Dreschler Hotel Consultation

I have reviewed the trend analysis for the Dreschler Hotel and competing hotels and find that in comparison to the competing market, Dreschler is well within the numbers on average. Occupancy rate as compared with like hotels appears to be almost par with an average of 99. 3 index for the last six month period of 2005. This is stating that on average Dreschler is almost at the same rate of occupancy as other competing hotels. The average daily room rate comes out to a 100. 8 index which is stating that the rate being charged daily is at or above what other hotels in this competing industry are charging. The same with the revenue per available rooms, the 6 month average comes out to an index of 99. 9 compared with like hotels. In review of this trend analysis, I believe the occupancy rate can be improved during the summer months because of the location and activities offered by this lodging facility. But, after reviewing Santa Cruz County for the year 2005, average occupancy rate for hotels was at 64. 7% and for the whole state of Arizona the annual average was only 65. 8%. Dreschler appears to be on the upper end of these averages at 72. 6% average for the last 6 months of the year. This figure could obviously be higher or lower because of the figures for the first 6 months of the year. Based on the figures of having approximately 8 rooms on average per day available out of 30 is not all that bad, nor is it good. When the ADR is at $103. 71 on average for Dreschler while the average ADR statewide is only $90. 39, it could be possible to offer discounts during slower seasons in order to fill the rooms. Another option would be to offer specials to with surrounding businesses such as wine tasting events, art and museum events, cultural events, bird watching events, and even biking or hiking outings. Potential Improvements Dreschler has quite a bit to offer as far as amenities in whole and the amount of rooms available. I would start with making changes in the rooms, amount of rooms, and types of rooms. For starters, let us cut back on the amount of rooms that are sharing bathrooms and create more privacy for the guest. I would ensure that all rooms and suites have their own lavoratory at minimum. Single rooms with only bedroom setting and sitting nook should have a bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower. There should be a choice of which type of single room a guest would want by changing up the beds. Offer some with two twins, or single twin and hide-a-bed sofa and of course the queen. Next room style would be more like a mini apartment suite. This would have a sitting area separate from the bedroom and bathroom. Also offer the choices of bed set-ups in the larger suites such as double twins, queen, and king. The bathroom would be the same as with the single rooms as well. There has to be a deluxe suite of some sort, a couple would be good like a Honeymoon suite or an Executive suite, or maybe both. The honeymoon suite would be approximately 800 square feet of luxury. The bedroom would be separate from the sitting room, breakfast nook just inside the balcony doors; the bathroom would be private with a bath as well as the toilet, sink, and shower. I would probably suggest this room be on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the garden and possible put a Jacuzzi on this deck. The Executive suite would be geared for business personnel that may be in town or nearby for a convention or meeting of some sort. This room would offer two separate sleeping quarters, sitting area, breakfast nook, full bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower, and a deck as well, that overlooks the garden area. All rooms will be equipped with satellite television, a sound system that is controlled by the guest, alarm clocks, Wi-Fi connection, and air conditioning. Other amenities will include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in rooms with mini fridges, microwaves, a desk area, literature regarding the history of the surrounding area, community features, events, and activities, and of course for the bathroom we would offer a hair dryer, ironing board that folds up in the wall, and hand lotions, soaps, and shampoos. Other areas of the establishment could be opened up more for private sitting time or just admiring the beauty surrounding the lodge. Breakfast is served at the door of all rooms by 7 a. m. every morning, and consists of cheeses, fresh fruits, juices, yogurts, and fresh baked pastries. I would like to see a public dining area in the garden for those who wish to dine on their morning pastry and coffee in the comfort of the morning sun. Funding Options There are several funding options available since we have no working capital. We could go public and offer shares to raise money to invest into the modifications, but the problem with this is that as a business owner you will not get to keep 100% of the profits; you will be paying your shareholders a dividend. Equity investors will require a percentage of ownership as well as the return on their investment. This can also wind up being costly down the road. Another option is to acquire a loan, but most lending institutes will only lend 60%-70% of the requested amount leaving the borrower having to raise the other 30%-40% in equity. This may not be a bad deal if the equity investor does not demand a large portion of ownership and is patient on returns. Another option is a 7(a) loan since they are the simplest and most common loan type from the Small Business Association. The financing of a 7(a) loan can be guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes such as working capital, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and debt refinancing (under special conditions). Loan maturity is up to 10 years for working capital and generally up to 25 years for fixed assets (http://www. sba. gov). These types of loans are easily obtained since many banks in America participate in SBA’s program and structure the loans according the requirements of this program. The SBA shares the risk with the bank if the borrower defaults. The eligibility requirements are fairly broad to accommodate the most diverse variety of small business financing needs (http://www. sba. gov). To Convert or Not to Convert A couple of benefits to converting this property to either a timeshare, condominium, or mixed-use property would be a) the immediate cash flow available up front from the rooms being purchased by timeshare holders; and b) therefore the owner does not have to wait for the project to generate a return on investment. Timeshare would be nice in that all rooms would hopefully be sold and utilized throughout the year. The length of time that someone holds a share for can be up to 30 years. The condominium aspect is slightly different in that the investor does not actually use the room but hopes to make an return on his investment in that room. This can pose a problem if there is not much activity in that investor’s room. A mixed use set-up would probably be the most beneficial of the three since it would offer the owner a diverse source of income from a variety of shops and businesses within the hotel. Although, I do not see this being a possibility here since this is a bed and breakfast establishment with over 90 shops within walking distance. You also have the issues of trying to attract high quality brand name partners to work with you, and selling the idea to other investors and possibly lending institutions could pose a real problem if you do not have a complete understanding of the market demands. I think that keeping this bed and breakfast as is would be the most beneficial but the modifications and room upgrades need to be more accommodating to a variety of guests in order to achieve the higher revenues possible. New Name Coming up with a new name for the establishment can be a challenge since I am suggesting the modifications that I am. There is no significant â€Å"one† type of person that I am trying to attract to this establishment, but more of a variety in order to fill all the rooms on a regular basis. I would like to offer up the name of Santa Cruz Country Inn since this is in the heart of Santa Cruz County and offers up the scenic picturesque country side that it does. All of the features of this establishment speak country to me. The bird watching, hiking, natural beauty of the landscape surrounding the inn, the state parks, proximity of the Santa Cruz river, and just the all around peaceful feeling one has when here. I would like to offer a bed and breakfast that makes all who stay desire to return because of the comfort and relaxation that they feel while visiting this fine establishment.Reference http://www.tubaccountryinn.com/accommodations.html

Investment and Debt Capacity

Stock Repurchase Repurchase of stock can be viewed in each of the following way: investment, financing, shareholder distribution and control issue. Repurchase of stock can be a way to use firm’s excess debt capacity. By doing so, firm can lower the cost of equity financing. If debt financing is more flexible and cheap, replace equity financing with debt financing is a good way to lower the weighted cost of capital. In this sense, such action is a financing issue because it controls the cost of financing. On the other hand, repurchase of stock can adjust shareholder distribution.If shareholders consist of most individual investors, they may require more dividends or other forms of profit sharing. Firm can repurchase stocks from such investors so that they can adjust their dividend policy. If management holds few shares of the company, they may lose their control over operating and strategy decisions. By repurchasing stocks, management could regain majority control over the comp any on strategic decisions. Finally, repurchase of stock is also an investment issue because it enables the firm to increase its return on equity by eliminating dilution effect.Higher return on equity will attract more favorable investors as well as better vendors. It has the same outcome of investing in businesses, so it can be viewed as an investment. Debt Capacity for Stock Repurchase From Exhibit 5, we get the total debt of Marriott at the end of 1979. We define total debt as sum of short-term loan, current portion of long-term debt, senior debt and capital leases. The average market price of Marriott in 1979 was $14. 9, and interest rate for Baa corporate debt was 12%. We assume that Marriott would repurchase stocks at price of $15 using 12% debt financing.Marriott used Adjusted EBIT over net interest as a measure for debt capacity, so we use such measure as well. The table above shows the main assumptions we make in the analysis. Before the stock repurchase, EBIT adjusted/Net interest rate was 6. 64, above the 5 times threshold Marriott set for itself. Because the net interest before repurchase was $27. 8 million, we conclude that adjusted EBIT was $184. 59 million. In 1979, additional debt from repurchase was $159 million, making the total debt $538. 83 million. Net interest after repurchase is the original net interest plus the 12% interest from new debt.Based on such analysis, the new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio is 3. 94, which is lower than 5. So we conclude Marriott may not have enough debt capacity to finance the stock repurchase. We further perform a scenario analysis. Suppose Marriott had just enough debt capacity, which means new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio equals 5. We find that repurchase price should be $7. 17 so that Marriott could utilize its debt capacity fully. We conclude that a repurchase price under $7. 17 is in fact transferring value to remaining group because they can share more future profits resulting from the concentrat ed equity.Yet a repurchase of $15 is way above $7. 17, which means selling shareholders have more value because they are compensated with higher return. Owned vs Managed Marriot has two options about the operation of hotel chains. First, it can own the hotel and enjoy the profit margin. Second, it can sell the hotel but retain management contracts so it controls the operation of such units. Following is the detailed decomposition of costs associated with two options. According to Exhibit 9, in 1978 the typical cost for a hotel room consists of improvement cost, furniture, fixtures and equipment cost, land cost, pre-opening cost and operating cost.For an owned hotel, Marriot had to pay the total cost for running the property, but if it is managed, Marriot only had operating cost because the buyer was responsible for the maintenance. In an attempt to emphasize more on return on invested capital rather than margins, Marriot sold some of their existing hotels and retained management con tract to free up capital. Managed hotels had operating margin of 8%-10%, while owned had 15%. We assume 10% margin for managed hotels and 15% for owned hotels.To decide when to sell the property, we analyze the remaining present value of future cash flow of a hotel at different point of time in its life cycle. We further assume that when the hotel is sold, the selling price is set so that present value of future cash flow equals the 10% margin. We assume $50 revenue per room night of a typical 150-room hotel, and one year has 360 days. Sales level for each year in the life cycle connects to the occupancy rate. From the graph of Exhibit 9, we get different occupancy rate for the whole life cycle. It reaches the peak 100% at year 8, and after year 10, it declines almost linearly to 10% in year 30.We can see that if Marriot sells the hotel before opening, the selling price would be $1. 63 million at time 0. After the peak, let’s say, year 9, the selling price would be $ 1. 55 mi llion at time 9. We can also see that in fact the max value of PV is at year 4, which has $2. 85 million in PV at 15% margin. Marriot would free up more capital if it sells the hotel before opening, but instead it would lose more operating profit. If Marriot is in short of capital, it could sell the hotel up-front so that the freed up capital can be invested in other profitable projects.Selling after the peak is a good choice if Marriot wants to enjoy the increasing operating profit before the peak. Shareholder value can be added if the return on freed-up capital exceeds the profit loss from selling the property. Recommendation Based on our analysis, we would recommend the company to investing in their core business to fully use their debt capacity. Since Marriott’s debt capacity is only able to repurchase 10. 6 million shares at a price significantly lower its current trading price (according to Exhibit 12). It is unlikely the repurchase strategy would take place as expected .The negative impact of false interpretation that the Marriott has reached its growth limit may not be offset even if the repurchase take place. To decide whether to invest in core business or diversify by acquisition we take a look of the hotel’s current state. The company now is operating in four main sectors, hotel group, contract food service, restaurant group theme parks and cruise ships& other. Based on exhibit 3, all of MC’s sectors are doing well in the past few periods; Hotel group is still the main profit sector account for 51% of the total operating profit and 16. % of the gross margin. Theme park and restaurant sectors have contributed a lot to total revenue but at the same time involve more risk. The asset associated with that new business couldn’t be mortgaged easily. Marriott’s theme park alone was estimated to cost 80 million but double of the estimation eventually, the investment made MC to lower its debt credit level. If we use the extra debt capacity on acquisition of new business, there could be a higher risk of availability and cost of long-term debt financing, which may cause MC to lower its debt credit even lower and increase its defalt risk.As a company mostly processioned in hotel management, invest in new businesses that required new management style also increases MC’s operating risk. Marriott’s hotel business has positioned itself to operate for customers whose travel plans were less subject to change than those of vacationers. Its historical operation has showed steady healthy growth even in recessions. Most of the sector’s assets are real estates and tends to appreciate over time rather than depreciate, it is easy to issue debt secured by hotel assets. Prevailing trends also indicate sighs of need of rapid room expansion.As MC’s major competitors Hilton and Holiday Inn are shifting their core business to a more diversified market, keep focus on core hotel business enable MC t o maintain its own competitive advantage in operation. Overall we would suggest MC to use its excess debt capacity to invest in existing hotel with some clientele base but lower entry cost where the Marriott‘s acquisition can significantly improve the operation. To invest in such assets, there is low research and construction cost but easy to manage with sustainable growth. We believe that the best investment for corporation would be investing in the existing business.The hotel business was the most promising area for Marriott’s Corporation. When MC’s competitors expand their business into gambling and casino ventures, MC was more likely to expand in the traditional market. To invest in the hotel business, a large amount of external financing is needed. A large amount of Marriott hotels were managed rather than owned by the MC. Despite the MC could limited capital investment by holding the equity up to 50% so that they could increase the opportunity to be awarded the management contract, they might still need to cost a lot in investing more hotels. MC could also choose to expand their existing hotels.Those hotels have higher occupancy rate and higher local demand. Doing this expansion will need full capital investment in property. With high growth rate of hotel rooms, this investment seems valuable. However, this way of investment still needs large amount of external financing to support the expanding. Even though MC’s new hotels are profitable in the end, the cost of developing hotels is still required a big financing. In addition, due to the increasing inflation rate, the cost of equity and the cost of debt increased. Therefore, as inflation rate becomes higher, the unused debt capacity becomes less in the future.

Celebrities in politics Essay

I will get straight to the point, I believe that when celebrities get involved in  politics they draw attention away from the actual political issues and campaigns at hand. Having film stars in politics for endorsements will definitely draw a crowds and more  importantly votes. Because people love and become inspired by the characters played by an individual and in the end they are in fact become blinded by who that individual really is. It is as if you give a dangerous person, or as I will refer to him as, â€Å"an evil dower† some candy. Now a politician by him self is an evil dower who does not have candy. Without the candy it is very hard for an evil dower to attract little children into a car but as soon a candy, or even better a child’s favorite candy is introduced, this when put into context being a favorite actor, that is all the child sees and is blinded to whomever posses the candy, thus getting into the car. This in essence is basically the reaction of an obsessed fan when celebrities become involved in politics. If you really want to dissect the purpose for celebrities in politics, or celebrity endorsements in general you are able to create six different categories, establishing credibility, attracting attention, associative benefits, psychographic connection, demographic connection and mass appeal. What does this all mean? Absolutely nothing! All the reasons why celebrities are brought into an election are reasons that should be irrelevant to the voters. Most celebrities have never actually done any social work, some of them are unaware of what’s going on, in the past some celebrities have actually debated the ideals of another individual that was in there own party without actually knowing it. Up to now I have only been referring to actors as being celebrities but if we look it up in the dictionary, a celebrity is simply a famous person, renown fame. Doesn’t that mean a politician could in fact also be a celebrity? Yes,  Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln ,where politicians and celebrities in there own respect and got there fame from battles they won, world changing events they where part of. The difference between them and a modern day actors is they became famous for the things they did, it was who they where not a mask. But on the contrary this could also work against a politition, for instance Bill Clinton, we don’t remember him for being the president who sent the most troops into war ever or getting the United States out of a 250 billion dollar debt, no, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Bill Clinton is Monica Lewinski. I’m not saying he didn’t do a lot of good things for the county Im just saying that’s what he got the most publicity for. All this time wasted just because they wanted to know if he lied. This is how celebrity gets in the way of politics, instead of speculating about impeaching the president for getting a blow job they should have been using there resources to gather more intelligence about terrorist activity in the middle east. At this time the president was no longer a polition, he was a celebrity, another Paris Hilton, instead of a tape it was a dress. Let’s face it though, when it comes to celebrities and politics. Celebrities are simply more entertaining. Who would you rather see in an interview, Sonny Perdue (Governor or Georgia) or The Rock.

The Consequences for Women of the 1867 Reform Act Essay

The Consequences for Women of the 1867 Reform Act - Essay Example According to Paula Bartley, this could be compared to the slave trade, â€Å"Is one half of the human species, like the poor African slaves, to be subject to prejudices that brutalise them...only to sweeten the cup of men† (Bartley, 2007). The consequences for the suffrage movements The Great Reform Act of 1832 in the United Kingdom was started by Jeremy Bentham and William Thompson. During this time, United Kingdom had become so corrupt because the constituencies were represented by rich land owners. Elections were unfair because there were many cases of bribery and corruption. Also, by the year 1812, many women practiced prostitution highly in the United Kingdom. Prostitution was fueled by the social, literacy and cultural behaviors of the people living in England. This is the time when many associations were formed with an objective of bringing change and social purity (Bartley, 2007). A centre for home of friendless girls was introduced to educate the young girls on the ne ed for obedience and self control. This was due to the unhygienic nature of the practice since it led to contagious diseases. The reformers explained the causes of prostitution and came up with a strategy to educate the youth on positive change. Industrial capitalism also changed and minimized prostitution. â€Å"Surely, it will not be denied that woman have, and ought to have opinions of their own on subjects of public interest, and on the events which arise as the world goes its way† (Bartley, 2007).This led to the second reform act in 1867. . In 1819, Charles Woolsey won the elections and went to the House of Commons to initiate change as the legislative representative. Also, the committee of Manchester which consisted of twenty thousand to sixty thousand people appointed a representative attorney. In 1820s, parliament neglected new reforms. This was when John Russell disagreed with the corrupt activities of the parliamentary members. The Great Reform Act was proposed by J ohn Russell in the year 1830 after the death of King George. It was after the dissolution of the parliament, and the general elections were to be held. Birmingham political union started its campaigns under the leadership of Thomas Attwood. The campaigners put emphasis on the issue of reforms as this bill was pending in the previous parliamentary sittings. After the elections three reform bills passed to the parliament and through subsequent debates the bills were then amended to be the Great reform act in the year 1832. After this act, political education began whereby politics and social education were introduced to the local citizens. After the great reform, there was insufficient voter registration exercise and most people did not have the votes. Bribery and corruption remained to be a significant problem in the governance. During the ensuing years, corruption wars started up to the year 1854 when the corruption practices act passed into law by the parliament. Civil wars began w hich aimed at changing the structure of governance in England. There were outstanding family problems in the society. Divorce cases had increased. This act separated sex from reproduction. Same sex had become so prominent in the society. Sexual and social reforms in the society were the campaign strategies by the reform parties. In certain areas like New Jersey, the law allowed only

Ernest Hemingway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ernest Hemingway - Essay Example In other words, the life and art of Hemingway are interwoven in numerous ways, and his biography contributes heavily to the understanding his works. Thus, his major works such as The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms are useful in establishing that a great deal of his fiction was influenced by his life and that his art, in turn, transformed his life to a considerable extent. The interrelation between the life and art of Hemingway is clearly reflected in his novel The Sun Also Rises (1926). Here, one finds a young American narrating the story, and he is the only character in the work who maintains the standards of conduct. As Edmund Wilson establishes, the character fails to attract the love of a woman due to his incapacity to dominate and direct the lady. The author tenses up the membrane of his style in order to communicate the pulsations of these trepidations. Wilson is of all praise for the artistic style of the writer who invests the arid sunlight and the green summer landscapes with a vindictive quality which has never been found in the literature before. In the novel, one finds the romantic spirit of the writer at its best and his literary style clearly reflects the link to his life experience. â€Å"This Hemingway of the middle twenties ... expressed the romantic disillusion and set the favorite pose for the period. It was the moment of gallantr y in heartbreak, grim and nonchalant banter, and heroic dissipation.† (Wilson) Therefore, it is indubitable that the writer skillfully commingled his life with his art which ultimately won him international reputation. There have been ever so many illustrations of the life-aspects in the writings of Hemingway and the critics have often been in praise of the ability of the writer to reflect his life in his art astutely. Every character in his novels reflects one or the other characteristic of the novelist’s life. The proficiency of the writer as an outdoor sportsman, his career spell as a war

Dna, transposable elements, pv92 insertion, evolution, bioinformatics, Lab Report

Dna, transposable elements, pv92 insertion, evolution, bioinformatics, hardy weinberg equation - Lab Report Example Alu sequence that has been explored in this experiment is among these sequences. This DNA sequence is approximately 300 base pairs long that is seen to be repeated for about 500,000 times throughout the entire human genome. It is not yet known what function they play as well as their origin (Olson et al., 1989).These Alu sequences are known to possess characteristics that are critical to the geneticists. They are usually present within introns of a given genes, and they might be associated either with a disease or can be utilized in the estimation of relatedness between and among individuals (Deininger, 1989). In this experiment, there was analysis of a single Alu repeat and it was utilized in the estimation of its frequency in the class population as well as a basic molecular genetic variation measure. This was with no reference to relatedness between individuals or to disease. Figure 1 indicates the types of repetitive DNA in human genome An Alu sequence that was considered in this laboratory activity is located at PV92 region of chromosome 16. This specific Alu sequence is dimorphic, implying that it is present in some people but absent in other. Some individuals are known to possess the insert in either of the chromosome 16 copy (one allele), others may possess the insert in both of the chromosome 16 copies (two alleles). ... It will be 941 base pairs long only if there is Alu. This size increase is as a result of the 300 base pair sequence that is attributed to the Alu insert (Hollstein MC et al., 1991). There are 3 distinct outcomes that are probable when the products of PCR are electrophoresed on an agarose gel. If there is an Alu inserts on both chromosomes, each amplified PCR product will be 941 base pairs long. They tend to migrate at the same speed on a gel so in regards to this, one band will be visible which corresponds to 941 base pairs. If it is observed that neither of the chromosome posses the insert, then it means that each amplified product of PCR is 641 base pairs and they are supposed to migrate as one band corresponding to 641 base pairs. If an Alu insert is present on one chromosome but absent on the other, then it implies that one PCR product of 641 base pairs will be observed as well as one of 941 base pairs. Two bands will be revealed by the gel for such given sample. The 941 bp and 641 bp were separated basing on their sizes. As it is known that Alu repeats inserts themselves randomly in human genome. In relation to this, the Alu insert located in PV92 locus is very important in studies of genotype and allele frequencies in the human population. In the exercise done in the laboratory, the principles of the Hardy-Weinberg theory were applied in the analysis of the Alu insert allelic and genotypic frequencies in the population (Saiki RK et al., 1988). This was also to test the hypothesis that the class population alleles fit the prediction model of Hardy-Weinberg for genotype equilibria. By determining the Alu genotype genotypic frequencies within the student population, the corresponding allelic frequencies were as well calculated.

Adolf Hitler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Adolf Hitler - Essay Example Few of the political leaders of the 20th century have repelled contemporaries more than Adolf Hitler, the dictatorial Leader (Fuhrer) and Reich Chancellor of the so-called ‘Greater German Empire’, or the Third Reich. The actions and policies of his regime led to the atrocities previously unparalleled in human history, and the irrationality of many of his political moves led many to believe that the reason for this must supposedly be sought in the personal dementia of Hitler. However, closer look at the development of his personality and the early years of his political career reveals mediocre but still cunning demagogue, who was far from being mere psychopath. The first years of Hitler’s life were rather unremarkable. He was born in lower-middle class Austrian family, with his father, Alois Hitler, a customs official and his mother, Klara Polzl, a devout and obedient housewife. Despite Hitler’s claims to being born in an impoverished family, his father†™s income actually allowed young Adolf to enter Linz Realschule and begin training for commercial career (Bullock 26). Nevertheless, in spite of superficially ‘normal’ life of Hitler family, the psychological relations within it were rather tense. Alois Hitler was always bitter and temperamental man (Fest 17; Kershaw 43). The submissive stance exhibited by his wife, Klara, allowed Alois to have free rein in disciplining his children, so that the relations in the family was dominated by the stern father figure – a fact that undoubtedly had an impact on making of young Hitler (Kershaw 45). In any case, Adolf left Linz Realschule in 1904, the year after his father’s death, due to his record at this school that was far from spectacular (Bullock 26). In 1905, at the age of 16, Hitler ceased his training, and for the next two years he lived comfortably at the expense of his mother, fantasizing about some future great destiny (Kershaw 51). The death of his moth er led to major change in the life of previously carefree Adolf. Hitler’s previous plans of excelling as an artist proved a failure after his futile attempt to enter the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in October 1907. After the funeral Hitler returned to Vienna to pursue the life of ‘art student’ (Bullock 31). Vienna of those times was a multicultural city that embodied the internal contradictions of the decadent Austro-Hungarian Empire. The old social structure was progressively decomposing itself, with the subdued nationalities claiming rights of self-government and German artisans and petty traders turning to nationalism and especially to Anti-Semitism as a way of rationalising their hostility to competition by numerous Jewish migrants from the eastern lands of the Dual Monarchy that at that time settled in Vienna (Fest 27). Even though Hitler likely became a follower of ideas of German Nationalism in his school years (Bullock 27), it was in Vienna where he be came an enthusiastic partisan of ideas of militant Anti-Semitism then advocated by charismatic Karl Lueger, the leader of Christian Social Party (CS), who was to prove a major influence on the political views of Hitler (Fest 42). According to Fest, despite his less than comfortable life conditions in the men’s houses of Vienna in his destitute years (1908-13), Hitler exhibited nothing but hostility towards revolutionary left-wing movements of his time and paradoxically combined his contempt for bourgeois establishment with a craving to be accepted into it (33). Giblin notes that Hitler had particularly negative opinion of Marxist Social-Democratic Party, believing it to be controlled by the Jews (14). He was especially appalled by the Marxist socio-political doctrine, especially for its denial of organic unity of nation, and by the notion of class struggle (Fest 34). This combination of radical anti-establishment rhetoric with hostility towards political theories that challen ged the notion of social hierarchy as such was characteristic of Hitler’

Values of a servant leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Values of a servant leader - Essay Example According to Myra, (1999), the term servant leader is used to describe ones power and authority to serve others through leadership. A nursing director is mandated to guide his or her followers by initiating and sustaining a relationship that support others in their work place and the environment (Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, 2011). Servant leadership theory is practically a philosophy which explains the support of people that choose to serve first. It also encourages collaboration, trust, listening, and use of ethical power and empowerment. This theory explains the role of a servant leader and emphasizes on their duty to serve his or her followers, thus have desire to serve and this goes beyond desire to lead. Leadership is the art of the conduct and the person in any given organization. When persons are said to possess good or bad leadership qualities, it all depends on the way they carry themselves. According to Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, (2011), great leadership works through emotions. However, it depends on whether these emotions are positive or negative. Positive emotions bring out the best outcomes from a leader. In this case, much of what a nursing director does when he or she is optimistic, can highly yield positive returns. On the other hand, when the director is negative about what he does, then, this leads to dissonance. Many people try to become leaders but they eventually fail. Those who succeed usually practice leadership strategies that are effective for them to be able to meet their desired goals or targets. One of the character traits of an effective leader is talent (Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, 2011). Many people say that leaders are born with the talent but for them to be successful, they must gain experience through practice. It is apparent that most of the renowned and successful directors worldwide are very qualified

Application of ethical theory to a case study vignette Essay - 1

Application of ethical theory to a case study vignette - Essay Example The paper will throw light over major ethical issues and analyse this case in the light of Consequentialist (Utilitarian) and Deontological ethical approaches. In addition, the researcher will also discuss how he would act or would have acted assuming himself as a top executive of Great Brands marketing company. There are two main ethical issues in this case. The first issue is about Ahmed’s plundering of private information of Great Brands when he electronically copied the customer database and some of the customised software applications software in case he sets up his own company in the future. The questions that arise here are whether Ahmad’s act was violation of company’s intellectual property rights and whether Ahmed had any other option if he was really interested in setting up his own business. The second major issue is that if Ahmed would establish his own company by using plundered clandestine information then his firm would become a direct competitor of Great Brands. Again the question is whether this is a violation of formal contract with Great Brands that Ahmed would not assist or facilitate any other company that competes with Great Brands because of confidentiality he promised with the officials. It should be mentioned that Utilitarian theory of business ethics is a contribution of proponents of Consequentialists who judges the viability of an option by analysing its positive and negative consequences. Utilitarian approach supports the fact that a solution that brings greater good to greatest number of people is the best solution because the entire society benefits from implementation of this alternative. In other words, the supporters of Utilitarianism have proposed that the scope of each proposed solution should be evaluated on the basis of costs and benefits (in quantitative terms) (White & Taft, 2004). In addition, the proposed alternatives should be shared with

Public Health and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Health and Safety - Essay Example These are just some cases where the public is left open to the hazards of the dangerous conditions of properties. In response to these alarming scenarios, UK had enacted several statutes to foster public health and safety. Already in place are UK's Torts Act 1977, laws on public nuisance, Public Health Act 1936, Defective Premises Act 1972, Fatal Accidents Act 1976, (Harpwood 2005,p.196-384) and the Occupiers Liability Act 1984. From the onset we must clarify that there is no contractual relationship between the owner of the property and the spouses . Since they came in to the premises uninvited , they must be deemed as trespassers as defined in the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 but the nagging question then is must the company be absolved from liability and the spouses be considered to have taken undue risk and must suffer for their own misfortune. Or must the company be liable for the damages done on the basis of 'res ipsa loquitor' principle on Torts as it cannot be denied that damages happened in its property and therefore there is an assumption of negligence and want of due care on its part. Thus, must the company be considered a tortfeasor which has the burden of proof of proving that it is not guilty of negligence in immediately fencing the condemned property after knowledge of possibility of causing harm to the public and that it exercised due standard of care. If it fails to prove both, must it answ er for damages incurred to the spouses on the basis of failing to qualify for the 'reasonable man test'(Bolton v Stone) and on grounds of nuisance. Lastly, whether spouses by trespassing in a property which has a warning sign that people will be entering at their own risk guilty of contributory negligence by which company can hide under the doctrine of limited liability and whether by such act the spouses must be assumed to have voluntarily exposed themselves to the risk and thus must be precluded from recovery for injuries they suffered therefrom under the principle of "volenti non fit injuria" (Barker 2002,p.181). 3 Statement of Relevant Laws The basic law that governs this case is the UK Torts Act 1977 specifically quasi-delict or culpa aquiliana which provides that where there is no preexisting contractual relationships between the parties, the party who by act or

Sport and Society in Ancient Greece Essay Example for Free

Sport and Society in Ancient Greece Essay Ancient Greece is one of the most ancient civilizations in history and some historians say it is one of the greatest. They have survived many invasions and attacks from barbarians and Persians as well. The Greeks those times were divided into city states and they don’t have any form of alliance with each other. They don’t help each other on wars they except for times that they don’t have a choice. The Greek society is basically unique. Greece had never been united under one sole ruler. And even the city states are fought among each other on whom or which city-state should rule Greece. These qualities of the Greece made the Greek history interesting. Mark Golden’s book, Sport and Society in Ancient Greece, had elaborated the key points of the Greek society subjected on common theme. The book uses the Greek sport and games to give very good description of the Greek society. It expressively explained the sport as very important part of the society of Greece. In addition to this, he related the Greek sport to religion, social status, gender, age and other things that constitute to study of its society. Golden uses the sports arena to surface the differences among individuals and groups of the Greek society. The fact that it is theme-oriented made the book readers friendly. Most history professor uses this book as a very good guide to teach history. The themes use in the Golden’s book made it reader friendly. Identifying the themes of the book would be relatively easy. One of the themes he used is the Greek sport. In fact, it unites all ideas in the book. He used the Greek sport as a standpoint of the differences of the Greeks. He explained it using various events in the competitions and its competitors. He explained why most explained that in every event there is a kind of group that can participate. He also expressly give emphasize the difference of participants in the athletic events to the equestrian events. In virtue of this, he elaborated the tension between to the two types of contest. He explained that he sees the difference on the participants of the said events reflect on how the Greek society was comprised. Another theme he used in his book was the stories of Iliad and Odyssey. He uses explain the start of the games and the religious beliefs of the Greek society. The stories of Iliad and Odyssey was widely use in their religious activities. The fact that most of the games was done in tribute to the Gods of Greece. They do this by reliving the great stories of both Homer’s epic novel. They believe that Homer’s epic novel were very accurate about the Gods activities. They had lived with this belief with so many years. The next theme which Mark Golden used in the book was the historical background of Greece. He stated several historical events in Greece that influences the Greek culture and the games. He had explained briefly how some games had started and the changes that the Greeks had implemented to the games. He had emphasized the importance of these historical events to the Greek society. The last theme that I will list here is the relation of the social status to events a Greek can participate. He uses this theme through out the book. He basically discusses the social hierarchy the Greek have in their society as times came by. The book clearly differentiated the differences on how a group of Greeks or an individual can participate in the sport or the games. Golden stated that in the equestrian events slaves can only win as jockeys and other rules they applied in this event. The social discrimination in the Greek society was highlighted in the book. The themes he uses simply put the book in position that it is easy to read, can be use as teaching material because of its reliability, and its distinct use of other literatures of other historians. With this book, I could relive the moment the games had begun and gone on until today. I lived in Athens during the time Olympics had been established. It was a glorious moment for the Greeks. Everyone believed that these games can unite the whole of Greece where it could fight and function as one whole country. The start of the game signaled a turn in the history of the Greeks. The feeling of this glorious moment is very pleasing to me and to other Greeks as well. Imagine that a Greek won’t face another Greek in the battlefield again. I would join the games to prove the dominance of Athens over other city states. Joining the games as an Athenian is a privilege and a great honor for me. And befriending other Greek is as not bad as it looks in the past. Being at war with other Greek is pain that a soldier must overcome. Being a soldier, killing other Greeks is the most painful thing to do. It is as if it was killing your own brother. Nowadays that pain is nothing but a pigment of the past. I’m glad that my sons would not feel that pain that anymore. They will not go up against other Greeks except at the games. And it is for the gods after all. They had blessed us of something great. I thank our Gods that they found a way to stop the quarreling between city states of great Greece. After reading the book, I’ve come to think that the Greek games and sports are done to unify Greece and for entertainment. The world had mimic the Greek games and created Olympics. It symbolizes the unity of the nations participating in the Olympic Games. The fact that culture of Greek is carry out by the nations in the Olympics. It raises a sense of pride among the Greeks. Another thing is a realization that sports does come from religion. The games were held in religious festival in ancient times. The sports today are said to have a purpose of camaraderie, enjoyment, and battle of skills. It is shocking to know that it came from religion. The showing of facts in the book of Mark Golden had convinced me that sports started as tribute to the Gods. And that the relation of the religion and sports is undeniable. He presented reliable evidences that strengthened a claim made by a priest. The idea of classifying the participants that participate in an event was a shocking revelation. I thought at first that the classification of participants was done only to make the games fair. And that is invented after the world wars. It is shocking to know that these classifications were really done due to social status in ancient Greece. The structure of the games from those times to these days is very different. But to know that they have the same purpose is quite a relief. The most important idea that occurred to after reading Mark Golden’s book is that literature has something to do with sports. If you look at sports and literature at plain logic, they are very different because literature uses mental capabilities while the sports and games use physical abilities. The connection of literature and sports was established clearly in Mark Golden’s book. He clearly stated the relation of the two. The realization of the relation between the two is quite interesting and mind bugling. Mark Golden’s book clearly is one of a kind. Historians who read his book were very enthusiastic to discuss Greek history to his class. The reliability of the book make more convincing to historians or even to non-historians. The book is really a must read to people to who likes Greek history. Works Cited Golden, Mark. Sport and Society in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998

Nervous Conditions Themes Essay Example for Free

Nervous Conditions Themes Essay Tambu was born a girl and thus faces a fundamental disadvantage, since traditional African social practice dictates that the oldest male child is deemed the future head of the family. All of the family’s resources are poured into developing his abilities and preparing him to lead and provide for his clan. When Nhamo dies, the tragedy is all the more profound since no boy exists to take his place. Tambu steps into the role of future provider, yet she is saddled with the prejudices and limitations that shackled most African girls of her generation. Her fight for an education and a better life is compounded by her gender. Gender inequality and sexual discrimination form the backdrop of all of the female characters’ lives. In the novel, inequality is as infectious as disease, a crippling attitude that kills ambition, crushes women’s spirits, and discourages them from supporting and rallying future generations and other female relatives. The Influence of Colonialism The essential action of the novel involves Tambu’s experiences in a Western-style educational setting, and the mission school both provides and represents privileged opportunity and enlightenment. Despite Ma’Shingayi’s strong objections, Tambu knows the only hope she has of lifting her family out of poverty lies in education. However, the mission school poses threats, as well: Western institutions and systems of thought may cruelly and irreversibly alter native Africans who are subjected to them. Nyasha, who has seen firsthand the effect of being immersed in a foreign culture, grows suspicious of an unquestioning acceptance of colonialism’s benefits. She fears that the dominating culture may eventually stifle, limit, or eliminate the long-established native culture of Rhodesia—in other words, she fears that colonialism may force assimilation. The characters’ lives are already entrenched in a national identity that reflects a synthesis of African and colonialist elements. The characters’ struggle to confront and integrate the various social and political influences that shape their lives forms the backbone and central conflict of Nervous Conditions. Tradition vs. Progress Underpinning Nervous Conditions are conflicts between those characters who  endorse traditional ways and those who look to Western or so-called â€Å"modern† answers to problems they face. Dangarembga remains noncommittal in her portrayal of the divergent belief systems of Babamukuru and his brother Jeremiah, and she shows both men behaving rather irrationally. Jeremiah foolishly endorses a shaman’s ritual cleansing of the homestead, while Babamukuru’s belief in a Christian ceremony seems to be rooted in his rigid and unyielding confidence that he is always right. As Tambu becomes more fixed and established in her life at the mission school, she begins to embrace attitudes and beliefs different from those of her parents and her traditional upbringing. Nyasha, ever the voice of reasonable dissent, warns Tambu that a wholesale acceptance of supposedly progressive ideas represents a dangerous departure and too radical of a break with the past. Motifs Geography Physical spaces are at the heart of the tensions Tambu faces between life at the mission and the world of the homestead. At first, Tambu is isolated, relegated to toiling in the fields and tending to her brother’s whims during his infrequent visits. When she attends the local school, she must walk a long way to her daily lessons, but she undertakes the journey willingly in order to receive an education. When the family cannot pay her school fees, Mr. Matimba takes Tambu to the first city she has ever seen, where she sells green corn. Tambu’s increased awareness and knowledge of the world coincides with her growing physical distance from the homestead. The mission school is an important location in the novel, a bastion of possibility that becomes the centerpiece of Tambu’s world and the source of many of the changes she undergoes. At the end of Nervous Conditions, Tambu’s life has taken her even farther away from the homestead, to the convent school where she is without family or friends and must rely solely on herself. Emancipation Emancipation is a term that appears again and again in Nervous Conditions. Usually, the term is associated with being released from slavery or with a country finally freeing itself from the colonial power that once controlled it. These concepts figure into the broader scope of the novel, as Rhodesia’s citizens struggle to amass and assert their identity as a people while still under British control. When the term emancipation is applied to Tambu and the women in her extended family, it takes on newer and richer associations. Tambu sees her life as a gradual process of being freed of the limitations that have previously beset her. When she first leaves for the mission school, she sees the move as a temporary emancipation. Her growing knowledge and evolving perceptions are a form of emancipation from her old ways of thinking. By the end of the novel, emancipation becomes more than simply a release from poverty or restriction. Emancipation is equated with freedom and an assertion of personal liberty. Dual Perspectives Dual perspectives and multiple interpretations appear throughout Nervous Conditions. When Babamukuru finds Lucia a job cooking at the mission, Tambu is in awe of her uncle’s power and generosity, viewing it as a selfless act of kindness. Nyasha, however, believes there is nothing heroic in her father’s gesture and that in assisting his sister-in-law he is merely fulfilling his duty as the head of the family. In addition to often wildly differing interpretations of behavior, characters share an unstable and conflicting sense of self. For Tambu, her two worlds, the homestead and the mission, are often opposed, forcing her to divide her loyalties and complicating her sense of who she is. When she wishes to avoid attending her parents’ wedding, however, these dual selves offer her safety, protection, and an escape from the rigors of reality. As her uncle chides her, Tambu imagines another version of herself watching the scene safely from the foot of the bed. Symbols Tambu’s Garden Plot Tambu’s garden plot represents both tradition and escape from that tradition. On one hand, it is a direct link to her heritage, and the rich tradition has guided her people, representing the essential ability to live off the land. It is a direct connection to the legacy she inherits and the wisdom and skills that are passed down from generation to generation, and Tambu fondly remembers helping her grandmother work the garden. At the same time, the garden represents Tambu’s means of escape, since she hopes to pay her school fees and further her education by growing and selling vegetables. In this sense, the garden represents the hopes of the future and a break with the past. With a new form of wisdom acquired at the mission school and the power  and skills that come with it, Tambu will never have to toil and labor again. Her mother, however, must water the valuable and fertile garden patch despite being exhausted from a long day of work. The Mission For Tambu, the mission stands as a bright and shining beacon, the repository of all of her hopes and ambitions. It represents a portal to a new world and a turning away from the enslaving poverty that has marked Tambu’s past. The mission is an escape and an oasis, a whitewashed world where refinement and sophistication are the rule. It is also an exciting retreat for Tambu, where she is exposed to new ideas and new modes of thinking. The mission sets Tambu on the path to becoming the strong, articulate adult she is destined to become. The Ox In the family’s lengthy holiday celebration, the ox represents the opulence and status Babamukuru and his family have achieved. Meat, a rare commodity, is an infrequent treat for most families, and Tambu’s parents and the rest of the extended clan willingly partake of the ox. At the same time, they secretly resent such an ostentatious display of wealth, since the ox is a symbol of the great gulf that exists between the educated branch of the family and those who have been left behind to struggle. Maiguru closely regulates the consumption of the ox and parcels out the meat over the several days of the family’s gathering. Eventually the meat starts to go bad, and the other women chide Maiguru for her poor judgment and overly strict control of its distribution. At that point, the ox suggests Maiguru’s shortcomings and how, in the eyes of the others, her education and comfortable life have made her an ineffective provider.

The Syria Crisis: Overview and US Reactions

The Syria Crisis: Overview and US Reactions The Crisis in Syria In Syria, anti-government shows started in Spring of 2011, some portion of the Arab Spring. The quiet dissents immediately heightened after the administrations fierce crackdown, and furnished restriction bunches started battling back. By July, armed force turncoats had inexactly sorted out the Free Syrian Armed force and numerous nonmilitary personnel Syrians waged war to join the restriction. Divisions amongst common and religious warriors, and between ethnic gatherings, keep on complicating the legislative issues of the contention. Syrias considerate war has made the most noticeably awful helpful emergency of our time. A large portion of the nations pre-war populace, more than 11 million individuals, have been slaughtered or compelled to escape their homes. Families are attempting to make do inside Syria, or make another home in neighboring nations. Others are taking a chance with their lives while in transit to Europe, planning to discover acknowledgment and opportunity. Furthermo re, brutal winters and hot summers make life as a displaced person considerably more troublesome. Now and again, the impacts of the contention can appear to be overpowering. Be that as it may, one truth is basic: a huge number of Syrians need our offers of assistance. As per the U.N., $4.5 billion was required to meet the dire needs of the most defenseless Syrians in 2016, yet just $2.9 billion was gotten. Situation The current situation in Syria is one of the most exceedingly awful substance bombings in Syria transformed a northern revolt held region into a harmful kill zone on, instigating global shock over the always expanding government exemption appeared in the nations six-year war. Many individuals, including kids passed on, some writhing, stifling, panting or foaming at the mouth, in the wake of taking in toxic substance that conceivably contained a nerve specialist or other restricted chemicals, as per witnesses, specialists and save laborers. They said the lethal substance spread after warplanes dropped bombs in the early morning hours. Some protect laborers developed sick and crumpled from nearness to the dead. The resistance run Wellbeing Division in Idlib Area, where the assault occurred, said 69 individuals has died, giving a rundown of their names. The dead were all the while being distinguished, and some philanthropic gatherings said upwards of 100 had passed away. The administrat ion of Mr. Assad, who revoked compound weapons about four years back after a vast concoction assault that American knowledge offices finished up was done by his powers, denied that his military had been dependable, as he has done each time synthetic weapons have been utilized as a part of Syria. In the after effect of the chemical attack, President Trump said that the Assembled States had done a rocket strike in Syria in light of the Syrian governments synthetic weapons assault this week, which killed more than 80 civilian people. The Pentagon reported that 59 Tomahawk journey rockets had been let go at Al Shayrat landing strip in Syria. The rockets were gone for Syrian warrior planes, solidified flying machine covers, radar gear, ammo shelters, locales for putting away fuel and air safeguard frameworks. Analysis The scale of the ambush undermined to additionally subvert a regularly damaged truce that had grabbed hold in parts of the nation since Mr. Assads powers retook the northern city of Aleppo in December with Russian help, encouraging the Syrian pioneer to think he could win the war. The assault additionally appeared to probably hose peace talks that have been directed by the Unified Countries in Geneva and by Russia and Turkey in Astana, Kazakhstan. Incredulous over the substance attack, compassionate gatherings requested activity from the Assembled Countrys Security Committee, where fanatic partitions over who is at fault for the Syrian war have deadened its individuals practically since the contention started in 2011. On Tuesday night, England, France and the Unified States were driving the Security Chamber to embrace a determination that denounces the assault and requests the Syrian government to give all flight logs, flight arranges and names of authorities accountable for air oper ations, including those for Tuesday, to universal investigators. The draft determination, consulted among negotiators from the three nations on Tuesday, was later coursed to every one of the 15 individuals from the Gathering. It could come up for a vote as ahead of schedule as Wednesday. It has been a restricted voyage rocket strike focusing on one Syrian airbase, bringing about an up til now obscure number of losses. Many Tomahawks were propelled against a solitary Syrian administration landing strip. The choice to assault was an immediate response to the Syrian administrations gas assault that asserted 85 lives, including around two dozen kids. Pictures of the Syrians who choked to death appeared to stun President Trump. With the dead as yet being checked, White House squeeze secretary Sean Spicer said that the US would look rather senseless not recognizing the political substances that exist in Syria, where Assads hang on power has been getting more grounded by the day, in expansive part because of Russian military support. Trumps own underlying remarks concentrated more on his forerunners past treatment of Syria than on Assads conceivable part in the nations future. Trump said Assads terrible activities were an outcome of the past organizations shortcoming and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would set up a red line against the utilization of synthetic weapons and after that did nothing. When you slaughter blameless kids, honest children, babies, little infants, with a substance gas that is so deadly, individuals were stunned to hear what gas it was, that crosses numerous, many lines, past a red line. Numerous, many lines. Trumps choice to bomb the Assad administration as a result of its utilization of concoction weapons is new. This isnt the Trump of the current past. However, Trump styles himself an extreme person, one willing to go where his antecedent would not. Up until now, this implies sending US journey rockets into Syria. This isnt the America-first position of Trumps battle; its the begin of something new and strange, one that could possibly raise to a more extensive US war against Assad. This is an earth shattering minute for the Assembled States and Syria. Also, we have no clue, starting at right now, where it will lead. Work Cited Michael R. Gordon, Helene Cooper, Michael D. Shear, â€Å"Dozens of U.S. Missiles Hit Air Base in Syria† New York Times , April 6, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/world/middleeast/us-said-to-weigh-military-responses-to yrian-chemical-attack.htmlAnne Barnard, Michael R. Gordon, â€Å"Worst Chemical Attack in Years in Syria; U.S. Blames Assad,† New York Times, April 4, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/middleeast/syria-gas-attack.htmlKaram Shoumali, Ben Hubbard, â€Å" U.S. Strikes on Syria Brings Fleeting Hope to Those Caught in Brutal Conflict† New York Times, April 8, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/08/world/middleeast/us-strike-on-syria-brings-fleeting-hope-to-those-caught-in-brutal-conflict.htmlNeil MacFarquhar, â€Å" U.S. Attack on Syria Cements Kremlin’s Embrace of Assad† New York Times, April 8, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/08/world/europe/us-attack-on-syria-cements-kremlins-embrace-of-assad.htmlMichael R. Gordon, â€Å" With Strike Aimed at Halting More Gas Attacks, U.S. Tries to Send Syrians Message† New York Times, April 7, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/middleeast/american-military-pentagon.htmlMercy Corps,† What You Need To Know About The Syria Crisis†, March 9, 2017 https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisisZack Beauchamp, Yochi Dreaxen, â€Å"The United States has officially attacked Syria† Vox, April 6, 2017 http://www.vox.com/world/2017/4/6/15214758/us-syria-assad-bomb-cruise-missileKareem Khadder, Schams Elwazer, Elizabeth Roberts, Eyad Kourdi, Tamara Qiblawi, â€Å"Suspected gas attack in Syria reportedly kills dozens† CNN, April 7, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/middleeast/idlib-syria-attack/Helene Cooper, â€Å"After Chemical Attack, asking if U.S. Remarks Emboldened Assad† Times New Times, April 7, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/politics/bashar-al-assad-syria-chemical-attack.htmlRichard Perez-Pena, Jess Bidgood, â€Å"Syrian Refugees Laud U.S. Strike and, in ‘New Emotion,’ Trump† Times New Roman, April 7, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/syria-refugees-trump.html

Arrested Development :: essays research papers

Default individualization is a path which someone can follow by accepting personally bounding identities which are socially accepted. Basically each person accepting the same identity of that of the person right next to them. By not being their own individual, these identities may possibly delay growth into adulthood. Things in life happen by default for these people, whatever happens just happens, and it is not planned out or thought of to any extent. This individualization does not stimulate growth as a person, because one can just look onto others (whose are actions, choices, and behaviors are socially accepted) to choose their life choices. Or someone can choose a path of developmental individualization. They can easily have their own personal identity apart and different from any others. People can actively have a well thought out plan to change your life for the better and to maintain this plan for life improvement in the adult world As times have changed, so has our culture. Our country tends to veer children towards one particular individualization over another. It seems developmental individualization is more common. People have expectations by society which they must fulfill, and are expected to do so at particular times in their lives, as said by Tamara Haraven who argues the importance of â€Å"†¦ the timing of transitions, with those to adulthood becoming more uniform and orderly.† People are expected in life to go to school, work, get married, start a family, all these things are expected to be done at a certain time in their life. People may not want to do all this in this order and whatever point in their life, but they do because they are expected to do so. This is all supposed to happen developmentally. People are molded by society, actively making decisions and trying to be ahead of life’s obstacles. This is occurring in not only America but as well as in Europe, as Wallace observe s how instead of becoming their own individual people, people â€Å"choose identities from among and increasingly complex array of options†. Sven Morch makes similar observations, on youths who must ‘master’ their adolescence ‘ways’ in order to become successful adults, showing the importance of structure to their culture. Life must be followed in a particular sequence according to ‘contemporary capitalism’ in order to succeed in life. With a million and one people trying to get the same task done, people do things because they have to, not because they want to.

Mother Daughter Relationships - Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tans Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Understanding the Mothers and Daughters of The Joy Luck Club  Ã‚   Amy Tan's novel, The Joy Luck Club explores a variety of mother-daughter relationships between the characters, and at some level, relationships between friends, lovers, and even enemies.   The mother-daughter relationships are most likely the different aspects of Amy Tan's relationship with her mother, and perhaps, some parts are entirely figments of her imagination.   Therefore, Amy Tan believes that ramification of cultures and tradition between a family can be burdensome and cause the family tree to fall apart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning of the novel, we hear Suyuan Woo tell the story of "The Joy Luck Club," a group started by some Chinese women during World War II.   June explains while remembering the memories of her mother, " 'We feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories...we could hope to be lucky.   That hope was our only joy,' " (12).   The mothers grew up during perilous times in China.   They were raised to never forget an important outlook of their life, which was, "to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat [their] own bitterness" (241).   For many years, the mother did not tell their daughters their stories until they were sure that their fractious offspring would listen.   By then, it is almost too late to make them understand their heritage that their mother left behind in China.   It seems that their family's legacy cannot seize their imaginations after years, decades, and ce nturies of blissfulness and sorrow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through the eyes of the daughters, we can also see the continuation of the mother's stories, how they learned to cope in America.   With this, Amy Tan touches on an obscure, little discussed issue, which is the divergence of Chinese culture through American children born of Chinese immigrant parents.   The Chinese-American daughters try their best to become "Americanized," at the same time, casting off their heritage while their mothers watch in dismay.   For example, after the piano talent show fiasco, a quarrel breaks out between June and Suyuan.   June does not have the blind obedience "to desire nothing...to eat [her] own bitterness."   She says to herself, " 'I didn't have to do what my mother said anymore.   I wasn't her slave.   This wasn't China' " (152).   Unbeknownst to June, Suyuan only hopes and wants the best for her daughter.   She explains, " 'Only one kind of daughter can live in this house.

Regulation and Accreditation Essay -- Health Care, Nursing

Regulatory and accreditation agencies have participated in the nursing community for several years. Regulation in healthcare started as a registry process to protect patients and healthcare givers. Currently, regulation serves the purpose of protecting patients. It also helps in defining healthcare practices and nursing education. In order to understand the function of regulatory and accrediting agencies and practices one must understand their definitions (McWay, 2003). A regulatory agency has the responsibility of creating and enforcing rules or regulations of the law. Accreditation is a voluntary and self-regulatory process that non-governmental associations recognize programs put in place to meet or extend standards of quality healthcare. Accreditation also helps in the improvements of institutions or programs related to the use of resources, application of processes and achievement of results (Lundy & Janes, 2009). There are several regulatory and accreditation standards that exist in the case study. First, preventable measures have been used as a regulatory standard. For instance, professionals have increased malpractice lawsuits after falls. Patients and their families institute these lawsuits to suggest that better care would have prevented the fall and injuries. Malpractice suits serve as a preventive measure. They are used to prevent many patient falls from occurring. The jury awards for the perceived unnecessary complications. The methodological explanation of malpractice suits is that fall prevention is a nursing assessment issue (Miller, 2006). Secondly, healthcare organizations have developed preventive measures used for the prevention of patient falls. For example, healthcare agencies now collect data and use th... ... safety interventions. Therefore, no agency can successfully adopt potential improvements without cost-effectiveness. This calls for applying cost-effective changes before applying regulatory and accreditation standards. In conclusion, this case study shows that regulatory and accreditation standards exist. There are strategies that help in meeting these standards. However, the strategies do not function adequately to ensure that the standards are met because of several gaps that exist in practice. Therefore, regulatory and accreditation agencies should work closely with hospitals and other healthcare agencies, to close those gaps and develop a cost effective and appropriate way of meeting regulatory and accreditation standards. This will help healthcare agencies to provide adequate safety and care, for patients (Folland, Goodman, & Stano, 2007).

Physchological Effects of Alcholism

The Psychological Effects of Alcoholism There are many people who live a life that is painful and which they want to escape from. Due to this people will often turn to alcohol and abuse the privilege. When people think of the effects of alcohol, they think about the physical effects it has on the body. What is discussed less frequently, but in some cases equally damaging, is the effect alcohol takes on the mind. Alcoholism will take you on a one way road to failure, which leads to losing a career, family, and most importantly one’s self. Initially, alcohol will increase a person’s confidence. At social gatherings, a person will initiate more conversations, tell funny jokes and feel a sense of acceptance. Unfortunately this is all in their mind; what’s funny to them might really be rude and obnoxious to a sober person. An intoxicated person won’t see how their acting because the alcohol triggers the short release of dopamine. Consequently, the brain will rely on the alcohol to release dopamine for feelings of pleasure and happiness. After continued use of alcohol a person will more often make poor judgment. During their impaired state under the influence, they are likely to lie to people they care about, steal or engage in other destructive mental behavior. While intoxicated, your mind will trick you into believing that your actions are not that bad, leading to a carefree attitude. As a result, a person will have to pay the consequences in jail, the hospital or in a grave. Another downside of an alcoholic is the increased aggression. Violent, aggressive behavior is common among male and sometimes females. The loss of inhibitions, along with the destruction of brain cells caused by drinking can create abusive behavior in alcoholics. As a result, spousal abuse and street fighting are often triggered. There are more shelters opening up for women who are victims of spousal abuse. Often times the abuser will only strike their loved one when intoxicated. Most importantly, alcoholism affects your family and loved ones; the alcoholic is not the only one that gets emotionally scared. An alcoholic doesn’t realize the hurtful words they say, stay in the minds of their children and family. A child’s mind absorbs every detail and growing up in a verbally abusive environment can stunt their development. They have a good chance of growing up with learning and anger management issues.

Public Display of the Ten Commandments Essay

People often find memorization exhausting and more like tiresome. All those numerous words and lines to remember tend to tire and bore most of them. Moreover, most of the time, they tend to memorize just for the heck of it and not for the benefit of understanding and knowledge. The Ten Commandments are some of the most popular lines that Christians should memorize and know by heart. These lines have long served as Christians’ guiding passages and words towards the path to righteousness and morality. However, considering the generation today—when more and more people detest the idea of memorizing and reading very thick pages—will the Ten Commandments still possess their utmost effect? Will they be able to serve their purpose of guiding the people towards goodness when not all Christians nowadays are able to memorize them? In what ways can the Christian Church assure that people are still living up to the message presented by the Ten Commandments? These are just some of the uncertainties on the effectiveness of the Holy Bible in reminding people about the Ten Commandments. Is Reading Enough? Today, as the developments in the information technologies continue to rise, the usual activities like conversing, sending messages, and even reading can be done through the use of a computer and an internet connection. Considering this reality, doubts on whether people nowadays are still grasping the idea of the Ten Commandments by reading the Bible may arise. However, this can be possible if there are numerous electronic copies of the Holy Bible available for people to access anywhere, and such copies have plenty of attractive visual designs, as humans are inherently visual beings (Pahlavan 270). Human’s visual system is supported by other sensory organs which empower and strengthen its sensitivity to stimuli. Putting these facts in simpler terms, a person is said to have a natural tendency to prefer things which are more attractive to the sense of sight above other senses. Hence, it may be understandable why people tend to read more colorful and visually attractive materials compared to the intimidating and profound words of the Holy Bible. Knowing this, it can be inferred that putting a Bible beside a person who has the access to the internet and all its wonders would assure that that person would read it and understand what it says. Furthermore, people can no longer expect most children to prioritize the memorization of the Ten Commandments when they have all those tough and demanding homework and projects to do. Thus, is the Christian Church still assured that people read The Bible and the Ten Commandments everyday? If not, then how can the Ten Commandments be further promoted? Appealing to Human’s Visual Preference At present, the huge banners, billboards, posters, and different visual advertisements are typical scenery along roads, malls, and literally almost everywhere. Various creative, artistic, and innovative ways are now used just to disseminate information better. Nowadays, these methods are typically through very visual advertisements. The message of the Holy Bible, specifically the Ten Commandments, is considered as the most important and relevant teaching of the Christian faith. Compared to the public service announcements of the government, malls’ sales promotion, introduction of a new brand of soda, and all the other popular topics of ads today, it seems that the promotion of the Ten Commandments and all the other relevant messages of the Holy Bible has become a little unmerited. It is ironic that these messages are what appears to be the most significant and relevant messages for the people, yet why are there more ads for sodas, clothing lines, celebrities, and TV shows as compared to these important reminders? Also, if the Ten Commandments appear to be the greatest instructions and guidelines the people must comply with, why are there simpler and shorter road signs and traffic rules displayed compared to these profound yet very important words to follow and live by? This seems to be the greatest irony in today’s advertisements and visual display practices. The significance of the Ten Commandments has been an eternal and undying idea among Christians. People exactly know that the Ten Commandments are the written key for salvation and freedom for sin, yet these commandments are still left unadvertised and unannounced compared to how the big ad agencies promote different products which do not actually level to the significance of the Ten Commandments in people’s everyday lives. Looking at this truth, it may seem disturbing and appalling how people value information that modern advertisements promote while they leave the message of the Ten Commandments unnoticed or disregarded. It also seems depressing, considering how the attitude of people towards these commandments has changed over the generations. This change in attitude and interest might have been caused by the technological advancements that the intelligent and creative minds of people themselves have created. Thus, it may appear necessary for the advocates of the Holy Bible and the Ten Commandments to go and ride with the growing technology in order to assure that people are not forgetting the Ten Commandments. With this effort, it can also be assured that people will always be reminded about these commandments and what they really mean. The display of the Ten Commandments can be most typically seen in churches. People seldom see these messages displayed in billboards or in freedom walls and posters. However, knowing the importance of these commandments in the lives of people, will it be improper to publicly display this message, or is it more appropriate to leave these messages in the pages of the Bible, hence leaving the choice to people whether they will choose to read it or not. Considering the abovementioned claims about human beings as visual creatures, and about the growth of very powerful advertising techniques, it may indeed be necessary for the Ten Commandments to appeal to the human sense of sight in order to keep up with the powerful advertisements people see nowadays. There could be several ways on how this special message can be promoted in order not to violate other beliefs and culture. What matters most is to send the message and assure that Christians will always remember its significance wherever they go. A variety of learning theories attest that remembering does not usually happen in the blink of an eye. In reality, it actually takes most people a certain period of time to remember something and fully understand its meaning. Memorizing and remembering the Ten Commandment are not an easy task as well. It is not also everyday that a teacher asks their students to memorize the Ten Commandments. Thus, people are not really sure as to whether the Ten Commandments are still remembered and observed nowadays. With this, it only goes to show that proper endorsement, exposure, and promotion are what these commandments really need. If public displays make a brand of soda very popular worldwide, how much more help it could do if a list of simple messages would be displayed to remind the people about moral stability and righteousness of the world? If powerful advertisements can make a politician and a celebrity known globally, how much more can it remind people about God who should be the most influential and the most popular idol above anyone else? This is not a major impossibility; people are just being hesitant to make it happen. The Bottom Line The Ten Commandments, in reality, may not be the most popular set of phrases and commands there are for people to remember. Yet, these commandments must be the most popular and the most significant set of messages that people should remember to live by everyday. While most people nowadays tend to overlook and disregard the Ten Commandments, people can never deny or refute the fact that the commandments are the simplest and the most fundamental set of laws that Christians must follow each day of their lives in order to preserve their moral stability and their positive and open connection to the Lord. The Ten Commandments are even considered as the fence which, when broken, may let a sheep out in an open field without any direction and sense of security (Frederick 1). It does not actually take a Bible genius to understand and fully grasp the message of the Ten Commandments; what someone needs is a person who is ready and willing to embrace what the Ten Commandments say in order to understand it fully. Perhaps, having these commandments displayed publicly may not violate God’s will, for it might even give Him great help in disseminating the good news. If people are able to remember the many traffic rules there are on the roads. It may not be that hard to remember these simple commandments. If people are able to internalize popular phrases and quotes from politicians, it may not be that impossible as well for them to grasp what God is trying to teach people through the Ten Commandments. People are not always reminded everyday about the importance of the Ten Commandments and how these commandments should be lived out as well. Thus, displaying these special messages for public view may appear not just as a reminder but as an eternal and unchanging message as well of how the Lord wants His people to be always righteous and be on the right track. Works Cited Frederick, Allen. â€Å"Do the Ten Commandments Matter? †. Helium. com. 13 March 2009 . Pahlavan, Kourosh. â€Å"Designing an Anthropomorphic Head-Eye System. † Visual Attention and Cognition. Eds. C. Freska, H. S. Stiehl, and W. H. Zangemeister. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science, 1996. 269-292.

Utalitarian Principle in Charles Dickens Hard Times

INTRODUCTION Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Utilitarianism dominated as the form of government in England's Victorian age of eighteenth century. Utilitarianism, as rightly claimed by Dickens, robbed the people of their individuality and joy; deprived the children of their special period of their lives, ‘Childhood' and deprived women of their inherent right of equality.The theme of utilitarianism, along with industrialization and education is explored by Charles Dickens, in his novel  Hard Times.. Hard Times written in those times intended to explore its negativisms. Utilitarianism as a government was propounded as a value of system which evaluated its productivity by its overall utility. It substantiated the idea of â€Å"highest level of happiness for the highest numbers of people†. Since the overall happiness of the nation depend ed open the overall productivity, industrialism became the walk of everyday life.Moreover, since Utilitarianism assumes that what is good for majority is good for everyone, individual preferences are ignored. The majority answers are always right. Minorities are subjugated and oppressed, instead of being asked for their opinions. Their feelings are ignored and society becomes increasingly practical, and driven by economics. The theory fails to acknowledge any individual rights that could not be violated for the sake of the greater good. Hard Times  was in fact an attack on the Manchester School of economics, which supported  laissez-faire  and promoted a distorted view of Bentham’s ethics.The novel has been criticised for not offering specific remedies for the Condition-of-England problems it addresses. It is debatable whether solutions to social problems are to be sought in fiction, but nevertheless, Dickens’s novel anticipated the future debates concerning anti -pollution legislation, intelligent town-planning, health and safety measures in factories and a humane education system. The school teachers are compared to a gun loaded to its muzzle by facts ready to be exploded to the children. The children in schools don't have names and are called by numbers.There is no room for imaginative answers. When the teacher asks to answer what ‘horse' is, a student named Bitzer gives a factual answer, â€Å"quadruped† having this-many teeth etc, but by no means the ‘qualities' of the horse is exemplified and considered. The influence of utilitarianism is shown particularly by two characters in the novel, Gradgrind and Bounderby. Both are money-oriented, have materialistic outlook and give importance to ‘facts'. eople in insane productivity. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times The first; Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketo wn. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind.Thomas Gradgrind Sr. , a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and  never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. . Thomas Gradgrind in particular always gives importance to facts and raises his children to be hard, machine-like and epitomes of facts and they lack any emotions. Even while justifying Louisa's marriage to ‘old' Bounderby, he does so by some mathematical calculations and logic.. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children.They did not consider, however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these.Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to thin k for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive.Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father’s strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby’s bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school.Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind’s educational theory has backfired in his face. I thin k Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father.She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is ‘right’, and now even her father is stumped.For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses.Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as â€Å"Hands,† because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for â€Å"venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon,† while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work.H e is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby’s house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them.It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate.Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries.The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh.Dickens portrays them as a step up from the â€Å"Hands† but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her.Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with â€Å"normal† people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences.Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived.Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study o f cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus. .  . The working and living conditions were often atrocious. Working days were long, and wages low, as employers often exploited their workers and increased their profits by lowering the cost of production by paying meagre wages and neglecting pollution control. Safety measures were often ignored and workers were put out of jobs by the introduction of machines that created a surplus of labour.The rate of accidents was very high. A handicapped worker was doomed to extreme poverty, as there were no social security or insurance payments. The New Poor Law of 1834 was based on the â€Å"principle of less eligibility,† which stipulated that the condition of the â€Å"able-bodied pauper† on relief (it did not apply to the sick, aged, or children) be less â€Å"eligible†that is, less desirable, less favorable than the condition of the independent laborer. This reasoning was absolutely correct from the scientific and the Utilitarian point of view, but it rejected any emotional considerations.There was no consciousness of class beyond a recognition that the ‘masters' constituted a different order of society into which they would never penetrate. Their aspirations were modest: to be respected by their fellows ;to see their families growing up and making their way in the world, and to die without debt and without sin. Trade unions did appear to introduce and protect workers rights, but in the initial stages of industrialisation, the workers were not protected. Purely theoretically, it can be proven that Utilitarianism poses a threat to humanity.For example, if one person must suffer to make other people happy, then in the Utilitarian terms it is acceptable to make that person suffer. One of the Hands in Bounderby’s factory, Stephen lives a life of drudgery and poverty. In spite of the hardships of his daily toil, Stephen strives to maintain his honesty, integrity, faith, and compassion. Stephen is an important character not only because his poverty and virtue contrast with Bounderby’s wealth and self-interest, but also because he finds himself in the midst of a labor dispute that illustrates the strained relations between rich and poor.Stephen is the only Hand who refuses to join a workers’ union: he believes that striking is not the best way to improve relations between factory owners and employees, and he also wants to earn an honest living. As a result, he is cast out of the workers’ group. However, he also refuses to spy on his fellow workers for Bounderby, who consequently sends him away. Both groups, rich an d poor, respond in the same self-interested, backstabbing way.As Rachael explains, Stephen ends up with the â€Å"masters against him on one hand, the men against him on the other, he only wantin’ to work hard in peace, and do what he felt right. † Through Stephen, Dickens suggests that industrialization threatens to compromise both the employee’s and employer’s moral integrity, thereby creating a social muddle to which there is no easy solution. Through his efforts to resist the moral corruption on all sides, Stephen becomes a martyr, or Christ figure, ultimately dying for Tom’s crime.When he falls into a mine shaft on his way back to Coketown to clear his name of the charge of robbing Bounderby’s bank, Stephen comforts himself by gazing at a particularly bright star that seems to shine on him in his â€Å"pain and trouble. † This star not only represents the ideals of virtue for which Stephen strives, but also the happiness and tran quility that is lacking in his troubled life. Moreover, his ability to find comfort in the star illustrates the importance of imagination, which enables him to escape the cold, hard facts of his miserable existence.In  Hard Times  human relationships are contaminated by economics. The principles of the ‘dismal science’ led to the formation of a selfish and atomistic society. The social commentary of  Hard Times  is quite clear. Dickens is concerned with the conditions of the urban labourers and the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism. He exposes the exploitation of the working class by unfeeling industrialists and the damaging consequences of propagating factual knowledge (statistics) at the expense of feeling and imagination.However, although Dickens is critical about Utilitarianism, he cannot find a better way of safeguarding social justice than through ethical means. â€Å"In place of Utilitarianism, Dickens can offer only good-heartedness, individual chari ty, and Sleary’s horse-riding; like other writers on the Condition of England Question, he was better equipped to examine the symptoms of the disease than to suggest a possible cure† (Wheeler, 81). Hard Times  proves that fancy is essential for human happiness, and in this aspect it is one of the best morally uplifting novels.Dickens avoided propagating employer paternalism in the manner of Disraeli, Charlotte Bronte and Gaskell, and strongly opposed commodification of labour in Victorian England. As John R. Harrison has pointed out: The target of Dickens’s criticism, however, was not Bentham’s Utilitarianism, nor Malthusian theories of population, nor Smith’s free-market economics, but the crude utilitarianism derived from such ideas by Benthamite Philosophical Radicals, which tended to dominate social, political, and economic thinking and policy at the time the novel was written.The Gradgrind/Bounderby philosophy is that the Coketown â€Å" Han ds† are commodities, â€Å" something† to be worked so much and paid so much, to be â€Å"infallibly settled† by â€Å"laws of supply and demand,† something that increased in number by a certain â€Å" rate of percentage† with accompanying percentages of crime and pauperism; in fact, â€Å"something wholesale, of which vast fortunes were made. † REFERENCES * All references to Bentham's  Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation  will be to the section of it republished in Burr and Goldinger's  Philosophy and Contemporary Issues.New York: Macmillan,1992. p. 225-232. * Dimwiddy, John. Bentham. Oxford  and  New York:  Oxford  UP, 1989. * Mitchell,Sally,ed. Victorian  Britain: An Encyclopedia. New York  and  London:  GarlandPublishing,1988. * Cazamian, Louis. The Social Novel in  England  1830-1850. London  and  Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. * Woodward, Sir Llewellyn. The Age of Reform 1815- 1870. The  Oxford  history of  England. Oxford:  Oxford  UP, 1962. Utalitarian Principle in Charles Dickens Hard Times INTRODUCTION Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Utilitarianism dominated as the form of government in England's Victorian age of eighteenth century. Utilitarianism, as rightly claimed by Dickens, robbed the people of their individuality and joy; deprived the children of their special period of their lives, ‘Childhood' and deprived women of their inherent right of equality.The theme of utilitarianism, along with industrialization and education is explored by Charles Dickens, in his novel  Hard Times.. Hard Times written in those times intended to explore its negativisms. Utilitarianism as a government was propounded as a value of system which evaluated its productivity by its overall utility. It substantiated the idea of â€Å"highest level of happiness for the highest numbers of people†. Since the overall happiness of the nation depend ed open the overall productivity, industrialism became the walk of everyday life.Moreover, since Utilitarianism assumes that what is good for majority is good for everyone, individual preferences are ignored. The majority answers are always right. Minorities are subjugated and oppressed, instead of being asked for their opinions. Their feelings are ignored and society becomes increasingly practical, and driven by economics. The theory fails to acknowledge any individual rights that could not be violated for the sake of the greater good. Hard Times  was in fact an attack on the Manchester School of economics, which supported  laissez-faire  and promoted a distorted view of Bentham’s ethics.The novel has been criticised for not offering specific remedies for the Condition-of-England problems it addresses. It is debatable whether solutions to social problems are to be sought in fiction, but nevertheless, Dickens’s novel anticipated the future debates concerning anti -pollution legislation, intelligent town-planning, health and safety measures in factories and a humane education system. The school teachers are compared to a gun loaded to its muzzle by facts ready to be exploded to the children. The children in schools don't have names and are called by numbers.There is no room for imaginative answers. When the teacher asks to answer what ‘horse' is, a student named Bitzer gives a factual answer, â€Å"quadruped† having this-many teeth etc, but by no means the ‘qualities' of the horse is exemplified and considered. The influence of utilitarianism is shown particularly by two characters in the novel, Gradgrind and Bounderby. Both are money-oriented, have materialistic outlook and give importance to ‘facts'. eople in insane productivity. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times The first; Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketo wn. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind.Thomas Gradgrind Sr. , a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and  never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. . Thomas Gradgrind in particular always gives importance to facts and raises his children to be hard, machine-like and epitomes of facts and they lack any emotions. Even while justifying Louisa's marriage to ‘old' Bounderby, he does so by some mathematical calculations and logic.. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children.They did not consider, however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these.Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to thin k for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive.Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father’s strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby’s bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school.Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind’s educational theory has backfired in his face. I thin k Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father.She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is ‘right’, and now even her father is stumped.For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses.Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as â€Å"Hands,† because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for â€Å"venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon,† while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work.H e is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby’s house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them.It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate.Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries.The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh.Dickens portrays them as a step up from the â€Å"Hands† but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her.Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with â€Å"normal† people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences.Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived.Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study o f cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr.Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus. .  . The working and living conditions were often atrocious. Working days were long, and wages low, as employers often exploited their workers and increased their profits by lowering the cost of production by paying meagre wages and neglecting pollution control. Safety measures were often ignored and workers were put out of jobs by the introduction of machines that created a surplus of labour.The rate of accidents was very high. A handicapped worker was doomed to extreme poverty, as there were no social security or insurance payments. The New Poor Law of 1834 was based on the â€Å"principle of less eligibility,† which stipulated that the condition of the â€Å"able-bodied pauper† on relief (it did not apply to the sick, aged, or children) be less â€Å"eligible†that is, less desirable, less favorable than the condition of the independent laborer. This reasoning was absolutely correct from the scientific and the Utilitarian point of view, but it rejected any emotional considerations.There was no consciousness of class beyond a recognition that the ‘masters' constituted a different order of society into which they would never penetrate. Their aspirations were modest: to be respected by their fellows ;to see their families growing up and making their way in the world, and to die without debt and without sin. Trade unions did appear to introduce and protect workers rights, but in the initial stages of industrialisation, the workers were not protected. Purely theoretically, it can be proven that Utilitarianism poses a threat to humanity.For example, if one person must suffer to make other people happy, then in the Utilitarian terms it is acceptable to make that person suffer. One of the Hands in Bounderby’s factory, Stephen lives a life of drudgery and poverty. In spite of the hardships of his daily toil, Stephen strives to maintain his honesty, integrity, faith, and compassion. Stephen is an important character not only because his poverty and virtue contrast with Bounderby’s wealth and self-interest, but also because he finds himself in the midst of a labor dispute that illustrates the strained relations between rich and poor.Stephen is the only Hand who refuses to join a workers’ union: he believes that striking is not the best way to improve relations between factory owners and employees, and he also wants to earn an honest living. As a result, he is cast out of the workers’ group. However, he also refuses to spy on his fellow workers for Bounderby, who consequently sends him away. Both groups, rich an d poor, respond in the same self-interested, backstabbing way.As Rachael explains, Stephen ends up with the â€Å"masters against him on one hand, the men against him on the other, he only wantin’ to work hard in peace, and do what he felt right. † Through Stephen, Dickens suggests that industrialization threatens to compromise both the employee’s and employer’s moral integrity, thereby creating a social muddle to which there is no easy solution. Through his efforts to resist the moral corruption on all sides, Stephen becomes a martyr, or Christ figure, ultimately dying for Tom’s crime.When he falls into a mine shaft on his way back to Coketown to clear his name of the charge of robbing Bounderby’s bank, Stephen comforts himself by gazing at a particularly bright star that seems to shine on him in his â€Å"pain and trouble. † This star not only represents the ideals of virtue for which Stephen strives, but also the happiness and tran quility that is lacking in his troubled life. Moreover, his ability to find comfort in the star illustrates the importance of imagination, which enables him to escape the cold, hard facts of his miserable existence.In  Hard Times  human relationships are contaminated by economics. The principles of the ‘dismal science’ led to the formation of a selfish and atomistic society. The social commentary of  Hard Times  is quite clear. Dickens is concerned with the conditions of the urban labourers and the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism. He exposes the exploitation of the working class by unfeeling industrialists and the damaging consequences of propagating factual knowledge (statistics) at the expense of feeling and imagination.However, although Dickens is critical about Utilitarianism, he cannot find a better way of safeguarding social justice than through ethical means. â€Å"In place of Utilitarianism, Dickens can offer only good-heartedness, individual chari ty, and Sleary’s horse-riding; like other writers on the Condition of England Question, he was better equipped to examine the symptoms of the disease than to suggest a possible cure† (Wheeler, 81). Hard Times  proves that fancy is essential for human happiness, and in this aspect it is one of the best morally uplifting novels.Dickens avoided propagating employer paternalism in the manner of Disraeli, Charlotte Bronte and Gaskell, and strongly opposed commodification of labour in Victorian England. As John R. Harrison has pointed out: The target of Dickens’s criticism, however, was not Bentham’s Utilitarianism, nor Malthusian theories of population, nor Smith’s free-market economics, but the crude utilitarianism derived from such ideas by Benthamite Philosophical Radicals, which tended to dominate social, political, and economic thinking and policy at the time the novel was written.The Gradgrind/Bounderby philosophy is that the Coketown â€Å" Han ds† are commodities, â€Å" something† to be worked so much and paid so much, to be â€Å"infallibly settled† by â€Å"laws of supply and demand,† something that increased in number by a certain â€Å" rate of percentage† with accompanying percentages of crime and pauperism; in fact, â€Å"something wholesale, of which vast fortunes were made. † REFERENCES * All references to Bentham's  Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation  will be to the section of it republished in Burr and Goldinger's  Philosophy and Contemporary Issues.New York: Macmillan,1992. p. 225-232. * Dimwiddy, John. Bentham. Oxford  and  New York:  Oxford  UP, 1989. * Mitchell,Sally,ed. Victorian  Britain: An Encyclopedia. New York  and  London:  GarlandPublishing,1988. * Cazamian, Louis. The Social Novel in  England  1830-1850. London  and  Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. * Woodward, Sir Llewellyn. The Age of Reform 1815- 1870. The  Oxford  history of  England. Oxford:  Oxford  UP, 1962.