Jonathan Kozol has been around for quite some time writing

Jonathan Kozol has been around for quite some time writing hard-hitting journalism about flaws in this country. His book Savage Inequities is more of the same with the focus on education. Kozol's strength as a writer is being able to put a face on his topic, anywhere from education to homelessness, etc. He makes the issue real and attaches human faces and real people that the reader can relate to.  In order to write this book, Kozol spent a lot of time traveling around visiting schools. To name a few, he visited schools in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and many others. During his visits, he spent time observing in the classroom as well as interviewing teachers, students, parents, and administrators. What Kozol found out was that schools today are as separate and unequal as they were before the landmark decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education in 1954. he determines that the reason for these inequities lies in the way that American schools are funded. America funds its schools with property taxes. The problem with this is that rich suburban areas pay much more property taxes, which makes their schools unrivaled. While in inner city schools, the property tax base is much lower. Therefore, mostly minority kids attend schools without much money. Kozol takes the reader into these schools to make his point. In Chicago, there is a school with no library. They are overcrowded, understaffed, and lack even the basics of resources and equipments. He takes us to a high school in the Bronx where the rain pours in. For example, Kozol states, â€Å"The science labs at East St. Louis High are 30 to 50 years outdated†¦The six lab stations in the room have empty holes where pipes were once attached. ‘It would be great if we had water,' says a physics teacher (Kozol 27). He later hits the reader hard questioning why our country allows this to happen.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Almost anyone who visits in the schools of East St. Louis†¦comes away profoundly shaken. These are innocent children, after all†¦One searches   fro some way to understand why a society as rich and, frequently, as      generous as ours would leave these children in their penury and squalor   for so long-and with so little public indignation. Is this just a strange    mistake of history?†¦why is it that we can't at least pour vast amounts of      money, ingenuity, and talent into public education for these children? (140).  He literally bombards the reader with real horror stories of his visits and travels in order to put a face on the poor state of education.   It isn’t just about education and schools and teachers; there are real kids involved here who are not getting what they need. Of Patterson, New Jersey, he states, â€Å"The city is so short of space that four elementary schools now occupy   abandoned factories. Children at one wood-frame elementary school,   which has no cafeteria or indoor space for recreation, eat lunch in a section of the boiler room. A bathroom houses reading classes (Kozol 106).  He compares these schools to suburban ones where conditions are much better. Teachers are paid much more, libraries are stocked, and technology abounds. He does a fantastic job at showing the contrasts between the wealthy schools and the poor schools. With the pictures he paints for the reader, the reader cannot argue with him. He also makes a plea for America to value equality and fix its schools. â€Å"And yet we stop to tell ourselves: These are Americans. Why do we       reduce them to this beggary – and why, particularly, in public education?      Why not spend on children here at least what we would be investing in   their education if they lived within a wealthy district like Winnetka, Illinois, or Cherry Hill, New Jersey, or Manhasset, Rye, or Great Neck in   New York? Wouldn't this be natural behavior in an affluent society that      seems to value fairness in so many other areas of life? Is fairness less    important to Americans today than in some earlier times? Is it viewed as    slightly tiresome and incompatible with hardnosed values? What do   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Americans believe about equality? (Kozol 41) Kozol ends the book with a vivid picture of an elementary school in a neighborhood of Cincinnati. He tells the reader that atmosphere was polluted with factories, prostitutes were near, and â€Å"Bleakness was the order of the day.† Kozol said he â€Å"rarely saw a child with a good big smile (Kozol 230-31). He leaves the reader with a bad taste in his/her mouth at the state of schools. This he does in hopes of spurring his readers to action. His research methods would be described as informal because his analysis comes from observations and interviews. There is no standard form that he uses, but he gets the material nonetheless. He devotes a chapter to teach area he discusses and gives the reader a description of the city as to understand why the schools are the way they are.  His findings are extremely significant to America as he clearly delineates the problems of American schools. With the images he creates, no one can argue with him. The pictures of these inner city schools are bleak. A criticism for Kozol is that he does not concentrate on any other problems in education besides inequality. Not that the inequality of schools is not a huge problem, but there are other problems that lead to poor achievement as well. No Child Left Behind plays a role. If those kids don't do well on the tests, more funding can be cut. Inner city schools do not tend to keep their teachers, With high teacher turnover, it is even harder for students to learn, and there may be large gaps in curriculum. There are also many forces at play outside the school, such as the home lives and parental involvement of these students. Probably the biggest criticism of Kozol is that he offers no solutions; he only identifies problems. He would probably say that solutions aren't his job, and he would leave that to the educational theorists. But after reading his condemnations, it would be nice to hear some of his ideas for solutions. Kozol doesn't tell the reader this, but The relationship between funding and academic achievement is unclear. However, it does not take a genius to figure this out. Will more money alone solve the problems in schools? Of course, it won't. However, more money will help. Money will help schools fix dilapidated buildings, buy equipment and resources, hire more teachers and aides to promote lower class sizes, attract better teachers who are more qualified, and a myriad of other things. But throwing money at the problem is only a start. These schools need help. They need more community and parental involvement. They need after school programs and tutoring programs and teachers with the knowledge and compassion to continue in the profession. Kozol doesn't mention other solutions except to give the schools more money, but there are many other things needed. Even money will not solve the problems of segregation. Inner city schools are made up mostly of minority students. How is that problem solved? Yes, more whites who fled to the suburbs are finding their way back to the inner city, but this is not always a good thing either. They are uprooting established communities in the process of gentrification and displacing people who may have nowhere else to go. This is why Kozol focuses on the money, because as difficult as it will be to change the way we fund schools, it will be harder to desegregate communities. Kozol makes good sense when he speaks of getting rid of the property tax funding for schools and finding a new way to fund them. If education is supposed to be democratic, and it is, America cannot continue to fund schools this way. The system America has virtually guarantees that parents who can afford to buy big houses in the suburbs will send their children to better schools. For school administrators and all personnel in schools, there are many things to be learned from this book. the most important one is that as educators, we should be fighting for democratic schools. Administrators should be out there fighting the property tax system and leading the charge to find other, more equitable ways to fund schools. Administrators also ought to be required to take a look around at the world. They should be required to visit inner city schools to truly understand what other educators go through on a daily basis. Administrators should value quality teachers all the more after reading this book, and go out of their way to keep their quality teachers. Truly, everyone even thinking about becoming an educator should read a book like this, and visit these schools.   Most of us do not even know what a crisis we are in, right now in America.   And hopefully, future educators will be the ones to fix this crisis. Work Cited Kozol, Jonathan, Savage Inequities, Harper Perennial, 1992.

Hiroshima Diary Essay

First of all, I would like to say that you have an overall good paper in my opinion. The first thing that I can suggest is a better hook. My attention wasn’t drawn into the paper. I suggest a quote by a scientist or other survivor, and/or a statistic – something that will make a reader think about the paper more. Another thing that I can recommend is to add a little bit more background on the two narratives, but just very brief (a couple sentences). Also I’d like to point out some things that you could use to improve your thesis. The essay is about â€Å"cause and effect† so it has to be mentioned in your thesis. Also mention the 2 things you will compare between the two stories so the reader has an idea where the paper will be going. Other things I noticed that sounded awkward are the way you used quotes. Introducing quotes is a better strategy than just using the quote as a sentence (paragraph 2) as it gives a better flow and gives a better explanation for your argument. Also in my opinion you could expand more on your analysis of both paragraphs and connect your argument to the thesis and to each other so you have a better evaluation of the discussed topic. There are several other small issues that I found. In paragraph 3 you used a long quote, which is 4+ lines, and it should be in a block format and indented. Also you used very short sentences such as, â€Å"Here are the quotes for the effect.† Using more complex sentences gives a better flow and a more professional look to your essay. You also had some good things in your essay. You provided very concise summary to inform a reader about the story and point out the most important information. You point. Also you have very good topic sentences introducing the argument of that paragraph. From your topic sentences I was able to know what they paragraph would be about, and you were consistent with it. After reading your essay and compared it to my own, I figured that I need to include a better summary. I do not give sufficient background information to be enough for my analysis. Junjie, you did a great job at providing accurate citations, great summary and good analysis. However, you could work on expanding your synthesis and evaluation of the argument in your body paragraph. Otherwise, good job.

Akhenaton and Amarna Art Essay

During the reign of the 18th Dynasty, Akhenaton had made his kingdom very wealthy and powerful, but at the same time he also changed art in his time period which became known as the Amarna Period. Art in the Amarna period was very different from the stiff and unemotional art from the earlier Egyptian dynasties. Akhenaton was very influential on the art; it seemed that he wanted the art to convey real life taking place. Even though portrayal of Akhenaton himself seems exaggerated it seems more life-like then the earlier art, all Pharaohs seemed to look exactly the same with the same body and the same stance. Amarna art shows Akhenaton with a very elongated face, full lips, cat-like eyes and a pudgy stomach. All of the other pieces would show the pharaohs looking very strong and tough, they would never have emotion shown on their face and they were always very stiff, most of the time with their hands in their fists down by their sides. It was the first time a ruler had been rendered with such a girlish figure and not seeming all that powerful. Other pieces of art during the Amarna period such as Akhenaten, His Wife Nefertiti, and Their Children show them all engaging together. Earlier pieces of Egyptian art don’t convey relationships within the families, there are pieces of art with the pharaohs and their wives but most of the time they are very stiff and only standing next to each other, with no hint that they even like each other. The portrait bust, Nefertiti, is also shown very life-like; her features make her described as the most beautiful women in the world. All of the interaction and flow make this art very distinctive for all Egyptian art. The Amarna period has art that well be recognized forever for the style it uses and the emotion and interaction it conveys.

Crime Reduction and Prevention Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Crime Reduction and Prevention Proposal - Essay Example Most affected by crimes in the City are the poor neighborhoods where fear and mistrust are at their peaks and the social bond among residents severely vulnerable. The main reasons for the high crime prevalence in such neighborhoods are the flourishing opportunities for crimes such as illegal drug and arms trade and possession, violence, and gun markets. If left unchecked and unchallenged, the souring crime levels may result in neighborhood or community neglect and disintegration. In addition, there would be little if any incentives for the citizens to invest both socially and economically in the neighborhoods marred with incidents of crimes and other disorder problems. To challenge this negative cycle caused by crimes and disorder problems in the City, there is need for all the stakeholders to formulate, implement, evaluate, and reform various crime prevention strategies that would ensure a safe and secure environment in the City for both its citizens and visitors (United Nations, 20 02). This paper explores some of the effective policies that may be established by the security stakeholders in the City of New York to assist crime victims, prevent crimes, and achieve effective justice for all. In addition, the paper addresses the effects that criminological theory and research have had on contemporary and historical crime control policies in New York City. Criminology Theories and their Influence Various theories proposed by scholars and other stakeholders in the subject of criminology have been rather important in the fight against crimes in New York City. Among the theories of criminology that have contributed to the fight against crime in New York City is the ‘Broken Window’ theory. According to this theory, the smallest or least noticeable evidences of crimes should never be ignored. In New York City, minor indications of neglect and disintegration of life in the City’s neighborhoods such as abandoned cars and buildings, littered streets, and prostitution have been accorded the right attention by the law enforcement agencies as they are the precursors of more serious crimes such as gang activity, drug dealing, and violent crimes among others. To this effect, a ‘zero tolerance’ approach based on the ‘broken window’ theory has been implemented by different law enforcement agencies and personnel in New York City. The theory further postulates that the fear of crime inherent in the City’s neighborhoods and other related crime factors, which play numerous roles in creating crimes in the City should not be ignored by the authorities. Besides endeavoring to avail equal economic opportunities for all in the City, the City of New York authorities do not spare any efforts in seeking to strengthen the social bonds that hold the diverse residents of the City. In other terms, any efforts to make the neighborhood of the City safer and more secure have incorporated other development activities, whic h create and attract jobs and avail affordable services to the populace. Importantly, all the crime prevention projects in the City have been based on sound scientific evidences. Evidence based Crime Prevention One of the benefits of the various criminology theories to the fight against crime in the City of New York has been in the formulation and implementation of evidence-based approaches to crime prevention. Important in such approaches is the emphasis laid on the need for crime prevention policies in the City. These crime prevention

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Research paper - Essay Example This is the overall purpose of this research. Skeletal muscle subjected to intense physical stress requires ready availability of energy resources and it is established that carbohydrate intake during exercise delays the onset of fatigue as it is a readily available source of energy. Only in the absence or deficiency of carbohydrates, other reserve sources such as body fat and protein are tapped under normal physiological circumstances. Oxidative metabolism in the skeletal muscle is upregulated by normal physiological mechanisms of gene transcription which increases the mRNA content of several genes in response to the demand imposed as a result of exercise. Carbohydrate intake is known to diminish this activity. Low availability of glycogen resources in endurance training is also known to stimulate gene expression in a manner which can prove beneficial to endurance performance. This physiological adaptation, the authors believe can be tapped for a better training method for athletes. They believe that exercise induced glycogen breakdown is maintained at an optimum level when exercise is done under fasting conditions and this facilitates energy provision from the oxidation of fat reserves in the body. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms can help develop better training programs for athletes, which was the indirect endeavor in this study. The authors’ hypothesis is pertinent to the currently available knowledge of skeletal muscle physiology as increased interest has been generated in this field due to the increasingly competitive environment in the international arena. Studies on trained athletes are numerous and the authors’ selection of healthy individuals from normal population in favor of actual athletes is an appropriate strategy as it can yield more pertinent data about skeletal muscle activity, which is already in pre conditioned and altered state

Dividend Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dividend Policy - Essay Example The news report also cited a clause in the lawsuit, which states that Greenlight is voting AGAINST Proposal 2 in Apples proxy, which would eliminate preferred stock from Apples charter. The Proposal 2 bundles several proposals regarding how preferred stocks are issued at Apple. Apple responded that the charge is not appropriate, with Greenlight grossly misrepresenting data, which formed the basis for its own proposal. Based from the report, the dividend payment appears to be a form of extra or special dividend, which is paid during a period of high earning (Chapter 18). The success of its products, notably the iPhone and the iPad, saw the meteoric rise of Apple’s stock price, peaking at about $700 in September of 2012 (Molina). As a result, the company has a lot of cash on hand. Indeed, according to Apple it is distributing $45 billion within the span of three years (Molina). However, unlike most dividends under this category, Apple opted to follow quarterly payments, which is the most common practice among companies (Chapter 18). The decision to pay shareholders with dividends was only introduced after Steve Jobs’ death, after Tim Cook assumed leadership. Apple has been notorious for its policy of holding out on its cash hoard (particularly during Jobs’ tenure), and refusing to pay dividends to its shareholders. This dividend policy is, of course, justified. Apple has been known to spend much of its cash on research and development. This can also be attributed to the fact that dividend reduces the value of the firm (Chapter 18). Also, dividends are considered to be irrelevant as a policy. The reason for this is that â€Å"investors will not pay higher prices for firms with higher dividends because they do not need it to convert shares to cash† (Chapter 18). It was only last year that Apple changed its position when the company decided to pay

Treaty of Verdun Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Treaty of Verdun - Research Paper Example From the ancient time, the ruling authority in European Union was keen on proper implementation or laws. The pattern of ruling by the leaders of Europe always suggested the fact that every step taken by the countries belonging to the European Union was based on various treaties which was approved willingly and constitutionally by the EU member countries. From a broader perspective, a treaty can be defined as an obligatory contract between EU member countries. In modern times any treaty related to the European Nation is consisted of the objectives of European Union, rules set by the European Union as a group for all the member countries, and most importantly how the decisions will be made in the future taking into consideration the relationship between the EU and its member countries. The main objectives of the Treaties are to ensure EU get more efficient and the process of ruling get more transparent. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the significance of the Treaties of Verdun, 843 which changed the history of the Europe for ever. The paper will also focus on how the treaties change the structure of the Europe as a whole, the consequence that this treaty had as a whole. From the historical perspective, the Franconian Empire was one of the most substantial changes toward integrated administration of the medieval passà ©. During this Reich, which was comprised of both Romanian and German people, the foundation for the political, social and cultural evolution of Western Europe was laid down thoroughly. The consequence of instincts originating from this initial social and party-political center can barely be exaggerated. The conjunction of Franconian kings and Kaiser with the papacy had a long lasting significance just not for the successive history of Franconia, but also for the entire Europe. â€Å"The alliance of Franconian emperor and the Papacy was of major significance for the

Visual and Formal Analysis of A Pair of Ear Flares Essay

Visual and Formal Analysis of A Pair of Ear Flares - Essay Example What ideas does it raise? The image also raises the idea of movement which refers to how a viewer’s eye is guided through an artwork based on areas of emphasis (Jewitt and Leeuwen, 40). Contrasting colors or shapes, as well as the use of lines, directs movement in a piece of art. In our work of art (a Pair of Ear flare), our eye navigates through the pattern starting from the frontal which is a level round metal base that has relief figures on the exterior. Our eye then moves to different colors and textures of the Ear flare. What emotions it provokes and the size of space needed for display The image emphasizes on mythologies and ritual performances (Jewitt and Leeuwen, 40). It provokes cruelty in the sense of the use of birds for ritual sacrifices. Messengers were also subjected to hard labor. The Pair of Ear flares does not need to be displayed in a wide open space since it is large to notice from far. It is large in size for an Ear ornament, but it does not necessarily mea n that it requires being displayed in a large space. The lighting required, and position to be viewed from The color at the background is dull, and it thus makes the Ear flare stand out as it has an outer gold color that captures the viewer’s attention (Jewitt and Leeuwen, 50). It does not require bright, high contrast lighting since it already has a combination of bright colors. The pair of Ear flares welcomes you to view it up-close because they are not large enough to enable a viewer to be able to concentrate on details. Where is the artifact meant for display? The artifact was meant to be on display in a museum. The artist has used hammered gold, shell, sodality, and turquoise as the main elements in the design of the Pair of Ear flares. The main reason for using these media is to make the art piece standout especially from the use of gold and turquoise. Advantages Gold brings out a sense of high value because it is a symbol of prestige and wealth. It is also bold hence m aking the Ear flare standout. Hammered gold is strong and does not weather out or break. Turquoise was associated with bringing a good fortune and happiness to the wearer of the ornament. Shells help enhance the beauty of the artifact. Limitations The use of gold makes the Pair of Ear flare expensive to purchase especially for those individuals that are not wealthy. The use of gold makes it a target for theft. Shells make it prone to damage since they are brittle. Turquoise is damaged by household chemicals and also hot water, which makes the task of taking care of the element difficult. Lines Lines have been used to define edges on the pair of Ear flare, where some of those lines are linear while others are curvilinear in character which has resulted in plane spaces and negative spaces. A plane surface in a triangular shape is formed by the connection of the points. Lines have been used to describe dissimilar forms, levels in the spaces and movement region in the general design (Je witt and Leeuwen, 100). There is the use of both thick and thin lines in the image of ear flares. They are largely vertical in nature. There is a combination of both straight and curved lines the image of a pair of era flares. This gives the Image a solid look. The aspect of color The color used is particularly attractive and rich. The colors used on the pair of ear flares are lively; the use a combination of green, white, red, gold and purple colors makes the ear flares look outstanding.  

Econ 335 4th assignment lee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Econ 335 4th assignment lee - Essay Example In the contemporary times, the situation has somewhat changed in the favour of emerging new economies like Japan, Korea, China etc. who manage their currencies relative to US Dollar and have consistently diverted their surplus to the US through export. The developing economies, at the same time, have considerably increased their forex reserves to keep an edge in the new transformed global business environment. Since the role of emerging new economies is seemingly like that of Europe, when Bretton Woods I system was initiated, the current system is called Bretton Woods II system. Triffin Dilemma seems to have reappeared in the current global economy of recessive trend only to some extent. Triffin Dilemma primarily refers to Robert Triffin’s contentions that Bretton Woods I would not offer long term economic stability because its inner ‘workings contained contradictions†¦ The Triffin Dilemma posited that the world therefore confronted a choice between running short of liquidity and undermining confidence in the dollar, which was destined sooner or later to produce a crisis (Triffin, 1960). Indeed, his prophecy had come true and Bretton Woods I system crashed eventually. In the recent years, the American Economy has undergone a rapid downfall and the increasing US Account deficit has devalued the dollar to the extent that it has generated new concern in the international trade arena. Though it seems quite probable that Triffin’s Dilemma can reappear in the current global economic situation in the near future but the recovery in the American economy have forestalled the speculations. The emerging new dynamics of oil and globalization give further credence to the stability of Bretton Woods II system The main similarity between the two systems is that both have pegged their exchange rates of their currencies against the US dollar which had greatly facilitated export for the countries in Europe, when BW I was adopted and now the

Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project - Coursework Example This organization was founded back in 1902 and together with its subsidiaries; it engages is production, marketing and distribution of non-alcoholic beverages, most of which belong to the Coca Cola Company. The CCBCC trades in sparkling beverages like energy drinks, and still beverages such as bottled mineral water, tea, ready to drink coffee, juices, enhanced water as well as sports drinks. The beverage agreement under which it operates is the cola agreement and the allied beverage agreement that allows the company to produce distribute and market the sparkling beverage products of the COCA COLA Company in specified regions. This company sells and distributes its products directly to retail stores and other outlets. Food markets, institutional accounts, and vending machine outlet are some of the outlets served by this company. The bottling rights used by this company were issued to it directly by the Coca Cola Company to bottle in the area covering North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. It also covers some parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. This company has fulltime employees that amount to 5,000 and part time employees amounting to 1,500. The total number of employees in this company is about 6,500. The top leardership of the company is composed of the Board of Directors whose members are together with; J. Frank Harrison (Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive officer), Henry W. Slint (President, COO, Secretary and Director), William H Jones (Independent Director) , Morgan Harrison Everett (Director and Director Community Relations), and James H. Morgan (Independent Director) (Nasdaq, 2014). The Coca Cola Bottlers Consolidated operates under the consumable goods industry under the soft drink sector. This industry is filled with several competitors; some produce consumables that are not actually soft drinks; hence are in different sectors but within the same industry. At the

Contentment from a Different Person’s’ Perspective Essay Example for Free

Contentment from a Different Person’s’ Perspective Essay â€Å"God knows best†. This is a title of one of the poems made by Helen Steiner Rice. It is stated in the poem that whatever challenges that come in people’s lives, it is not a punishment but an opportunity to be strong. Tears that flow from eyes will eventually become a source of courage to face life’s’ enduring trials. Sarah’s story is a story of a person who was deep challenged by God. As further reading, try to discern how God used miseries to make her a better person. Sarah is a 40-year-old woman whose life absolutely did not just began at her present age. She is a businesswoman and lives in a fast-paced world in the city. Her business is engaged in food industry and doing well in the present time. She had bought lands from several provinces where she plans to construct additional houses. At first sight, she seemed to live in just about a perfect life. However, she has no family of her own. The only family she considers is her nephew, Aldrin. She serves as his guardian for 13 years now. Aldrin suffers from one type of autism, the Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Pervasive Developmental Disorder or also termed as â€Å"atypical autism†, is a kind of catchall category for children who have some autistic problems but who don’t fit into other categories. Many people thinks that Aldrin is the only thorn of Sarah’s’ life. Little do they know that he is actually one of Sarah’s’ reason of existence. â€Å"It is not that I have no choice. I see myself from him. We both seemed outcast from our loved ones. Besides, I got no one except him. I give him love that his parents failed to provide him. In return, I receive love from a very special son which I ever dreamt of having. † Sarah, like her nephew, suffers from a different illness. She had been trying to escape a painful past. At 25, she had a child. It was a baby boy named Kurt. He was a premature baby and in fact a miracle for his part to be born alive. Unfortunately, after two years, God had to take back the child from her. His heart was too weak to make him stable. It was the most tragic moment for Sarah. She questioned God why she had to have Kurt if he will be gone right away. For 3 years, she doubted God until Aldrin enters her life. One unusual day, her sister visited her. She asked her to take care of Aldrin for two months and that she had to leave for work. The supposedly two months became years. It took long for Sarah to give herself a chance to love again. Every day, she wishes Kurt to replace Aldrin’s side. She had a lot of what if’s and could have been’s before she realized her purpose for Aldrin. Every day they spent together, she learns to sympathize with Aldrin’s condition. â€Å"I am not the only person who is being challenged by God. There is lot of people who undergo worse cases than mine. I am in fact more privileged than them. God gives me not a responsibility but a mission for someone as special as Aldrin†, Sarah said. Before, she wandered why Aldrin had to be part of her life. After years of taking care of him, she becomes more concern to why he had to be part of his, and what more can she do to help him. Indeed, people go through tough situations in life. These situations somehow define how each people are different from one another. God has his own way of molding each person. Sarah’s’ story is just one of the stories of life. There is lot of untold ones which seemed unimaginable yet real. It is only when a person understands why these situations occur that will help him appreciate and discern how God wants him to be shaped in his image. (662) Works Cited Ricamara, Sarah J. Personal Interview. 16 April 2009.

Leadership Assessment Essay Example for Free

Leadership Assessment Essay Leadership can be best defined as beauty. One may say that is in the eye of the beholder. The best managers consistently allow different leaders to emerge and inspire their teammates. My prior organization, Comcast Corporation, a telecommunications provider, mission statement is to deliver a superior experience to their customers every day. Jason Biske, whom is Director of Sales and Operation, created an environment where Comcast is focused solely on customers by building relationships. When we would see him, he would always speak and ask how your day or sales was going. Jason was really big on keeping the sales floor informed of new promos or contests that were going on by sending constant email communications, ongoing training sessions, or holding focus groups on various processes of improvement in the sales process. When it came to leadership styles, Jason Biske demonstrated several. He embraced democratic, coaching, pacesetting, and authoritative. He initiated structure and created an environment that made you feel a part of something. Along with that he showed consideration. We felt like our opinions mattered and there was a concern for the employees. Leaders provide a sense of direction for the employees of the organization. Without this sense of direction (both strategic and ethical), the organization and its employees could easily lose their direction.In order for any leader to be successful all styles need to be incorporated. Leaders, therefore, are given the responsibility of creating and shaping culture. The organizational structure that has been created has positioned the company in the smartest way possible. † As the world changes, the culture of organizations must sometimes be re-shaped to better fit the environment and the overall strategy of the organization (Buhler)†.Comcast strongly believes in teamwork, integrity, creativity and commitment within the organization. Managers must be convinced of the benefits as well as higher performance for their teams if they are to become enthusiastic leaders of change. â€Å"Above all, senior executives should encourage managers to think big: the new world of work opens up new possibilities for how companies define their boundaries and organize work (Lund, 2012)†.Having such a strong team of leadership gives employees as well as potential talent something to look forward to in regards to a career. The positive thing about having a clear organizational structure is simply it allows you to see the formal relationship that exits between the departments. Jason Biske‘s job as director was to improve the sales process and increase revenue in the sales department. As a result he increased revenue by 24 percent. He also rolled out a process called Sales Pro which would make the sales process simpler by focusing on relationships. Even though his styles motivated employees, he used communication through m ass emails mostly. On a daily basis, you would receive several reports on how the company is profiting. At my career level no one understood how we were contributing to these successes. Jason would get you excited to make money but somewhere in there the leadership failed.† According to Moorhead and Griffin (1998) employee motivation and ability jointly contribute towards employee performance and the most challenging task of the managers is to motivate employee to execute the utmost of their ability†. (Iqbal)†. When you have middle managers that are not as excited about their jobs, it is hard to keep the customer service reps motivated to sale the product or meet numbers when the objectives are not clear. In an organization, an individual has to be seen as a contributor. Most importantly, you have to keep your employees motivated. Most people never make it to the top because they are successful at being a doer instead of being a leader. â€Å"Leadership is more about inspiration, about guidance, about communication and building trust among the team. Management is probably the day-to-day running of an organization. It is about developing and organizing aspects of your businesses and running those businesses (Toor, 2011)†. Some best pra ctices that organizational leaders can follow are 1. Accept feedback from the people that work with you. No one knows best other than the people that deal with the customers every day. Some of the most successful companies are profitable because the organizational leader listened to what the employees shared. There is value in shared values. Secondly, try a crazy idea every now and then. Employees like creativity and a challenge to keep them on their toes. Lastly, show courage. Effective leaders sometimes have to issue orders whether or not it means they are popular or not. If you are leading effectively then your team will support you. Leaders are made, not born. â€Å"I consider leadership as something long term with a clear vision of what to achieve. Management, however, is more about function; it’s short-term and involves setting a target and achieving it. Diversity is not only important to the work environment and the business but it can also have some legal ramifications if not followed properly.† Workplace Diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. The roots of diversity does not begin to range from race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, educational background etc., rather it begins from perception of the employees towards each other (Andrew Patrick, 2011)†. Ccompanies that embrace employees from different cultural backgrounds, experiences and even countries are better positioned to succeed in this century. Hiring a diverse workforce helps a company stay in compliance with employment laws and build workplaces that are more inclusive. It also assists employees in reaching their fullest potential. When hiring and managing employees from different cultures and backgrounds it can be challenging, but it can also be very rewarding. â€Å"Diversity is not a photo opportunity. Anybody can recruit anybody. Keeping people is the challenge (Sreedhar, 2011)†. Most corporations have diversity council which allows you to manage diversity globally therefore allowing others to learn from different perspectives and cultures. From a business perspective, companies have become more innovative requiring expansion into global territories. It requires them to move people as well as products around. With that being said, a company must be able to understand international customers, their commerce and their competition better than before. Works Cited Andrew Patrick, H. (2011). Knowledge Workers Demography and Workplace Diversity. Journal Of Marketing Management, pp. 2(2), 38-73. Buhler, P. M. (n.d.). The evolving leader of today. Supervision. pp. 59(12), 16. . Iqbal, J. Y. (n.d.). EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION IN MODERN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW OF 12 YEARS. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business,. pp. 4(3), 692-708. Lund, S. M. (2012). Preparing for a new era of knowledge work. pp. Mckinsey Quarterly, (4), 103-110. Sreedhar, U. (2011). Workforce Diversity and HR Challenges. Advances In Management. pp. 4(10), 33-36. Toor, S. (2011). Differentiating Leadership from Management. An Empirical Investigation of Leaders and Managers. Leadership Management In Engineering, pp. 11(4), 310. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)LM.1943-5630.0000138.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Retail

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Retail Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication All around the various environments/ settings that man lives in, there is always some form of communication that takes place, whether verbal or non-verbal communication. Most of the communication that happens with man is often conveyed through non-verbal means. The non-verbal communication may happen both consciously and non-consciously. This paper seeks to give an analysis of a social setting – in this case, a shopping mall – and give an application of the various communication concepts in relation to this setting. There are many reasons as to why people decide to take trips down to the shopping malls. Perhaps they could be going to do some actual shopping or window-shopping, to relax/ meet someone, watch a movie, access the internet, and have a cup of coffee or a meal, among other reasons. At times people walk into the shopping malls as individuals or in groups. As they go about doing their own businesses, they communicate in various ways. For example, an individual may walk into the goods bay and begin walking around the shelves. The pace of walking in itself communicates a certain message. For instance, based on the kinesics theory, if the person is walking hurriedly and pacing back and forth among the shelves, especially in the same area, one may easily conclude that the person is either confused or in a hurry to escape from something or someone. At this point, if there are shopping attendants in the goods bay, they may approach the person and try conversing. In relation to the adjacency pa irs concept, the shopping attendant may begin a conversation with words like, â€Å"Sir, may I help you?† The response the individual is expected to give may be similar to, â€Å"Yes, please. Could you please show me where I can find product X?† In this case, product X could be a particular detergent, shaving cream, electronic equipment, and so on. If a response that may sound to be rude, disrespectful, or harsh is given, then the shopping attendant may try to want to know more in order to identify the problem or seek assistance from somewhere else. In this scenario, customer service and public relations may be necessary. The two techniques may come in handy to resolve the situation. At times, a person may walk into the shopping mall and may just take their time moving around the shelves. They may seem to pick up things off the shelves but then return them. At times, they may be seen to compare two items as they talk to themselves. In such instances, in relation to kinesics concept, the person may appear to be undecided and does not know the choice to make. Perhaps, the person could be doing a mental budget by comparing the products picked, or they may just not know what to pick. Sometimes, people go to purchase products that they are not familiar with at all. In such cases, the person doing the shopping may befriend another shopper and solicit for advice. In the process, they may actually converse and show curtsies and smiles. Different people may actually interpret this act differently. Some may see it to be a friendly and relaxed looking environment. As the people who have just met continue to talk and laugh, it may signify socializing and friendly society. Ot her people may think that the two people may have known one another for ages and are just catching up. To some, they may think that the two people are just drawing unnecessary attention. Some buyers as they do their shopping some go picking anything from the shelves and in large quantities. Some pick a variety of one product, e.g. different types of a particular brand of soap or lotion. Some do not even care to look at the product prices. However, others have to compare the prices carefully before making up their minds on what to buy. These contrasting behaviors show that different buyers have different purchasing capabilities. For instance, when a parent walks into the shopping mall with their child, the child may want something that was outside the budget. Some parents may choose to buy the child what they have asked without thinking twice while others will have to convince their children that it is not possible to buy them what they want. According to the proxemics concept, this behavior shows that different people have different purchasing power. When a shopper buys a variety of things, they are even treated differently by the shopping attendants and cashiers as well. For instance, they may be offered a mall attendant to help them carry the goods to their car, they may be given discounts, or they may be offered some preferential treatment like being offered extra items at no extra cost. There are also people who purchase goods without having to come to the shopping mall and have the goods delivered at their doorstep at an extra cost. Some people do not have trouble paying for the extra cost of transport delivery while others have to consider their options. Regular customers are also treated in a special way that seems to appreciate them. However, those who exhibit high purchasing power and do not necessarily fall to the category of regular customers are always treated in a nice way compared to others. They may even be taken to the front line, skipping other shoppers waiting to be served. This underscores the fact that the elite in society will always have their way as they please. The inequalities that exist in society are also evident thro ugh such gestures. At the cashier counters, there are those who pay cash while others pay using credit or debit cards. Those who have electronic payment cards may at times be in possession of more than one card. The communication here is that in society, there are the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. There are those with plenty and spend with ease as they can afford whatever they want. Others have even to negotiate at the counter as they pay and may even end up not paying for everything that they picked from the shelves. All these help in explaining the concept of proxemics. In addition, some clients may experience problems with their credit cards. This scenario at times may lead to the involvement of the managers. In such cases, the customer may converse with the manager and want to find out why they cannot purchase anything yet they may have the funds. In such instances, the transmission model of communication is applicable. This is because the manager may involve the bank of the cl ient or access the personal details of the client under authorization from relevant authorities. However, encoding and decoding of the messages may lead to too much bureaucracy that wastes time for the client even when there is no major issue. Shopping malls are at times social meeting points. People who know each may bump into one another in the malls or may arrange to meet there. When they meet, there may be the excitement of meeting as they greet one another. In the process of greetings, they may either hug or shake hands. This scenario best explains the speech act concept. The two parties express their greetings in action form through hugging or shaking hands. When they are even saying goodbyes in the shopping malls, they may kiss or show some signal to the public. However, the danger with sign language is that not all symbols/ signs are standard across various localities. One friendly gesture in a certain locality may be an offense in another locality. The same case applies to certain words used in the public. There are words in certain cultures that are not offensive while in other cultures they are highly offensive. For this reason, extra caution should be taken when speech acting. The challenge however is that most of the time, people speech act at times unconsciously. They may not even consider to have made an offense. One important communication concept that marketers in shopping malls use is the looking-glass self. Whenever a customer goes to buy or just wants to try a product, the marketers may give pleasant comments to the potential buyer in a bid to sell the product. For example, when one wants to buy clothes, they may go window-shopping and in the process try them out to see how they look in them. The marketers often take advantage of these situations to give compliments to the potential buyer. The nice or positive compliments regarding the cloth in relation to the potential buyer play around with the psychology of the potential buyer. As a result, the potential buyer’s self-esteem may be boosted and the compliments may play a major role in influencing the decision to buy. Even if the potential buyer may not have money now to buy the product, they may go and come back later to purchase the item after a while. When clients are made to look good and are motivated to buy, they will buy ev en if they did not intend to buy a given product. The sales promotion personnel should learn to utilize the looking-glass self concept in ensuring that they sell their products/ services. The provision of demos goes a long way in further convincing the potential buyer and influences their decision to buy greatly. Well-presented demos or promotions capture the attention of potential buyers. At the same time, the promotions and demos influence the perceptions of how the potential buyer thinks the sales promoter views them, consequently affecting decision to buy in a number of potential buyers. In conclusion, verbal and non-verbal communication often takes place concurrently. However, the majority of the communication is what happens non-verbally. Learning how to interpret different messages as they are communicated is the most important thing in interpersonal communications. The person who learns to decode messages, especially non-verbal messages, always knows how to relate with other people in society effectively. Clarity especially in verbal is important. This is because if the message is not properly encoded for the intended recipient to decode appropriately as intended, then meaning will have been lost. Hence, elaborations in verbal communications are extremely importance for clarity purposes and ease of understanding.

A Look Into False Memory Syndrome :: Memory Psychology Disorders Medical Essays

Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. A repressed memory is one that is retained in the subconscious mind, where one is not aware of it but where it can still affect both conscious thoughts and behavior. When memory is distorted or confabulated, the result can be what has been called the False Memory Syndrome: a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are entered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes (note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such). We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behaviors. The analogy to personality disorder is intentional. False memory syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids c onfrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so focused on the memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with real problems in his or her life (Loftus 1980, 1997). There are many models which try to explain how memory works. Nevertheless, we do not know exactly how memory works. One of the most questionable models of memory is the one which assumes that every experience a person has had is 'recorded' in memory and that some of these memories are of traumatic events too terrible to want to remember. These terrible memories are locked away in the subconscious mind, i.e. repressed, only to be remembered in adulthood when some triggering event opens the door to the unconscious. Both before and after the repressed memory is remembered, it causes physical and mental disorders in a person. Some people have made an effort to explain their pain, even cancer, as coming from repressed memories of incest in the body. Scientists have studied related phenomenon such as people whose hands bleed in certain religious settings. Presumably such people, called stigmatics, "are not revealing unconscious memories of being crucified as young children, but rather are demonstrating a fascinating psychogenic anomaly that springs from their conscious fixation on the suffering of Christ. Similarly, it is possible that conscious fixation on the idea that one was sexually abused might increase the frequency of some physical symptoms, regardless of whether or not the abuse really occurred.

Frank and Ritas Relationship Essay -- Educating Rita Relationships Es

Frank and Rita's Relationship At the start of the play, Frank and Rita can be seen as opposites; Frank is a middle aged academic, whilst Rita is a young, female hairdresser. Any friendship between the two seems unlikely, but they quickly warm to one another as first appearances show. They are both involved in unsatisfactory relationships, and they both want more from life than it seems to offer. The main difference between the characters are that, whereas Rita has recognised her unhappiness and is determined to change it through becoming educated, Frank is more negative and prefers to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Frank and Rita become friends because she needs him to teach her, and he needs the vitality and freshness that she brings to his life. Willy Russell presents Frank and Rita’s relationship, and the changes it goes through, in a variety of ways. The relationship starts off well when they meet each other in scene one and the contrast of personalities is shown very well, Frank leads the boring lifestyle, whereas Rita bursts in and is full of life- their personalities and characters are totally opposite. Frank could do with a bit of something different in his life and this is why he takes to her so warmly. I think that the reader comes under the impression that Frank may want something out of this relationship other than teaching his literary knowledge. RITA: This Forster, honest to God he doesn’t half get on my tits. FRANK: Good. You must show me the evidence. This quote shows that Frank likes to flirt with Rita and shows that literary knowledge is not all that is on his mind. Rita, however, just wants to learn and be good friends with Frank but nothing more. From Rita’s perspective fra... ... goes on to tell Rita how he has changed her and that he doesn’t like the change he sees. Frank in his own words then says that he can’t bare Rita anymore. Through the last few scenes both of them have changed considerably and Frank especially does not like the change that he sees in Rita and due to this he continues to argue with her. The most important thing is that education has given Rita choice. She now has a lot more freedom to what she wants, as she is educated, she can choose form a number of jobs, she can choose which type of people she wishes to socialise with an so on. I think that overall both of them have learned that sometimes times change and people change and In the end I think they both accept this as they get on good ground with each other. At the very end Rita gives Frank a hair cut that she has promised him since Act one scene one. Frank and Rita's Relationship Essay -- Educating Rita Relationships Es Frank and Rita's Relationship At the start of the play, Frank and Rita can be seen as opposites; Frank is a middle aged academic, whilst Rita is a young, female hairdresser. Any friendship between the two seems unlikely, but they quickly warm to one another as first appearances show. They are both involved in unsatisfactory relationships, and they both want more from life than it seems to offer. The main difference between the characters are that, whereas Rita has recognised her unhappiness and is determined to change it through becoming educated, Frank is more negative and prefers to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Frank and Rita become friends because she needs him to teach her, and he needs the vitality and freshness that she brings to his life. Willy Russell presents Frank and Rita’s relationship, and the changes it goes through, in a variety of ways. The relationship starts off well when they meet each other in scene one and the contrast of personalities is shown very well, Frank leads the boring lifestyle, whereas Rita bursts in and is full of life- their personalities and characters are totally opposite. Frank could do with a bit of something different in his life and this is why he takes to her so warmly. I think that the reader comes under the impression that Frank may want something out of this relationship other than teaching his literary knowledge. RITA: This Forster, honest to God he doesn’t half get on my tits. FRANK: Good. You must show me the evidence. This quote shows that Frank likes to flirt with Rita and shows that literary knowledge is not all that is on his mind. Rita, however, just wants to learn and be good friends with Frank but nothing more. From Rita’s perspective fra... ... goes on to tell Rita how he has changed her and that he doesn’t like the change he sees. Frank in his own words then says that he can’t bare Rita anymore. Through the last few scenes both of them have changed considerably and Frank especially does not like the change that he sees in Rita and due to this he continues to argue with her. The most important thing is that education has given Rita choice. She now has a lot more freedom to what she wants, as she is educated, she can choose form a number of jobs, she can choose which type of people she wishes to socialise with an so on. I think that overall both of them have learned that sometimes times change and people change and In the end I think they both accept this as they get on good ground with each other. At the very end Rita gives Frank a hair cut that she has promised him since Act one scene one.

The Federal Reserve :: Essays Papers

The Federal Reserve President Clinton appointed Alan Greenspan, a well-known chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, to his fourth term as the chairman of the nation's central bank. Alan Greenspan accepted the chance to lead the Federal Reserve Board for another four-year term beginning June of 2000. President Clinton praised Greenspan for starting a "New Era", an era with high technologies and productivity to advance. He is expected to push the level of prosperity to a higher stage. Alan Greenspan is known as a man of his profession to realize the power and impact of new technologies for the 21st century. The Fed's job of stabilizing output in the short run and promoting price stability in the long run is made more difficut by two main factors: the long and variable lags in policy, and the uncertain influences of factors other than monetary policy on the economy. This raised an important question, what problems are caused by other influences on the economy? Output, employment, and inflation are influenced not only by monetary policy, but also by such factors as our government's taxing and spending policies, and the introduction of new technologies etc. As we step into the 21st century, the wide spreads of computer industries and advance technologies have enhanced the productivity. When workers and capitals are more productive, the economy can expand more rapidly without creating inflationary pressure. U.S. today has experienced a capability surge brought on by the utilization of computer and hi-tech developments. The issue of monetary policy maker is how much faster productivity is increasing and whether those increase are temporary or permanent. With all these uncertainties, the board has to know how and when Fed.'s policies will affect the economy? Fed looks at a wide range of indicators of the future course of employment, output and inflation. Indicators induces the measure of money supply, unemployment rate, real interest rate, nominal and real GDP growth, etc†¦ With so much variation of possibilities, policymakers basically have to rely on their own judgement about the directionality of these indictors. They based on these foreshadowing to formulate strategies to maintain the economy at its top condition. In order to have a desire effect on the economy, the Fed must take into account of the influence of these indication, either offset them or reinforce them as needed.

Essay on Microeconomic Reform in Australia

Write an essay on Microeconomic reform in Australia including discussion on: * The meaning of the term ‘Microeconomic reform†. * Examples of recent microeconomic reform * Possible effects of microeconomic reform in the Australian economy. Microeconomic reforms (MER) are the actions to reform particular product and factor markets with the aim of raising the economy†s long term growth rate and increasing its flexibility. It also refers to the set of policy initiatives aimed at prompting structural change in the Australian economy so that resources can flow freely from one use to another. Any barrier to the free flow of resources in response to price signals creates inefficiencies in the economy, adding to cost. MER has many aims. Firstly it is used to improve resource allocation by maximising output of scarce resources. It is also to encourage efficient operations of markets (adoption of world†s best practice) and encourage efficiencies-allocative (limited resources allocated to the most uses for its output to be maximised), technical (aims to produce at the scale where costs per unit are the lowest) and dynamic ( how firms achieve and maintain efficiency over time). Micro reforms refer to individual sectors within the economy. They work to improve inputs and outputs, and are tools of control in conjunction with macro policies (fiscal and monetary). MER works on supply side economics to improve productivity. This is done through govt. deregulation which improves efficiency, lowers tariffs, increases international competitiveness and through the reforms of the GBEs which lowers costs and increases competition (Hilmer report). In recent years there have been many examples of developments in MER. The last fifteen years of MER has been the crucial factor in improvements of the status of the economy on Australia especially the return to low inflation. In the product markets, MER has been reducing protection, and improving the competition policy through the introduction of the Trade Practices act (1974) and the Hilmer report in 1993, as a decrease in regulations mean increased competition. This led to privatisation and corporatisation of GBEs and deregulation. In Factor markets, such as the capital markets, deregulation occurred from the early 80s which included the deregulation of financial markets and float of the dollar (â€Å"83). Labour markets also went under some structural changes with the decentralisation of wage-fixing with the introduction of enterprise bargaining instead of arbitration and the end of National Wage cases in the early 90s as well as restructuring of awards. Under the Howard govt. the introduction of the WRA has brought on AWAs (individual contracts), simplification of awards and measures to reduce union power. Some deregulation has occurred through some reduction of the role of the IRC in wage fixing and industrial relations. In the public sector, the most important MER of the decade are the corporatisation and privatisation of former GBEs such as the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Qantas, Telstra (partial)(end of monopoly in 1991 and full competition in 1997) and corporatisation of Australia Post. Taxation has gone under some changes with the introduction of capital gains tax, fringe benefits tax and the possible introduction of a GST and tax indexation (linking tax brackets to inflation rates so that individuals would not be under the influence of bracket creep due to inflation. Also income tax cuts-from 60% to 47%-provide incentives to work and increase output. Welfare has also been under the influence of MERs through tightening of old age pensions and benefits through the incomes and assets test as well as the introduction of the ‘Work for the Dole† scheme. The main reason for MER is to improve the over all performance of economic activity. MER must help to achieve govt. objectives as the failure of macroeconomic policy means it cannot do the job alone. It attempts to override and supplement macro by improving dynamism of productivity, efficiency and raising national income. It aims to improve the ability to absorb displaced workers and make the economy less inflation prone. Another reason for MER is to ensure efficiency for sustainable economic growth and improved living standards. The three main types of efficiency are allocative, technical and dynamic and are prerequisites for possible economic growth. Allocative efficiency is when prices reflect costs. It is the production of combination of goods and services which yields maximum efficiency. Technical efficiency involves the production of g+s at minimum average costs. This is done through the acquisition of capital and the right number of labour employed to produce at maximum efficiency without the Law of Diminishing returns kicking in, or excessive RULC. Another reason for MER is to improve competition. It puts pressure on firms to increase technical efficiency and to pass on the benefits of the improved technical efficiency in the form of lower prices to consumers. In turn, competition will improve allocative efficiency, which means resources will be allocated only to the areas which reflect consumer demand and push price down to long run average costs. The pattern is like a set of dominos, reduced allocation of resources will increase competition which puts pressure to lower prices and improve resource allocation, which in turn will increase national income and living standards. A proof of its success is the dramatic decrease of inflation in Australia from the 70s (10%) to the 80s (8%) to the 90s (

Ethical Movie Review: Blood Diamond Essay

0.1 Introduction The following essay will examine ethical issues addressed through the movie â€Å"Blood Diamond†. The two main issues identified and discussed are; child soldiers and conflict diamonds. My main lens of ethical theories will consist of the four western theories, this includes, egoism, utilitarianism, ethics of duties and ethics of rights. Even though these theories are based on ethical absolutism, I will still try to apply a pluralistic view. Additionally, some of these theories will be expanded and other theories that do not tend so much towards ethical absolutism will be added. The following section will concentrate more on how these issues occurred and try to give some potential answer to the problems. In order to do so descriptive ethical theories will be tools in the examination. Finally the conclusion will be presented by a combination of a film review and a short summary of the findings in the text. 1.1 Children with guns The first of the two ethical issues that will be examined is the use of kids as soldiers. In order to do so I believe I have to take a subjective role on the subject, looking from a rebel soldier. The reasons for this is because I believe objective or western views on this topic will in the end state that this is neither moral or ethical. In order to get a more interesting view on the matter, I will use an alternative approach and try to look out of the eyes of a soldier taking the use of kid soldiers. The question is; how can the use of kids as soldiers be justified? The situation described in the movie tells us about the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which is a rebel group fighting the government in Sierra Leone 1999. To put the situation in a soldiers mind, one could argue that his or hers thoughts were, â€Å"I am being invaded by the west, they are stealing my diamonds, the government is corrupt, how can I win this fight?† This perspective is based on RUF as one minded soldiers, of course they are not, but in order to make this argument the assumption is so. The first ethical theory that can be linked to the response of child soldiers is egoism. The main concept of this theory is justified with one having to focus on one self; to control all other things is to hard (Crane and Matten 2010). It is important to distinguish from selfishness, and one can argue that this action can be justified as an egoistic mindset, not a selfish point of view. They do not fight only for their own winning; they fight for what they believe is best for the country and RUF. The rest of the world would probably disagree to the use of kids, but how can they judge a situation that for most of them is so far away that they can only be prejudice not knowledgeable about the situation? One can even go so far to say that both the consequentialist theories supports the actions performed by this rebel group, they are fighting for their own desires and what they believe is the greater good. In order to do so they have to utilise the resources available, ergo using children as soldiers and living in utilitarianism. Consequentialist theories focus on the outcome, and one can state that is what has to be the focus in order to actually use so young people for means in war. The differences between the theories are that egoism focuses on the decision-maker while utilitarianism casts an eye on the wider community, which RUF seems to do as well when fighting against the government (Crane and Matten 2010). For the remaining theories on this issue, there is no one that can be associated with the use of children for these actions. Both non-consequentialist theories have clear moral guidance that will not support the course of actions taken by the RUF. Ethical duties have three main maxims, and I believe no RUF soldier would want the use of child soldiers to become a universal law. Maxim two analyses will tells us that all the children have not freely decided to become soldiers, and can be said to be used as means by the RUF to achieve their goals, not to educate the children in the right way. The third maxim asks if the actions are universally accepted, there is no need for explanation here, it is not accepted by the world. Ethics of rights and justice has a large focus on human dignity and humanity; one can reasonably state that there is neither in the use of children as soldiers. So we can now make a short summary to say that with a pluralistic (maybe a bit more relativistic) view on the two consequentialist ethical theories the use of kids to bear arms can be justified. We will discuss this issue further in the next section of the essay, but first the issue of blood diamonds will be addressed. 1.2 â€Å"Bling-Bang† Conflict diamonds or blood diamonds as the title of the movie confirms is an important ethical issue enlightened by director Edward Zwick. Before going into discussion around ethics regarding this topic, a short definition of conflict diamonds is appropriate: â€Å"Conflict Diamonds – also known as blood diamonds – are diamonds that are used to fuel conflict and human rights abuses. They have founded brutal conflicts†¦ that have resulted in the death and displacement of millions of people.† (Global Witness 2011). In Sierra Leone 1999 the diamonds are traded for mostly weapons by the RUF, the buyers are big diamond companies using cleansing methods around the world in order to â€Å"wash† the stones. As the movie shows us, the diamond industry is powerful and unethical. Working from a view of pluralism which is an ethical middle way between absolutism and relativism, one which I believe should and is being used the most, the actions of the diamonds corporations are highly immoral and unethical. Pluralism is based on the notion that morality is a social phenomenon according to Kaler (Crane and Matten 2010). If one would argue that morality is a social phenomenon, the morality of taking use of rebel groups as RUF and their extreme methods of operations can in no way be justified. Aiding criminal and horrifying actions like these should never be done. The scary part is that this is nothing new, corporations do think of people as means only which is opposite of what the second maxim of ethical duties suggest (Crane and Matten 2010). A quote from the movie which describes this situation, and implies that the companies fool consumers into believing that every diamond comes without blood is said by Danny Archer when talking to an American journalist, â€Å"In America it’s bling bling, but out here it’s bling bang.† (Imdb.com 2011), What Mr. Archer here says is very on the spot on how unethical the operations of diamond companies deceive the world. And they do so knowingly, after all the intro of the movie shows a G8 conference where diamond CEO’s are precent and applauded for attending the fight against blood diamonds. When they at the end then still buy blood diamonds, their actions can be nothing else than both immoral and unethical. For every ethical theory that include morality, honour, or even the greater good, these people do not seem to care, and it is hard to find any way to justify their means except for financial winnings, which is sad, unethical and immoral. Their actions can be found as unethical by three of the four ethical theories mentioned; the only one that again can come to create peace of mind for the CEO’s is the line of egoism. Again the financial desires of diamond companies seems to be all they care about, and if they believe that everything else is not their problem, then egoism will accept the actions of these people. There is a but here, and as the last paragraph stated, they knowingly deceive and knowingly know what the history of their stones are. They make that history matter to them as soon as they attend the diamond meeting. And when they make that blood covering those diamonds matter, stepping out of line of the egoistic theory is something they do, and as ethical theories are rules and principals that determines right and wrong, these actions can clearly be stated as wrong (Crane and Matten 2010). I will not spend much time on covering the three remaining theories on this topic because I do not see room for much distortion when measuring the decisions up to the remaining three theories. Put simply, utilitarianism is not supported because their actions are not for the greater good. There is no â€Å"greater good† in buying conflict diamonds unknowingly for consumers; neither is there for exploiting a brutal civil war for economical purposes. There are to significant impacts on world’s society for this to be disregarded. Over to the non-consequentialist theories they are as described previously in the essay based much on morality, dignity and humanity, and there are room for little of these concepts in the actions of Van de Kaap. Van de Kaap is the character of the diamond CEO in this movie. And as mentioned earlier supporting such horrible military actions defies what the second maxim of ethical duties suggests. Now that the four main ethical theories have been discussed with this issue the following section of this essay will seek meaning in the actions performed by RUF and diamond corporations. 2.1 Finding the reasons Normative theories tend to focus more on the problems after actions and decisions have been made, this section will use tools from descriptive ethical theory, which are used as tools on how the decisions are made and why (Crane and Matten 2010). There are two main categories to address, individual factors and situational factors. I believe that individual factors do not play an important role compared to situational factors. I do acknowledge Ford and Richardson’s (1994) argument that socialisation matters, but I do not recognise this as an individual factor; this goes over to the situational factor. One can argue that adults have individual factors when presenting different childhood environments, and this is true, but to determine how a person will act when born is not possible. The only factor recognised with individuals to really matter is mental illness, and then I mean birth sickness not sickness developed during the life. The other factors all depends on environment. As a scene in the movie show, Mr. Archer is found in a conversation with a local man taking care of children and is asked the question if he believes people generally good or bad and responds; â€Å"No. I’d say their just people.†(Imdb.com 2011). This is true, there are none born evil or good, it is our actions that show us what we become. So the tool that will be used to interpret the actions of RUF and Van de Kaap are mostly situational factors. Assumptions are telling us that 10 000 children were fighting for the RUF (Murphy 2003). As we can exclude most individual factors, one can start by blaming environment for actions performed by human beings. Beginning this will be with exploring the relevant situational factors. The situation described in the movie is a rebel group fighting the government in which they believe are corrupt and see no other solution than to take the fight in their own hands. As the movie provides us only with one way the children end up as soldiers, there are other reasons for children to bear the RUF uniform. Murphy (2003) talks of four models of child soldiers, the first one is called â€Å"coerced youth† which is the model of brutal coercion of children into the army, just as the one we see in the movie. The remaining three models are not going to be described in detail here, but tell us a bit different story. Children living in poverty and with a rough childhood, bad parenting in a chaotic country can easily tend to blame the government. The search for authority and some sort of place for them in society can make them join what they feel is the right fight, or maybe just to get some meaning in their lives. The society has not provided the safety that a child needs so it seeks it, the cognitive moral stage these kids live in is named preconvention. Their cognitive moral development is shaped by the environment, and it â€Å"refers to the different levels of reasoning that an individual can apply to ethical issues and problems.† (Crane and Matten 2010:153). The preconventional stage says that to determine what is right and wrong out from punishment or rewards from their subordinates, and in this case RUF rewards unethical behaviour. The mindset of children are found in the strategy of denial (Anand, Ashforth and Joshi 2004) they remove responsibility from themselves; hereby their actions can be accepted by themselves and then implemented. In addition their locus of control is probably low in a kids mind, and seeking control in authority figures. Now to the RUF, one can see reasons for why child soldiers were used, if one is to believe that a combination of kidnapping and children joining willingly were the start up. The way from there can be that children were seen to be useful and thereby just adapting more children as they felt the need. This may very well be one of the reasons for the use of child soldiers. The next point will pursue reasoning for which diamonds create unethical behaviour. To find the meaning of exploiting Sierra Leone for their diamonds we can draw similarities with the reasoning above. More accurately the strategy used to rationalise unethical behaviour. Van de Kaap will be again the person of interest in this, and in this movie this person represents the strategy denial of responsibility (Anand, Ashforth and Joshi 2004). Not in the same way as the children described above, but in the sense that they believe that if they do not take advantage of these diamonds, someone else will. By having that attitude the other strategy, denial of injury (Anand, Ashforth and Joshi 2004) also fits. They may acknowledge that people are getting harmed, but it is not their responsibility since someone else would take their place if they were not there. The reward is what gives the organisation meaning, people tend to do what they are rewarded for, and in that process it is easy to forget the ethics regarding their actions (Crane and Matten 2010). We can also blame the world’s ignorance of the issue, Crane and Matten (2010) writes that â€Å"Quite simply, ethical violations that go unpunished are likely to be repeated.† And this is the world’s responsibility, in the movie we find a journalist to take this job, fighting against a world that seems oblivious to the issue. So what possible solution can be proposed to it all? 2.2 Possible solutions The first proposed solution to be addressed will be blood diamonds. Already the Kimberly process has been formed in 2003. This is a response on conflict diamonds and mentioned in the beginning of the movie (Global Witness 2010). The imitative is a non-government, non-corporate and therefore independent imitative which sertify conflict diamonds. It is said to be an exclusive club as only members can trade with members and therefore something countries long to take a part in. Global Witness state on their homepage â€Å"†¦ attempts at industry self-regulation have been woefully insufficient; meaning that it still isn’t possible to guarantee to consumers that the diamonds they purchase are free from the taint of conflict and human rights abuse.† And this tells us that it is hard, but at least someone is putting in an effort. So when the regulation is hard, we should take care of some roots of the problem. Diamonds is a good defined as a want, it is not a need. One can therefore blame the consumers on making it possible for companies to profit so much of diamond trade, and by doing so I want to put some of this responsibility back in their hands. The consumer has to make sure that what they are buying does not support conflicts in other nations. If a system would be demanded by the people, one could argue that the power which lies with the people is strong enough to make the corporations act. The second solution is in some way already shown in the movie, a rehabilitation â€Å"centre† in the jungle for kids. It is important to do this properly and not ignore the kids once they have become soldiers. In addition I believe that by fighting poverty is a way of fighting children turning to killers. To perform these two tasks that here is proposed is something that the western world should be obligated to do when thinking of all the pain it have caused for Africa in the past centuries. One possibility would be for the G8 to take use of discourse ethics and form a panel with parties from rebel groups, ex-child soldiers, local government and objective minds. That concludes this section of the essay; the next one will be a short summary and review of the movie. 3.1 Short review of movie and text The final section of this essay will be a short movie review combined with some conclusions from this essay. The director Edward Zwick has in my eyes done a fantastic job, the movie is stuffed with real life issues, and two are presented in this text by child soldiers and blood diamonds. Zwick presents ethical issues in an action packed thriller filled with good acting and effects. I view this movie as a perfect combination of Hollywood and the real world, there are a few clichà ©s, but that has to be expected; the rest is a mind opening truth that certainly was a goal for the production when the release date was set 18th of December, right before the year’s biggest diamond sale period. The three main characters each present separate ethical morality, the â€Å"soldier of fortune† gives us an egoistic mindset, but gets softer as the movie closes to the end. The way the movie presents both the understanding for the desire in egoism as well as showing that it is possible to change and also show compassion a moral twist. The second character is a fisherman presenting a more feminist ethical theory, showing much love for family and care for people, even a man that is likely to steal from him. The last character is a female journalist fighting for fairness and justice. And Maddy Bowen can easily be linked to several ethical theories, but closest to theories of justice. Her fight for fairness and getting the west to open their eyes gives another moral angel to the situation in Sierra Leone. All in all Zwick with good help from his actors presents the issues of child soldiers and blood diamonds in a very good way, one can see that the diamond corporations of the world did not like it, they fought the movie for a long time and ended up with a 15$ US million PR campaign (PRWatch 2006) that resulted in a website called diamondfacts.org. This is interpreted as a sign that he is pushing on the correct buttons and may be something that forces change. I do not believe I would change anything with his movie, in order to reach the target market a combination of fiction and facts are needed. This essay has proved that the use of child soldiers as well as trading conflict diamonds is unethical and has asked the world to act as a solution; there is power within the people that should be used to pressure changes to these issues.

Liberal Studies Versus Concentrated Degree Essay

Thesis Statement: Liberal Arts graduates who possess a wide array of skills have a less difficult time finding long-term employment compared to more applied streams of education. (May Change- I am still hesitant about my topic) A List: Philip Giles, Torben Drewes, and Jon Cowans Abstract: The liberal studies education provides a graduate student with numerous skills and endless employment opportunities. In our continuously changing society and job market, many are struggling with finding employment within their careers. Research currently states that learning various skills and developing a broad-based skill set is the key to having a successful and long-lasting career. For some the liberal education means a general education in terms of â€Å"the classic great books,† as opposed to specialized training for a particular career. For others, it means the subject matter, â€Å"the liberal arts† or â€Å"the humanities. † Either way, the liberal arts offers a diverse education that prepares one for life. Annotated Bibliography: Liberal Arts Degrees and the Labor Market, Philip Giles and Torben Drewes Although more fulfilling salaries for liberal arts careers are promising in the longer term, research says that those of applied majors tend to occupy more job offers and higher salaries at entry level (Short 1). â€Å"While both groups received substantial average hourly wages, wage rates for applied programs graduates were about 6% higher for both men and women† (Giles and Drews 29). Currently, there is a higher demand among employers for new graduates with majors such as engineering, health professions and computer science, however, a lower demand for new graduates with a liberal arts major. It is clear that majority of students are graduating with a technical degree such as business or engineering, however, research shows that graduates with a Humanities degree will develop stronger careers in the future. â€Å"Their longer-term career entry and advancement prospects may be equal or superior to those whose undergraduate majors are of immediate interest to employers† (Short 1). The article states that Humanities and social sciences students acquire different skills than those obtained in more vocationally trained settings (Giles and Drews 32). These Humanities skills, according to the article, earn lower wage rates in entry level positions, however, later in their careers there was higher rates of employment and wages than their applied program counterparts. The reasoning for this, according to Giles and Drew’s article, is it takes longer for liberal arts graduates to figure out what they want to do because the direction they want to go in is not as clear as those of a technical major such as business. The picture that emerges is one in which individuals graduating from programs in the humanities and social sciences had considerably more difficulty with the school-to-work transition† (Giles and Drews 33). In other words, an engineering major has a more concise and direct education that leads them to a certain career, however those who are liberal arts graduates with a broad-based Humanities education, have a more explorative time finding what career direction to follow. Of What Use These Liberal Arts, Jon Cowans A recent study says that Arts graduates were highly successful in gaining long-term employment because of their academic breadth and flexibility (Cowans 20). In Jon Cowan’s, Of What Use These Liberal Arts, a 2002 Trent University economics professor published a study called Value Added: Humanities and Social Sciences Degrees on recent university graduates in the job market. He wrote, â€Å"The development of more generic, but valuable, skills may actually give the liberal arts and science graduates a leg up on their more vocational counterparts since such skills are much less likely to be rendered obsolete by technological trade-induced shocks. The ability to switch sectors of employment has value in a rapidly changing economy† (Cowans 21). In other words, liberal arts and science graduates, according to Cowans, have an advantage in the job market because of their broad-based and adaptable skills. According to the article, it is principally for these skills that the Arts graduates are finding employment. â€Å"A better organized mind, capable of inquiring and distinguishing false from true and fact from opinion; a mind enhanced in its ability to write, read and compute† (Cowans 21). The main distinction Cowans makes is that more applied streams of education limit a graduate whereas a liberal studies major has a more diverse educational background to offer an employer. Yes a Liberal Arts Education Can Be Productive, Joseph Short President of Bradford College, Joseph Short, believes that a strong liberal arts education prepares students to strive for a fulfilling career. According to Short’s, Yes a Liberal Arts Education Can be Productive, an education in the Arts paves more pathways to executive, professional, and leadership positions in society than many vocationally specific undergraduate majors in technical fields (Short 1). Further, a degree in liberal arts develops higher-order intellectual skills such as problem solving, reasoning, and data analysis that allow the Humanities graduate to perform various skills that are affective within a number of careers. Last, these graduates are highly recommended for entry level and long term occupations in education, communications, journalism, human services, management, government and internal relations (Short 1). Liberal Arts Studies Offer an Edge in Corporate Jobs, Carol Kleiman Similarly, in Carol Kleiman’s article Liberal Arts Studies Offer an Edge in Corporate Jobs, she discusses the negative impact having a technical degree such as business has on a graduate. In the article, John R. Marshal has an engineering degree from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia but still felt a gap in his education.’ I had too narrow a technical education, and while that helps meet your employer’s immediate needs, you’re not left with any way to navigate your life’† (Kleiman, 1). Consequently, he went back to school for a degree in liberal studies and felt a more broadened view of the world (Kleiman 1. ) Overall, Kleiman’s article explains that any sort of education is worthwhile however, an in-depth educational background in liberal studies allows the strong possibility for an advancing career of upward mobility because of its broad education and endless employment possibilities. What Does a Liberal Arts Degree Get You in Today’s Job Market, Eisa Nunez According to Eisa Nunez’s What Does a Liberal Arts Degree get you in Today’s Job Market, â€Å"in today’s technological world – where knowledge doubles every 18 months and industries are created in less time – requires workers with transferable skills they need to be ready for as many as 11 different jobs in a lifetime† (Nunez 1). â€Å"The only education that prepares us for change is a liberal education. In periods of change, narrow specialization condemns us to inflexibility† (Nunez 1). It is true that 70 to 80 percent of college freshman list the following as their reasons for attending college: earning money, finding job, and preparing for a career (Nunez 1). Rather than concentrating on learning one skill and going out into the workforce, Nunez says that taking time to develop critical thinking, writing, and presentation skills in various areas is necessary to leading a long term successful career in the 21st century. This preoccupation with the short-term is based on an old labor-market model that assumes that a narrow, technical education is the key to success. However, David Kearns, executive chief officer of Xerox says, â€Å"This idea does not work in a modern economy where adaptability is the key† (Nunez 1). College of Liberal Arts Needs a Makeover On the contrary, in College of Liberal Arts Needs a Makeover, the author says that the college major, Liberal Arts is in dire need of a makeover, â€Å"a new marketing campaign to promote an updated image† (Frank 1). â€Å"It’s a shame that many people believe a liberal arts major has limited job prospects upon graduation† (Frank 1). Further, the article states that businesses would rather have new hires with specialized technical training to fill entry level positions. â€Å"People who can hit the ground running, they say, like engineers, programmers, hotel managers, nurses, lab technicians† (Frank 1). In other words, those fresh out of technical training are prepared to begin working in the career of their choice, whereas Liberal Arts graduates need more training in their job choice. Frank says that because the name Liberal means free or generous, the word free gets mistaken with easy. An engineering student has to master really difficult subjects like physics and calculus. A liberal arts student takes English and history† (Frank 1) Therefore, subconsciously, people think it can’t be that hard to study English. Interdisciplinary Approach: Advantages and Disadvantages, and the Future Benefits of Interdisciplinary Studies, Casey Jones In Casey Jones article, Interdisciplinary Approach: Advantages and Disadvantages, and the Future Benefits of Interdisciplinary Studies, discusses the current structure of the educational system. She believe that Liberal or interdisciplinary studies focus on the fringes of a field and owers an academic’s reputation in the eyes of his peers and hurts his chances for tenure†(Jones 78). In other words, the academic system is still very much structured on the concentration of specific majors because the integration of interdisciplinary or Liberal studies, does not fully prepare a student for employment in the real world. The Employable Liberal Arts Major, Rachel Donadio Similarly, Rachel Donadio’s article points out with tuition costs raising and the state of the economy, it is better to learn as many applied skills as possible. This year at Colgate and New York University, there have been professional training programs instilled which allow students to participate in non-credit courses that offer them specific job training within a field. With the competitive job market, there are a lot of specific skills that young people need as the economy and employment industry continue to diversify. â€Å"Colleges say they aren’t abandoning the liberal arts education but rather bring the ideal slightly more in line with the job market reality† (Donadio). Although this article slightly goes against my thesis statement, I believe it offers a different view on the liberal arts education. Studies Indicate that Liberal Arts Grads are Less Likely to be Recruited for Jobs In Studies Indicate that Liberal Arts Grads are Less Likely to be Recruited for Jobs, The Wall Street Journal, confirms that employment recruiting companies favor top ivy league schools over less reputable schools. In this article, seniors graduating from Mount Holyoke, a liberal arts college, â€Å"are much less likely to be recruited from top companies† (The Mount Holyoke News). Although they are less likely to be recruited, employment after college is not as affected. â€Å"The national unemployment rate for college graduates under 25 in 2010 was 8 percent, up from 6. 8 percent in April 2009 and 3. 7 percent in April 2007† (The Mount Holyoke News). Despite the great recession, according to the article, our recent graduate have done well. â€Å"Our students have the critical thinking skills, the communication skills, the ability to understand. The ability to communicate across cultures-the things employers really look for† (The Mount Holyoke News).

Girl’s dancing Essay

The failure of Parris to determine a cause for the girl’s dancing leads to another key character, Reverend Hale of Beverly. From the moment he enters the act, he is portrayed as a man of arrogance and over confidence. Yet, he seems embarrassed when Proctor praises him, contradicting his exterior demeanor. In the early course of the play, Hale is a force behind the conviction of so-called ‘witches’ and he is continually probing people to confess. Like most of the other characters in the play, Hale himself is also afraid of the unknown, despite his ‘experience’ with incidents of this kind in the past. He remarks that no matter what religious status an individual may occupy, they may still be accused of dealing with the devil. In a clear contrast to the beginning of the play he appears uncertain if the girls are telling the truth, but is reluctant to show his suspicions until the very end of the play. Tragically, his suspicions are told too late, as the trials no longer remain in his hands. His reluctance to speak what he actually believed in condemned many more people, which means that Hale is a key figure in showing how innocent people can be convicted and ‘murdered’ so easily by the girls. John Proctor plays the most prominent role in the play, as Arthur Miller gradually brings him into the affray as more and more people become convicted, one of whom is his wife, Elizabeth. Proctor is regarded as a strong figure in the society of Salem, yet his past life continues to haunt him however, as he has committed the sin of adultery with none other than Abigail Williams herself before the play. Once the trials begin, Proctor realises he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem, if he confesses to his sin of adultery. This would ruin his reputation in the society, so he is reluctant to confess. This likens Proctor to Reverend Parris at this stage, as he they are both intent on keeping their good reputations. Towards the end of the play however, this changes as Proctor is prepared to lose his reputation by confessing to adultery and finding the truth. His confession arrives too late however, as the matters in the court have gone too far. This now likens him to Reverend Hale, as both of them form an invisible alliance in the courtroom, as both know that Abigail is manipulating the judges and is clearly lying. Proctor is also portrayed as an ‘un-Christian’ being in the mind of the court when Hale questions him about his Christianity. This lack of religious belief in him is a key factor in the court proceedings once Proctor is brought before them. However Miller creates sympathy with the 20th century audience for Proctor by creating hostility towards other characters. The sympathy is also shown at the end of the play when Proctor refuses to give up his name in order to establish the truth. This gives the audience the impression that Proctor is a man of integrity and is willing to give up everything for the truth. Judge Danforth is the key figure in the condemnation of the accused persons. He is, like Parris, portrayed as a man intent on keeping his reputation rather than finding the truth. He enters the play as the trials begin, having no background knowledge of what has gone on in the society before the trials involving Proctor and Abigail, and has no knowledge of people’s ways of thinking and attitudes towards others. These factors ultimately are the main reasons why people are convicted in Danforth’s court, and not because of witchcraft. During the court case in act three involving Proctor and Abigail, all the truthful evidence that Proctor gives against Abigail is ignored by Danforth, as he is easily distracted by Abigail’s lies. This shows that Danforth and the court’s justice is flawed. The flawed justice of the court is another clear reason of how Salem’s society is able to convict people so easily. He also expects people to side with the court by saying: ‘ †¦ A person is either with this court or against it. ‘ This shows that if you were against the court then you would be persecuted. During the case, his justice is frequently questioned, which angers him, as he is not used to having his justice questioned.. Danforth’s belief in the truth fluctuates, as there are points where he begins to doubt Abigail’s story such as where he ‘studies Abigail for a minute’. However, to wash away all of Danforth’s doubts Abigail pretends to have ‘visions’. This works on every occasion, and therefore proves that the court’s justice is again flawed if it can be manipulated so easily by a mere 17-year-old Christian girl on a quest for love. The cause many people would believe of the outpouring of accusations and convictions in Salem would be Abigail Williams, but the detail that surrounds the events is immense. There are many different key figures surrounding the deaths and all play a large part in the events that took place after the ‘dancin’ occurred.