Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures

we use, that we think in a scientific way.†(H. W. Fowler 1858-1933) If we think in a scientifically appropriate way, we know that urban myths should have no relevance. The reasons why people think these ideas are appropriate are mind boggling. Superstition’s are one thing because they are not conclusive in being correct or incorrect. Being superstitious is so common, it is considered normal to have those beliefs. Unlike superstitions, urban myths can be sound in their validity. Often they are invalid, but at least they can be tested. Maybe superstitions are for the best. They give us constant hope and can lighten our spirits if our superstitious wishes come true. The common urban myth that almost everyone knows about is the pop-rock and soda myth. The myth is that if you eat pop-rocks and drink soda, your stomach will explode. People have tried, and that idea is now considered ludicrous. Thinking that two FDA approved food items together will cause you to explode is idiotic. Non-food items that make you explode are another story. Eating fire while drinking gasoline, probably not a good idea. Wanat 2 Speaking of fire, spontaneous human combustion. What’s the deal with that? Some say that it is possible to just burst into flames out of nowhere and burn to ashes. Scientists say, if you actually catch on fire your clothes will act like a candle wick and the fat in your body like the wax from that candle. You can actually burn down to ash. Southampton University professor Dr. Mike Green calls this the â€Å"wick effect.† The spontaneous part is the fallible aspect. Every known case where spontaneous human combustion was thought to play a role has been thrown out due to the fact that there was either a carelessly placed candle, match, or cigarette that was the original ignition of the fire.(Milton) Want another fire myth? Well, you’re ... Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures â€Å".† â€Å"We live in a scientific age, and like to show, by the words we use, that we think in a scientific way.†(H. W. Fowler 1858-1933) If we think in a scientifically appropriate way, we know that urban myths should have no relevance. The reasons why people think these ideas are appropriate are mind boggling. Superstition’s are one thing because they are not conclusive in being correct or incorrect. Being superstitious is so common, it is considered normal to have those beliefs. Unlike superstitions, urban myths can be sound in their validity. Often they are invalid, but at least they can be tested. Maybe superstitions are for the best. They give us constant hope and can lighten our spirits if our superstitious wishes come true. The common urban myth that almost everyone knows about is the pop-rock and soda myth. The myth is that if you eat pop-rocks and drink soda, your stomach will explode. People have tried, and that idea is now considered ludicrous. Thinking that two FDA approved food items together will cause you to explode is idiotic. Non-food items that make you explode are another story. Eating fire while drinking gasoline, probably not a good idea. Wanat 2 Speaking of fire, spontaneous human combustion. What’s the deal with that? Some say that it is possible to just burst into flames out of nowhere and burn to ashes. Scientists say, if you actually catch on fire your clothes will act like a candle wick and the fat in your body like the wax from that candle. You can actually burn down to ash. Southampton University professor Dr. Mike Green calls this the â€Å"wick effect.† The spontaneous part is the fallible aspect. Every known case where spontaneous human combustion was thought to play a role has been thrown out due to the fact that there was either a carelessly placed candle, match, or cigarette that was the original ignition of the fire.(Milton) Want another fire myth? Well, you’re ...

Species and Its Descendants

Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants By Mark Nichol An assortment of diverse words stem from the Latin word species, which had two distinct meanings, one of which is â€Å"a particular kind, sort, or type†- the pertinent sense for the following terms. special: This word, coming into English from Old French, originally meant â€Å"better than ordinary† but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"marked by a distinguishing quality† and â€Å"limited in function, operation, or purpose†; the noun specialist carries the latter connotation in describing someone with a narrow set of skills. The variant especial, taken from an Old French term meaning â€Å"important† or â€Å"preeminent†- treated in Modern French as spà ©cial- originally had the same meaning as special but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"particular† and â€Å"peculiar,† as well as â€Å"intimate.† The adverbial form, especially, is now much more common than the adjectival form. specie: This technical term for coins, as opposed to paper currency, stems from the phrase â€Å"in specie,† meaning â€Å"in the actual or real form,† which in turn derives from an identical-looking phrase in Latin that means â€Å"in kind.† (The notion is that coins actually have monetary value, whereas paper currency merely represents such value.) species: Species denotes a distinct type of life-form, but this biological sense was preceded by multiple now-rare connotations such as â€Å"appearance,† â€Å"notion,† and â€Å"resemblance.† Originally, it was associated with a classification in logic. specific: This word, meaning â€Å"particular,† â€Å"precise,† or â€Å"special,† is an antonym of generic, just as, in biology, a species is more, well, specific than a genus. (Like species and specific, genus and generic are related.) specious: This term has undergone the most deviation from its original sense, which is â€Å"fair† or â€Å"pleasing.† (It stems indirectly from the Latin word species by way of speciosus, which means â€Å"good-looking† or â€Å"beautiful.†) Now, it pertains to superficial attractiveness or false validity or value. spice: This unexpected descendant of special, which denotes plant products used to season foods, derived from a later sense of species in Latin of â€Å"goods or wares,† pertaining to spices as a commodity. The additional, centuries-old, figurative sense of â€Å"something that provides relish or zest† survives, but the meanings â€Å"sample† and â€Å"trace† do not. The second sense of the Latin term species, derived from the verb specere, is discussed in this post. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsOne "L" or Two?

What Is the Meaning of Business Organization Assignment

What Is the Meaning of Business Organization - Assignment Example In this type of organization, it is not easy to manipulate directly and decision are made through political processes, the development of an informal organization is based on the day to day interactions and they change when people find new easier and time-saving ways of doing things. (Dickson 1939) The informal organization has an advantage over the formal sector in that it is flexible and will respond quickly to changing circumstances, this type of organization encourage cooperation through the existing norms and obligations. (Dore 1983). We can, therefore, differentiate the formal and informal organization by the way rules are set, the existence of a written document containing the rules, their flexibility to change and the execution of the rules. In the informal organization, there are high levels of human interactions and communication is based on informal relationships within the organization, this is in contrast with the formal organization where communication is formal. Another difference between the two is that hierarchy in the informal organization is not observed whereas in the formal the hierarchy of offices has to be observed. The formal sector has the advantage that the rules are set by those with authority and these rules are executed with minimum opposition, they also have the responsibility of making decisions in the organization. In the informal sector, rules are made from the day to day interactions and this influences their flexibility, this organizations will change quickly in case of any chants organization tons and if they find new ways of doing things. Decisions are made through a political process and therefore this organization has a very low risk of making wrong decisions that would lead to great losses.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Assignment - Essay Example The report by Celal and Parent is timely since it focuses on an area that did not have adequate research prior to their study. SMEs deal with the people directly as they have their management and offices in the communities they offer goods and services as opposed to multinationals that might only have offices for supply reasons and maintain decision-making functions far off in their headquarters. As such, a report that offers insights into how SMEs can survive when faced with such a recession and downturn in future is highly welcomed. The study is a revelation to those in need of a strategic plan to help their businesses stay afloat whenever they are faced with a financial crisis. Application of Celal and Parent’s report cannot be limited to a time global financial recession. The business practices that owners exercised can have wider application to business that needs to reduce their expenses for other internal financial reasons. For example, according to the study business o wners had to use methods like working longer hours, taking a salary cut, acquiring more debt, and cancellation of personal vacations (1). Such methods employed by SMEs owners during recession can still operate in rescuing businesses that need to stay afloat due to their own financial crisis. The study by Celal and Parent is important in minimizing effects of recession in future as it provides a range of changes in their review of the policy measures that business enterprises can use in face of financial crisis. One of the strengths the report has is that the researchers break down policy measures employed by SMEs into finer details. The researchers go further to analyze every aspect of the business strategy on their own before moving on to analyze the strategy as part of the whole effort of saving the SMEs from going under. The report covers all areas in which there were changes effected to ensure the SMEs survive including such area of business operation as business owner’s behavior, markets for the business, sales and marketing strategy employed, measures concerning employment, financial strategies, reactions and most requested policies, growth strategies and fiscal policies. Celal and Parent’s wide coverage of policy changes for SMEs makes it valuable due to the completeness of the analysis. Although Celal and Parent covered most of the areas that SMEs can use to fight recession in future, the analysis is not without some drawbacks, the study limits its scope to SMEs operating in Canada to arrive at its conclusions. Maximum application of the study is possible only when a business enterprise consuming this research finding operates in a business environment that is similar to the one that the SMEs that were sampled in Canada face. The study should have included business organizations in other market environments in their sample to increase the scope of application. Sampling of SMEs in other countries and market environment would also help SMEs in Canada. This would have provided insight into policy measures SMEs outside of Canada put into practice to survive the recession. The entry noted in the study by Celal and Parent as ‘other’ on the graph is not specified to indicate what they might include. There are instances when the entry goes up to 11 per cent in the analysis of changes in employment (3). Such changes

Rich man Essay Example for Free

Rich man Essay Slavery is alive and well in the 21st Century. Ever wondered, as you slipped on your trainers or pulled on a pair of jogging bottoms what life would be like for the person who made them? Nike promotes sport and healthy living but the lives of workers who make Nike shoes and clothes in Asia are anything but healthy. Independent research indicates that they live in extreme poverty and suffer stress and exhaustion from over work. Around the world there are millions of people whose lives depend on global trade. Many are small children between an age of nine and seventeen, working in factories trying to earn just a little money for their families. But working in these factories isnt living. Its sweating. Its exhaustion. Its two meals of rice and vegetables a day. Its two twenty-four hour shifts a week. Its food or medicine, not both. Its a mat to sleep on in a nine by nine cell. In short ninety pence, the daily rate at Nike factories and the mandated Indonesian minimum is more a dying wage than a living wage. We are the reason that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Demand here effects lives there. Poor people are being kept poor, thanks to companies like Nike. People have to work overtime, and if they dont, they either get the sack or they get abused both physically and mentally. Workers are so poor that they cannot take the risk and say no, because they need the money so much. Even children have had to work in order to earn money because of their poverty. Child labour is one of the most serious human rights abuses in the work place. They are being denied something all children should have an entitlement to, a childhood. A right to play, a right to grow up without the worries and responsibilities of survival. A right to an education without which they can never aspire to a better quality of life. Should such huge responsibilities be placed on such little shoulders? In the U. S. A. and Europe a Nike shirt costs thirty pounds, yet the workers may only get about a quarter of that price per week in wages. The third world kids are victims of poverty. We the consumers are victims of high prices and ignorance. Every time we wear an item of clothing produced by named brand manufacturers we advertise their products. We have been given false hopes, the way that Nike gives false hopes to the workers in their factories. The clothes we buy from Nike are made in factories from China to El Salvador. These factories can only be called sweatshops. The conditions people are expected to work in are nothing short of appalling. Wages are abysmal; hours are long and welfare non-existent. Workers who remained anonymous for fear of loosing their jobs were interviewed by Sarah Strickland in Phonom Penh and are quoted as saying, Some only earn i 20 a month. They have to get their card stamped when they go to the toilet and sometimes they faint from exhaustion and the heat. One particular worker who said he had worked for two years without a holiday told her, When I asked for two days off, they cut my salary. The manufacturers were also approached for their comments on the state of the garment industry in Cambodia. Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association told Ms Strickland Some of the workers have unrealistic demands, like asking for forty hour, five day weeks. I wonder how many hours per week he works and for how much pay? I would be very surprised if he wasnt entitled to holiday pay, sick pay and a substantial pension. I think the workers in these factories should be paid more because they are being kept poor and its unfair. The children working in these factories should not have been there, they should have been in school, playing and having fun not receiving pain in a factory. However this is a complex issue, consider this, if you buy Nike products, those factory workers will be kept poor. If you dont buy them they will still be poor, maybe more so. So what can we do about it? Well, we could try protesting to companies like Nike. A letter of disapproval might be a start, but will these multi-million pound companies listen to us? I think we should protest to the world trading organisations and persuade them to set standards for all companies around the world. Standards that are fair to everyone; the factory workers, the companies and you the consumer. A world trade mark could then be a sign of quality without cruelty, a guideline for the unsuspecting buyers around the world that the product didnt cost someone more than a fair days work for a fair days pay, and doesnt cost us our peace of mind. Rich man The executives of the large companies who make their money from us all   Poor man The consumer who is being conned by these companies and kept in the dark about the way in which their products are produced.   Beggar man The people in third world countries who have little or no rights in the workplace, slaves to their rich masters.   Thief The Multi-million pound companies, the fat cats of society, making their money from exploiting others.

Wikipedia :: Persuasive, Valid or Unreliable Source

A Wikipedia is an information source for many students (Coughlan, 2011), used for research on almost every subject. Some people call it â€Å"frequently unreliable† while others name it to be the epitome of the information age (Andrews 2007) yet the truth is that, whether students and teachers, like to admit it or not, Wikipedia is a vast source of knowledge, with readability second to none (Coughlan, 2011). However because of its wide usage and the fact that it is a wiki, it can be edited by anyone, schools are often reluctant to accept it as a valid source of information for essays or school work and some take it to the extreme; â€Å"14% of schools block Wikipedia† (Fleming 2011). The biggest problems with validating said source is the fact that its reliability is questioned, as there is no one single entity responsible for and accountable for the information, as opposed to a peer-reviewed journal. This â€Å"lack of authority†, according to a group of academi cs, and â€Å"different agendas† allow the general public to alter information (Waldman2004) that validates itself through the information loop. This information loop consist of the following â€Å"A Wikipedia article contains information A. A journalist then uses this unverified information in an article. A critical reader then adds a "{{Citation needed}}" on the original information after which someone adds the article as a source. (Wikipedia, date unknown) Another problem that Wikipedia faces is the fact that if mistakes are not caught on the day they were made, they are likely to go unnoticed. On the other hand, Wikipedia differentiates itself from other encyclopaedias in that most articles are longer and contain more information both technically and historically speaking. (Wetzel 2008) Furthermore, most articles contain links or citation that link to articles or proof of almost every statement made. The problem that arises is then, that blocking Wikipedia denies students from valid, thorough information yet shields them from its inherent unreliability (Fleming, 2011) B Fig1. Standard Wikipedia article As fig.1 shows, pages in Wikipedia include a search bar, links to some useful links (such as random articles, current events and donate). To the right, depending on the article, it will show links to other information relating to the current article, this appears if the article is part of a bigger series such as the I.B or Nazism. Articles will also include the â€Å"edit this page† button and many footnotes that provide evidence or citation for phrases or quotes.

Sexism in the Media

What comprises sexism and feminism? Do sexist images in the media have an impact on women and girls? And, what are the broader political issues here? I am hoping that we can reframe the debate around sexism and nudity in the media in a way that makes sense for socialists. We’re all probably aware of sexist representations in the media from newspapers and magazines to the movies, TV and radio. For example, Rolling Stone magazine didn’t used to be a soft porn magazine, but it is so common now for female musicians to be in soft-porn poses on its cover.Howard Stern, the radio DJ, is always asking his female guests and callers what they are wearing. Stern focuses heavily on women’s physical attributes for the titillation of his male listeners. We also see many movies each year where the female characters are there solely to support and gratify the male characters. Magazines often show only pieces of a woman, such as her legs, or torso so that women are seen as pieces of a human being, reduced to only body parts, which are usually hyper sexualized for male stimulation.The currently popular TV show Desperate Housewives has a predominantly female audience, but tends to appeal to male viewers with story lines involving the women in their underwear or locked out of their houses nude. Soft-core pornography is the staple of many mainstream men’s magazines such as Maxim. In the past decade the decline of the mass movement, and the capitalist’s promotion of escapism, has been at the cost of increased degradation of women in the media. Women’s MovementWebster’s Dictionary defines sexism as â€Å"attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles† or â€Å"discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex. † According to Webster’s, this word came into usage in the period of 1965-1970 and was modeled after the word racism, which itself came into use in the 1865-1870 period, duri ng the revolutionary days of Reconstruction in the South. The timeline of the creation of the word sexism gives us an idea of the dramatic change in the consciousness of women in the 1960s and 70’s, which was directly influenced by the civil rights movement.However for a word with such a short history, a mere 40 years later, capitalism is trying to make women believe that sexism no longer exists. In my research for this introduction, I came across discussion of something termed â€Å"post-feminism† which argues that the old ideas about what is sexism and who is a feminist no longer apply. That it is not sexist, but merely ironic, that naked women are used in advertising such as the TV ad where Nicolette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives dropped her towel in front of a football player to get more men to watch the NFL.The idea is that women are now in control of their bodies and that to object to the use of a nude woman in an advertisement is actually an attempt to repr ess that individual woman’s sexuality, or an expression of prudishness, and not a comment on the exploitation of women for financial gain. The Repackaging of Sexism & Feminism Feminism is being repackaged and portrayed as a repressive police force telling women what not to wear, how to have sex and not allowing women â€Å"to live their personal lives without the constraints of a rigid ideology,† as one post-feminist writer put it.On the positive side women, and especially young women, are more confident about their sexuality, but for some women this liberation is expressed through the assumption of some of the roles, attitudes and sexual behavior previously more common among men. This is what one so-called feminist writer described as a shift from the old ‘victim feminism’ to the new ‘power feminism. ’ In fact the shift is away from challenging the old male-dominated status quo and toward finding a place within it.Christine Thomas in her arti cle The New Sexism writes about this shift in feminist thinking. She writes about the recent trend of the increased acceptance of strip clubs and lap dancing club; â€Å"Lap dancing, it is argued, is empowering not exploitative because, when ‘dancers’ can earn as much as $800 a night, they’re often earn better money than the men they’re stripping for. As one student told the BBC’s Inside Out program: â€Å"I work when I want to. I make the amount of money I want to, and if I don’t feel like it I can quit.No-one is pushing me to do it. † â€Å"But contrast this with the comment of a regular frequenter of lap dancing clubs: â€Å"It makes me feel like a king to be sitting there with all these women surrounding me, giving me loads of attention. Nothing beats the thrill of calling a woman over, sitting her down and talking to her, knowing that if you give her money she is going to take all her clothes off. It’s great to have that kind of control, that power, and it’s an ego boost to have all girls competing with each other to dance for you. â€Å"However empowered individual dancers might feel (and of course not all dancers are well paid) lap dancing itself promotes the idea that women are not thinking ‘whole’ beings but body parts – objects available for men to control and enjoy. † 1 This new ‘feminism’ also represents a shift from a collective to an individualistic approach to women’s equality. If a given woman feels oppressed, feels exploited, or feels demeaned, it is because something is wrong with her. Perhaps she is not aggressive enough or not motivated enough.She has not figured out how to advance within the current system. When women buy into the basic concepts of capitalist culture, the new â€Å"feminists† imply, as many doors will open for women as for men and they will no longer be victims. The new ‘post-feminism’ also ar gues that the male dominated empire is crumbling and that more women than ever are now in positions of power. However, we know who these powerful women are: Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Clinton, and Condoleeza Rice. They actually represent a step backwards for women’s equality.Condoleeza’s promotion to Secretary of State reinforces the illusion that racial and gender discrimination no longer exists and that failure to succeed is only the failure of individuals to take advantage of their opportunities. Her work for the Bush administration is helping to increase the attacks on all workers, women and men, which in turn especially increases the burden economically on women. Her promotion represents no change whatsoever for the status quo and for the reality of working class women across the United States. How Equal are We? Women today still consistently make less than men for fulltime work in the same jobs.In statistics from 2002, nationally women average 78% of men’s pay for all jobs. Among the highest paid professionals (doctors and lawyers) women only make from 58-76% of men’s average pay and they make up about a third of the workers in these jobs. On the other hand, those jobs that are predominantly occupied by women such as cashiers or child care workers; women make about 95% of men’s wages. But the average weekly wage for men and women is very low at $250-$300 per week. Also, traditionally unionized jobs like nursing and construction have higher average weekly wages and women make about 91% of men’s pay. 2However, the startling fact is that in the Bureau of Labor Statistics information from 2002, out of hundreds of job categories, there is not a single job where women make more money than men do. There are also a radically higher proportion of women than men living in poverty in the U. S. For many American women, violence is also a nasty reminder of the inequality in this society. Estimates of non-fatal domestic violenc e against women range from 1 million to 4 million a year with nearly 1 in 3 women experiencing a physical assault from a partner in adulthood. Women have a 10 times greater likelihood of being victimized by an intimate than men.Also, 33% of all women murdered are murdered by an intimate partner. In fact the leading cause of death among pregnant women is not complications from pregnancy, but murder. 4 The sexist representations of women in the media are a direct reflection of this economic and social inequality. But these images also serve to reinforce the lower status of women not only through showing us as a commodity to be packaged for men’s enjoyment, something to be controlled, but also by directly undermining women’s self-esteem and emphasizing the unattainable ideal of a ‘perfect’ woman. Up to 80% of American women are issatisfied with their appearance. Much of the marketing of the ideal woman is targeted at women directly. Women’s magazines, both in articles and advertisements (and it is often difficult to distinguish the two) carry a lot of ideas about the ideal woman. In addition 1 out of every 3. 8 television commercials carries some sort of â€Å"attractiveness message. †5 Media Images and Girls The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 82% of all cosmetic surgical procedures are performed on women. The most common procedures are liposuction, breast augmentation, nose reshaping and eyelid surgery.In the years from 1992 to 2003 total cosmetic surgical procedures increased by 192% with breast augmentation increasing by 657% and liposuction by 412%. 6 Not only are women reshaping their bodies in record numbers to try and fit some type of female ideal, but girls are influenced by this pressure as well. Some 81% of ten year-old girls are afraid of being fat and 51% of 9 and 10 year-olds feel better about themselves if they are on a diet. Of normal dieters, about 5-6% will progress to partial or full sy ndrome eating disorders. 7Eating disorders often start for women in their teen and pre-teen years, and represent an extreme attempt to control one’s body. It may not seem such a distorted priority to young girls to achieve the perfect body through self-punishing starvation or vomiting when record numbers of adult women are voluntarily subjecting themselves to invasive surgeries. Now this process is being accelerated and normalized through TV shows such as Extreme Makeovers and The Swan. Here, mostly women are shown going through a series of major cosmetic surgeries.In The Swan a prize goes to the best makeover. Capitalism sends mixed messages to women that only create anxiety. Their perfect woman is young, thin, and never has acne. However, the unhealthy food big business pushes at us makes this perfect woman even more unattainable. Not only do they profit from selling us this bad food, but the food itself almost guarantees that we will need to spend more money on cosmetics, dieting, surgery, or antidepressants if we buy into this ideal woman concept. We can’t talk about sexism’s effect on women without also iscussing its effect on men who are also damaged by it. From boyhood, men are sent the message that women are here for their pleasure and that they are primarily commodities for their consumption. If this idea is completely internalized, it makes men unable to connect with women in any but the most superficial way, and cuts them off from a deeper understanding of both themselves and women. Just as the oppression of women has forced women in general to develop a more skillful understanding of human relations, so too male privilege tends to stunt men’s relationship skills.Also, for men that have themselves experienced abusive upbringings, it makes them more likely to be trapped into attempting to control women through physical or emotional abuse. Sexism and Capitalism’s new Moral Divide In the 1984 movie, This is Spinal Tap – the fake documentary about an English heavy metal band, a female record company executive lets the band members know that they have concerns with the band’s album cover. They feel that the image of a naked woman wearing a leash and dog’s collar is sexist. â€Å"Sexy,† one of the band members says, â€Å"what’s wrong with being sexy? †There is enormous confusion today surrounding this difference between what is deemed sexy and what it sexist in the media. The recent media hype around the Janet Jackson breast exposure incident and the uproar over the NFL commercial I previously cited are examples of how this discussion is being spun in the media: as the relentless sex-oriented focus of popular culture verses the purity of family values. In an era where some women are losing access to services that help them control their bodies reproductively, we are now seeing the control of images of women’s bodies as an issue in the media.The new ‘feminists’ would have us believe that the ultimate control of an individual woman’s body belongs to the woman herself and so the images are not discussed in the context of sexism. The liberals argue that a woman’s naked body is no big deal and can’t we be mature and realize that it’s just a woman’s body; failing, like the guy from Spinal Tap, to distinguish between sexy and sexism. The family values coalition argues that it is damaging to children to be exposed to nudity and the subject of sex; making it appear that any outrage is due to prudishness.The argument goes that these are the opposing interests in the discussion – leaving little voice for most people. Is it possible that this divisive construct is promoted by the media itself to obscure the real issue? The real issue is the exploitation of a woman’s body and sexuality for the purpose of selling products: magazines, TV shows, movies, football games. If we unders tand it this way, then we have a way to object to the objectification of women without falling into the trap of prudishness.We can condemn CBS and the NFL not for showing us Janet Jackson’s breast, but for exploiting her desire to further her career and the captive audience of viewers to boost ratings, which in the end makes more advertisement money for them. Capitalism typically creates and exploits divisions for the purpose of undermining working class solidarity. Sexism undermines the solidarity between men and women. By failing to point out capitalism’s role in this issue, we can allow a new threat to class solidarity to take root. This non-class based division, created by the media, the so-called â€Å"moral divide. A New Mass Movement The current trends in the media represent a step backwards for women in the struggle against sexism and exploitation. This is another facet of the global phenomenon, regardless of gender, of working class people being attacked more fiercely by the capitalist class. The current onslaught of sexism, besides undermining class solidarity, also serves capitalism by expanding markets for diet and beauty products and for surgery. It also represents a huge drain on the resources of an individual woman.With her self-image and self worth constantly under attack, it is no surprise that some women have fallen into an individualistic, superficial, self-absorption, spending less time fighting to change the workplace and the community. Especially with the failure of working class and women’s organizations to fight on concrete issues that are important to women. However, just as in the 1960s, a mass movement gave birth to the women’s movement and sexism even started to be talked about, so too a new mass movement of workers that confronts capitalism will also confront sexism. Working class women will be at the fore of such a movement.In fact, women play a key role in many community struggles. LMV has been involv ed in the Campaign for Renters Rights a direct action group in which women took the leading role in fighting off Section 8 housing cuts. 8 In the 70’s we saw how differently women could be treated in the media with real stories about real women. There was a trend toward increased realism in TV and film including the portrayal of women. In the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore a working class woman who is a single parent stands up against everyday sexism. The central character is a woman who is strong, funny and insightful.The scarcity of movies like this since the 70’s with strong female characters confirms the degeneracy of not only the popular media but of capitalism itself. Socialism, on the contrary, will not only achieve material equality between men and women, but also allow both men and women to better explore their own individuality, and break free of the base superficiality that market capitalism promotes. January 2005References 1 Christine Thomas , The New Sexism, Socialism Today Issue 77 Sept 2003 2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2002 annual averages. Domestic Violence Statistics, District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www. dccadv. org More stats from National Domestic Violence Hotline at www. ndvh. org. 4 Kim Curtis, Murder: The leading cause of death for pregnant women. Associated Press April 23, 2003 5 National Eating Disorders Association at www. nationaleatingdisorders. org 6 American Society of Plastic Surgeons at www. plasticsurgery . org 7 National Eating Disorders Association 8 For more on this struggle see www. laborsmilitantvoice. com

Situation in Syria Mun!

Committee Name: General Assembly Committee Topic: Situation in Syria Country Name: Canada A. Dating back to the time of the Ottoman Empire, the situation in Syria has become increasingly violent over time. [1] Back in 1911, an organization called Al-Fatat (Young Arab Society) was founded. [1] According to research, it was basically a secret Arab nationalist organization that aimed to gain independence and unity for multiple Arab nations that was, at the time, under Ottoman rule; their movement was a successful on that took them to their independence from the Ottoman rule. 1] However, it wasn’t until February 5, 1919 that the first official political party, the Instiqlal Party, was formed since the independence. The political party is what changed the history of Syria. [1] In 1970, a man named Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria. He was the president who amended the Syrian constitution in order to reduce the age of the President from 40 to 30. This allowed his son Bashar a l-Assad to become a ruling president in 2000, unopposed. 1] Since his presidency, Syria has become very violent because of the numerous rebel groups that are against this ruler who claims that he will be Syria’s only ruler; a ruler for life. Recent news articles state that Syria has been experiencing much worse battles compared to those in Libya because of the political unrest. [1] B. The UN has taken several minor actions in reducing this so called revolution taking place in Syria. By doing so, the UN has passed resolutions that have helped alleviate some of the unrest in Syria.However, the problem has increasingly still remains and has gotten progressively worse over the years. For example, the UN drafted a resolution in June 28, 2011 that was called the â€Å"Arab League Plan†. This resolution focused on how Syria can transition to a democratic, plural political system, in which citizens are equal despite ethnicities, beliefs, or affiliations. [2] Not only that, but this resolution also called on the Syrian Government to cease violence against civilians and to withdraw its armed forces with cities and towns and return them to their barracks. 2] After much discussion, this resolution has been recently voted on and was double vetoed by the countries of Russia and China. [2] Therefore, the UN must continue to discuss and come to compromises on this matter immediately in order to prevent any further mass causality in Syria. C. The country of Canada has been a major source as Syria’s international partner to pave the way for a peaceful transition to a society that needs respect for fundamental rights of its entire people. 3] In the past, Canada has supported Syria’s situation by supplying Syria’s embassy with diplomatic staffs to better the country’s border control in order monitor what the people bring in and out of the country. [4] To be more specific, Canada was assisting Syria’s by making sure rebel groups wer e not smuggling any illicit weapons that can further threaten the people in Syria. However, as instability grew in Syria, Canada began to reduce their staff in concern for the wellbeing of their own citizens residing in Syria. 4] Canada’s main priority, as of recent, is to urge all Canadians to leave Syria now before the violence escalades. By doing so, Canada will continue the use of sanctions on Syria under the Special Economic Measures Act in response to the continued repression of Syrian civilians and Syria’s failure to implement the Arab League plan to resolve the crisis. [5] When this is somewhat achieved, Canada will slowly reduce the sanctions understanding that sanctions may cause the situation in Syria to worsen.To keep the peace going in such a situation, the country of Canada would like to push for peace talks held in Geneva that would be between the Big 5, Syrian government, Syrian people, Middle Eastern countries, and Canada or any other countries in the UN as mediator in order to come to compromises and negotiations, especially after the recent double vetoed resolution made by the Security Council just recently. Lastly, Canada would like to focus briefly on the humanitarian aspect in Syria.As part of the EU, Canada actively participates in an organization called MSF. (Medecins Sans Frontieres) This organization is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters. [6] The country of Canada has found this organization very effective in such situations for it has helped humanitarian issues in Myanmar and other Third World Nations. [6]

Incomplete Contracts Essays

Incomplete Contracts Essays Incomplete Contracts Essay Incomplete Contracts Essay Milgrom and Roberts highlight at the end of the paper possible directions that study into the economic theory of the firm should take: A. Incomplete Contracts: relational contracts are only one way of replacing traditional formal long hand contracts. Another possibility is frequent short-term contracts that constantly change as conditions dictate. These short-term complete contracts can cover a surprisingly large array of conditions and therefore the cost of such contacts not the limitations of the contracts that are the associated market cost. However, the costs associated with the constant updating of such contracts can be greater than one long-term contract. In addition, they may not hold if monetary incentives are of limited effectiveness or asymmetric information at the time of renegotiation prevents the smooth negotiation of an efficient agreement. Milgrom and Roberts propose further investigation into short-term contracting and its limitations. B. Bargaining Theory: recent attempts have been made to understand the inefficiencies of bargaining resulting from asymmetric information. However, this has been limited to trying to develop appropriate equilibrium concepts and proving existence. Suggestions are made that future study should focus on an understanding of the relative efficiencies of bargaining in different contexts. C. Reputations: As discussed earlier firms will attempt alleviate opportunism by way of reputation. They may forgo reputation with one customer to necessitate better future transactions in the future. A focus of future study could be how reputations are formed, used, and lost. D. Influence Activities and Rent Seeking: Popular economic theory shows that government intervention in an economy causes inefficiencies. This has been extended to analyse the diseconomies resulting from centralisation of authority in firms. This seems to warrant a branch into two directions. Firstly, to further analyse the theory of influence in the firm. Secondly, to further investigate rent seeking in markets, courtrooms and boardrooms. E. Ownership, Residual Returns or Residual Rights: Further study is warranted on the issue of organisational ownership. Refining the definitions of what ownership means and whether that meaning is situation dependant could answer many questions from corporate take-overs to employment practices. F. Adapting to Uncertainty: Galbraith (1977) formulated ideas relating to organisational design. He posited that an organisations design related to the allowance of adapting to uncertainty in its environment. They can adapt by processing more information (vertical and lateral communication systems) or by reducing the need to process information (environmental management, creation of slack resources and creation of self contained resources). This framework opens up the possibility of looking into price theoretic changes in organisational form and showing the optimal mix of the above adaptations. G. Planning and Budgeting: Iterative planning, more specifically relating to the nature of communication needed in the price system economisation in the planning and control processes. Considering the massive resource allocation in planning and budgeting in many firms, it seems that this area requires further investigation. Question 2 C Describes the theories of corporate culture presented in Hermalin (1999). Hermalin in his article on theories of corporate culture critically analyses the work of four other economists on the subject of culture in firms. He attempts to show how culture can be incorporated into economic theory and aid existing theory in explaining firms capabilities and performance. The four economists that he analyses are Kreps, Cremer, Hodgson and Lazear. Often economists dismiss culture when analysing firms or industries but Hermalin believes it is something that is worthy of study and something that can aid existing economic theory and empirical evidence. KREPS (1990) Kreps believes that fundamental understanding of corporate culture is necessary for understanding how firms implement strategy. He also believes that economists are now suitably armed to study culture and presents the reader with the outline of theory thus far. The first analysis is on Kreps model first introduced in 1990. In his model, Kreps presents many examples and theories surrounding organizational behaviour. Kreps believes there are a few main ingredients that are built into corporate culture. The first is Formal Contracts. Kreps shows that formal contracts can be too costly and in many cases given all the different contingencies are unfeasible. The second is the fact that firms are repeat players. Formal contracts are one way to induce play between two players that would otherwise not engage and the other is repeat play. Any deviation from fair play in one period can be punished by non-cooperation in the next period. A necessary condition of this is one of the players being able to play in multiple periods. Companies and their bosses are by necessity are multiple period players and therefore repeat play is a way of non-formalization by contracts. Hermalin recognizes that these factors including formal contracts and repeated play go a long way to describe, predict and analyse the behaviour of firms and their respective employees both junior and senior. However, more importantly, he manages to identify two factors that actually introduce culture into the equation. These are Multiple Equilibriums and Unforeseen Contingencies. Multiple equilibriums is simply recognition that repeated games have many stable outcomes and some co-ordination of players choices is needed as to which equilibrium prevails. Kreps presents a two player two possibility game where a junior and senior of a particular firm are involved and analyses how corporate culture can affect each players decision-making and therefore possible outcomes. He first looks at the cultural norm of juniors deferring to seniors. If no such culture exists, it would be impossible for us or the players involved to predict the decisions or outcomes in such a game and therefore the culture reduces the risk of the potentially disastrous situation. Culture increases the predictability of the players actions. Hermalin highlights that contracts can be used to formalise decisions but as these can ultimately be more costly than culture, and in many ways could be unverifiable, they are in fact mostly unfeasible. Multiple equilibriums can therefore provide a role for cultural norms to replace the need for formal contracting. Unforeseeable contingencies are then brought into play. Again, these are, in the majority uncontractable and the writing and rewriting of these contracts will be too costly. Nevertheless, a culture of juniors deferring to seniors could possibly rule out the disastrous consequences of either no culture or hostile play. It must be noted that culture can go some way to eliminate these unfavourable consequences of unforeseen contingencies it by no means guarantees the optimal equilibrium. Kreps shows that these unforeseen contingencies add some flavour to the debate surrounding culture and hints that multiple equilibriums are the only prerequisite for the appearance of an influential culture. Hermalin goes on to discuss cultural difference in companies from differing countries in the same industry. He uses the example from Okuno-Fujiwara (1994) and Morita (1998). This shows that American firms and Japanese firms in the same industry faced with the same multiple equilibriums may choose different outcomes dependant on their different culture. This is an example of national culture but it is something that will definitely have an affect on corporate culture. This raises the large issue of actually where corporate culture comes from. Do firms rely on incorporation of national culture or do they foster their own? Creating this culture is costly and it can be seen that firms often rely on prevailing national cultures, which seem, on the surface, to be very weak, in fact have large consequences for the behavioral decisions of its employees. Hermalin then talks about Kreps work in terms of unforeseen contingencies unrelated to multiple equilibriums that he sees as the basis of his work. He summarizes Kreps work by stating that repeated play in a game could be a substitute for contracting. Repeated play is a less costly way of introducing cooperative behavior and is in fact not a perfect substitute but in most cases infinitely more desirable. This is unrelated to culture however, culture is related to the actions or decisions that employees make in these repeated games. Simply if analyzing as Kreps does what constitutes fair treatment or exploitation by managers/bosses then culture will be the benchmark by which that is calculated or measured. It also goes further to measure or show what constitutes cooperative play in Kreps game and the future rewards/future cooperation associated with this as well as non-cooperative play and the associated punishments/ withholding of future cooperation. Therefore culture ultimately rules out all unforeseen contingencies ex ante or substitutes for them. So Kreps essentially has two theories relating to culture. Firstly that culture ensures coordination in repeated games. The actual outcome is essentially irrelevant it is just that there is coordination as the cultural environment that the players are in dictates this. Secondly that it substitutes for unforeseen contingencies ex ante as analysis and contaractualising these would prove too costly and ultimately unfeasible.

48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids 48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids 48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids By Ali Hale Are you stuck for something to write about? Or are you looking for prompts to use in the classroom? These prompts are aimed at middle school students (roughly age 11 – 14) – but younger or older writers might enjoy trying them as well. I’ve split them into different types of prompts – imaginative prompts, non-fiction/essay prompts, short story prompts and journaling prompts – but feel free to use them in any way you like. For instance, you might choose one of the imaginative prompts and use it as the basis for a story. A few of these prompts are taken from other people’s lists of writing ideas; for each of those, I’ve given you a link to the original source so you can check out the whole list if you want even more prompts. Twelve Imaginative Prompts If you found a treasure chest buried in your garden, what would you most like to discover inside? Invent an imaginary sport. What are the rules? How does the scoring work? Who typically plays it? If you had three wishes, what would you use them for and what might go wrong? Imagine that you woke up tomorrow as a member of the opposite sex. What would be different about your life? Where would you go, if you could go anywhere in the world? Who would you want to go there with? Imagine inventing a new holiday or celebration. What would you call it? When would it be celebrated? (Would it be the same date every year, like Christmas and Valentines Day, or would it move, like Thanksgiving and Easter?) What would people do during that holiday? If you were invisible for a day, where would you go and what would you do? Think of someone you dislike, or someone whose views and values are very different from your own. Now write a diary entry from their perspective, exploring why they see things this way. â€Å"  Imagine a future in which we each have a personalized robot servant. What would yours be like? What would it do? What features would it have?†(from smallworldathome.blogspot.com) â€Å"If you could live inside any video game, which would you choose?   Why?† (from journalbuddies.com) â€Å"If a wizard could tell you anything about your future, what would you most like to know?† (from edutopia.org) If you could meet any character from any book (or TV show or film), who would it be? What would you say to them, and what would they say to you? (based on a prompt from daringtolivefully.com) Twelve Non-Fiction or Essay Prompts What do you see as the biggest problem facing people your age today? Write about the most recent book you read. What was good about it (and what wasnt)? Who would you recommend it to? Who do you admire most in history and why? Whats more important: being healthy or having lots of money? Explain why you think so. How should cyber-bullying be tackled? If you ran your school, how would you change things? Does being fair mean treating everyone exactly the same? (Explain why / why not.) What do you think the world will be like in 50 years time? What will have changed for the better? What will be worse? Do you think humans will ever live on other planets? If yes, how would our society change? If no, how will we deal with problems like over-population and climate change on our own planet? Which scientific discovery or invention has changed the world the most, in your opinion? Explain why. â€Å"Many parents give children a weekly or monthly allowance regardless of their behavior because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible. Other parents only give children an allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly. Explain what you think parents should do and why.† (from education.depaul.edu)   Should school children wear uniforms? Why – or why not? (based on a prompt from dailyteachingtools.com) Twelve Short Story Prompts A child from the year 2300 travels back to our time. How and why? What do they find surprising (or even horrifying) about our daily lives? Start a story with this line of dialog: I wont do it, and you cant make me! Two friends send secret messages to one another through a hiding place that only they know about. One day, a message in someone elses handwriting appears in the hideout. What does it say? How do the friends react? An argument breaks out at a restaurant, where one person is clearly in the wrong. Do they back down or do they keep arguing? What happens next? A small child loses their favorite toy while on a trip to a park a long way from their home. What is the toy? Do they get it back again – if so, how? Scientists invent a medicine that makes the people who take it immune to colds and the flu but it has a side effect that no-one knows about for twenty years. What is the side effect? What happens as a result? Four young teenagers go wild camping without any adults. Their cell phones cant get a signal. Then one of them gets sick. What do they do? Someone has to face their worst fear in order to prevent something terrible from happening. What are they so afraid of? Why do they have to face it? Two enemies meet in an isolated place, by chance. One of them – who normally comes out best in any conflict – is badly hurt. How does the other person respond? â€Å"What happens when a normal girl  discovers a teleportation device in the park across from her house that only she knows how to use?† (from thejohnfox.com) â€Å"A poor young  boy or girl  comes into an unexpected fortune.  Not all fortunes are good. Sometimes discovering a fortune will destroy your life.  Ã¢â‚¬Å" (from thewritepractice.com) â€Å"Its your characters first day at a new school. He or she wants to get a fresh start, develop a new identity. But in his or her homeroom, your character encounters a kid he or she knows from summer camp† (from creative-writing-now.com) Twelve Journaling Prompts What is the best thing you’ve done this year? Why? Write about a typical (even boring!) weekday. It might seem dull now – but in 20 or 30 years, you might be fascinated to read about the little details of your life. What job or career do you want when you grow up? Why? How does your family celebrate Christmas (or any other holiday of your choice)? Write down the details and your family traditions. What one thing would make your life easier? Is it something you can go about achieving, or do you need to accept you can’t have or do it right now? How could you help someone else this week? Write a list of all your ideas. What would you do if you had a whole weekend free of any other responsibilities (chores, homework, etc)? Write a list – and if you can, choose one or two of these things to do this Write about the people in your family. What are their hopes and ambitions? What are their hobbies and interests? What’s your bedroom like? Big, small, tidy, messy? Describe it in detail. Which season of the year do you like best? Why? â€Å"Write about your favorite childhood toy.† (from dailyteachingtools.com) â€Å"Write about something that you wish you could say to someone else.  Ã‚  What is it, and whom would you like to say it to?  Ã‚  Is there anything stopping you from saying it?† (from journalbuddies.com) I hope these prompts have given you lots of ideas to write about! You might want to pick a regular time each week to tackle a writing prompt (e.g. Sunday afternoons). If you’ve got any prompts of your own to share, why not add them in the comments below? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartComma Before ButTrooper or Trouper?

APP9 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APP9 - Assignment Example This success in terms of safety is due to the instituted safety committee comprising of members emanating from each firm’s department. When they have a safety walk or an inspection, the members are reshuffled in such a case that one from the food department heads to production with the intention of pin pointing any slight and future foreseeable risks to rectify them in time. The company hold onto the notion by having own operators undertaking the inspection exercise for they are capable of ascertaining risky aspects different as other people would. Simms has ensured that his operators have a short break from their work during the day whereby they are required to stand up and stretch and music is put on. The company has also provided its operators with very expensive but comfortable chairs that are light for the workplace. These chairs help prevent scenarios of back aches and fatigue besides putting draft tables that direct fumes outside, hence implying they have protected operators’ wellbeing. Most of the machines in Simms Company require operated with both hands and by improvising the finger protector his employees are not exposed to losing their hands. Yes. I think through these efforts will attract quality workers because it is normal for any human to work in good and favorable conditions where they are comfortable as well as not overworked. Operators want to be linked with an organization that has comfortable and safe settings for their health as well as that will ensure them be productive without coerced. In addition, people love places where they are involved in the affairs of the company and it is clear Simms does that by forming a safety committee comprising of members from its departments instead of hiring more staff to undertake this task. After Simms devised the safety program, it took him around three years when he started to note huge reductions in their