are appointed to positions of authority in order to shape the organization by making important decisions (The Hastings center, 2012). On a daily basis, they make and coordinate decisions on recruitment and development of staff, service addition or reduction, allocation and utilization of financial resources, and acquisition of equipment and technology. Their role is to ensure that patients and clients receive appropriate services effectively and timely while focusing on achievement of performance targets (Caldwell, Brexler and Gillem, 2000). Health care services tend to be personal in nature, and its impact tends to be felt by the providers and recipients at a point of delivery. Decisions made by hospital managers reflect on ethical and moral values of the administration since they are subjective in nature and have a key effect on the wellbeing of patients, employees, taxpayers and community, individually or collectively (Ache.org, 2012). The decisions of manager s affect people directly or indirectly in both predictable and unpredictable ways and sometimes raise questions of fairness. For example, a hospital may buy equipment at a premium price, but fail to raise wages of personnel to desirable levels. In a different situation, a hospital can be challenged to rationalize the use of money from patients to pay employees whose work is substandard. In yet another case, expenses may rise, and the administration may want to cut budgets of some departments, whatever decision is made, certain patients are bound to be affected (Wheatley, 2006). It is important for the manager to prioritise the obligation to serve patients effectively. Ethical issues such as those highlighted above should be addressed effectively as negligence leads to errors and potentially costly decisions that are harmful to patients, staff, the organization and the community. Where staff is affected negatively by such decisions; it can result in distress which is known to cause p rofessional burn out and staff turnover (Owen, 1990). The management of a health care organization has the duty to nurture a healthy ethical environment (Morrison, 2011). Good ethics improve employee morale, enhance productivity and improve efficiency of the organization. This in turn, improves customer satisfaction and employee retention. There is a clear link between ethics and quality, a health care organization that fails to meet established ethical bench marks, and standards is not likely to deliver high-quality health care. Conversely, institutions that fail to meet minimum quality standards raise ethical concerns with stake holders (Morrison, 2011). A review of practices in the top ranked health care organizations Managers of health care institutions must Endeavour to adopt quality and system improvement programmes in order to improve care delivery and spread new practices across the system. The transformation process requires a clear and sustained strategy and takes time to implement. For example, Henry Ford Health System, a leading health care institution in excellence has been dedicated to quality improvement and achieving strong financial performance for over 20 years. It has sought to put patients first by exploring needs, improving care and overcoming conflicts between its employees. Therefore, strong leadership is critical to maintaining unwavering focus on improving systems and outcomes

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Literture Review of 2 Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literture Review of 2 Articles - Essay Example According to previous researchers, the supplementary schools aim at developing the ethnic and cultural identity of the child, as well as boost their self-esteem and confidence. Another major aim of the schools is to ensure the good performance of minority and ethnic children that school in state-maintained schools. Through obtaining data from electronic databases of the British Education Index (BEI) and Education resources Information center, ERIC, the study researches on the aims of the supplementary schooling programs. The research uses questionnaires for purposes of investigating the thoughts of the young people on the supplementary education. The outcome of the research is that there was the establishment that the pupils were happy with the supplementary education to a higher extent than their satisfaction with the mainstream education system. In the article on early childhood special education, the main aim of the research was in exploring the different ways in which teachers of the early childhood special education can support the social behaviors of the children in the context of their preschool classes. In the research design, there was the collection of data from six children in a natural classroom observation. The researchers coded the data from the children and analyzed it for emergent themes contained in a qualitative framework. Among the outcomes of the research revealed the fact that there existed a variety of behaviors and strategies applied by teachers of the early childhood special education. These strategies helped the teachers and their assistants to respond in a social manner to the children in their classrooms. In surveying the views of the pupils attending the supplementary schools in England, the researchers were conducting the first part of a major and wider research project that intended on evaluating the role of the

Addition to prescription drugs among elderly Annotated Bibliography

Addition to prescription drugs among elderly - Annotated Bibliography Example Administration on Aging. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HPW/Behavioral/docs2/Issue%20Brief%205%20Prescription%20Med%20Misuse%20Abuse.pdf The Administration on Aging (AOA) (2012) described the problem of prescription medication misuse and abuse among older adults, which is already a public health problem. Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs refer to non-medical use of prescription drugs. The brief argued that the elderly is prone to misuse and abuse of drugs that can have negative interaction effects. If some of the elderly are already abusing and misusing prescription drugs, the risks of abusing other drugs may be present and result to greater health problems. Costello, R.B., Leser, M., & Coates, P.M. (2009). Dietary supplements: Current knowledge and future frontiers. In C.W. Bales, & Ritchie C.S. (Eds.), Handbook of clinical nutrition and aging (2nd ed.) (pp.553-634). New York: Humana Press. Costello, Leser, and Coates (2009) noted that, though some kinds of herbal medicine have been found to be effective, its lack of regulation makes it hard to study how it works and what its toxicity levels are. They asserted that very few of current herbal medicines are tested for efficacy and toxicity levels. They explained that interaction risks between herbal supplements and prescription drugs of the elderly are high because the elderly tend to take in more medicine than younger adults. These researchers also talked about the dietary needs of the elderly that must be balanced with prescription drug effects. Djuv, A., Nilsen, O.G., & Steinsbekk, A. (2013). The co-use of conventional drugs and herbs among patients in Norwegian general practice: A cross-sectional study. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 13, 295. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/295 Djuv, Nilsen, and Steinsbekk (2013) conducted a cross-sectional study to understand the co-use of

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Academic Dishonesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Dishonesty - Essay Example In this regard, the aim of the current essay is to proffer pertinent issues affecting academic dishonesty, as a behavior that young people often choose to participate in with their peers, knowing full well that it comes with specific risks, side effects, or hazards. Specifically, one intends to determine how young people justify their decision to participate in academic cheating and the factors that influence this choice. The essay hereby aims to prove that academic dishonesty is the effect of different factors impinging on the performance of students placing the blame on the external factors more than the individual students’ desire to manifest exemplary academic performance. Definition of Terms.The Missouri State’s policy defines academic dishonesty as encompassing any of the four specific acts, to wit: (1) â€Å" Cheating: The term â€Å"cheating† refers to using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise; (2) Fabrication: The term â€Å"fabrication† refers to unauthorized falsification or invention of any information (including research data) or any citation in any academic exercise; (3) Plagiarism: ... ndicates, any or all of the abovementioned acts are considered maladjusted behavior and are usually dealt with the stiffest penalties and sanctions imposed by different schools and universities depending on the extent, degree, level, and frequency of the acts committed. Factors Influencing Academic Dishonesty The study conducted by Lambert, Hogan and Barton (2003) aimed to identify various rationales for cheating. From among those that were revealed through the support of previous researches and studies on the subject, the following factors actually influence academic dishonesty: alienation, low levels of commitment between learning orientations and ideals of higher education, failure to emphasize and recognize ethical implications of the behavior, past cheating behavior, and other crucial variables such as â€Å"competitiveness of their major, course difficulty, the need for professional success, cynicism, and that other students cheat† (Lambert, Hogan and Barton par. 19). Ot her crucial factors that reveal increased propensities to cheat focus on gender, where males have higher tendencies to indulge in academic dishonestly than females. According to Lambert, et al (2003), â€Å"women are socialized differently and view cheating more negatively† (Lambert, Hogan and Barton par. 8). Further, the impact of age was found to be inversely related to cheating behavior. The younger the students, the more they are inclined to cheat due to immaturity and lack of responsibility and accountability for one’s actions. In addition, students with lower GPAs justify the need to cheat hopefully to attain higher grades, if dishonesty is not detected. Finally, the imposition of deterrent sanctions affects the level and extent of academic dishonesty. Schools and universities with strict

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Business Entities, Laws, and Regulations Paper Term

Business Entities, Laws, and Regulations - Term Paper Example The next step is to fulfill these legal formalities by complying with the mentioned regulations and lastly to keep a track of the time period for submission of the taxes and trademark fees to remain eligible for the protection and enforcement rights (‘Business’, 2011). In the United States, there are various options for owning the rights in a business. The SBA website of US Government highlights that apart from sole proprietorship and partnership form of business entity, one can form a Limited Liability Company (LLC), non-profit organization, S corporation or a cooperative (‘Follow’, 2011). Each of these business ownerships require that it should be registered with the government within a stipulated time frame. 1.2) Trade Name/ Trademark Search According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the business entity has to apply for trademark availability search. Once the desired trademark has been allowed for adoption, the trademark is applied for re gistration in the name of the applicant. The registration of the trademark acts as a legal document which authorize the owner to use, manufacture, export, import, sell, license or assign the trademark and goods under the trademark for a defined period. Those cases where the trademark used is the ownership of another applicant would be considered an infringement of intellectual property rights which is penalized. Therefore, it is important for the business to take a thorough check of the availability of the trademark before the founding of the business entity. 1.3) Taxation The US Government have laid down the various taxes which a business entity has to pay on a frequent basis to remain legalized. An import or export business has to pay custom taxes, excise duties, and other related taxes upon every consignment or shipment of cargo. The restaurant business however, is required to charge sales tax on each order and to file the sales tax returns along with business tax returns every f iscal year. Additionally, there are property and automobiles taxes which have to be paid accordingly. 1.4) Insurance The insurance is a necessary part of a business in the modern times. Particularly, in the import or export business the law requires that each consignment is fully insured to remain protected of the future unprecedented occurrences. 1.5) Risks Business involves risks. However, one has to identify them and take necessary precaution to avoid any losses. 1.5.1) Failure: In a newly launched business of a restaurant, the first and primary risk is of failure in business which ends up in winding up and withdrawal from the market. Due to high competition in this field and high demand of quality food, there are high risk factors that signal towards loss. Nevertheless, the sports bar concept act as a competitive edge to the business and can help it to remain afloat. 1.5.2) Entry of New Competitors: Other risks include the copy-cats or the entry of new competitors in the busines s copying the similar method of forming a sports bar with a different and advanced style. This is the most expected risk in a business which is the driving force for strengthening or failure of the business. 1.5.3) Lowering of Profits: Another risk is of increase of competition leading to lowering of

Monday, July 22, 2019

Documentary films Essay Example for Free

Documentary films Essay Documentary films have paved way to show the reality of life. More often than not, it provides awareness of the present situation that was not addressed accurately in films and television shows alike. Documentary, like other discourses of the real, retains a vestigial responsibility to describe and interpret the world of collective experience, a responsibility that is no small matter at all (Nichols, 1991 p. 10). In making a documentary film concerning the community life in a distant foreign country, several issues would need to be addressed. The first thing that we need to discuss is the culture of the people living in that place. It would be an important factor as it tells a lot about the people and the place itself. Its history would generally be included in determining how the culture came about. Social norms and practices should also thoroughly discuss to identify the difference and uniqueness of their society. Furthermore, the documentation should explore the different beliefs of the people and how it affects the way they live and how their society copes up with modernization. The main focus of the documentary is how the culture and beliefs would affect the health of the people in that certain area. It would thoroughly explore the different misconceptions and traditional health management that these people have. This is a critical issue to discuss because it may directly or indirectly affect their socio-economic progress and their lifestyle. If by chance, the documentary could discover the need to re-educate the people regarding their health beliefs and fallacy, then proper authority should be inform. This is to insure that people would have the opportunity and the appropriate resources to improve their knowledge as regards to their health condition. REFERENCES Nichols, B. (1991), Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Indiana University Press, p. 10

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Quality Assurance Systems in the Hotel Industry

Quality Assurance Systems in the Hotel Industry Quality assurance systems in the upscale hotel sector 1.  Introduction Quality assurance systems are an important element of any business strategy. As Porter (1985 and 2004) suggests, quality is now seen as a major force for gaining competitive advantage, particularly with the consumer. There is no commercial activity where this is more important than in the hotel sector. As Yavas et al (1995) state, â€Å"the question is no longer whether to have quality assurance programmes, but rather how to make these programmes work,† within this sector of hospitality. It can be argued that in terms of quality assurance systems delivery the hotel sector is in a distinctive position, particularly when it is related to service satisfaction (Parasuraman 1997, Schiffman and Kanuk 2000). Unlike most other industries, where customer contact and engagement during a visit might be fleeting, as happens in retail shop environment, a hotel’s interaction with customers can last from a few hours to several days. Furthermore, as Kandampully et al (2001, p.28) the quality of the hotel product also has to take into account the â€Å"customer-to-customer interactions.† Following a brief literature review, the intention of this essay is to examine quality assurance systems and evaluate the effect that these systems have upon service quality and customer satisfaction within the upscale Hotel market. 2.  Literature Review Quality assurance and management within the hotel environment is focused upon satisfying the customer. Therefore, this review concentrates on the existing literature relating to customer satisfaction and the various methods and frameworks of service quality related to this focus. 2.1  Customer satisfaction Academic literature relating to customer satisfaction falls within two main categories, these being the psychological perceptions of the customer and the practical ways in which customer satisfaction can be implemented to help a business achieve its objectives. In the hotel sector, this objective is â€Å"to try and engender a high level of customer satisfaction in order to positively influence our customers repurchasing and communicative behaviour† (Hennig-Thurau and Hassen (2000, p.62). However, to achieve this aim the business has to understand what drives customer satisfaction. Christopher (1984), Holbrook (1999), Schiffmand and Kanuk 2000 and Brennen (2003) all agree that satisfaction is related to the consumer’s perception or judgement of a product experience and value when set against their expectations and the payment made. Zeithaml’s (1998, p.14) describes it as follows, being that â€Å"Perceived value is the consumer’s overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given †¦ value represents a trade-off of the salient give and get components,† in other words the cost paid is measured against the value expected . Therefore, it can be suggested that the greater the service quality the higher the satisfaction (Kandampully et al. 2001, p.8) and, conversely, the higher the price the greater the perception of value. Bostepe (2007) further identifies that, within a service environment such as a hotel, consumer satisfaction does not simply rely upon the quality of service satisfaction received from business employees, although this is an essential element. The physical environment, for example the dà ©cor, bedrooms and other facilities offered, are also elements of the consumer’s perceived value and service satisfaction. If any of these are deemed as sub-standard, particularly when related to the price paid, this will reduce the customer’s enjoyment and levels of satisfaction. It follows therefore that only by concentration upon providing quality within all of these areas of the product will the business be able to assure satisfaction and encourage customer loyalty (Holbrook 1999, p.121), which Porter (1998), Parasuraman (1997) Agrawal (2000) and Harrison (2003) all agree is essential to competitive advantage. 2.2  Methods used to measure customer satisfaction and service quality There are numerous â€Å"quality assurance† measurement systems and standards available for use within the business environment. Customer feedback is one such measurement. Client feedback can be achieved by two methods. The first way is to provide questionnaires that hotel guests are asked to complete before the end of their stay. The second is to rely upon externally conducted questionnaires, interviews and polls, which can be conducted on a continuous basis. However, whilst comments and responses provided by customers may act as a good testimonial for the business (Porter 1998, p.1478), these systems have their drawbacks. In addition to the fact that not all customers might respond, the design of the process itself is often flawed (Kandampully et al 2001) and can therefore be misinterpreted. For example, a simple complaints procedure would not necessarily identify areas of quality success. Secondly, these feedback processes tend to lack definition. Their use may therefore be inhibited by the fact that they do not provide management with sufficient detail to be able to locate and resolve the specific areas of the business where deficiency of service quality is occurring. Furthermore, a system of continuous surveys adds to the business administration costs and, in addition, raises the inherent issue of sampling (Visit Britain 2008 b). Evidence of these limitations can be seen in a recent survey conducted by Visit Britain (2008 a) (see figu re 1). Whilst it is clearly apparent from these results that customer satisfaction in related to encouraging loyalty and retention, as well as being inherently useful in turning existing customers into promotional tools for the hotel, this does not provide management with a detailed analysis of the areas where satisfaction has been achieved or denote what areas were not satisfying. To provide detailed quality service observations therefore, a more robust quality assurance system is required and most of these are based upon variations of the â€Å"Total Quality Management† (TQM) system (Dotchin and Oakland 1994 and Ziethaml et al 2000). These methods are designed to assess and monitor the level of quality being maintained throughout all areas of the business process and its supply chain, from an internal as well as external viewpoint. One such variation, particularly applicable to the hotel industry, is the SERVQUAL method, which originated from the works of Parasuraman et al (1991). 3  SERVQUAL Measurement Kandampully et al (2001, p.68) observe that many academics and practical studies have used SERVQUAL as a â€Å"true measure of customer service† and that it has been â€Å"extensively applied† (Shahin 2005, p.4) in service based organisations. Amongst these service industries will be included the hospitality and hotel sector of the tourism industry. Despite the fact that recent researches have sought to extend the elements of quality measurement with the SERVQUAL model, fundamentally it is still based upon the level of quality assurance to be measured and gained within five key sectors of the business processes, which are: Tangibles Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. Reliability Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer). Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers. Source: Sahney et al 2004 The SERVQUAL measurement can be used internally, through measurement against preset quality assurance standards such as the ISO 9001 Quality certification process (BSI 2008) and the â€Å"Star Rating system† operated by Visit Britain (2008) in conjunction with the Automobile Association. In this case the hotel services and processes are measured against pre-determined sets of quality criterion and monitored at least annually by those who regulate these standards. The internal quality assurance programme is also complemented by external consumer questionnaires and interview surveys. The SERVQUAL quality assurance method has been in existence for some years and is â€Å"tried and tested† (Shahin 2005, p.5), making it a firm favourite within the hotel service industry, where managers are comfortable and confident with the outcomes of these measurements. An element of SERVQUAL that is considered particularly important in this respect is the fact that the system and its measurements are monitored and updated on a regular basis (Holbrook (1999), Sahney et al (2004) and Boztepe (2007)), for example annually (Shahin 2005, p.6). Both ISO 9001 and the â€Å"Star Rating† systems conform to these determinants. 4  Quality assurance in Upscale Hotels As will be seen from the following analysis, the â€Å"quality assurance† systems applied to the hotel in terms of both the internal industry â€Å"Star Rating† and external SERVQUAL systems are virtually synonymous in terms of the standards and factors they rely upon for measurement. To maintain their perception as upscale or â€Å"5 star† hotels, in each of these cases the hotel will have to achieve much higher levels of standards. 4.1  Star Rating system Although the Star Rating system is formatted in a slightly different way to SERVQUAL, the quality elements of this process are still graded in a similar manner. The main difference is the fact that there are minimum quality requirements before the hotel will even be considered for a rating. However, even these equate to the tangible element of the SERVQUAL system (figure 2). Once the minimum entry requirements have been met, to assess which star level is applicable to the establishment independent inspectors will monitor five quality bands and award a quality percentage to each. These percentages determine what rating the establishment has achieved (figure 3). Figure 3 Quality bands for star rating Source: Visit Britain (2005, p.6) Furthermore, this standard of quality has to be achieved across a range of five product elements, which include cleanliness, service, food quality, bedrooms and bathrooms. Simply complying in one of the areas is not sufficient to earn the highest star. Therefore, if the hotel fails to achieve the required 85-100% standards during an annual monitoring it risks its rating being downgraded to four stars or a lower standard. For instance, in the example shown below (figure 4), despite the fact that the hotel being monitored has achieved the five star requirements in three of the five bands, its failures in the other two would demote it to a four star hotel. Figure 4 Quality bank achievement Source: adapted from Visit Britain (2005, p.7) 4.2  SERVQUAL system When using the SERVQUAL system, which is largely based largely upon the results of customer satisfaction surveys, although all hotels would be looking to achieve the maximum â€Å"service quality† satisfaction level of 100% in terms of the overall scoring, there is a significant difference in the way this would be achieved when related to the different standard of establishments. To provide an example of how this equates in practice, the following is a comparison between the SERVQUAL requirements of a 5 star hotel against lower rated hotel, such as the budget Travelodge hotel chain (figure 5). Figure 5 SERVQUAL comparisons It is apparent from the above comparison that the 5-star establishment requires their quality of service to be more balanced, in other words no one area of their product should be delivering a lower quality of service than any other. However, with the budget chain, which operates on a low cost strategy that eliminates much of the human resources and food elements, these specific areas are shown to have less importance to the business, but need to be compensated by increased levels of satisfaction in other areas of quality if the business is to remain successful. 4.3 Findings What is immediately apparent from the analysis of the two quality assurance systems identified above as being used within the hotel sector is their compatibility. This not only applies to the systems per se, but also to the measurement of the results. In both cases an upscale hotel would need to achieve a balanced score with high ratings in all of the quality determinants if it is to maintain its market position and be perceived by the potential customer as a quality (5 star) hotel. Conversely, the lower quality hotels pay less attention to those areas of the standards that are more directly related to the quality of service provided by their human resources, relying instead upon other elements to satisfy customer quality perception, such as low cost (Porter 2004). Whilst it could therefore be stated in simple terms that quality assurance is related to the price being paid for the product, what research such as that conducted by Shahin (2006), Ziethaml et al (1990) and Holbrook (1999), and the fact that all hotels, irrespective of their standards, operate quality assurance systems, shows is that price is simply one element required to fulfill customer satisfaction needs. Whatever price is being charged for the hotel product the customer will still weigh the experience received against the value they expect from the product enjoyed at that price (Zeithaml 1988 and Parasuraman et at 1994). A customer who decides to spend a greater amount of his or her disposable income on arranging to stay in a 5-star hotel will have a much greater value expectation than one who chooses a budget hotel stay. The former will expect the service quality to exist in all aspects of the hotel product. This includes the dà ©cor and the ambiance of the environment, the facilities that are being offered, including meals and room service, and the performance of the hotel’s human resources. If these quality expectations are not met that customer will perceive that they have not received value for money and therefore will view the experience as less than satisfactory. Therefore, they will be unlikely to promote the hotel in a positive manner to others or re-use it. 5  Conclusion It is apparent that in the case of an upscale or5-star hotel the combination of the industry â€Å"Star Rating† and â€Å"SERVQUAL† quality assurance systems will have a significant impact upon their service quality and the level of customer satisfaction achieved from using the product. In terms of the â€Å"Star Rating† system, the higher the star rating the greater the expectation of the customer in terms of their perception of the quality that will be found in this establishment. Therefore, the five star establishments are likely to attract customers who wish to avail themselves of the higher quality experience. With regard to the external â€Å"SERVQUAL† system of measurement, because these are results from customer experiences, the greater the levels of quality achieved in the areas measured, the more likely it is that customers will be retained and act as recommenders to other potential customers. In both cases therefore, it can be concluded that the quality assurance system is designed to achieve competitive advantage by attracting additional market share, thus improving the hotel’s revenue and profitability levels. References Agrawal (2000). Managing service industries in the new millennium: Evidence is everything. Paper presented at the AIMS Convention on Service Management Berry L L and Parasuraman, A (1991). Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, Free Press. New York, US Boztepe, Suzan (2007). User Value: Competing theories and models. International Journal of Design, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp.55-63. Brennan, Ross (2003). Value in Marketing: Confusion or Illumination? Available from: http://mubs.mdx.ac.uk/Research/Discussion_Papers/Marketing/dpap%20marketing%20no25.pdf (Accessed 22 December 2008) BSI (2008). ISO 9001Quality. Available from: http://www.bsi-global.com/en/Assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/Standards-and-Schemes/ISO-9001/ (Accessed 22 December 2008) Chetwynd, Catherine and Knight, Jenny (2007). Time to capitalise on falling hotel occupancy. The Times. London, UK. Christopher, M. (1996). From brand values to customer value. Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 2, Issue.2, pp.55-66. Dotchin, J.A and Oakland, J.S (1994). Total Quality Management in Services: Part 3: Distinguishing perceptions of Service Quality. International Journal of Quality reliability Management, Vol. 11, Issue. 4, pp.6-28 Gale, B. T. (1994). Managing customer value. Free Press. New York, US. Harrison, Jeffrey S (2003). Strategic Management: Of Resources and Relationship. John Wiley Sons Inc. New York, US. Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten and Hansen, Ursula (eds) (2000). Relationship Marketing: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidleberg. New York, US. Holbrook, M. B. (Ed.). (1999). Consumer value: A framework for analysis and research. Routledge. New York, US. Kandampully, Jay., Mox, Connie and Sparks, Beverley (2001). Service Quality Management in Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure. Haworth Press. New York, US. Kotler P (1999). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control (Millennium ed.) Englewood Cliffs, N J; Prentice-Hall, 279-317. Parasuraman, A. (1997). Reflections on gaining competitive advantage through customer value. Academy of Marketing Science, 25(2), 154-161. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1991), Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing, Vol. 67, pp. 420-450. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1993), Research note: more on improving service quality measurement, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 140-147. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1994), Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, pp. 111-124. Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. Free Press. New York, US Porter, M.E (2004). Competitive Advantage. Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. Free Press. New York, US Sahney, S., Banwet, D.K., and Karunes, S. (2004), A SERVQUAL and QFD approach to total quality education: A student perspective, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol.53, No.2, pp. 143-166. Schiffman, L g and L L Kanuk (2000). Consumer Behaviour. FT Prentice Hall, New Jersey, US. Shahin, Dr. Arash (2005). SERVQUAL and Models of Service Quality Gaps: A Framework for Determining and Prioritizing Critical Factors in Delivering Quality Systems. Available: Visit Britain (2008 a). UK Market Profile 2007. Available from: http://www.tourismtrade.org.uk/Images/UK_DMarketing_tcm12-22850.pdf (Accessed 21 December 2008) Visit Britain (2008 b). Britain Inbound: Overall Market Profile. Available from: http://www.tourismtrade.org.uk/Images/InboundFINAL_2008_%20BritInbound3F_tcm12-40935.pdf (Accessed 21 December 2008) Visit London (2005). Hotel Accommodation; Quality Standards. Available from: http://www.qualityintourism.com/content/pdfs/Standards/Hotel%20Standard%20INT.pdf (Accessed 21 December 2008) Yavas, U., Yasin, M and Wafa, m (1995). Front and back-stage strategies in service delivery in the hospitality industry: a conceptual framework. Market Intelligence Planning. Vol. 13, Issue, 11, pp.22-26 Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketin,, Vol. 52, Issue. 3, pp.2-22 Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L.L. (1990), Delivering quality service; Balancing customer perceptions and expectations. The Free Press, New York, NY.

How Is Virtue Ethics Different Philosophy Essay

How Is Virtue Ethics Different Philosophy Essay Recently there has been a revival in virtue ethics due to some philosophers like G. E. M Anscombe. In 1958, she suggested that modern moral philosophy is misguided, and therefore we should top thinking about obligation, duty and rightness and let virtue ethics take centre stage. (Rachels, 1999, p. 177a) Since the re-awakening of the theory of virtue ethics, it has been seen as being a rival with other moral theories such as, Kantianism (also known as duty ethics) and Utilitarianism (also known as consequentialist theory). The reason for comparisons is not farfetched the revival of virtue ethics has been perceived by some as a theory that is meant to take the place of the other two theories, however, this is proving to be very difficult since virtue ethics has also been found wanting on some grounds as well. The most significant difference between all three theories seems to me to be the centralised question they ask, which is the basis for each moral theory. Utilitarianism is a theory about actions and consequences, and all it asks is this: which action will produce the best possible outcome? Kantian on the other hand deals with rules and obligations, and asks this: what is the right thing to do? Virtue ethics on the other hand is fundamentally about character of the moral agent and asks the question: what is the right character to have? But it is not just limited to character, if not it would tag virtue ethics as character ethics. It is also about human flourishing. An intriguing aspect in the revival of virtue ethics is the fact that some deontologists and utilitarians have recognized its importance and have therefore added it to their own theories. For example, the revived interest in Kants Doctrine of Virtue (Hursthouse, 1999, p.3a) However, virtue ethics has not come this far without criticism; the list of criticisms is numerous. Amongst others the most popular is that virtue ethics does not give appropriate guidance. I shall start by defining virtue ethics and moving on to analyse the concepts surrounding it. Thereafter I will attempt to distinguish between it and other moral theories i.e. utilitarianism and Kantianism. Furthermore, I will talk about issues in global ethics and how virtue ethics may be applied to them, and finally, address the question on if there are any difficulties in doing so. What is Virtue Ethics? For a long time two methods of understanding morality have been taken up by two moral approaches which are Kantianism and Utilitarianism. Kantianism which is also known as deontology is a result of the work of the German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant which is concerned with ideals of universal law and respect for others; Utilitarianism, also known as consequentialism is known to maximise end results. However, recently, there has been a revival in virtue ethics, a theory which focuses on moral agents and virtuous character finds its roots in the ancient Greek philosophy, and has been neglected over the past years since the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato talked about it. (Baron et al, 1997, p.3) Virtue ethics is an approach to ethics which focuses on character and virtues and has its roots in Aristotle. The two most distinct features of virtue ethics are; it is agent centred, and makes use of areteic terms. According to Rosalind Hursthouse, it has been described as: an ethics which is agent centred, rather than act centred, and as concerned with being rather than doing, as addressing itself to the question, what sort of person should I be? rather than to the question what sorts of action should I do?; as taking certain areteic concepts (good, excellence, virtue) as basic than deontic ones (right, duty, obligation) (1999, p. 25) Other features are numerated by Oakley and Cocking as follows; firstly an action is right if and only if it is what an agent with a virtuous character would do in the circumstances (2001, p.129). Another feature is that goodness is prior to rightness. Virtue ethics claims that we need an account of human good before we can determine what the right action to take is; which makes virtue ethics a teleological rather than a deontological ethical theory. (Oakley, Cocking, 2001, p.19) Furthermore, virtues are seen as irreducibly plural intrinsic goods i.e. they are valuable for their own sake rather than as a means to promoting some other value. Virtues are also objectively good in the sense that is they can add value to a life (Oakley, Cocking, 2001, p.21). For example the virtue of kindness is in itself good independently Also, some goods such as friendship are agent-relative while others are agent neutral (Oakley, Cocking, 2001, p.23), and finally acting rightly does not require that we maximise the good. From the above description, it is easy to see the basic idea that virtue ethics promotes. It emphasizes on the moral agent; that is the character of a human; how the person acts, how the person behaves, how the person thinks, and the whole entirety of this person. For example, it focuses on who I am as a person, not on the things I do. It draws attention to the way I reason which in turns influences the way I behave. If I think about evil things long enough, I will eventually perpetuate such acts. If I have an ill will towards my neighbours and wish them dead, sooner or later, I will begin to act in an ill manner towards my neighbour. Virtue ethics focus on being the right person, and the train of thought follows that if I am a good person, I will do good things; if I am a bad person, it will be difficult and almost impossible to do right things because of the kind of personality and being that I am, It motivates people to work on their character, so that they can know the right action to follow. Hence, virtue ethics asks the question; what kind of person should I be? However, it will be difficult to know the kind of person one should be without knowing what the ideal person should be like. If you are a certain way, you would act a certain way. If you are greedy, you would steal, as a consequence of your greed (that is if you cannot meet your insatiable needs). So what is the kind of person we should be? According to virtue ethics, what kind of person we should be is a result of the virtues we possess because virtues play key roles in our lives. How then can we know these virtues, in other words, what is virtue? How can we differentiate virtues from vices? And why is it good to possess these virtues? Also, do these virtues apply to everyone? (Rachels, 1999, p.185) In answering the first question; what is virtue? Edmund L. Pincoffs, a philosopher who taught at the University of Texas suggested that: virtues and vices are qualities that we refer to in deciding whether someone is to be sought or avoided and that virtue as a trait of character is manifested in habitual action which is good for a person to have (Pincoffs cited in Rachels 1999, p.178). The above definition begs the question of what virtues are, and what kind of characters constitutes a virtue? There seem to be no definite answer for this question, however, there are list of traits which can be classified as being virtues. This is by no means a comprehensive list of virtues but just a summary of lists that are seen as basic virtues. They include; honesty, kindness, courage, generosity, loyalty, discipline, courteousness, fairness, friendliness, compassion, confidence, tolerance etc. In as much as there are categories of virtues, there are classifications of vices as well, some of which are; selfishness, laziness, arrogance, greed, jealousy, anger etc. (Rachels, 1999, p.178) There is a slight controversy on the question on if these virtues apply to everyone or not; some theorists believe that there are basic intrinsic virtues that all human beings should strive to acquire no matter what society or generation or way of life they have as opposed to different people having different classes of virtues. For example, instead of only soldiers possessing courage, all humans should possess that character. Aristotles view supported the above statement, he believed that one may observe in ones travels to distant countries the feelings of recognition and affiliation that link every human being to every other being (Aristotle cited in Rachels, 1999, p.186) However, this belief seems to be lacking credence because people and societies are different and what may be seen as virtuous in one society may not be the same in another; People who live in a particular society have live their lives according to the norm of that particular society. What was believed as virtuous hundreds of years ago may not be virtuous in these contemporary times. For example, if it was seen as virtuous for a woman to be married as a virgin in the ancient times, that may not be applicable now because of the change in our times, yet the fact that a woman does not get married as a virgin in these times does not connote that she is not virtuous. Virtues are good but why are they important for one to develop the virtues instead of vices and why is it necessary? Wallace states that: certain virtues play different roles and functions in a human life, some factors in many different ways contribute systematically to human good and virtues in specifiable ways so contribute as a part of such a system (1978, p.15). Also, Rachels says it depends on the specific virtue being talked about. Therefore we can say: generosity is desirable because some people will inevitable be worse off than others and will need help. Honesty is needed because without it relations between people would go wrong in myriad ways. Courage is a good thing because life is full of dangers and without courage we would be unable to cope with them (1999, p.184) We cannot give all the reasons why every virtue is important but we can analyse the above statement and see that they are important in their own way. Aristotle answered that the reason why being virtuous was important was because the virtuous person will be better off in life, not necessarily richer, and it is needed to conduct our lives well (Aristotle cited in Rachels, 1999, p. 185). Virtue Ethics and Utilitarianism The essence of utilitarianism is in getting the best possible outcome in any given circumstance; Utilitarianism believes in the greater good or maximising outcomes. How can an outcome be defined as good? How can it be characterised as producing the most happiness? If a gang of robbers go into a house and rob Billy of all his possessions, is it okay? Since it will give the robbers greater joy to rob poor Billy as opposed to the aggregate of the happiness Billy will get from not being robbed. For utilitarians, the end always justifies the means, and it does not matter if greater satisfaction is as a result of lying or cheating someone, as long as it satisfies more people. As Mill stated: the utilitarian doctrine is that happiness is desirable and, the only thing desirable as an end; all other things being desirable as means to that end (Mills cited in Rachels, 1999, p.108) Virtue ethics believes that if a person is good, their actions will be good as well, so instead of focusing on the outcomes one should focus on having the right character. Virtue ethics makes character essential to right action at least in the sense that its criterion of rightness contains an essential reference to the character of a virtuous agent, and this distinguishes it from utilitarianism which evaluate an act according to the consequence that it actually results in (Oakley, Cocking, 2001, p.11) Utilitarianism can be associated with some ideas which distinguish it from other theories. Utilitarian theories are welfarist, consequentialist, aggregative, maximising and Universalist (Scarre 1996, p.4). An action is okay if the greatest satisfaction is achieved. You count the consequences for human happiness of one or another course, and you go with the one with the highest favourable total (Taylor cited in Scarre, p.1) The major distinction between virtue ethics and utilitarianism is this; while virtue ethics is agent based, utilitarianism is agent neutral. For virtue ethics, Hursthouse states: It is agent centred in that it introduces the concept of the virtuous agent in its account of right action, where utilitarianism and Kantianism introduce the concept of consequences and moral rule respectively (1999, p.29). This is different for utilitarianism. Slote says: consequentialism is agent-neutral, ones obligations to oneself are no weaker or stronger than those to any other single person (1997, p.191) Scarre distinguishes utilitarianism further: It is clear that utilitarianism is a theory of moral justification, concerned to lay down conditions of right and wrong actions but should also be seen as a theory of moral deliberation, aiming to inform us how to decide which actions to perform and which to avoid (1996, p. 13) In addition, virtue ethics is also seen as being pluralistic, in as much as it insists upon the richness and complexity of the ethical while utilitarianism treats all values as ultimately commeasurable and of a single kind (Baron et al, p.201) Virtue Ethics and Kantian Ethics Kantian ethics which is another moral approach to morality that differs from virtue ethics, and can also be known as duty based ethics or deontology. It is a theory that focuses on rules not consequences like utilitarianism or character like virtue ethics. An action is either right or wrong not because of the consequences it produces, or the person in action, but because the act in itself is wrong. Kants ethics lays moral rules down that must be adhered to, for instance, do not lie, do not steal, and do not commit adultery. Kants ethics also follow that a person should do the right thing irrespective of the consequences that follow. For instance, if I had to tell a lie to save my life, it would go against Kantian doctrine. Immanuel Kant, believed that morality is a matter of following absolute rules rules that admit no exceptions, that must be followed come what may (Rachels, 1997, p.122). And according to the Kantian tradition, morality is based on a universal and impartial law of rationality (Crisp, Slote, 1997, p.1). The first point of differentiation is that while virtue ethics emphasize that persons rather than actions should be the primary focus of ethics and should address itself to the question, what sort of person should I be? rather than to the question what sorts of action should I do?(Baron, 1997, p.34). Kantian ethics is believed to focus more on rightness of an action than about virtuous character based on its principle of the Categorical Imperative which is the basis of all other rules. This principle aims to provide the right guidance on actions that are morally permissible. Wood writes: a moral imperative is categorical because its function is not to advice us how to reach some prior end of ours that is based on what we happen to want but to command us how to act irrespective of our wants or our contingent ends (2008, p.67) Another distinction between Kantian ethics and virtue ethics is their different understanding of the nature of character and that of a virtuous person. Baron states: many virtue ethicist have as their model of the virtuous person someone whose dispositions and temperaments are ideal; someone for whom acting virtuously is a second nature, and whose desires, tastes, likes, and dislikes, interests and manner just naturally are those of a virtuous personfor Kantians, being virtuous involves more conflict between ones desires and what one sees one should do; less automatic responses and more reflection (Baron et al, 1997, p.40). Also, unlike virtue ethicist, Kantians are believed to act out of duty and obligation. Baron states that virtue ethicist favour areteic terms (good, bad, virtuous, vicious) over deontic terms (right, wrong, duty, obligation) (Baron et al, 1997, p.34). Furthermore, another distinction has to do with motivation; a virtuous person does not act from duty rather he/she is motivated because they have desires that virtuous people have. The virtuous person has virtuous desires, and a right action is one that issues from virtuous desires (Baron et al, 1997, p.34). Virtue Ethics and Corruption Corruption is a global ethical problem in the sense that corruption is multicultural and is found in every strata of a society and every race. It can also be distinguished into different degrees which can be either minor or major forms of corruption, but no matter the distinguishing of varying degrees, no one is better off than the other. Corruption is corruption and should not be condoned. No one can claim ignorance to it since it is something that can be found in different levels and at varying degrees. Elliott writes: It occurs in democracies and military dictatorships, and at all levels of development and in all types of economic systems, from open capitalist economies such as that of the United States to centrally planned economies such as the former Soviet Unions (1997, p.1). Corruption has globalised in the past few years and has emerged as a global issue. Corruption does not have a singular universal definition but several authors have come up with different definitions that will sum up the concept of corruption. Several scholars have sought to define it but corruption is not a concept that can be confined to one simple definition because different people and offices define it differently, as it relates to them. Corruption can be defined by public opinion, as well as official law of nations and also as it affects the general public. Therefore there are different definitions of corruption. However, I will prefer to focus on public corruption, which is corruption by public officials. Public corruption is defined by Neild as: the breaking by public persons, for the sake of private financial or political gain, of the rules of conduct in public affairs prevailing in a society in the period under consideration (2002, p.5). Features of corruption can include c ronyism, bribery, fraud, nepotism, embezzlement, favouritism, trafficking. There have been a lot of suggestions and ways on how to tackle corruption; different organisations such as the OECD, Transparency International (TI), and European Union have initiated a lot anti-corruption reforms such as taxation, development aid, and  governance, however, it has not been as effective as it ought to be. This is where the need for the application of virtue ethics emerges. I believe that virtue ethics once combined with other anti corruption initiatives will effectively reduce the rate of corruption because virtue ethics is the only moral theory that encourages individuals to develop positive character traits, and if people do have good character they will not be involved in vices such as corruption, and although moral practices differ globally, there are still some character traits that are consistent and valued globally. For instance, virtues such as respect, courteousness or friendliness are universal. In Africa for example, it is a sign of respect for one to greet elders by kneeling down before them, while in South East Asia, it is by bowing. Both are respectful acts and although both acts differ because of their custom, their actions are a representation of the same values. This goes to exemplify how universal the virtue of respect is. So now that we have laid down the ground work of what virtue ethics is and what core virtues really are, we can suggest that virtue ethics can combat corruption alongside other anti corruption policies. Khan suggested: reducing the discretion of public officials through liberalization and privatization, Improving salaries of public officials, thereby addressing their low living standards in many cases, but also increasing the opportunity cost of corruption since they stand to lose their positions if detected, improving the rule of law so that corrupt bureaucrats and politicians can be prosecuted and punished, and encouraging greater transparency of government decision-making through deepening democratization, decentralization and the creation and encouragement of civil society watchdogs (http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/gdsmdpbg2420064_en.pdf). Since corruption is an abnormally in the morality of a society, moral reasoning is also needed to treat this issue. Dramer suggested: an ongoing ethics programme containing two main parts: a character development part aimed at developing dispositions, attitudes, habits or virtues such as honesty, loyalty, fairness, benevolence, conscientiousness and more, and a reasoning ability part aimed at (1) sensitising public servants to moral problems, (2) improving their analytical skills, and (3) developing their ethical imaginativeness (http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/15/2093526.pdf). Other forms of combating corruption seem to be about coercion and enforcement, but virtue ethics is a non-coercive method because it encourages individuals to develop morally acceptable ethical behaviour, which consequently will promote integrity. There seems to be no hitch in applying virtue ethics to this global ethical problem. Virtue Ethics and Euthanasia Another problem in global ethics is the issue of Euthanasia also known as mercy killing. Euthanasia is the act of ending someones life, especially someone who is sick or terminally ill to end their pain and suffering, thus when we define euthanasia, it should be as: death understood as a good or happy event for the one who dies (Foot, 1979, p.15). Euthanasia can be justified only if the person involved is undergoing so much pain that even drugs do not relieve him or her and if the prognosis of their health is declining. Euthanasia is classified into different types such as; voluntary euthanasia (whereby the patient is coherent enough to request for it), involuntary euthanasia (the person is not capable of giving consent, e.g. people in comas) and non-voluntary euthanasia (whereby it is imposed on the patient). It can be further classified into passive euthanasia or active euthanasia (Ladd, 1979, p.8). However, my analysis will be based on voluntary euthanasia which has been characterized by Tooley as a situation whereby a person in his normal reasoning has chosen to end his/her life because living does not pay off in the long run based on available prognosis (Tooley cited in Brock, 1979, p.101). Euthanasia has been through many debates, is ending the life of someone in great physical pain regarded as paying them a favour? One school of thought believes that if the patient actively ends their life because they can no longer bear to go through pain, it may be considered as suicide. On the other side of the coin, is the school of thought that believes that if the persons life is ended by someone else, it can be placed on the same shelf as murder. The question is can virtue ethics be applied to euthanasia? Stewart suggests: If the focus is on the virtues in play, the character of the patient, their families and friends and the doctors involved-and if the desire to have euthanasia stems from a virtuous character then it would be a good thing, a noble act, where active or passive, voluntary or involuntary (2008, p.91) As long as the decision to have euthanasia comes from a virtuous person, then it is the right thing to do, because a virtuous person always does the right thing. Hursthouse says that in tragic dilemmas a decision is right iff it is what a virtuous agent would decide, but the action decided may be too terrible to called right or good. I believe we should live a life of happiness, people living in misery cannot be said to be living in eudemonia, and so in such cases I believe eudemonia is compatible with euthanasia. If not giving euthanasia to a patient is going to make their life more painful and full of misery then it does not tally with Aristotles concept of human flourishing. Brink suggests: a valuable life consist in the possession of certain character traits, the exercise of certain capacities, and the development of certain relations with others and the world (Brink cited in Scarre, 1996, p.6). Living can only be considered flourishing if the patient goes through less pain, and if euthanasia seems to be the only option, then by all means, we should go down that route. It is out of the virtue of compassion that euthanasia is applied, and it is a courageous thing for the patient to do also, virtue ethics would promote a painless, peaceful way to end the patients life to alleviate suffering rather than an exit full of anguish. Virtue ethics is fine with euthanasia as long as it is done virtuously. According to Aristotle: an action is virtuous only if it is the right sort of action performed for the right sort of motive (Brody, 1988, p.35) Stewart states that different virtues are necessary in order to apply euthanasia; the virtue of courage is needed when the patient makes the decision on when to die, also the virtue of pride, and the virtue of wisdom to know when the right time is. As for the medical staff, virtues needed are professionalism, compassion and also wisdom. Family and friends would also need wisdom to advice the patient if they feel he/she is making the wrong decision (2008, p. 92) There is a bit of difficulty in applying virtue ethics to the issue of euthanasia, due to the fact that it does not present what the right time is for a person to be euthanized. It just says that the virtue of wisdom will be applied and this answer does not seem sufficient based on the reason that virtue ethics does not gives rules or directions on how things ought to be done. Aristotles theory emphasizes only one moral appeal which is an appeal to the virtues, and this feature is both its strength and weakness. Its weakness, apart from the question on whether it adequately defined the virtues, is that it fails to take into account the other many moral appeals which must be incorporated into any adequate moral theory (Brody, 1988, p.9) Also, concerning the virtues, there might be some conflict, in the sense that, courage needed for euthanasia is considered a virtue, what if the patient decides to be enduring? Or exercise more patience? Courage and patience are classified as virtueswhat then, does one do? This question is insufficiently answered by virtue ethics as relying upon the virtue of wisdom to prevail. I agree with Hursthouse, who states that: Charity prompts me to kill the person who would (truly) be better off dead, but justice forbids it. So virtue ethics fails to give me any guidance over the rightness or wrongness of euthanasiavirtue ethics lets us down just at the point where we need it the most, where we are faced with the really difficult moral quandaries and do not know what to do (1999, p.43) CONCLUSION In the beginning of this essay, I defined and analysed the concept of virtue ethics, and in the following paragraphs I attempted to distinguish between the three moral theories which are, utilitarianism, virtue ethics and kantianism by enumerating the features. I also tried to apply virtue ethics to two issues in global ethics which are corruption and euthanasia. Virtue ethics can be applied to some problems in global ethics like corruption and euthanasia because virtues are relevant to the moral evaluation of individuals and their actions (Brody, 1988, p.35), however, it wont be without some difficulties. In summary, I believe virtue ethics was compatible with corruption because I discovered that an ethics of virtue can reduce the rate at which corruption is globalising if public officials possess or develop certain virtues however; there seem to be difficulty applying it to euthanasia because of the many criticism of virtue ethics that I stated earlier, the major being that virtue ethics does not provide guidance. It only tells us to develop ones character but it seems to be vague.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

O, the Sweetness of Reading :: Literacy Illiterate Education Texas Essays

O, the Sweetness of Reading Works Cited Missing Deep in the wilderness of Texas, the untamed, open fields provide a vast space for imagination to run free. Tales of adventure, cattle ranches, gamblers, rogues, and scoundrels abound. In the book Raising Sweetness, author Diane Stanley contrasts the stereotype of uncivilized lawlessness with a story of eight Texas orphans and the sheriff in their town who adopted them. The contrast of a sheriff of the wild west and orphans provides a unique juxtaposition. Despite this contrast of the stereotypical Texas sheriff, a more realistic problem provides the major conflict of the story—the sheriff and the orphans can not read. Although illiteracy was a common problem in the west it is not a respected method of killing off bad guys. Therefore, modern depictions of the wild west overlook illiteracy. Because illiteracy is the main hindrance to the characters’ quest of being able to read a letter, the illustrations to the book become even more important than just providing interest to the reader. The pictures provide a medium in which not only actions and key information, but also emotions are portrayed. These illustrations become an integral part in adding depth to the story. Through the use of coloring, style, details not described in the text, and perspective the illustrations make the story more effective. The coloring in the pictures makes the story more effective because it portrays the emotion that correlates to the text. For example, one illustration has only the colors brown, black, and white. The corresponding text is a flashback of how the sheriff’s â€Å"darlin’ done broke† his heart (4). Thus, the coloring effectively portrays the sad emotion because dark, neutral colors have a depressing connotation associated with them. Another picture that uses dark coloring portrays the orphanage and the mean caretaker who made the orphans scrub floors with toothbrushes. This illustration uses different shades of brown as the only colors. The picture represents a flashback to a previous book in which the sheriff adopts all the children to save them from the horrid caretaker. The brown tones give the appearance of an old, faded picture. The tones also lack warmth or brightness thus, they correspond to the emotion of dislike for the caretaker. This portrays that the actions took place in the past, and emphasizes the unpleasantness of the memory. Conversely, the illustrator uses light pastel colors whenever the sheriff’s sweetheart, Miss Lucy, is shown.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Free Essays: Antigone and Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus :: Oedipus at Colonus Essays

Antigone and Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus "Behold this Oedipus, --/ him who knew the famous riddles and was a man most masterful;/ not a citizen who did not look with envy on his lot-- see him now and see the breakers of misfortune swallow him!" (Oedipus the King, 1524-1527). Now that Oedipus has lost everything-- his wife, mother, kingdom, and all power-- his existence rests entirely on the aid of his two daughters. However, that dependence is not evenly distributed between Antigone and Ismene. Even though both daughters provide assistance to Oedipus, the relationship that Oedipus has with Ismene is weaker in comparison to the firm and unwavering relationship that he has with Antigone. Oedipus's incompetence is evident from the very beginning of the play, explaining why he relies on Antigone time and again. When they arrive at the sacred grove at Colonus, Oedipus asks Antigone to leave him and find out if anyone lives nearby, and she says that she can see a man approaching. To which Oedipus follows with more inquiries: "Is he coming this way? Has he started towards us?" (I, 30). Even after the stranger leaves, Oedipus cannot tell that he has exited until Antigone tells him so. Antigone also aids Oedipus by warning him that she sees the Chorus approaching. Oedipus, once a great intellectual, is not even capable of responding to a simple request of his name without the aid of Antigone: "My child, what can I say to them?" (ii, 214). Additionally, Oedipus seems to need help with every little move he makes, even for the mere act of being seated: "Help me sit down; take care of the blind man." (I, 21). Luckily for Oedipus, his relationship with Antigone reach es a point where Antigone no longer needs instructions from her father; it is assured that she will help him: "After so long, you need not tell me father" (I, 22). Even though Antigone helps her father with everything, Oedipus's reliance on Antigone seems to weigh greatly on her ability to see for him, emphasizing Oedipus's blindness and impotence, as well as the strength of Oedipus's relationship with Antigone. Oedipus and Antigone have a mutual commitment to each other, supporting the fact that their rapport is greater than the attachment between Oedipus and Ismene.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Ubiquitous Tomato :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Ubiquitous Tomato Each year, millions of Americans, anxious after the confinement of winter, are excited when spring begins. Home improvement stores and nurseries entice gardeners with announcements of special sales on items for the home garden. People converge on the nurseries in throngs, looking for the best plants to purchase. Much of the frenzy focuses on plants that yield edible products; one favorite American pastime is backyard gardening. Many backyard gardeners say that they don't have sufficient yard space to grow fruits and vegetables, and restrict their hobby to vegetable gardening. The backyard gardener may have more growing space than he/she thinks. If you eat ketchup with your hash brown or French fried potatoes, you know that ketchup is produced from tomatoes. You may enjoy a marinara sauce with pasta, and you know that the sauce contains tomatoes and tomato products. How about the sauce on the last pizza you ordered? The sauce is derived from tomatoes. The three items described are products of tomato plants, possibly the most common vegetable grown in home gardens. Perhaps you enjoy some of the many flavors of jams and jellies with your toast. Have you tried the tomato jam? I enjoy fruit with yogurt, but I have not been able to find yogurt with tomatoes. If I tell you that the tomato is a fruit, does it sound odd to suggest a slice of cheesecake covered with a sugary tomato glaze? You may think, "The tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit!" I reply, "Let's check the dictionary for a definition. We should be able to clear this confusion easily." The dictionary describes fruit as: "(1) a product of plant growth, (2) a succulent plant part used chiefly in a dessert or sweet course." The dictionary describes vegetable as: "... a herbaceous plant (as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part (e.g. stems, leaves, or roots) that is usually eaten as part of a meal." After we compare the definitions in the dictionary, our search for a solution to our dilemma has become more puzzling. A tomato is a "product of plant growth," but we don't think of the tomato as a "dessert." The definition for a vegetable appears to describe the tomato better than the definition for a fruit. Is this enough information to draw a conclusion? If tomatoes were fruit, we might find chocolate covered tomatoes in the candy store! Let's bring this issue to closure quickly and look for the definition of tomato in the dictionary. The Ubiquitous Tomato :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers The Ubiquitous Tomato Each year, millions of Americans, anxious after the confinement of winter, are excited when spring begins. Home improvement stores and nurseries entice gardeners with announcements of special sales on items for the home garden. People converge on the nurseries in throngs, looking for the best plants to purchase. Much of the frenzy focuses on plants that yield edible products; one favorite American pastime is backyard gardening. Many backyard gardeners say that they don't have sufficient yard space to grow fruits and vegetables, and restrict their hobby to vegetable gardening. The backyard gardener may have more growing space than he/she thinks. If you eat ketchup with your hash brown or French fried potatoes, you know that ketchup is produced from tomatoes. You may enjoy a marinara sauce with pasta, and you know that the sauce contains tomatoes and tomato products. How about the sauce on the last pizza you ordered? The sauce is derived from tomatoes. The three items described are products of tomato plants, possibly the most common vegetable grown in home gardens. Perhaps you enjoy some of the many flavors of jams and jellies with your toast. Have you tried the tomato jam? I enjoy fruit with yogurt, but I have not been able to find yogurt with tomatoes. If I tell you that the tomato is a fruit, does it sound odd to suggest a slice of cheesecake covered with a sugary tomato glaze? You may think, "The tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit!" I reply, "Let's check the dictionary for a definition. We should be able to clear this confusion easily." The dictionary describes fruit as: "(1) a product of plant growth, (2) a succulent plant part used chiefly in a dessert or sweet course." The dictionary describes vegetable as: "... a herbaceous plant (as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part (e.g. stems, leaves, or roots) that is usually eaten as part of a meal." After we compare the definitions in the dictionary, our search for a solution to our dilemma has become more puzzling. A tomato is a "product of plant growth," but we don't think of the tomato as a "dessert." The definition for a vegetable appears to describe the tomato better than the definition for a fruit. Is this enough information to draw a conclusion? If tomatoes were fruit, we might find chocolate covered tomatoes in the candy store! Let's bring this issue to closure quickly and look for the definition of tomato in the dictionary.

Reel Injin vs. Doctor Lawyer Indian Chief

Coastlands of films have somehow, directly or indirectly, touched on the subject of native issues. The Reel Injury and Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief are Just a couple of examples. After comparing the two films, I believe that the Reel Injury is the better- suited movie to be studied by my grade 9 class. This is true since the film is more interesting to the age group, the timeline is broader, and it addresses native issues in greater detail. The film, the Reel Injury is more interesting for a class of grade g's than Doctor,Lawyer, Indian Chief. The film Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief is much harder for the students to relate to. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief was made in 1986 and while the Reel Injury was made recently, in 2009. When students are viewing this film it could be distracting and feel dated since the film was made over 25 years ago. Since 1986, there have been drastic improvements in the way films are being shot and the picture quality. Everything that the grade 9 class has be en viewing in modern media has been in the same format as the Reel Injury and has also contains the same fashions and appearances.Since the Reel Injury was filmed within the last 5 years, students can connect more with the language, art form and media quality. The Reel Injury contains more action, which students will find more interesting. The Reel Injury contains movie clips from over the past century whereas Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief is strictly interviews. As a result of the Reel Injury incorporating movie clips, it adds extra action. The higher level of action will keep the students intrigued and they will pay more attention to the information. The format for Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief is ere dull as it only contains non-fiction clips taken by the Director.The timeline in which the Reel Injury contains is superior to Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. The Reel Injury shows the progression over time. â€Å"Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes an entertaining and insightful look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through a century of cinema. † (Aquatint). The Reel Injury in traveling through a century of cinema whereas Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief is only focusing on the year of 1986. This is less effective in showing the regression of how things are improving.As a result of the improvements being noted, students will be more inspired, and can have hope towards solving the issues completely one day. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief only focuses on the year in which the film was made. A quote from the description of the film states that â€Å"Each of these women talks about how she got to where she is today†¦ † (Geodes). However where she is â€Å"today' was in the year of 1986, when the documentary was produced. As a result of the film being produced so long ago the stories are now irrelevant as the runner state of native women in the workplace has drastically changed.When the film the Reel Injury displays the information with a timeline, starting a century ago, it is event how far we have come and also how far we need to go. This provides an idea of hope, but also shows that there is still a problem for natives today. The Reel Injury deals with native issues to a greater extent than the film Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. Doctor. Lawyer, Indian Chief focuses only on the positive side of things. Comparatively, the Reel Injury exposes what is wrong with the way native people are portrayed. A tribute to Native women everywhere, this short documentary focuses on 5 Native women from across Canada†¦ They have achieved success in a variety of careers†¦ † (Geodes) is a quote from the National Film Board when describing the film. The film is not a documentary to expose native issues but a tribute to native women who have successful careers. This is not effective for a class of grade 9 students, as they will not think there are any issues. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief will not inspire anyone to make a change towards the native obstacles we are errantly facing.Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief takes a more positive approach as it only talks about successes with native women in the work place. The Reel Injury however exposes problems within the film industry. This will inspire people to look into more issues relating to natives. When the students start thinking about their own stereotypes towards natives that are exhibited in the movie, they will become more aware of what is wrong with societies view. This will inspire the students to further their own research on native issues. From this it could grow to help change al of the obstacles natives are facing today.Showing a movie, which incorporates the stereotypes natives are dealing with, can make students change their own views on natives. â€Å"Traveling through the heartland of America, and into the Canadian North, Diamond looks at how the myth of â€Å"the Injury† has influenced the world's understand ing – and misunderstanding – of Natives. † (Bantering). This is a direct quote from the National Film Board website and outlines what the movie addresses. While this â€Å"myth† is being exposed in the movie, it could change the views of the dents in the class.The ultimate goal of the moviegoers was to try an expose the myth of the Injury directly within the film industry but also within all of society. I believe the film met this goal and therefore would help in changing the stereotypes of natives that the students believe. In conclusion, the Reel Injury is the better-suited movie, in comparison to the Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief, to be studied by my grade 9 class. The Reel Injury is more interesting to the age group, it has a superior timeline, and it addresses native issues ore effectively.