Parental Corporal Punishment

In different households across the nation many parents spank, whip, swat, or paddle children in order to punish them for doing wrong or to act as a buffer against unacceptable behavior. These types of actions are acts of corporal punishment. Researchers Abraham Andero and Allen Stewart of Alabama State University define corporal punishment as â€Å"a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behavior† ( Andero and Stewart 90). Proponents of corporal punishment argue there is no harm in using corporal punishment in order to correct a child’s behavior. Corporal punishment is a controversial subject among parents, teachers, and the medical community. It is agreed among researchers that children should be disciplined for their improper behavior; however, corporal punishment is an unacceptable disciplining tool because it teaches children to use violence, causes physical and psychological damage, and there are other ways to discipline a child besides corporal punishment. Corporal punishment teaches children to use acts of violence against their peers or other members of society. Douglas Fry, a well- known anthropologist, noted that â€Å"Psychological research shows that parents or adults that use physical punishment, there is a tendency for recipient child to imitate the adult and act aggressively† (Fry 53). Fry conducted an observation on children ages three to eight years from two different communities: La Paz and San Andres. Fry recorded data on the children’s fighting and play fighting behavior. The results of his study concluded that the children of La Paz had lower levels of serious aggression and play aggression than the children of San Andres. The reason the children of La Paz had lower levels of aggression was because their parents used nonviolent techniques to discipline them (Fry 51-54). The conclusion of this particular study coincides with the social learning theory. Researchers Jennifer Lansford and Kenneth Dodge, in a similar study of cultures concluded that â€Å" the more frequently a society employs corporal punishment of its children, the more prevalent adult violence is at a societal level and the more adults endorse the use of violence† (Landsford and Dodge 265). Children are committing more and more violent crimes every day and some studies have shown a link between children that are physically disciplined and children who use violence against each other. Lansford and Dodge also noted that â€Å"an individual could become violent later on in life if their parents condone violence† (265). Parents need to be especially mindful of their behavior because children tend to model their parent’s behavior. Parent’s attitudes concerning corporal punishment can affect how their children behave. A phone interview was given to 134 parent child dyads. The children that were interviewed ranged in ages from 10 to 13. The parents were asked questions in reference to their parenting style, their mental health, and questions in relation to their over all relationship with their children. The children were asked questions about being bullied and being involved in fights and how well they interact with their parents. The findings of this surveyed revealed forty percent of parents interviewed admitted that they would tell their child to defend themselves if they were hit or pushed. Two out of three children reported that they would fight another student if they became angry enough. The survey also revealed that children whose parents physically punished them had higher instances of fighting and bullying within their last school term (â€Å"Parents† 3-4). Parents are wise to tell their children what their expectations are regarding violence and children need to be taught how to handle conflict in a nonviolent manner. Advocates of corporal punishment rarely seem to take into account the physical and psychological damage incurred to children who have been physically punished. The most obvious damage done is that which can be seen by the eye. Often times, when a parent administers corporal punishment, they are angry and allow his or her emotions to get the best of them. Some parents do not know when to stop hitting their child. Elizabeth Gershoff, a researcher from Columbia University, notes in one of her studies that â€Å"if corporal punishment is administered too frequently or severely it can lead to child abuse† (Gershoff 542). Unfortunately the child suffers the most from being hit out of anger and frustration. Lacerations, cuts, welts, and discoloration of skin can be visual effects of corporal punishment. While more attention maybe given to the physical effects of corporal punishment, in no way should we not be cognizant of the psychological effects of corporal punishment. The psychological effects are not as visible and noticeable as the physical effects of corporal punishment. Although there is no definite clear cause and effect evidence, many psychologists find correlations strong enough to find that corporal punishment causes lasting harm such as low-self esteem, depression, and even suicide. Researchers at Old Dominion University conducted a study of 274 undergraduate students that concluded â€Å"respondents who experienced the highest level of physical punishment in their families of origin reported higher family conflict†¦greater family worries†¦more depressive symptoms†¦and more negative social relationships† (Leary, et al. 1). Similar research has also shown that children who have been physically punished can also show signs of stress. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire concluded that â€Å"receiving physical punishment from a parent is likely to be stressful† (Mulvaney and Merbert 390). The stress incurred to children can lead to â€Å"mental health disorders†¦including decreased emotion processing† (Mulvaney and Merbert 390). The stress can be overwhelming to a child and the affects of the stress can have a negative impact leading into adulthood. There are alternative methods to discipline a child besides corporal punishment. These methods will not cause physical harm and can be quite effective. One way to discipline a child is to â€Å"tolerate or ignore the behavior† with the hopes that the child will change his or her unwarranted behavior (Fry 23). Dr. Waterston, a pediatrician, recommends timeout which means â€Å"to withdraw attention for a period of time† and is â€Å"effective in increasing compliance† (Waterston 261). This method of discipline usually works well with younger children. The effectiveness of timeout depends on if it is used â€Å"consistently†¦for an appropriate duration†¦not excessively† (American† 725). A type of punishment that is more appropriate for older children is to remove privileges or deny them the right to participate in their favorite activity. In order for this type of discipline to be effective it is recommended that â€Å"a valued privilege or reinforcer is removed† (â€Å"American† 725). For example, instead of lashing Little Johnny with a belt because he talked back to his teacher, a parent could instead deny Little Johnny the right to attend the movies with his friends on Friday night. Denying Little Johnny the right to attend the movies with his friends will probably hurt him more than the lash of a belt. Parents can also use verbal reprimands as a form of discipline. Parents need to be especially careful of how they verbally reprimand their children, or this form of discipline can lose its effectiveness. The American Academy of Pediatrics explains that â€Å"verbal reprimands should reference the undesirable behavior and should not slander the child’s character† (â€Å"American† 725). It is best that parents are not fueled by anger when employing this type of discipline. The subject of corporal punishment will continue to be a debated topic. There are parents, doctors, and teachers that see no harm in parents using corporal punishment to discipline their children. Physically punishing a child teaches them to use violence as children tend to learn by example. Physical punishment affects children physically and psychologically which could causes problems as they enter adulthood. Clearly, there are other methods to discipline children which can be effective and will not cause harm to children. Ultimately, it is the parent’s choice whether or not they want to use corporal punishment as a disciplining tool. As more research is conducted on the effects of corporal punishment, hopefully parents will learn through education and awareness that corporal punishment is an unacceptable discipline tool.

Concept Paper on Medical Aid Schemes

MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY Concept paper on the proposed State Universities Medical Fund Distribution List Mrs. V. Chirasha / Deputy Registrar (Human Resources) Author Mr. S. Masiyiwa / Lecturer, Department of Insurance & Risk Management 1. Introduction Healthcare finance and services providers in Zimbabwe were not spared by the economic downturn of the past decade. Most medical aid societies, practically collapsed when co-payments demanded by service providers exceeded their global limits on benefit payaments. For example, patients were being asked to pay Z$10 billion cash as o-payment and the medical aid society would only pay Z$1 million according to their tariffs. This mismatch, saw many clients, the state universities included, canceling their membership to such schemes and retaining the risk themselves, either funded or unfunded. The introduction of the multicurrency system in February 2009 brought the much needed stability to various sectors of the economy. However, the system was not backed by significant foreign currency inflows and as a result economic activity has remained subdued. Many organizations are currently operating below capacity and are downsizing to remain afloat. This development has significantly reduced inflow of contributions to medical aid societies, who although operating, are still to fully recover and offer full scale benefits. 2. Recent developments Contributions made to medical aid societies are made on the understanding that â€Å"if you do not use it you lose it†. This is understandable as medical aid schemes are basically risk pooling and sharing solutions and premised on the concept that the misfortunes of a few should be met by fortunes of many. However, the tight liquidity situation is forcing many entities to adopt innovative risk management strategies intended to retain as much cash as possible and only outsource those risks that exceed their risk appetite. The economic challenges of the past decade, we faced as a nation exposed the limitations of insurance as a risk financing mechanism. We have all learnt that insurance is not â€Å"THE† solution but part of the solution and that there are also equally good alternatives to insurance. Some medium to large scale organizations have since created self administered insurance schemes to cater for a variety of risks they face in their operations, e. g. material damage, health, funeral, superannuation, etc. Cell Insurance Company has spearheaded the adoption of the concept in Zimbabwe through its â€Å"rent-a-cell† captive arrangement and today it administers a lot of these schemes. However, a worrisome development in Zimbabwe is the transfer of the superannuation and morbidity risk to the employees by cash strapped or unscrupulous employers. Recently most if not all of the state university staff had no membership to any medical aid or health insurance scheme. They were paying for their health and related expenses from personal resources. The extent to which this approach could be used was obviously limited due to the low salaries and allowances staff is currently receiving. The state universities have started receiving funding from the fiscus and renewed their membership to medical aid societies. However, the concept is still the same: if you do not use it, you lose it! How many times have been to the doctor lately, once, twice or none? Literally, medical aid societies are getting richer at the expense of the members, university staff included. Retaining in-house the contributions state universities currently pay to various medical aid societies and health insurance schemes could make a difference to the underfunded institutions. 3. Suggestions for the state universities It is against the above background that I propose that the state universities should consider setting up a unified independent medical benefit fund to finance health and related risks the state university staff are exposed to on a daily basis. It is also proposed that both the employer (state universities) and the employees should make periodic contributions to the fund, the employer paying 80% and the employees meeting the balance of 20%. 4. Costing basis According to latest personnel records, the state universities employ about 3100 in total. Costing of commercial health and self insurance schemes is based on the â€Å"law of large numbers†. The larger the statistical base, the more accurate the loss ratio becomes. Many schemes operating in Zimbabwe today actually started as in-house schemes with even fewer numbers, e. g. FLIMAS and First Mutual. The 3100 university employees constitute a sizeable number, to allow for costing of the proposed medical benefit fund. In addition to the level of benefits required, existing university clinic utilization figures should be analysed and included in the costing model. 5. Advantages of the proposed scheme The proposed scheme has the following advantages: – Contributions to the fund should be lower as members will not pay for medical aid society or insurer’s administration and profit margins. – Interest from the investment of funds will accrue to the benefit fund – Any profits will accrue to the benefit fund Benefits can be tailor made, improved and enhanced with time as the fund grows – There will be no disputes with medical aid society or insurers over claims settlement – There would be a strong incentive by members to reduce claims and control losses – Global limits can be increased easily with minimum or no increase in contributions fr om the employer and employers – Improvement in staff morale can be achieved thereby increasing productivity and the restoration of financial independence and dignity. 6. Disadvantages of the proposed scheme The proposed scheme has the following disadvantages: – The claims statistics, which are used to decide on contributions will come from a narrow base – A catastrophic loss (although remote) could occur in the formative years and wipe out the fund. However, catastrophe cover can be separately arranged with leading reinsurers for a very low premium to cover the fund against an accumulation of claims above the expected budget in any given accounting period. – Individual small claims may not affect the fund too much but their aggregate effect may have catastrophic effects. Catastrophe cover, described above can also mitigate this risk – There will be need to employ additional staff to handle the fund’s administrative matters. True, but use of existing clinics and facilities at state universities should reduce the number of additional staff required. – There may be a temptation to dip into the fund and pay for unrelated activities. This must be resisted by the board of management/trustees. In any case the business of the fund should be separate from that of sponsoring universities. If the †dip† is to be allowed it should be a loan based on prevailing commercial bank loan terms and conditions. – Benefits from the basic insurance principle of spreading risk will be lost. From the foregoing, it can be concluded that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. The disadvantages, although real, are highly theoretical and remote. 7. Establishment of a technical working committee To expedite the process a technical committee consisting of representatives from the state universities should be set up. The committee should consist of both management representatives (50%) and employee representatives (50%). This intended to ensure buy in at the early stages and also incorporated the various stakeholders’ interests and ideas in the scheme. 8. The mandate The technical committee must be mandated to carry out the following tasks: 10. 1 Drafting of the constitution The proposed benefit fund will be run according to its Rules and Regulations as enshrined in its Constitution. The technical committee will be responsible for drafting the Rules and Regulations, which will include, inter alia: ) The name and objects of the proposed benefit fund b) Board of management/trustees, appointment and composition, meetings, its powers and functions c) Membership issues e. g. eligibility, application, termination, deprivation of membership, etc d) Subscriptions e. g. level, frequency and mode of payment of subscriptions. e) Beneficiaryship e. g. eligibility, application and termination of benefi ciaryship. f) Schedule of benefits e. g. nature and amounts of benefits, eligibility for benefits, waiting periods, claims for benefits, rejection of claims, ex-gratia payments. ) Assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the medical fund h) Actuarial valuation i) Dissolution/wing-up of medical benefit fund j) Amendment of rules e. g. power, requirements for amending the rules k) General information for members e. g. benefit exclusions, lodging of members’ complaints and requests, payments of awards not supported by receipts, payment of service providers, list of approved providers, letters of guarantees for services provided outside Zimbabwe, shortfalls, travel cover on holiday, business or study. ) Promotion of the medical fund for acceptance by target service providers and establishing working relationships with them 2. Benefit design The technical committee must develop a number of benefit options which members can choose from. I propose the following plans, that I h ave christened, for want of better names, the university premier plan, university medium plan and the university standard plan. a) University Premier Plan This would be similar to the CIMAS Medexec Plan/PSMAS Pinnacle Plan and is meant to provide executive benefits for the principal officers and senior management. ) University Medium Plan This would be similar to the CIMAS Private Hospital Plan/ PSMAS Select Plan and is meant to provide members who want global limits higher than those provided under the University Standard Plan described below: c) University Standard Plan This should be the entry point and would be similar Excel Plan from PSMAS which currently covers most staff. The plan will pay for consultation and treatment received from Government, Mission, Municipal & Private Hospitals, general practitioners and specialists up to a limit, per person per annum 3. Registration of the fund with the authorities The technical committee should be mandated to register the proposed medical benefit fund in terms of the Medical Services Act, Chapter 15: 13 and any other applicable and relevant legislation. 9. Administration The technical committee should consider the following issues that affect the efficient running of the business of the proposed medical benefit fund. 9. 1. Location of registered office and other offices. This could be either in Harare or Bulawayo with satellite offices at all state universities. Any other center could be considered for the location of the head office. My suggestion is based on the density of service providers in Harare and Bulawayo. Most members would be referred to these big centers for specialist medical tests and treatment. Existing facilities could be used as satellite offices e. g. the existing clinics could be expanded and resourced to offer a variety of services normally available from general practitioners. This will save on costs. 2. Staffing issues Additional staff will be required especially for the head office. This will include the principal officer, finance manager, membership and claims administrators. However, they should be very few, because most of the work will be done from satellite offices. Initially there may be a lot of work when the office is set up but that should stabilize with the effluxion of time. 3. Finance and claims administration This could be centralized at head office and payments to service providers and refunds to members made once every fortnight i. e. only on two occasions per month. 4. Dispensary It is advisable to buy the essential drugs from source and keep them in stock for use by members. It will also save on costs. Railmed currently operates such a facility countrywide for the benefit of railway employees scattered across the country. The state universities should use the existing clinics for a similar purpose. Alternatively, mutually beneficial arrangements (drug schemes) can be made with leading private pharmacies to allow members’ access to drugs without paying for them upfront. 5. Approved provider network For the members to benefit, the scheme should be promoted for broader acceptance by as many service providers as possible so that members are not inconvenienced in the time of need. The management of the medical fund should promote the scheme and establish working relationships with all health service providers. This can also save on cost as it is possible to negotiate preferential rates. 6. Access to technical advice The state universities have a large pool of experts on their payroll. The technical committee should tap on that expertise. This will not only serve on cost but show the world that we can use knowledge to the benefit of mankind and practice what we preach! 10. Conclusion Emerging trends in risk management indicate that more and more organizations are electing funded risk retention strategies in an effort to contain cost and get more value for their money. State universities should embrace the philosophy and design and implement robust enterprise wide risk management strategies that mitigate the risks they are exposed to. For a start, establishing a unified independent medical benefit fund to finance the morbidity risk university staff are exposed to will be a good step in that direction. Proposed State Universities Medical Benefit Fund Benefit Limits Schedule General Practitioners, Specialists, Public & Private Hospitals) | |Services |Benefit Limits (US$) | | |General Practitioner |Paid in full | | |Physician specialist |Paid in full | | |Hospitalisation | | | |Prescription drugs | | | |Rehabilitative services | | | |Haemodialysis |Paid in full | | |Chemotherapy |Paid in full | | |Chronic disease drugs |Paid in full | | |Dental services | | | |R efraction |Paid in full | | |Optical |Paid in full | |Maternity |Paid in full | | |Family planning | | | |Hearing aids | | | |Pathology |Paid in full | | |Radiology |Paid in full | | |Blood transfusion |Paid in full | | |Psychiatric care |Paid in full | | |Prosthetic appliances | | | |Ambulance |Paid in full | | |Air Evacuation |Paid in full for life threatening situations| | | |only subject to prior authorization by board| | | |of management/trustees | | |Foreign treatment |Local benefit limit apply subject to prior | | | |authorization by board of | | | |management/trustees | ———————– [pic]

Psychology †Stereotype Essay

Prejudice means the attitude toward the members of some group based solely on their membership in that group and it can be positive or negative. The main reason of prejudice is most probably stereotyping and it involves generalizations about the typical characteristics of members of the groups. Prejudice is ubiquitous and it affects all of us and it sometimes cause negative consequences. Hence, many people search works or studies to remove prejudice effects. We also learn from texts which is called ‘’Understanding Prejudice and ‘’The Cognitive Process’’ by Gordon W. Allport. In addition George Aliken says †If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed, and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by noon. ’’ It shows that prejudice cannot be removed totally and I strongly agree with this statement. In other words, people cannot have a chance to get rid of prejudices because of many stereotypes, a fear of the unfamiliar and the effects of social environment. Stereotypes is the main factor why it is impossible to get rid of prejudice totally. Each society has many stereotypes about different issues and it is impossible to isolate people from society not to affected these stereotypes. To begin with, stereotypes may cause dangerous results if they are taught as truths especially for children. It is called early learning process and it includes passive acceptance of information and lack of awareness. (Cole, Jim Understanding Prejudice) It also don’t give opportunity to children to test these stereotypes or any information which is given by instructors or adults. I mean that especially children can gain many new stereotypes easily and they may believe as a truth. If this condition happens, it would very difficult to change or manipulate these belief systems because many psychologists argue that childhood is most important process to shape character and many characteristic feature are gained at childhood. (http://psychology. about. com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/childdevtheory. htm) For example, a teacher who hates black people can teach that black people are bad and even evil. It is undoubted fact that children who are in that classroom is influenced badly by this approach because students especially who are in elementary school trust their teacher completely. It can affect whole life of people and it is difficult to prevent. On the other hand, any experience cause to acquire new and dangerous stereotypes. Actually, experiences are more effective way to gain stereotypes because memory generally cannot be forgotten but inputs are easily forgotten in a short time. According to research, Children who have bad childhood memory which cause change the viewpoint toward any group say that these kind of events influence whole life. It is way to gain stereotypes and it may cause discrimination if event relates to black people or muslim people. Children start to think all black people bad and we should avoid them, if any black people stole their money or beat them.. These kind of event affect all children and they cannot forget even now. (http://www. ehow. com/info_8621376_bad-childhood-affect-relationships. html) There is important point to have stereotypes, it does not matter how you acquire it. Sometimes national belief or values cause prejudice, sometimes unconscious people cause it. Prejudice prevent people from listening the other people and this is a big obstacle to developing empathy skills. Hence, stereotypes is main factor to acquire prejudice and also it is main obstacle to get rid of prejudice. Being a part of any group is so important thing for many people. They think that they cannot live without this because they believe that groups prevent them from being alone and it is necessary to compete others. There is competition between group members so being a part of a group is important point. (Dugan, A. Maire Prejudice) However, it causes prejudice against other groups because group members start to consider other belief system is completely wrong and they don’t accept any other beliefs because of the fear of unfamiliar. To begin with, each political or economic group have common goal and they have to have strict approach about some issues to achieve that. These kind of approach definitely consist of some prejudice against others. Each group member feel thinking like this on the contrary case my group lose competition they think out of group. Moreover, people may start to care about people who are like them. I mean that people may judge others because of their groups without any reason so they don’t care about issues which belongs others. For instance, an earthquake happened three months ago and many people sent many aid but some people did not sent because of some ridiculous reasons such as discrimination. They think that people who live in Van may support terrorist group and they did not deserve any aid. However, I think that anybody can think like this, there is one explanation to understand this situation and it is being a part of group. The conflict between their group and other groups prevent people from thinking logically and as a result of this they don’t send any aid materials for the victim of earthquake for this situation. I think that this kind of prejudice is very dangerous and it is very troublesome. People can not think freely until they leave group because if they resist group or reject to accept some group prejudices, they most probably face being out of group. Hence, prejudices which generate being a part of group are irrepressible. Prejudices does not depends on any logical reasons, they include dogmatical causes and people does not think whether it is true or not. People can behave differently in spite of under the some conditions toward two different people. This situation may conclude in a two different way. Firstly, people recede from one group. Therefore, people has negative attitude to this group. On the other hand, people get closer their own group. It may be seen a positive result of prejudice. If people feel belonging one group, they will start to love group members without any reason and they does not aware of group members’ mistakes. The while, sometimes they start to hate other people because any group members hate them. This enhance connection between group members but if we consider others, situation will vice versa. People start to think like other group members, they afraid to show thoughts when they think differently group members. Thus, it is starting to change the way people think. Prejudices cause sometimes behavioral changes. It is called discrimination. Problem start to be insoluble when people act. Behaviours return to habits and then free thinking start to get lost. As a resut of this, people are categorised us and others. Some people will be scapegoat because of the nature of categories and some people will be heroes because of same reason. For instance, many negroes are famous athletes and many famous athletes are national heroes; then many negroes are national heroes. It is ridiculous but it is a result of prejudice. Prejudices raise intolerant people and these people suppose that their all thoughts and beliefs correct. Hence, it is impossible to get rid of prejudices. Prejudices originate various reasons or factors and almost all people have some prejudices because getting rid of these is pretty difficult for people. ‘’Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices – just recognize them’’ – Edward Roscoe Murrow. Actually it is important point to recognize them because many people does not aware of this during whole life. However, We can reduce the effects of prejudice but it is impossible to remove prejudice because of stereotypes, being a part of group member and the effects of prejudice on way of thinking and connection between people . It may only possible to live in island singly but I am not sure for this. WORK CITES BOOK ENTRY I don’t use any book. ARTICLE ENTRY. Cole, Jim. ‘’Understanding Prejudice’’. jimcole@beyondprejudice. com Gordon, W. Allport. ‘’The Cognitive Process’’ Massachusetts Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. , 1991 WEB SOURCE ENTRY Pru, Laura. ‘’How Does a Bad Childhood Affect Relationships? (http://www. ehow. com/info_8621376_bad-childhood-affect-relationships. html) June 20, 2011. March,22 2012 Cheery, Kendra. Child Development Theories. (http://psychology. about. com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/childdevtheory. htm) March, 22 2012 FILM ENTRY I don’t use film source.

The barque of dante Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The barque of dante - Research Paper Example The backdrop is infused by an ambiance of disaster and dreadful hopelessness. The agonizing cadence, produced by the squirming glowing images in the center, stirs up eroticism. Physical and emotional strains have been highlighted by the shadowy, heavy colors. Delacroix had labored uncontrollably for several months to have his early work of art finished for the 1822 Salon judgment and once he had finished this canvass he was completely drained. But this relentless effort paid off eventually. The Barque of Dante was presented to the Salon jury, and gives definite recognition of its indebtedness to The Raft of the Medusa of Gericault. Without a doubt, the painting’s influence is not only confined to The Barque of Dante but also to Delacroix’s later works, such as The Shipwreck of Don Juan. However, Delacroix had a lot more to find out about the Raft. Gericault, in showing the dilemma of the shipwrecked all over the world, had established the footing for the artistic revolution. The big figures positioned near to the gaper are possibly suggestive of Gericault in the sense in which they occupy the exterior of the painting and in their secluded immensity. In 1822, Thiers described The Barque of Dante in a single statement: â€Å"No canvas better reveals the future of a great painter† (Fletcher 2002, 1499). With this new theme aroused by Dante’s Inferno, the solemn vision and deeply striking imagery, as well as allusions to Rubens and Michelangelo, Delacroix drove painting in a different path, eventually to be categorized as ‘romantic’. The era of classical visual artists copying Roman and Greek painting had ended: modern-day preferences have completely abandoned them. The core design of The Barque of Dante is that remarkable talents from other places have produced literary creations filled with a way of viewing and sensing somewhat distinct from that of the French.

Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology - Essay Example Therefore, we owe it all to those great scientists and inventors, for making our lives easier and interesting! One of the greatest events that occurred in the history of the human civilisation, that w rought up numerous changes, was the Industrial Revolution. It occured in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. It started in Britain and gradually, spread across the Western World. The utilisation of iron and coal to generate power paved way for the mechanisation of the textile and transport industry. This helped immensely to increase production, leading to prosperity and growth. The second Industrial Revolution was a consequence of the first one, which is often considered as merged with th second. It took place in the year 1850 and brought some sweeping changes, in terms of electricity generation and utilistaion of the same in the varied industries. The effects of the Industrial Revolution were for the world to see, since life became easier and less stressful! This led to a great spurt in conducting research and experiements in technology, as well. However, the wonder machine, the computer was not in sight, then. Even though Charles Babbage, the Father of Computers had come up with a computer machine in the year 1822, it took more than a century for the computer to gain momentum. This essay reflects and imagines how things would have been, had the computer existed during the Industrial Revolution, with silicon chips and microprocessors making their way into mans life right before the Industrial Revolution! Things would have been turly different! Textile mills and industries would be working on production the way they do today---designing patterns and motifs on the computer and

Economic Development Middle East and South Asia Essay

Economic Development Middle East and South Asia - Essay Example The dramatic increase of oil prices can be related to the Arab-Israeli war that occurred in the year 1973 and the Iranian revolution which occurred in 1979. The oil producing states in the Middle East have directly benefited from the high export earnings brought by oil earnings. Further, there has been a decrease in the employment opportunities due to the blooming economies of these oil producing states (Askari 9). Non oil producing countries in the Middle East have also benefited even though they do not produce oil. Their citizens have crossed borders to seek for employment opportunities as well as suitable markets for doing business. Further, several citizens in the non oil producing countries have migrated in order to earn money as teachers, construction workers and engineers in the oil fields. The earnings from the employment opportunities for these citizens have very important for the growth of countries like Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Palestine. During the period of economic development in the oil producing countries in this region, non oil producing countries also gained from the high levels of foreign aid they were able to get from the oil producing countries (Askari 9). The increased oil revenues in the Middle East brought about several developments, especially in the social scene. The country’s infant mortality as well as life expectancy was improved. The infant mortality rates were halved while life expectancy in the Middle East region rose to over ten years. On the education sector, more citizens were able to enroll for school. Adult education levels were also on the rise (Rodney 45). Further, another benefit for increased oil revenues led to the decreased gap between the poor and the rich. This show that while the revenues from oil were increasing, some countries developed faster than the others in their national wealth. The major oil producing countries especially those with low population in the gulf were able to substantially improve the lives of their citizens. The income level per person in these countries would in some cases, surpass those of the European countries. On the contrary, countries such as Jordan and Yemen have remained t o be the poorest in the region as well as in the world (Rodney 45). The economic growth, however, came to a decline in 1986. This period witnessed the decrease of oil prices from $28 per barrel to $10 per barrel. This huge drop in the price of oil was as a result of the overproduction of oil in these states. Consequently, the huge economic gains that had been made started to decrease. This decline in the economy led to the loss of employment opportunities as well as numerous job losses. Further, the non oil producing countries were not able to get foreign aid they had previously enjoyed from the oil producing countries (Rodney 45). Economic future The Middle East is currently being challenged by various factors in their economies. The most evident factor is the rapid population growth. The average population growth in the Middle East currently stands at 3% per year. This means that the population in a given state will double in every 20 years. The increased rate of population growth in this region is one of the highest in the world. The sub Saharan region in Africa still leads in the population growth rate in the world (Askari 10). Large population growth leads to various challenges in the economy and the available resources.

Ontology Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ontology Concept - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that ontology concept discusses the existence of cabbages and apples. For example, Douglas Adams uses his Madagascar experiences to explain how the concept of evolution. Further, ontology focuses on why the above categories exist. Specifically, ontology delves into the reasons why dogs, cats, humans and other animals were placed into our material world. Next, the study of ontology includes determining the significant purpose of the existence of vegetables, fruits, and other plants. Answering the first ontology topic, the person’s describing the physical features and actions shows the existence of the dog, cat, human or other animals. Hearing an animal that barks definitely shows the dog exists. Seeing the animal’s long hair Seeing an animal that has two arms, two legs and speaks Spanish shows a human exists. Seeing an animal gallop indicates the existence of the horse. Next, ontology zeroes in on the reasons for the existence of the above living things. Observing the dog will show that the dog exists to ward off the cat’s intrusion into the dog owner’s home. Likewise, the dog exists to safeguard the dog owner’s car from trespassing thieves. Observing the cat in its own free environment shows the cat exists to eat rats and mice. Eating the rats and mice reduces the pests’ population. With lesser population, people are assured of lesser rodent attacks. Delving into ontology’s existence topic, authentic thinker Albert Camus espoused the philosophical concept of Existentialism. Existentialism states that each individual uses his or her existence or experiences as the basis for generating the individual’s own philosophies, values, and concepts. People use their preferred philosophies, values, and concepts to add meaning to their existence. Further, different individuals go through different paths add meaning to their lives. A hungry individual can generate meaning in hi s life. First, the individual observes how another person cooks food. Next, the individual uses the observation to cook the individual’s food.

Making Cigarrette Smoking Illegal Research Paper

Making Cigarrette Smoking Illegal - Research Paper Example This has been taken on by youngsters who are getting hooked on to this habit for all the wrong reasons. The legal aspects of cigarette smoking should therefore be understood before one can suggest that these need to be made illegal. This paper covers how smoking cigarettes is a bane all over the world, and how this problem seems to come up from different angles of the society which essentially disrupts the basis of optimism to cultivate within the different nations of the world. The manner in which youth is getting addicted to smoking is something that needs to be understood properly here. This is because cigarette smoking not only affects a young man or woman but also the ones who live with them (Lillard, 2005). The passive smoking element is therefore all the more significant to comprehend within the related thick of things. It would only be natural to understand where the problems come up from and how these will be resolved within the most apt way possible. It has been found out t hrough research that often times passive smoking of cigarettes is even more harmful than the ones who smoke regularly. When this research came about, many people did not believe it but with the passage of time, this has been proven with due research and evidence of study (Cook, 2007). The cigarette smoking domains in essence highlight the kind of issues that can come about and how these will mean problems for the people who smoke and the ones who take the brunt of such nuances. Cigarette smoking is not only a problem; it is indeed a serious anomaly within the society because the smokers are affecting it in more ways than one. They are not only creating concerns within their own health domains but also directly influencing the lives of others that surround them. Smoking essentially requires steps from different quarters and the need is to make sure that its legal status is looked upon. If the decision-makers can deem it as an illegal act, this will save the lives and health basis of a number of people around the world. How society views smoking is something that says a great deal about the society under question (Tong, 1987). This means that its different nuances are linked with its people who regularly smoke cigarettes. Their actions and undertakings depend largely on how much they smoke and what they make out of smoking in essence. This needs to be properly comprehended before one can outline the due role of the society within the shaping up of the smoking concerns. How media portrays the cigarette smokers needs to be given attention to as well. This means that the smokers are having a good time at the hands of the media in certain countries of the world. However, in other nations this is not the case. There are a few countries which have completely banned the sale and advertising of cigarettes, which indeed is a step in the right direction. But this does not end here as much needs to be achieved in the long run. The manner in which corporations are tackling this issue also needs to be understood (Raw, 1989). They are perhaps going overboard by highlighting aspects that work to their own advantage. This is a disservice to the society and should be comprehended as such. If the corporations and the media play their due role, then they can easily make smoking an illegal commodity for everyone, however this requires persistence by the media experts and the corporate giants. Similarly, the celebrities

Rhetorical analysis essay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Rhetorical analysis essay - Assignment Example In his commencement address to the graduating class of 2005 at the Stanford University, Steve Jobs strives to uphold his argument that one should pursue their dreams without allowing challenges to stop them (â€Å"Stanford University† 1). Steve Jobs tells three stories of his life to convince the students to focus on their dreams and disregard all challenges, which would stop them. He told the students to use such challenges as opportunities to achieve more. The address focuses on three stories that would have prevented Steve Jobs from achieving his dreams but instead he used them as stepping stones to learn and record huge success in technology. Steve Jobs derives various arguments in the three stories regarding the family challenges at his childhood, professional challenges at his workplace, and health challenges from his diagnosis with cancer (â€Å"Stanford University† 1). In establishing his argument, Steve Jobs uses different rhetorical strategies and establishes his credibility to convince the target audience on the need to focus on one’s goals and use challenges as opportunities to succeed in life. For us to understand the intentions of Steve Jobs in developing an\d utilizing his argument on TED Talk during the commencement address at the Stanford University, we must analyze the target audience, apparent purpose of the argument, and the context where the argument occurred. Steve Jobs argues that challenges will always be there in our pursuit for success but we should always maximize the challenges and treat them as opportunities to achieving our dreams. The context of Steve Jobs’ argument emanates from his personal experiences where he faced many challenges before making immense contributions in modern technology. Moreover, various statistics showing how graduates lose their dreams after facing serious challenges in life developed the context of his argument. Moreover, the fact that Steve Jobs never graduated from college and the idea of

Code of Ethics for Engineers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Code of Ethics for Engineers - Essay Example Introduction The issues of ethics in the modern society are very important for the representatives of different fields. A special attention to ethics should be paid by managers and engineers, people, who are responsible for the lives of other people. It is evident that the issues of ethics determine important background of professional activities. Thus, an engineer should be responsible and a devoted professional. A neglectful attitude to the direct professional duties can result in deaths of people or numerous damages. It is further discussed that engineers should develop and support their decisions, which are honest, factual and safe. Therefore, it is not difficult to comply with the ethical issues for the engineers. A personal contribution to work and work performance under supervision will lead to taking the number of steps in a responsible manner. The level of competence and experience are two basic factors, which determine the successful actions of the managers. Case Study Summ ary The responsibility of the modern managers and engineers exceeds the limits of their standard professional roles and functions. On the basis of the case study about BAC1-11 (British Airways flight 5390) it is evident that ethical concerns and a proper attention to the most relevant features of human lives are of crucial importance for the safety of their lives and souls. There was a great accident happened to that plane: when BAC1-11 was flying through 17,330 feet en route from Birmingham to Malaga, Spain, June 10, 1990, the cabin pressure blew out the left windscreen. This case study illustrates drastic consequences of an engineer’s behavior in case of his neglectful attitude for his professional activities. Moreover, ethical issues should create a strong and a reliable basis for a proper consideration about professional skills. There was a great personal tragedy happened to the commander of the crew, who was sucked halfway out of the windscreen aperture. There were no ac cidents of death and there was, supposedly, an oversight of the manufacturer. Actually, a specified 84 bolts securing the windscreen were of a wrong diameter. There was a wrong action made by the Shift Maintenance Manager, who decided to make an operation, which he has been doing for many times. The Shift Maintenance Manager made a wrong decision, when he supposed to replace the bolts of the required diameter with 7Ds. Of course, it can be classified as a professional mistake and an evident oversight of the manager. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to correlate ethical issues of his behavior with the Code of Ethics. It outlines specific ways of behavior for the engineers and managers, because the lives of people depend on appropriateness of their actions and the necessity of professional measures taking. Discussion of the Case Study: A lack of Ethical Concerns Therefore, the mistake of the manager can be explained as inability of an individual to carry out a total responsibility and a lack of appropriate testing. Moreover, the Shift Maintenance Manager was lacking of a proper potential to conduct a high-quality process of the windscreen fitting. Thus, it can be said that there were too poor practices of engineering, a lack of professionalism and inability to provide high-quality engineering services. The direct work of the manager was not properly audited and Product Samples and Quality Audits can be

Myth Analysis Essay Example for Free

Myth Analysis Essay There once was a goddess with a mystical power that made everyone happy; as long as she was happy they were happy. That goddess’ name was Ella. Ella has a twin brother named Evan. Evan has the power of mind-control. Ella lived high in the sky on clouds amongst the other god. Ella and the other gods got along very well especially when she was in a good mood. After living in the clouds for a very long time all the gods got tired of doing regular deeds for themselves. They decided to do something big to create something. They all joined together in a big circle around the largest cloud and spun around three-hundred-and-sixty-five times. As they all came to a halt, they all peered off the edge of Evan’s humongous cloud they noticed a gigantic sphere. The gods got together and decided to call this gigantic sphere Earth. The gods soon learned that they could travel to Earth and that life could survive on Earth by the god James who had the power to make life human and animal. As soon as word broke that life was able to survive on Earth they gods asked James to make them serpents. James was fine with this as long as the other gods let these serpents have some free time also. After James said yes, almost every god had serpents except Ella. Ella has been happy for a while, until one day Gus the god of wind blew her cloud near the sun. Ella demanded Gus blow her cloud back, Gus unfortunately couldn’t. When Ella got to her cloud she realized her feet were extremely hot because the ground of the cloud was hot. Ella wanted a shoe that would not slow her down, a shoe that was light and mystical just like her. Ella soon became very sad because she didn’t know how to make shoes. After Ella became sad, so did all the other gods. Once James got sad he offered her several serpents. Ella got super excited; she accepted the serpents from James. James had taught Ella a trick to get serpents to the clouds, which he taught to all the gods. James to Ella to snap, as soon as she did she was at her house on her cloud; she was impressed. As soon as Ella and the serpents started walking their feet began burning, she told them that burning sensation was what she felt. Ella snapped her fingers again; both her and her serpents were back on Earth. Most of the serpents made shoes of wood. They carved using tools Shiloh the goddess of tools had given them, with their hands. Ella did not want wooden shoes that were far from what she wanted; she looked to her last serpent that had a very strong leaf in his hand. Ella asked this man what he was doing with a leaf, he replied simply â€Å"making you a shoe.† Ella asked â€Å"out of a measly little leaf?† The man was very wise he traded with a serpent of Veronica the goddess of strength and power which can obtain in animals or plants. The man told Ella that the â€Å"measly little leaf† was very strong because of Veronica. Also the man told Ella that the leaf could be used as the bottom part of the shoe. Ella took the leaf from the old man and put it on her foot she realized that there was nothing holding that bottom part of the shoe or leaf to her foot, so she told the serpent. The serpent had an idea. He told Ella that if they poke three holes in the leaf like a triangle, one at the top two on the sides, using stems of flowers also. Ella thought this idea was brilliant. Ella knew she couldn’t do that without help from Veronica again. So Veronica and Ella come together and pair up as a team. Veronica made strong stems of flowers by moving jumping the higher and faster she jumped, the stronger and taller the plant would be. Finally Veronica gave the stems to the serpent and he put the m in the holes and tied knots at the end of each hole. To make sure the knots were as tight as they could be they had to pair up with another god Zack god of wisdom and strength. Zack tied the knots so tight that they could not be loosened. Just to make sure that the knots would not come undone and would stay forever the serpent suggested a collaboration with Fresh. Fresh was the god of fire. After hearing what the serpent had suggested just to be on the safe side Ella, agreed with this collaboration. Ella really didn’t want to have Fresh involved because bad things tend to happen when he is around. When Ella first heard of the words come out of the serpents mouth she threw the shoe. While in the air the shoe did a flip and it hit a tree made a big WHACK, and had a very loud FLOP. Ella liked that sound, she wanted to hear it again so she threw shoe again. Finally Fresh came, to tighten the knots with fire. He rubbed his thumb and middle finger together and a spark of fire appeared. As soon as the spark appeared he put the fire on the knots and then snapped to make the fire go away. As soon as Ella saw the finished product she was amazed. She tried the shoe on it had a strap like a v shape. She remembered when she threw the shoe how it flipped and then made a loud FLOP. She named these shoes flip-flops.

Paris Is Burning Case Study Essay Example for Free

Paris Is Burning Case Study Essay 1.I would argue that the group of poor gay minorities, like the people in the ball, is a subculture in itself. This group is a subculture of the gay culture. The distinguishing aspects of the group are that they are poor, gay, and minorities. Another distinguishing aspect is that members of this subculture are typically outcasts. They have been rejected by family members, friends, and American society as a whole. â€Å"It’s hard to imagine a more outcast group in American society than black and Hispanic homosexuals,† (Levy). I identified this group of poor, gay, minority men who participate in balls as a microculture. This microculture’s distinguishing aspects are that these men all seem to live for balls, with dreams of fame and fortune, â€Å"The balls are our fantasies of being superstars,† (Pepper Labeija). This group also has an extreme love for, and competitive drive to be successful at vogeuing. Another trait this group shares is a love for fashion. They use fashion and style in order to appear â€Å"real.† This subculture wants to appear to be authentically white, straight, and female (Levy). This is depicted throughout the film Paris is Burning. Another microculture that I identified in the film is the transvestite microculture. This microculture defines itself by dressing up like the opposite sex, in this case men dressing as women, but who do not wish to become women. They could be considered androgynous, (Solomon, 186). While they do not identify with females, they wish to look female. The third microculture I identified in the film is the transvestite microculture. This group’s ideal self (Solomon, 177) is female. They identify with females and wish to eventually become female. 2.The goal of this subculture is to become a â€Å"real† female, if not to transform completely, to at least look like a real female. They are motivated by the celebrities they see in magazines and on TV. Straight, white, females are this group’s comparative influence, (Solomon, 409). There are a few gay masculine men in this film; their goal would be to look authentically masculine and straight. The whole point of the balls is for members of this group to act out their fantasies. Nearly everyone in the film was pretending to be someone that they were not. Competing in the balls was â€Å"achieving in fantasy what the world had denied in [their] reality,† (Green). Acting out this fantasy allows the people in this film to compensate for dissatisfaction with their actual selves, (Solomon, 172). They desire to look like the beautiful celebrities in the magazines, (Venus Xtravaganza), so this group is doing whatever it can to make themselves more like these women. Sadly, usually the most they can do is pretend, by dressing and acting like these women. This subculture does not â€Å"wish to replace dominant culture, they long to be members of the society they imitate,† (Levy). Part of achieving their goal is purchasing clothing, make-up, shoes, even hormones and female body parts to look the part of a â€Å"real woman†. Without the possibility of consumption, it would not be possible for this group of people to achieve their goals and dreams. They wake up in the mornings as men, and leave their house in the afternoons as women because of the products they consume. They look at their reference group, (Solomon, 404) of straight females, and strive to look like them by purchasing the same products that these women use. To achieve their desired social identity they are acting out the symbolic self-completion theory, (Solomon, 176) by acquiring the clothes, hair, softer features, etc. that they see on women who are their ideals of beauty (Solomon, 196). In my opinion this is very similar to the actions of mainstream culture. â€Å"The movie is a successful attempt by outsiders to dramatize how success and status in the world often depend on props you can buy, or steal, almost anywhere – assuming you have the style to know how to use them,† (Ebert). I have observed that the common belief in mainstream culture seems to be that a person has to look a certain way to be successful. The more fashionable and beautiful a person looks, the more successful and therefore desirable they are perceived to be. Mainstream culture consumers spend millions every year attempting to make themselves look more successful and beautiful than everyone else around them. This is similar to the drag queen subculture portrayed in the movie in many ways. Both groups are trying to appear one way by purchasing clothing, plastic surgery, make-up, nice homes, etc. Both groups are desperate to be accepted by mainstream culture and both groups use style and purchasing power to try to achieve this dream they have of popularity and acceptance. There is a huge difference though. Main stream culture is constantly consuming goods and services in an attempt to fit in with each other. Drag queen subcultures are consuming these same goods to try to fit in with main stream culture. They dream of the fame and fortune that comes with being a beautiful, straight, stylish woman. â€Å"Livingston blames the advertisements they see in the media for fostering their unrealistic yearnings,† (Levy). They are competing with a completely different group of people. Not only is their competition different, it is nearly impossible to compete with. â€Å"The models compete to see who could pass in worlds that are almost completely closed to gays and blacks especially, gay blacks,† (Ebert). The balls are this group’s opportunity to flaunt their consumptions, and practice for the â€Å"real world.† The winners are those who exhibit the most style, and often those who can afford to spend the most on their costumes, (Dorian Corey). Sadly, this group is competing with â€Å"members of a society that will never accept them,† (Levy). 3.Not surprisingly, this subculture faces many conflicts in their daily lives. These conflicts include dealing primarily with prejudices, money shortages, and abandonment. Conflicts are handled in many different ways. Prejudice is a problem all over the world and will probably never cease to be a problem. It is not depicted much in the film how this group of people handles this problem except to ignore it for the most part since there is really nothing that can be done about it. â€Å"I am white so I have the ability to write those grants and push my little body through whatever door I need to get it through. If [drag queens] wanted to make a film about themselves they would not be able, I wish that weren’t so, but that’s the way society is structured,† (Green). This subculture has very little, if any, power with anyone but themselves because of prejudices. This problem causes the other main conflicts they are faced with, money shortages and abandonment. Many of the people in this subculture have no other way to make money but to become â€Å"hussies†. They will use their physical tools to get what they want and need. â€Å"Hes taking me out for dinner later this evening, or for cocktails after midnight. I know hell give me some money just for me to maybe buy some shoes and a nice dress, so that the next time he sees me, hell see me looking more and more beautiful, the way he wants to see me. But I dont have to go to bed with him, or anything like that. At times they do expect sexual favors, but that is between myself and them, so I dont want to talk about that any further,† (Venus Xtravaganza). It is later discovered that Venus was found dead in a motel. She always did what she wanted to get what she wanted, such as getting into cars with men. Sadly, that is the life of a transsexual living in New York City, (Angie Xtravaganza). Money shortages give this group a risky shift, (Solomon, 267), distinguishing aspect of resorting to dangerous alternatives to make money, such as becoming prostitutes. This group also steals to get food as well as acquire props and clothing for their ball competitions. â€Å"Faggots,† or gay young men, are the best at â€Å"playing pranks† or stealing, (Freddie Pendavis). Many of the drag queens featured in this film have been abandoned by their families because they are homosexuals. To resolve this, this subgroup has formed its own families, or â€Å"houses,† as they are referenced to in the movie. Each house has a mother and a father. While these are not literal houses, it is a small community that offers support to its members. Family members assist each other with ball competitions, stealing, and encouraging each other when times are tough. 4.This subculture is very similar to mainstream culture. Both groups of people have a longing to be accepted. Both groups put a huge emphasis on how stylish a person is. The big difference is that the drag queen subculture is daring to be different to be who they want to be and fit in with whom they want to fit in. They could easily live in New York as straight men. They could live everyday pretending to be someone they were not and living a life they were not happy with to avoid the hardships that come along with being drag queens. â€Å"Beatings, violence and rejection are daily realities for men who want to pass as women, and so there is a certain courage exhibited by their choice,† (Ebert). Mainstream culture, however, is not so brave. Many people who are considered â€Å"mainstream† most likely have interests and tastes that are not considered the norms, (Solomon, 429). Some examples are a boy who enjoys dancing rather than football, or a female teacher who enjoys listening to metal rather than mainstream music. Both examples go against the stereotypes. While I personally believe many Americans, if they let their true selves show, would have personality traits that go against the stereotype that is associated with them, they will not let these traits show. They are not brave enough to go against mainstream culture and be the people they truly want to be. This drag queen subculture has dared to step out of the norm and try to become the people they really want to be. In most cases, this dream they have will be impossible to achieve. Mainstream culture influences this drag queen group completely. The drag queen subculture is striving to actually become part of the mainstream culture. Members of this group want to be like mainstream culture in every way. This is why they are pretending to be this mainstream group of people who will never accept them, (Ebert). Mainstream culture affects how this subculture looks, dresses and lives; nearly every aspect of their lives is determined by what mainstream culture does. However, the drag queen subculture has very little impact on mainstream culture. The only part mainstream culture has plucked from the drag queen subculture is â€Å"voguing.† Popular celebrities like Madonna got voguing into mainstream culture. Ironically, while mainstream culture was learning how to â€Å"vogue† it â€Å"began to copy a subculture that was copying it,† (Green). This is a very small influence that the drag queen subculture had on the mainstream culture, however, compared to the impact mainstream culture has on their lives. 5.Mainstream culture is the trends, attitudes, living styles, etc. that are made popular by the media. I do not think it is a collection of subcultures. I think that the media can pick certain aspects from subcultures and make them become mainstream culture, but I truly believe it is the media that affects what we call mainstream culture. The media controls trends by having celebrities endorse certain products. I think that we look at celebrities, see their beauty and/or success and assume they must know what the best product is. We want to be lovely and successful like them, so we try to imitate them. This catches on because everyone in mainstream culture wants to be accepted, and since what is considered acceptable and desirable is what the celebrities are endorsing, which is what we all do and buy. We also have the need to be accepted by our mainstream peers. If our peers believe what the celebrities are endorsing is what is most desirable, we will come to think it is desirable, in order to be accepted and desired.

The Utilitarianism And Principlism Philosophy Essay

The Utilitarianism And Principlism Philosophy Essay Utilitarianism, started by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the opposition to Christian ethics, is a theory in ethics, which favors the idea of maximizing the greatest pleasure and minimizing the greatest harm. As stated in the book, Utilitarianism, The sole end of human action is happiness Therefore, to achieve this maximum pleasure and minimum harm, which results in happiness, one must apply the four main tenets: Consequentialism, Maximization, A theory of Value, and A scope of morality. Principlism originated as a method of investigation for determining if medical treatments are moral and ethical. Now, this theory is widely used for making ethical and moral decisions in general. The tenets for principlism are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. During the Presidential election on Nov. 6, 2012,  Washington, Maryland, and Maine all, by majority rule, approved same-sex marriage. This makes, in total, nine states, inc luding the District of Columbia that has legalized and recognizes same sex marriage. In addition, eight states have legalized and recognized civil unions. This decision has themes of utilitarianism and principlism but there are still several moral and ethical injustices taking place. In this paper, I will use utilitarianism and principlism to show that the banning of same-sex marriage is unethical and immoral. Same-sex marriage is the joining of two individuals, of the same sex, in matrimony. Currently, nine states in the United States recognize same-sex marriage. Eight other states recognize civil unions. The rest recognizes neither and upholds that marriage is a union between, only, a man and a woman. The nine states that recognize same-sex marriage offer some rights that come with marriage. However, the federal government does not offer any benefits or rights to couples in same-sex marriage. The states that allow same-sex marriage may grant some benefits but not all. Civil unions, in essence, are the same as a regular marriage. The only difference is that there is an even bigger limitation on some rights and privileges for the couples. I use same-sex marriage and civil unions interchangeably for the purposes of this paper. Consequentialists believe that, right acts produce the greatest amount of good consequences, versus motives, for the greatest number of beings (Pence). This means tha t right acts, as in doing what is right, tends to increase pleasure and happiness for all. The motives for action, in this case, are not relevant factors. Negating the views of religion, as they have no standing in what is morally and ethically right, legalizing same-sex marriage and granting the full rights of marriage will only cause happiness for all. Maximization states that, the number of beings affected by a consequence matters; the more beings affected, the more important the result (Pence). This emphasizes the fact that the larger the number of all relevant people hurting the extent of harm is at its worst. On the other hand, the larger the number of all relevant people happy, the extent of pleasure is at its highest. The whole goal of utilitarianism is, in fact, to make all relevant people happy while reducing all forms of hurt. Again, negating the views of religion, allowing same-sex marriage, and granting the rights of marriage will only bring about the greatest happiness for all persons. A theory of value refers to good consequences that are defined by pleasure, what people prefer, or by some other good thing (Pence). This creates a slippery slope concerning the value of marriage. Is marriage, specifically same-sex marriage, intrinsically valuable or is it valuable because of the thoughts and feelings people project onto marriage? Marriage in general is an institution where two people profess their love for each other. At the very least, being in a marriage acts in favor of the participants overall happiness. If anything works to increase pleasure and happiness, then it is intrinsically valuable. It is not valuable because people perceive this to be the right thing to do or because of expectations. It is intrinsically valuable on its own merit. Marriage increases your chances of living longer, Based on life expectancies, nine of ten married men and women alive at age 48 are alive at 65, while only six of ten single men and eight of ten single women make it to 65. Mar ried men may have better immune systems as well, either from support or from nagging to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and may be at less risk to catch colds (Waite and Gallagher). In addition to living longer, married men and women also have better financial stability, and they are less likely to commit suicide. Of course, with these side-effects of marriage, you would first have to be in a union and you would have to have the rights and privileges of marriage. Since these side-effects are actually beneficial, it would only make sense to permit all wiling people to marry and grant them the rights of marriage, specifically same-sex couples. If you are happier, normally, you will be healthier, and you will live longer. If dying were the greatest harm then life would be the greatest benefit. Therefore, giving people a chance at a happier, healthier life would only be the morally and ethically right thing to do. The last of the four tenets of utilitaria nism is a scope of morality. This states that Each beings happiness is to count as one and no more and beings who count are to be made explicit, whether these are only humans or all sentient creatures (Pence). For instance, take the couple Jack and Jim. Jack and Jim are legally married in one of the states that permit same-sex marriages. Jim becomes ill and he does not have insurance of his own. Jack does have insurance, but due to restrictions of same-sex marriage, Jim cannot use Jacks insurance. Where does Jim get the money to pay for treatment? The people who pay taxes provide the funds. Millions of people are currently uninsured, and of those millions, large portions of those people are in same-sex relationships. Allowing people in same sex marriage to have the benefits of using the health insurance of their spouse will be one factor in lowering the tax payments for the uninsured. The couples share health insurance and the rest of America may not have to pay as much for the taxe s. This results in the best consequence for all. However, the motive may be selfish; paying less for some taxes, but this would be the right thing to do. Principlism also uses four tenets, which act as criteria for determining the ethicality of certain decisions. These tenets are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The concept of autonomy, in essence, is free will. Autonomy allows for persons who are informed, competent, and unforced to state their freedom and pursue the maximization of their own individual liberties and values that matter in their own lives. Looking at Jack and Jim again, they both are fully aware of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of marriage. They both are in great mental health and are mentally competent. They both are also willing to marry each other. They meet the criteria for having autonomy so they should be able to practice this concept. With having the free will that autonomy grants, the both of them feel that being married exercises their freedom and getting married would maximize their own individual happiness. Beneficence has always had an unclear place, in great part because to act kindly or generously toward others requires that we have some sense about what is actually good for them (Callahan). The concept of beneficience applied to same-sex marriage can be a slippery slope in that many people try to incorporate religion and how same-sex marriage affects children. Again, religion does not offer concrete rules reguarding morality. Also, you can not apply the morals of religion to those who do not practice a religious faith. You must take the person on their own merit. You must consider, without any bias, what is best for them. If a person can not marry the person that they love, then this will surely cause some discomfort and some harm to them. In this it would be kind and generous for anybody to allow those persons who want to marry become married. Non-maleficence, for instance, comes down to a right not to have our mind or body harmed by another, to be left intact; and that is a historical variant of autonomy (Callahan). This concept should include all aspects of harm not just physical harm. It should also not be limited to the interference with a persons freedom, but it should work to protect people from threats to peoples values, political welfare, social relationships, and overall well-being. You should take Jim and Jacks natural right to not be mentally or physically harmed by any action. They should be left with their own autonomy as long as they arent causing any mental or physical harm to themselves or each other. If the concept is to not harm, be it mental or physical, then you should take into account that not allowing marriage will cause some kind of harm. Since harm will be caused by withholding the rights of marriage is not ethical. So you must do the most ethical thing, which is to allow them to marry. As for just ice, I take it that the whole point of treating people justly, or allocating resources to them in an equitable manner, is to allow them to function as autonomous persons, not discriminated against or harmed by inequitable treatment (Callahan). Here, denying Jim and Jack the opportunity to get married will be unjust and unethical. Since there is and could never be any chance of marriage becoming scarce, there is no reason to withhold marriage from anybody, unless there is a just reason for doing so. This unjust reason may be too many divorces in the past or from trying to see some kind of monetary compensation. If Jack and Jim truly love each other and this can be proven, then there is no just reason to deny them marriage. Consequentialism, Maximization, A Theory of Value, and A Scope of Morality are all components of the theory of Utilitarianism. These tenets act to produce the main thought of utilitarianism, which is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Principlism, another ethical theory, uses autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice to determine the morality and ethicality of moral and ethical decisions. Using the theories of utilitarianism and principlism, and their four tenets, I believe that same-sex marriage should be legalized based upon the fact that there is no moral or ethical reason for denying the union. It becomes unethical and immoral when people are denied same-sex marriage.

The Physics of Bowling Essay -- Physics Bowling Papers

The Physics of Bowling The definition of physics by some may be the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force. Therefore everything in the world uses physics in some way or another. One of the numerous things that deal with physics is bowling. Some of the major parts of physics bowling has is the motions, the ways that Newton’s laws apply, the different momentums, and the energy. Other physics topics include torque, pendulum theory and collisions. In the motion of bowling many things are going on that apply to bowling. There is displacement, velocity, gravity, and acceleration. There is also an opposition to motion, which is friction. The displacement would be the bowling ball going from the position of leaving the hand to where it rests at the back by the pin collector. The velocity of the ball would include the speed and direction of the ball. The equation to find the velocity of the ball would be the displacement divided by the time taken to reach the destination. Gravity affects everything on this planet. Bowling is no exception. If the bowling ball were thrown up out of the hand of a bowler, gravity would bring it down to the floor. If the pin and bowling ball fell at the same time from the same height they would hit the ground at the exact same time. This is one main reason everything deals with physics. The acceleration would be in a slowing down state or deceleration. It would decelerate because of the small friction f rom the ball to the floor. The opposition to the motion, called friction is the ball touching the floor. In bowling this is a great factor because it is used to spin into the pins in an exact location. As soon as the ball makes contact with the lane's surface, friction comes into ... ...f the physics world that most don’t take time to think about. In this sport it was noticed the many applied physics that happens. It includes the motions, the ways that Newton’s laws apply, the different momentums, and the energy. Some of the other physics topics include torque, pendulum theory and collisions. This sport as well as anything else is affected by physics. Even though physics is involved and it might not seem so complicated to hit down pins but physics affects everything so it would take a lot of luck and skill to not mess anything up with the physics. Works Cited: 1.Internet website, http://kingfish.coastal.edu/physics/projects/2000_Spring/bowling/ by Colleen Bryan Emily Butsic Bo Hu Adrienne Metz. 2.Book, â€Å"A World View fourth edition,† by Kirkpatrick and Wheeler, 1992. 3.Article, â€Å"The Physics of Bowling,† by Tim Burgess, vol.34, May 1996. The Physics of Bowling Essay -- Physics Bowling Papers The Physics of Bowling The definition of physics by some may be the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force. Therefore everything in the world uses physics in some way or another. One of the numerous things that deal with physics is bowling. Some of the major parts of physics bowling has is the motions, the ways that Newton’s laws apply, the different momentums, and the energy. Other physics topics include torque, pendulum theory and collisions. In the motion of bowling many things are going on that apply to bowling. There is displacement, velocity, gravity, and acceleration. There is also an opposition to motion, which is friction. The displacement would be the bowling ball going from the position of leaving the hand to where it rests at the back by the pin collector. The velocity of the ball would include the speed and direction of the ball. The equation to find the velocity of the ball would be the displacement divided by the time taken to reach the destination. Gravity affects everything on this planet. Bowling is no exception. If the bowling ball were thrown up out of the hand of a bowler, gravity would bring it down to the floor. If the pin and bowling ball fell at the same time from the same height they would hit the ground at the exact same time. This is one main reason everything deals with physics. The acceleration would be in a slowing down state or deceleration. It would decelerate because of the small friction f rom the ball to the floor. The opposition to the motion, called friction is the ball touching the floor. In bowling this is a great factor because it is used to spin into the pins in an exact location. As soon as the ball makes contact with the lane's surface, friction comes into ... ...f the physics world that most don’t take time to think about. In this sport it was noticed the many applied physics that happens. It includes the motions, the ways that Newton’s laws apply, the different momentums, and the energy. Some of the other physics topics include torque, pendulum theory and collisions. This sport as well as anything else is affected by physics. Even though physics is involved and it might not seem so complicated to hit down pins but physics affects everything so it would take a lot of luck and skill to not mess anything up with the physics. Works Cited: 1.Internet website, http://kingfish.coastal.edu/physics/projects/2000_Spring/bowling/ by Colleen Bryan Emily Butsic Bo Hu Adrienne Metz. 2.Book, â€Å"A World View fourth edition,† by Kirkpatrick and Wheeler, 1992. 3.Article, â€Å"The Physics of Bowling,† by Tim Burgess, vol.34, May 1996.

Descartes Meditations Essay -- Philosophy Doubt Meditations Descartes

Descartes' Meditations In Descartes’ meditations, Descartes begins what Bernard Williams has called the project of ‘pure enquiry’ to discover an indubitable premise or foundation to base his knowledge on, by subjecting everything to a kind of scepticism now known as Cartesian doubt. This is known as foundationalism, where a philosopher basis all epistemological knowledge on an indubitable premise. Within meditation one Descartes subjects all of his beliefs regarding sensory data and even existence to the strongest and most hyperbolic of doubts. He invokes the notion of the all powerful, malign demon who could be deceiving him regarding sensory experience and even his understanding of the simplest mathematical and logical truths in order to attain an indubitable premise that is epistemologically formidable. In meditation one Descartes has three areas of doubt, doubt of his own existence, doubt of the existence of God, and doubt of the existence of the external world. Descartes’ knowledge of these three areas are subjected to three types of scepticism the first where he believes that his senses are being deceived ‘these senses played me false, and it is prudent never to trust entirely those who have once deceived us’. The second of the forms of scepticism revolves around whether Descartes is dreaming or not ‘I see so clearly that there are no conclusive signs by means of which one can distinguish between being awake and being asleep’. The aforementioned malign demon was Descartes third method of doubt as he realised God would not deceive him. Descartes’ search for an underlying foundational premise ends when he realises he exists, at least when he thinks he exists ‘doubtless, then, that I exist and, let him deceive me as he may, he can never bring it about that I am nothing, so long as I shall be conscious that I am something. So that it must, in fine, be maintained, all things being maturely and carefully considered, that this proposition I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time it is expressed by me or conceived in my mind’. This argument ‘I think therefore I am’ is Descartes’ cogito argument as in Latin it is cogito ergo sum. The cogito argument raises some difficulties, as when thinking results in existence not thinking should therefore result in non-existence leaving the problem of returning to thought from non-existence. Descartes could ... ...stence of God to a satisfactory degree, however this was not the case so instead his ‘proof’ of the existence of corporeal things is clouded by a thin veil of theology. Descartes’ attempts to extricate himself from his sceptical doubts of the meditations had a varying degree of success, his doubt of his own existence was well surmounted with the indubitable ‘cogito’ argument. The second of his doubts, that of the existence of God was not extricated as successfully with the unconvincing trademark argument and the out of date ontological argument. Descartes then went on to tackling his doubt regarding the existence of the external world, which was done well but was based on the shady proofs for the existence of God. Descartes may not have proven the existence of God or the existence of the external world however he did produce a new style of philosophy in which he attempted to base all of his epistemological knowledge (or beliefs) on a single indubitable premise, this style of philosophy now known as foundationalism has been and is still used by philosophers today at great credit to Descartes, Rene Descartes proved himself within t his book to be the father of modern philosophy.

Timothy Leary as a Hero Essay -- essays research papers fc

The term â€Å"hero† brings to mind many ideas, many events, and many people. However, one face it generally fails to conjure is that of Timothy Leary. Dr. Leary managed to create a level of infamy few Americans have achieved since this country’s inception; he is the poster-child of the mind-altering hallucinogen LSD and has been labeled by many as the subversive leader of the counter-culture movement of the sixties. Not many people appreciate this great man’s long string of accomplishments, his devotion to scientific progress, or his cheery, irrepressible personality. It is a small circle of people indeed who would label this man a hero, but the truth is that Dr. Leary embodied the principles of courage, discovery, and benevolence, which none can deny are heroic trademarks. No man has shown more courage in the face of adversity than Timothy Leary. One great example of his valor comes from his early years as a cadet at West Point during the 1940’s. After indulging in a quantity of alcohol with some upperclassmen after a football game one evening, Leary found himself before the Cadet Honor Committee of West Point awaiting punishment. The committee decreed that he must avoid social contact of any kind, despite the fact that during his court-martial the charges brought upon him were hastily dropped. For nine months he survived this involuntary solitude, until finally the school asked him to resign because of â€Å"moral problems† that his punishment was causing. Leary agreed on the condition that his innocence would be announced in the mess hall. Two days later, he left West Point. Long afterward, after earning a doctorate in psychology and serving several professorships at prestigious institutions as Berkley and Harvard, Dr. Timothy Leary dev eloped an interest in what he would later become famous for: psychedelics. Originally his studies were sponsored by Harvard, but after drug abuse became a major target of the mass media and politicians, a national frenzy took place and LSD became a Schedule One controlled substance. Leary, intrigued by the success of previous experimentation with the chemical and undeterred by lack of mainstream support, continued his studies privately. This eventually led to conflict between him and the DEA, the Narcotics Bureau, and the CIA. As Nixon fueled propaganda against â€Å"acid† and the counter-culture movement, Timothy Leary championed LSD ... ...n to certain concepts has never wavered. I have relentlessly and faithfully pursued self-exploration, evolution, and innovation as the antidotes to terminal adulthood." No document has recorded an instance of Timothy Leary running into a burning building to save a baby. He never fought a war for his country, discovered a cure for cancer, or negotiated a treaty between two countries. But he was a hero his own right. Dr. Leary led a resistance to the tyrrany of Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, G. Gordon Liddy, and J. Edgar Hoover during a time when America was torn with inner conflict. His career was devoted to helping people mentally, whether they were psychiatrically ill or just in need of psychedelic inspiration. And he stood as a beacon representative of hope, freedom, and peace. Timothy Leary may not fit the conventional definition of â€Å"hero† as found in Webster’s, but to many of his and future eras, he was everything for which that four-letter word stands. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jones, Bonsey. The Biography Project: Timothy Leary. The Biography Project. 8 Sept. 04 . Leary, Timothy; Quick Biography. Leary.com. 8 Sept. 04 . Timothy Leary Biography. American Buddha.com. 8 Sept. 04 .

Defense About Payroll System Essay

GLOBAL RECIPROCAL COLLEGES GRC Bldg Rizal Avenue cor 9th Ave. Caloocan City Payroll System In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements For the Subject ITCS 211 Submitted by: Lu, Lyn, L. Sanchez, Frecis Balingit, Jembert Ballester, Gerlie Amandog, Jinine II- Galatians Submitted to: Mrs. Tupaz I.T. Professor Introduction As computer technology changes at such fast phase, many businesses sectors try to cope up by upgrading computer system constantly in order to stay competitive. The multi function ability of technology for its advance system is also an important factor for a company to use software. It makes efficient use of the advance technology and has ambition to discover more. Computers have the great impact on the profession of accounting. With the  rapid growth of technology today, there is no doubt that computer will become a common asset in all profession. This Computerized Payroll System program allows the monthly payroll schedule to be calculated accurately. Just by having all employees’ information such as name, rate per hour, working hours, etc to enter to its database. Therefore, payroll can be done with the guide of the program. The system is good in for its specialty in the fields of accurate computations. It is easy to use, effective and efficient in organizing and calculating the payroll. In addition, this study aims to develop a reliable computerized payroll system for Ministop Convenient Store for a better manageable of a business. The Proposed Computerized Payroll System will give a big relief of the employee and employers as well. Goal To make a efficient, effective and easy to use computerized payroll system that will solve the currently problems of Ministop Convenient Store in having Manual process in their payroll system Objectives To create a computerized payroll system that will work conveniently for the employees of Ministop in computing their salary & accurate total of deductions for their benefits and taxes. ↠ To avoid mathematical errors in computing the salary that may cause financial trouble. ↠ To prevent lost of data and damaging of files. ↠ To lessen the consume time in checking and tallying their records. Statement of the Problem Ministop convenience store has a problem with their payroll system. They always encounter problems in manual payroll process. So we decided to create a computerized payroll system that will seek for answer in the following problems. ↠ Prone to mathematical errors that could consume much time than it should and could cause financial or legal trouble. ↠ Time consuming in double checking the consistency of all the reports. ↠ Storage of files is susceptible to be damaged as well as lost of data. Scope The payroll system has a security ADMIN account in order to use it. The payroll system will compute the total salary of the employees of Ministop according to their recorded rate per hour and hours worked and also the system will automatically deduct their taxes and total contributions for their benefits such as SSS and Phil-Health. The computed overall Salary will be transferred in ATM account. Delimitations †¢ This system will only compute the salary of Crews, Guards and Manager. †¢ This system is only for the employees of Ministop Convenient Store. Abstract The program has its own database that will store employee’s information and salary details. The Admin should log-in first before the  program will function. After the user successfully log-in, the main page will appear. The main page contains â€Å"Add employee†, â€Å"Compute Salary† and â€Å"Log-Out† button. â€Å"Add Employee† Button is for adding employee. â€Å"Compute Salary† Button is for computing and showing the Salary details. â€Å"Log-Out† button is for the Signing Out of the Admin. In adding employee, the user has to input needed information about the employee. In Computing the Salary, the employee should enter their registered Employee No. and Password. If the employee successfully filled up the required Employee No. and Password, the Form â€Å"Salary Details† that contains the Employee information and Computed Total Deductions and Salary will appear. In Logging-Out, the system will return to â€Å"Log-in† Form.

Participants in the Business Buying Process Essay

Who does the buying of the trillions of dollars’ worth of goods and services needed by the business organizations? Purchasing agents are influential in straight -re-buy and modified re situations, whereas other department personnel are more influential in the new-buy situations. Engineering personnel usually have a major influence in selecting the product components, and purchasing agents dominate in selecting suppliers. Webster and Wind call the decision making unit of a buying organization the buying center. The buying center is composed of â€Å"all those individuals and groups who participate in the purchasing from the decision†. The buying center includes all members of the organization who play any of seven roles in the purchase decision process. Several roles of organization buying: Initiators: Those who request that something be purchased. They may be users or others in the organization. Users: Those who will use the product or service. In many cases, the users initiate the buying proposal and help define the product requirements. Influencers: People who influence the buying decision. They often help define specifications and also provide information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personnel are particularly important influencers. Deciders: People who decide on product requirements or on suppliers. Approvers: People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders and buyers. Approvers: People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders or buyers Buyers: People who have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange the purchase terms. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they  play major role in selecting vendors. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they play their major role in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex purchases, the buyers might include high-level managers. Gatekeepers: People who have the power to prevent sellers or information from reaching members of buying center. For example, purchasing agent, receptionists, and telephone operators may prevent salesperson from contacting users or deciders. The average number of people involved in a buying decision ranges from about three (for services and items used in day-to-day operations) to almost five (for such high tickets purchases as construction and machinery). To target their efforts properly, business marketers have to figure out: who are the major decision participants? What decisions do they influence? What is the level of their influence? What criteria do they used? When a buying center includes many participants, the business marketer will not have time or resources to each out to all of them. Small sellers concentrate on reaching they key buying influencers. Larger sellers go for multilevel in-depth selling to reach as many participants as possible. Their salespeople virtually â€Å"live† with their high volume customers. Companies will have to rely more heavily on their communications program to reach hidden buying influences and keep their current customers informed. Business marketers must periodically review their assumptions about the buying center participants. Major Influences on Buying Decisions Business buyers respond to many influences when they make their decisions. When suppliers’ offerings are similar, business buyers can satisfy the purchasing requirements with any supplier, and they place more weight on the personal treatment they receive. Where supplier offering differs substantially, business buyers are more accountable for their choices and pay more attention to economic factors. Business buyers respond to four main influences: environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual. 1. Environmental Factors Business buyers pay close attention to current and expected economic factors, such as the level of production, investment, consumer spending, and interest rate. In a recession, business buyer reduces their investment in plant, equipment, and inventories. Companies are fears of shortage of key materials are willing to buy and hold large inventories. They will sign long term contracts with suppliers to ensure a steady flow of materials. 2. Organization Factors Every organization has specific purchasing objectives, policies, procedures, organizational structures, and systems. Business marketers need to be aware of the following organization trends in the purchasing area. Purchasing Up Grading: The new, more strategically oriented purchasing departments have been changed, from old-fashion â€Å"fashion departments† with an emphasis on buying at the lowest cost, to â€Å"procurement departments† with a mission to seek the best value from fewer and better suppliers. Some multinationals have even elevated to â€Å"strategic supply departments† with responsibility for global sourcing and partnership. Cross-functional Roles: Most purchasing professionals describe their job as less clerical, more strategic, technical, team oriented, and involving more responsibility than even before. Sixty-one percent of buyers surveyed said the buying group was more involved in new-product design and development than it was five years ago; more than half the buyers participate in cross-functional teams, with suppliers well represented. Central Purchasing: In multidivisional companies, most purchasing is carried out by separate divisions because of their different needs. Some companies, however, have started to centralize their purchasing. Headquarters identifies materials purchased by several divisions and buys them centrally, thereby gaining more purchasing clout. The individual divisions can buy from another source if they can get a better deal; in general, centralized purchased purchasing produces substantial savings. For the business marketer, this development means dealing with fewer and higher-level buyers and using a national account sales group to deal with large corporation. Decentralized Purchasing of Small-Ticket Item: At the same time, companies are decentralizing some purchasing operations by empowering employees to purchase small-ticket items such as binders, coffeemakers, etc. Internet Purchasing: Forrester Research estimates that B2B transactions over the net reached $2.7 trillion in 2004. The move to internet purchasing has far reaching implications for suppliers and will change the shape of purchasing for years to come. Other Organization Factors: Long Term Contract. Business buyers are increasingly initiating accepting long -term contracts with reliable suppliers. Business markets are using internets to set-up extranets with important customers to facilitate and lower the cost of transactions. Their customers enter orders directly on the computer, and these orders are automatically transmitted to the supplier. Some companies go further and shift the ordering responsibility to their suppliers in system called vendor-managed inventory. These suppliers are privy to the customer’s inventory levels and take responsibility to replenish automatically through continuous replenishment programs. Purchasing-Performance Evaluation and Buyers’ Professional Development: many companies have set up incentive system to reward purchasing managers for good buying performance, in much the same way that sales personnel receive bonuses for good selling performance. These systems are leading purchasing  managers to increase pressure on sellers for the best terms. Improved Supply Chain Management: Purchasing executives are increasingly involved in working with marketing and other company executives in building a seamless supply chain management system from the purchase of raw materials to the on-time arrival of finished goods to the end users. Interpersonal and Individual Factors Buying centers usually include several participants with differing interests, authority, empathy and persuasiveness. Each buyer carries personal motivations, perceptions, and preferences, which are influenced by buyer’s age, income, job position, personality, attitudes towards risk, and culture. Cultural Factors Buying factors vary from one country to another. Here are some rules of social and business etiquette that marketers should understand when doing business in other countries.