Cezanne’s Apple Notes and Quotes Essay

Schapiro’s psychoanalytic approach, that is, his search for the underlying meaning and relevance to the painting, * Thesis: While Schapiro’s argument shows a well-considered analysis of the artist’s life as a source of interpretation of Cezanne’s work, much of it is based on suggestion and fantasy. As in all historical interpretation, Cezanne’s work should be viewed within the context of the artist’s historical and biographical framework, but with a formalist analysis of the works that enables the viewer to interpreted not only their personal value, but their intended communication. riticism of Cezanne’s art cannot and, I believe, should not be limited by critical schools of thought. Also, though perhaps it has been the nature of critics to make vastly differentiating interpretations of Cezanne’s work, both forms of analysis add to the richness of the dialogue that can expand one’s preconceived notions of the work and widen the scope of understanding and perspective. Contrary to views of critics such as Roger Fry whose formalist analysis deduces Cezanne’s works as only a problem of form and color, Schapiro seeks more symbolist meaning within the subject matter chosen by the artist. * Schapiro argues that the objects placed within the still-life display â€Å"a game of an introverted personality who has found for his art of representation an objective sphere in which he feels self-sufficient, masterful, free from disturbing other spheres. Schapiro believes that fruit is never the theme, rather, they are a symbol of his emotion and personal concerns. * Schapiro makes the case against a purely formal interpretation: â€Å"It might be supposed that in still-life painting the meaning of the work is merely the sum of the denotation of the separate parts, yet there may be connotations and a comprehensive quality arising from the combined objects and made more visible and moving through the artistic conception. †¦ (i. e. black clock 1870, still w. compotier 79-82, blue vase 83-85, still w. cupid 95, or pples and oranges 95) There is in still like a unity of things like the unity of a scene of action, one must recognize the context of the objects in reality, their connection with a mood or interest or type of occasion. (24) * Cannot look at these as purely sexual, an element in a painting serves more than one function. Apples could be chosen means of emotional detachment and self-control, the fruit providing an objective field of colors, and sensuous richness lacking in his earlier passionate art and not fully realized in his later nude paintings. Sexual displacement could be an unconscious factor. Certainly, Cezanne has a strange relationship with the human figure in his earlier works. In his early works, sexual gratification is directly displayed or implied. A modern Olympia (1873), Bacchanal, and his other pictures of the nudes show that he could not convey his feeling for women without anxiety. In his painting of the nude woman, where he does not produce an old work, he is most often constrained or violent. there is no middle ground of simple enjoyment. In Leda and the Swan, the writer argues that it is a striking instance of the defusing of a sexual theme through replacement of a figure by still-life objects. Cezanne’s fruit is not yet fully part of human life. Suspended between nature and use, it exists as if for contemplation alone. (25) In Cezanne’s painting of landscape, too, and sometimes of the human being, we recognize the same distinctive distance from action and desire. He seems to realize a philosopher’s concept of aesthetic perception as a pure will-less knowing. * The still-life objects bring to awareness the complexity of the phenomenal and the subtle interplay of perception and artifice in representation. (19) Still-life eng ages the painter in a steady looking that discloses new and elusive aspects of the stable object. At first commonplace, it may becomes in the course of that contemplation a mystery, a source of metaphysical wonder. (20) Still-life calls out a response to an implied human presence. The represented objects, in their relation to us, acquire meanings from the desires they satisfy as well as from their analogies and relations to the human body†¦ They are a symbol or heraldry of a way of life. (23) * Yet, though the nature of the Apples seems to deserve far richer analysis of simple line and form, the use of apples as a restraint of Cezanne’s â€Å"morbid fantasies† (29), seems to evoke some fantastical properties of its own. * Apple as a displaced erotic interest? Apple has erotic sense–symbol of love, an attribute of Venus and a ritual object in marriage ceremonies. The apple is a natural analogue of ripe human beauty (6). Philostatus, Greek writer of 200 AD, describes a painting of Cupids gathering apples in a garden of Venus, which serve as the source of Titian’s painting of the cult of Venus, and indirectly Rubens’ picture of putti carrying a parland of the fruit. * Apples (1875) For Cezanne, the apple is equivalent to the human figure. He could project typical relations of human beings as well as qualities of the larger visible world–solitude, contact, accord, conflict, serenity, abundance and luxury–and even states of elation and enjoyment. * In passing from the painting of fantasies to the discipline of observation, Cezanne made of color–the principle of art allied to sensuality and pathos in romantic painting but underdeveloped in his own early pictures of passion–the beautiful substance of stable, solid object-forms and a deeply coherent structure of the composition. It is extremely doubtful that he could have reached his goal had he followed Delacroix in his choice of subjects. But in the self-chastening process, the painting of still-life–as latent symbol and intimate tangible reality–was, perhaps more than his other themes, a bridge between his earlier and his later art. (33)

Dunlap V. Tennessee Valley Authority Essay

What were the legal issues in this case? In the case of Dunlap VS Tennessee Valley Authority, the legal issue that was presented was discrimination, disparate treatment and disparate impact. According to the EEOC, race discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features). Color discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color complexion. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination, and when it comes to the case, discrimination was seen in many ways. For starters, when it came to the interviewing process, there were 5 white officials and 1 black which showed that the room was not balance. Next, when it came to the scoring, he received lower scores than the whites. The next issue that showed discrimination was when it came to the attendance record of the workers. Two of the workers who were Caucasian, had the same attendance as Dunlap, and they received a better ranking. Also, Dunlap had a perfect safety record and received a score of a 4; while a white applicant who was at the job for eleven, had 2 accidents within those years and received a score of 6. Dunlap was not the only African American to have problems with TVA when it came to discrimination as well. The suit that was brought against TVA was for discrimination under disparate impact and treatment. Disparate impact theory requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the facility falls harshly on one group than another; disparate treatment requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that an employer has treated some people badly because of the race, age, gender or any other discrimination factor (Walsh, 2010). The district court found many filings along with the fact that Dunlap had been subjected to discrimination under both disparate treatment, concluding that TVA’s subjective hiring processes permitted racial bias against both Dunlap and other black applicants (Walsh, 2010). According to the text subjective criteria is assessing candidates that are not uniform and clearly specified, and when it came to Dunlap and the facts that were presented subjective hiring was conducted. The Appeals Court affirmed the disparate treatment claim, reversed the disparate impact claim, and affirmed the district court’s award of damages and fees to Mr. Dunlap (Walsh, 2010) Explain why the plaintiff’s disparate (adverse) impact claim fail? The reason that disparate impact failed is because when it comes discriminatory actions in this theory, proof is not required. The disparate impact theory requires a plaintiff to demonstrate that an apparently neutral employment practice affects one group more harshly than another and that the practice is not justified by business necessity. A prima face case is established when the plaintiff identifies a specific employment practice to be challenged; and through relevant statistical analysis proves that the challenged practice has an adverse impact on a protected group. When it comes to the case, discrimination was seen, but never affects more than one class. Glass ceiling in the book is referred to artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing in there organization to upper management. The reason that glass ceiling is seen is because when it comes to the interviewing process, there was only 1 black interviewer. Then when it came to the recruits, even if there work effort was poor and they were white, there scores was higher than the African Americans. But because discrimination is a fact that is null and void in this theory and because discrimination doesn’t matter, that’s why it failed. The only criteria Mr. Dunlap could prove was that the interview process had been manipulated to exclude African-American candidates, and how the scoring was different for blacks and whites. So in the essence in this theory, it was a challenge to prove it because Dunlap only had his interview Explain why the plaintiff’s disparate treatment claim succeed? The reason disparate treatment was successful was because it requires a plaintiff to demonstrate that an employer has treated some people less favorably than others because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The first fact was the manipulating of the score. In this case, Dunlap was able to prove that the matrix process was pretext for discrimination. After the district court did some investigation, they found that some of sheets had been changed more than 70 times, and there was no reason what so ever for the change. Dunlap said the matrix score was manipulated to keep him out of the top ten applicants. Another reason it was a success was because William Parchman, an African-American with thirty years of experience as a boilermaker that was also rejected. He played a vital role in the suit because of the problems he encountered to become employed with TVA. He provided testimony hat he had a history of being rejected for jobs and promotions at the company. He also stated that the only reason got the boilermaker position was after he filed a complaint with the EEOC. Other facts that showed discrimination was evidence before the district court when it came to the weight given to the interview and how it was changed, questions in the interv iew was not evaluated objectively, and the scores were altered to produce a racially biased result. Bottom line is that when it comes to discrimination, it was proven in several ways, and the district court committed no error in finding disparate treatment. The court saw how discrimination was seen from different people, and Dunlap was not the only worker that felt that way. What should the TVA have done differently with regard to interviewing and selecting candidates for these jobs? When it comes to interviewing candidates, what’s should of been done differently is looking at the applicants work history thoroughly. The first thing that should have been looked at first is education. When workers have education, they are better qualified because they will know how to think outside if the box. If an applicant didn’t have the education, then TVP sould look at experience as well as work performance. When looking at experience, factors that should  be viewed are supervisory experience along with performance and safety in the workplace. In the interviewing process, things that could have been different is interviewing with one interviewer at a time. Also the questions could have been different for each interviewer so that everyone was not following the same pattern. All of the scores would be the same, but the questions would be different and give the best candidates for the job. Another thing that could have been different is having a manager present in the room to grab and check the papers when the interview is finish. By a manager being there to verifying the score, there is not chance that manipulating could happen with the scoring. If this type of approach would have been used, the selecting process would have been different because no interviewer or candidate would have the same response. But the scores would show the real qualified applicants, and they would deserve the promotion. Nothing would be bias and scores could not be altered.

The rights-based approach and carbon taxes in Australia Assignment

The rights-based approach and carbon taxes in Australia - Assignment Example The concept finds its roots in the United Nations, and is predicated on the theory that â€Å"human rights determine the relationship between individuals and groups with valid claims (rightsholders) and State and non-state actors with correlative obligations (duty-bearers).† (UNICEF, 2004: 92). Its adoption by the United Nations as the framework by which its pursues its interventions is significant, in that it heralds a shift from a needs-based approach, i.e., looking at what people need, to looking at what people have an absolute inalienable right to, by virtue of being human. (Alston, 2003: 7). A rights-based approach imposes a duty on the State to uphold this right as a function of the social contract, whereas a â€Å"need-based† approach may not necessarily so. Central therefore to the RBA is the re-emergence of the state and governance as a central element in development (Baxi, 2005: 2), through a focus on the interrelation between the state and its citizens in ter ms of duties and rights. (Boesen and Martin, 2007: 9). We now proceed to looking at the carbon tax issue, a controversial issue that has been the subject of much controversy and debate in Australia. The carbon tax is basically a levy that the government intends to impose on corporations that release carbon into the atmosphere. According to Nielson (2010: 7), â€Å"in theory, environmentally related taxes should be set at a level equal to the external environmental cost of a particular product or activity.† Essentially, this means that the cost to the environment is computed into the cost of manufacturing a commodity so as to create disincentives for â€Å"dirty companies† using environmentally-unsustainable technologies.... The RBA presupposes a social contract between the rights claim-holders and the state that has a duty to uphold these rights. Amartya Sen (1999) is a key thinker in this philosophy of â€Å"entitlements† – human beings have inalienable rights to demand from the state all that he or she needs to be enhance his or her capabilities. In a sense, the RBA places a special bias on the poor and the marginalized, upon the recognition that it is them whose rights are the most vulnerable. To quote, â€Å"The underlying structural, social and political drivers of poverty, vulnerability and inequality have to be addressed in the context of a broad development strategy, in which social protection plays an important part. (van Ginneken, 2011: 3). What does this have to do with carbon taxes? The obligation of the state in this case is the obligation to maintain and promote a clean and healthy environment for its constituents. Study after study have demonstrated that climate change will affect the poor and the ordinary wage-earners the most (see for example, McGuigan, et. al., 2002) and hence, the state has a duty to protect them and ensure the sustainability of the environment and the availability of natural resources for generations to come. The rate of pollution being emitted in the atmosphere has debilitating effects on water sanitation, agriculture, etc. When resources are scarce, the prices of the resources or the commodities made from these resources jack up – and these fluctuations in prices affect the most vulnerable in society. Hence, there is no denying that ordinary people are compromised the most by climate change – ordinary people who have inalienable rights to live healthily and raise their

Twitter in Diet Pepsi's Commercial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Twitter in Diet Pepsi's Commercial - Essay Example It is then that she witnesses a lady drinking diet pepsi to refresh herself. The ad is meant specifically for both ladies and men but the emphasis is more on the ladies. This can be seen from the ad when ladies run away from the stall to see David Beckham. However on the other hand men are also targeted through this ad as in the very beginning the huge line at the diet pepsi stall consists of men too. Men and women of younger generation who tend to get tired and exhausted of the heat are targeted through this ad. Methods of reaching the audience The advertisement made by the brand is reaching out to the audience through different means. The use of celebrities is one way through which the brand is reaching out to the consumers. It is creating a value and character amongst the consumers by showing the characters of David Beckham and Sofia Vergara. Both of these celebrities are well known amongst the masses and hence the brand is showing value to the consumers. The consumers may choose the product because of the well known celebrities in some instances. The value created by the brand would be most useful when settling in for the audience as many people try products because of these celebrities. People who are interested in sports would definitely try the drink because of David Beckham. Women have been specifically targeted by the brand by using logic as women are diet conscious (Kotler & Armstrong, 1991). The ad shows Sofia Vergara and other women with a nice body which helps to promote the product. The ad is basically targeting women who want to be fit and are diet conscious. The ad also has some humour in it which attracts the audience through emotions. The audience may get attracted to the humour and urge shown in the ad to get Pepsi. Sofia Vergara uses her techniques to split the line so that she can go and buy Pepsi. In other words the ad urges the audience to drink diet pepsi so that they can check the taste for themselves. Effectiveness of the Ad The ad can be quite effective in reaching out to the audience because of the different methods that it has incorporated into it. Women and people who are exhausted are targeted by the brand and the advertisement quite successfully does that. The advertisement shows that the drink is quite refreshing and one might use different skills to reach out the product. The celebrity uses logic so that she can buy the drink and hence the ad effectively produces a need amongst the audience which needs to be refreshed (Dehlin et al., 2010). Improvements   The ad incorporates several ideas of marketing but it does lack out to reach a larger audience. The ad could be used in a different way so that a broader audience was targeted. Children have not been specifically targeted by the brand and this idea could have been incorporated into the ad. A celebrity which is loved by the younger generation could be used in the ad so that the children ran over to the celebrity. Exhausted children could also be include d in the ad so that children were also made an audience in the ad. Men are shown in the ad but they are not specifically targeted upon and the brand could use methods to include them in the ad. Men could have been shown running for a female celebrity which was supposedly on the pier along with David Beckham. Conclusion The ad done by the brand is endorsed by celebrities and this can help to target a specific audience. Diet Pepsi is not only meant for women but is also meant to be for men so

Law for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law for Managers - Essay Example The Act operates by enforcing a broad range of regulations by public or government ministries through the use of statutory instruments which since 1974 have given rise to specific provisions for different industries, risks and disciplines. It is against this backdrop that avenues for public supervision were enforced such as the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission were set up. To ensure that the provisions of the Act are binding, the state sanctions the use of instruments of coercion such as the imposition of criminal sanctions, fines and prison sentences which can go up to 2 years. Since this Act of UK Parliament is normally abbreviated as HASAWA, HASWA or HSWA 1974, it will be important to sustain the use of HSWA 1974 throughout the discussion, to steer clear of verbiage (Foster, 2010, 275). The development of the law, taking into account the lack of individual liability in other related legislation Dhir (2012, 100) contends that the main factor that trigger ed the creation and passing of HSWA 1974 is the need to protect employees and members of the public from corporate neglect and greed. Particularly, before the ratification of HSWA 1974, work stations and organisations sidestepped the need to protect employees and members of the public and the need to safeguard their safety. ... At the same time, the failure of previous bills to ensure total safety also necessitated the need to have more robust and more comprehensive legislation. Particularly, there has been a successful coordination of efforts to produce the Employed Persons Health and Safety Bill in 1970. Nevertheless, the bill’s failure to address salient issues of workplace safety became more apparent over time. This failure was mainly seen in the Bill chiefly aiming at curtailing the number of deaths and injuries in British factories. For instance, the second provision of this Bill as is enshrined in the Clause 2 (1) (a) places sanctions on the formation of safety representatives and partly, management representatives in factories having more than 100 employees (Kobrin, 2009, 350). Nevertheless, a critical look at this clause leaves one with the knowledge that the representatives could not implement safety measures (Van-Dam, 2011, 231). Secondly, the failure was catapulted by the absence of coope ration between the totality of the workforce and the management. The discord between the two parties greatly affects the appointment of the safety representatives. The same also means that in the event that the safety representatives have been appointed mainly because of the management’s sleight of hand, then it is likely that the safety representatives may cover up for the organisation’s failure to put effective safety measures in place. It is against this backdrop that the National Institute of Industrial Psychology showed cases of consistent failures among companies and work stations to apply well known safety measures on the floor (Muchlinski,

Why people bet online or prefer betting in stores Research Proposal

Why people bet online or prefer betting in stores - Research Proposal Example This is according to Luntz (2006). For starters, an individual can gamble within several sites. It is imperative to note that those sites offer massive rewards and bonuses. The bonuses come when the betting sites agree to reward new customers who have just registered to their sites. At the same time, the betting sites may agree to reward their old and loyal customers (Luntz 2006, 467). By this, they will be making the customers committed to what they do. Betting rewards also come in the form of clients being allowed to offer free bets on some occasions. In addition, the customers may be offered general bonuses. According to Petry (2004), we should not ignore the fact that people practice online sports betting because they find it somewhat safe. This fact may be debatable especially because there are a number of sites that claim to provide opportunities for betting, while their main intention is to fraud the public at large. Nevertheless, most of the betting sites in the UK are under the management of well-known companies with an irrefutable reputation like William Hill, Gala Coral, Bet365, Sky Betting and Gaming and 32Red among others (Petry 2004, 661). This makes online sports betting to be safe. Another reason as to why people indulge in online sports betting is the fact that it is comfortable.This is according to Kelly (2011). The ease is because for one to participate in online sports betting, then they need to be computer literate and have data access. The two requirements will enable any interested party to register on any online sports’ betting site and take part in betting. The ease is also demonstrated by the fact that the customers can... Considering how rapidly the betting industry has been growing, then I may be forgiven if I said that betting might just be as old as the society. The UK opened its doors to betting back in 1961 and since then the industry has never looked back. The betting shops have been rising in the number and so does the number of those who practice betting. Originally, people used to bet by visiting the betting shops. Supplementary to that, some people employed the services of a telephone credit betting. Due to the advancement in technology, however, some people started opting for online betting. And indeed online betting has not disappointed. The organizztion of the literature review is such that it first deals with why people carry out online sports betting followed by the reasons why people bet in stores. It is beyond doubt that betting is slowly spreading its wings into our society. It does not consider age given that children as little as 12 years old have attested to be involved in betting at one point. Similarly, even the older population takes part in betting because statistics reveal that those aged above sixty also take part in betting. In like manner, betting knows no gender because both males and females take part in it (Abott 2009, 412). We may not be able to predict the rate at which betting is advancing in the society. One fact for sure is that, whichever form of betting one involves in, be it online sports betting or visiting the betting stores, betting is gaining ground. In addition, we ought to appreciate the findings and works of the various authours reviewed above. This is because they have managed to bring us upto speed with an area of our life we almost forgot.

Managing Financial Resources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Financial Resources - Assignment Example Usually, the concept of opportunity cost is not recorded in the books of accounts. Then also it is a significant factor in the decision-making process also. Decision making is the fundamental nature of the management of an entity. It is necessary to collect, analyze and present the accounting information in an appropriate manner to meet the requirements of various interested groups. Stakeholders of the company mean those groups of persons who are interested in the organizational functions and affairs. The stakeholders of the company mean the shareholders, lenders, employees, suppliers, customers, competitors, Government as well as the public as a whole. Moreover, the balance sheet of a company is giving focus on the changes that have taken place in the accounting year. The ultimate object of financial statements is that of evaluating the financial strength and weaknesses of the firm.Capital budgeting means planning for capital assets. The decision about capital budgeting means a deci sion as to whether or not the money should be invested in long term projects. The term budget is a device which helps the management in planning and control of business activities. It is a statement relating to future plans. Budget is essential for business because it provides management with a plan of operation to be followed during a specified future period. Not only this but also it is possible to plan and control the income and expenses. A business might have a cash budget, sales budget, purchase budget, etc.The concept of variance analysis is an important concept in standard costing. Variance means the difference between actual cost and standard cost. Variance point out to the management that whether the costs are under their control or beyond? It may be either favorable or not. If the actual cost is less than the standard, the difference indicates that there is a positive variance, but reverse on the other hand. Variance analysis is the procedure of evaluating variances by sub dividing the total variances in such a way that the management can assign responsibility for poor performance. Generally, the variances may be of cost variance and sales variance. Among them, the cost variance is significant and which may be of three types, material variance, labor variance, and overhead variance.  

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational Coursework

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational - Coursework Example Altruisms is necessarily being counted under the voluntary giving away of one’s financial resources or acting in a way which deliberately provides benefit to the other person at the cost of their own benefit. Hence in this way, humans act irrational defying the rules of the rationality. (Jensen, 2008). The expected utility model which is essential model which is based on the rational behaviors however it is not the case in all conditions. Through anchoring people are often overly influenced by outside suggestion. People can be influenced even when they know that the suggestion is not being made by someone who is better informed. (Kahneman & Tversky, 1999). Besides Expected Utility theory also do not seem to be in conformity with the rationality. The famous experiments conducted by Tversky and Kahneman suggested a revolutionary shift from the expected utility theory and clearly suggested than we humans are not essentially rational. These experiments were: Few of the surveys conducted by Stuart Sunderland widely suggest that the irrational behavior is far more widespread and is normal than the supposed. (Sutherland, 1994). According to Sunderland there are various natural phenomenon which suggest that the man can act in irrational way. There is also a growing debate among the cognitive psychologists which suggest that we act according to the principal that differ from those we ought to follow. (Stein, 1997) There is also a phenomenon called framing effect which basically outlines that we decide differently depending on how we frame the decision based on the losses and gains. (Wang & Fischbeck, 2004) This therefore necessarily does not mean that in all situations we act rationally. We don’t always seem to be behaving according to rationality. The deviation from the rationality seems to be due to Satisficing and heuristics effects. The

Antitrust Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Antitrust Case Study - Research Paper Example The agreement was signed on 17th February 1983 by the chairmen of Toyota and GM, and triggered one of the biggest and most controversial antitrust investigations in recent history. The vital question was whether it was plausible that the joint venture would actually lead to an increase in domestic small cars that were manufactured more efficiently, with good insights that GM and other firms could use in their plants, or whether it could lead to the regulation of pricing and other conduct between GM and Toyota and merely supplant less-anticompetitive options that GM could have employed in order to realize its objectives. The examination of these question shed light on a number of issues: the changes in behavior that could crop up from the joint venture, the scale of the efficiencies resulting from the venture, economic impacts of the joint venture, and the options available to GM. Some new tools were developed in order to evaluate and examine the joint venture, but they did not result in an agreement with regard to its consequences. Key words Antitrust, GM, Toyota, joint venture, small cars Analysis Most proposed joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers above a particular size require that, under the stipulations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification act of 1976, the Department of Justice and the FTC (Federal transition Commission) be notified. This process provides both agencies with time to investigate a proposed arrangement before it is consummated. In this case, the FTC was mandated to carry out the investigation. In April 1983, Toyota and GM filed initial information and responded to calls for additional information during the summer (White, 1991). The investigation was referred to as one of the most intensive and extensive antitrust examinations ever conducted. The final judgment was delivered by five FTC commissioners, and was founded on different memoranda from a consulting economist, the Bureau of Competition (the legal personnel), and the Bu reau of Economics. The two bureaus recommended that the joint venture be approved, but the consultant’s report recommended that it should be contested. In December 1983, and based on these analyses, the FTC commissioners voted 3-2 provisionally to allow the joint venture to be effected, subject to a few minor revisions. Final approval was confirmed by the same margin (3-2) in April of 1984. The fact that there were no court proceedings means that Toyota and GM did not formally account for their positions. In addition to this, there was no direct merging of the issues between the critics and proponents of the joint venture, and not even a public disclosure of evidential paperwork (Cole & Andrea, 1987). The only thing that existed was a set of documents amounting to 1364 pages that the FTC released in January of 1984. Cooperative Behavior and Market Definition This is the first issue in the analysis of the joint venture, and involves the possibility of cooperative behavior in t he appropriate market. This called for a determination of the geographic market and appropriate product and then an evaluation of the likelihood that the companies in that market might cooperate in a way that would hurt market efficiency and consumers. Clearly, if the

International Relations Theories and Business Essay

International Relations Theories and Business - Essay Example Two positivist schools of thought are prevalent: the realism and liberalism theories. This article will discuss the realism and liberalism theories as well as the popularly-known theory on Marxism, functionalism and constructivism, and their impacts on small businesses. The realism theory has several assumptions. Among these is the unitary form of nation-states with geographically-based actors having no authority above capable of regulating relations between states, hence, the assumption regarding the non-existence of a true world government. Further, the theory assumes that the sovereign states are the principal actors in international relations rather than non-government organizations. This leads to a situation where states compete with one another. The state also acts as the main actor for its own security and economic interests with a view that international corporations have little long-term independent influence. Moreover, there is a general distrust for long-term cooperation and alliance. In sum, the realist view that man is self-centered and competitive.2 The effect which this theory has on small businesses may be discussed in the micro and macro level. In the micro level, small businesses view themselves as competitive and self-centered. Since customer satisfaction is the main key for the survival of a business, enterprises initiate methods which make their products and services competitive in the market place such as product development and innovation. They also specialize so that consumers will go on their specialized products when they need them. Competition has its main advantage in product development and more efficient services, which mainly include quality, usefulness and beauty of the product or service. However, failing to diversify means more problems on a small enterprise who fails to cope with stiff competition in the market place. This results in smaller profits and huge expenses in the enterprise. In the macro level, the country develops its own protective policies which restrict the entrance of international markets and foreign investments, except when needed. As a result, small businesses may be provided with protection against foreign competitors that seek to attract the local market given its new technology and creative workforce. On the other hand, since the government is the main actor for its economy, foreign competitors may be replaced with government-owned and controlled corporations in competition with small enterprises. The Liberalism Theory on Small Businesses Liberalism values state preferences more than state capabilities as the determinant of state behavior. Plurality is the key term in defining state actions. There will be varying preferences from state to state and international relations are not only based on political matters but also on economic matters whether through international organizations, commercial firms, partnerships or individuals. The concept of liberalism flows in international cooperation and wider notions of power.3 The impact of liberalist policies on small enterprises is material. As a result of government's liberal concept, less restrictive economic policies are being initiated that invite foreign competition. The local small business enterprises may have difficulty in coping with foreign competitio

Of Mice and Men And American Depression Beginning Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men And American Depression Beginning Essay In 1930, the American Depression began. It was to become a feature that would affect many peoples lives. Men such as George and Lennie had no literacy skills; therefore their job span was increasingly limited. George and Lennie were unique in the way that they went around the country working on the ranches together. John Steinbeck used George and Lennies companionship in these times of hardship to reflect optimism and hope. Steinbecks knowledge is mirrored in a vast amount of this book in the way that he produces scenes for the characters to encounter and try to solve. America turned on its people in the Depression, forcing even the severely disabled to work for they had no other options they would not survive if they did not have any capital. Workers used the ranchs resources to comfort themselves. Workers even came to the ranches on a Saturday afternoon, so they could have all their meals on the day of rest and then depart without doing any intense labour. The book illustrates this fact with the quote. Guy that wants to look over a ranch comes in Satday afternoon. He gets Satday night supper an three meals on Sunday, and he quit Monday mornin after breakfast without turning his hand. This quote emphasises the ranch workers dependence upon the ranches and in a way lets us into the typical ranch workers pattern of thoughts, therefore this reiterates how the migrant culture worked. Throughout the book, George and Lennie have a pipe dream; this dream has been a goal, a goal to keep them from spiralling into depression. The dream is to be able to afford their own piece of land and live in peace and harmony, however the dream interprets two opposite trains of thought. For Lennie it means that he can look after the rabbits, therefore it creates a childish reality. For George he craves independence to make his individual character content, however George knows that this is a dream, he is not thinking about what will most likely happen. This was the case for many American ranch workers; they fulfilled these dreams by reading magazines with stories such as The Dark Rider. For example He went to his bunk and put his head on his shelf. Then he picked a pulp magazine from his shelf and brought it to the light over the table. This emphasises the American Dream and this is why this of magazine was so popular, it produces a play in text about a fantasy ranch worker, who travels majestically about the country on his ebony stallion. For the ranch workers they envisage that it will be them upon the stallion doing deeds to save the country, this reflects the migrant cultures point of convergence with their dreams and how it kept their hopes up high during these times of hardship. Steinbeck selects George and Lennie out of the vast migrant culture, for their unique circumstances and their overpowering friendship. For example: Lennie broke in. But not us! Because because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you and thats why. This quote depicts their fondness for one another and how important friendship was. The task for Steinbeck was to create an array of characters who had different characters and attitudes at this time, yet they formed a team who had to work together and cope with each others habits. The migrant culture was a population of people from different backgrounds; therefore this point is dissected from the rest of the book very well At the beginning of the novel, we follow George and Lennie through the state of Soledad trying to seek work. To make matters worse the bus driver dropped them off more than four miles from their location. Jes a little stretch down the highway, he says. Jes a little stretch. God damn near four miles. George is obviously angry about the bus drivers heartlessness towards these two men, however men like George and Lennie were easy targets, as the man knew he would never see them again and they were lower class civilians, therefore people showed no respect towards them. Travelling these long distances in such isolated conditions was a daunting task and there must have been some murders and fatalities in such solitary conditions. The migrant culture brought the aspect of danger into many peoples lives. On arrival. George and Lennie have to go to the boss office to submit their name and various details. It is vital that they both have a reputation for being hard workers at this early stage or they could be asked to leave. The bosss suspicions are aroused by Lennies lack of communication and he immediately asks questions such as: He aint much of a talker, is he? and , I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin his pay away from him? These questions show that the migrant culture was untrustworthy and nobody could be trusted. In the migrant culture the vast majority of ranch workers decreased every mans chances of being noticed and looked after, therefore if the worker was not working up to the average standard they would simply be told to leave. It was a dog eats dog world and the other ranch workers were certainly not sympathetic to your feelings. For example: You was pokin your big ears into our business, George said. I don t like nobody to get nosey. Ranch workers had to have a depth of insensitivity and be oblivious to acrimonious comments. Loneliness featured in the novel was the result of bitterness. There were three main characters that represented loneliness in the novel. Crooks was a black man who looked after the stables. During the American Depression, black people were shown little respect and the white people regarded them as slaves making hurtful comments and forcing them into isolation for the insignificant reason of their colour. To add to Crooks misery, he had a severely bowed back, this limited his work span and his isolation became greater. Crooks was bitter towards all white people for the way they had mentally scared him and for this reason he showed no feelings towards them either. Crooks was even a solitary figure at night, for he was not even allowed into the bunkhouse let alone to sleep in there. Crooks confided in books to make up for his social loss, however he could only seek refuge in a book to a certain degree and soon he fell into the bottomless pit of seclusion once more. Crooks was even foul to his equals such as Lennie. Crooks said sharply: You got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here but me. This quote reflects Crooks bitterness and shows that his isolated life has made him selfish. The America Depression and the migrant culture turned on black people and treated them as dirt. Crooks feels this harsh mannerism and understandingly turns against it, which makes him uncivil too. Curleys wife is another lonesome character, who seeks solace with the workers on the ranch. Her isolation is increased by the fact that she is the only woman on the ranch and the only unemployed person as well, therefore she has far too much time on her hands. Her hasty marriage was a way to conquer loneliness; however it has only stretched her detachment from the world. Other lonesome characters such as Candy and George will not mix with her, as they see her as a troublesome threat. The only person on the ranch who listens to Curleys wife is Lennie, however the relationship is not true, for Lennies mental problems make it infeasible for him to join in any conversation. Lennies power is what makes Curleys wife attracted to him, for Lennie crushed Curleys hand during a fight. Most women would be furious with the man who had injured her husband, but Curleys wife laughs saying to Lennie. Ok, Machine. Ill talk to you later. I like machines. This implicates how she hates her husband and reveals that she only married him for security. Curleys wife knows that Lennie is mentally inadequate, therefore she feels as if she has power over him and of course it is unlikely that she has ever experienced this feeling before. The migrant culture has had a great effect on Curleys wife life. The men who once had time for her, now have to work to survive, therefore they have no time for her inane chatter. George is another solitary character on the ranch. This may sound inaccurate, but as we have discovered Lennie is mentally disabled and cannot participate in sort of conversation. George may be able to have a social life at the ranches, however he will only stay at a ranch for a small duration of time, so close friendships cannot be made. The migrant culture had an immense impact on ranch workers social lives and soon they would have become social outcasts. In chapter three, Lennie brings the subject of the dream into conversation, while sitting down with George one night. George informs him of a reasonably priced farm he has discovered. Candy joined in the conversation still traumatised by his elderly dogs sudden death asking the details of this house. George is reluctant to tell him for the reason that it has been George and Lennies dream from when they started roaming the countryside for work and it would seem immoral for them to invite someone they did not know into it at this stage. Candy is not struck back by these comments and informs them that he has $450 saved up in the bank. George half-closed his eyes. I gotta think about that. We was always gonna do it by ourselves. George portrays a reluctant character who is unwilling to co-operate, yet inside he is probably celebrating the making of his dream. The sudden scope of this dream that has been released is truly magnificent. George and Lennie have conquered every migrant workers pessimistic prospect, to make their dream realistic George is overcome by this unexpected event that he knows will change his life for the rest of his days. In the book he frees his humble and timid character to replace it with an electrifying and bold person who we have not seen before. Quotes to reflect this outburst are: George said reverently: Jesus Christ! I bet we could swing her. His eyes full of wonder. I bet we could swing her, he repeated softly and George stood up. Well do her, he said. Well fix up that little old place an well go live there. George is ecstatic he has finally found a way to make his naturally independent character content and he will be able to make his own money by being the boss, the man he has respected for so long. At last Lennie will be safe from the temptations of the world that he simply cannot handle. George and Lennie have found hope in these mentally painful times, which scarred so many men for life. This scene interprets the fortunes of the human life and after many downfalls they have come to a conclusion, that many migrant workers never found. In novels after optimism comes despondency. The ending of this book is tragic. Lennie, who has become easily influenced by Curleys wife flirtatious movements becomes too attached to her and when asked to feel her hair he becomes over exuberant and in sheer panic clings on to the delicate framework of this woman, Curleys wife slumps to the ground like a ragdoll taking the effect of this mans awesome power with a broken neck to prove the damage, which can not be reversed. The tragedy led to Lennies disappearance and the ranch workers pursue him , however George knew where he was from an earlier plan and went to find him. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering. A emotional scene for two people we thought were so fond of each other, however George knew that Curley and fellow friends were going to kill him and in the most brutal manner possible to mankind, which would have been distressing for the two companions. George thought it would have been appropriate for Lennies last living moments to be filled with the memory that they loved the most, the dream. The dream would not be fulfilled after Lennies crime and death; therefore he would be of a majority once again working to make his dream reality and this is why so many migrants ended becoming severely depressed and killing themselves as a result of their bitterness and hurt. John Steinbeck creates a novel, which depicts a compelling yet brusque meaning. Steinbeck brings out the truth of these times and does not try to shroud it and keep it away from the human eye, for nothing can hide the truth. Since George came to this ranch in Soledad, we have been through his pain with him and happiness, however we have always had the dream in the back of our minds. Grasping the fact that the dream will never occur has added a touch of realism to this book and made us realise that this is not a imaginary story, instead it is the hard hitting truth. The novel has made it obvious that the typical migrant workers life was a continuous circle, which never changes its shape and that it would be the same for George from now on. Hopes and Dreams have been the backbone for this story. Many of the characters have mentioned a dream and at that point their tone of voice changed. For example: She looked up at Lennie, and she made a small grand gesture with her arm and hand to show that she could act. The fingers trailed after her leading wrist and her little finger stuck out grandly from the rest. This quote shows how Curleys wife sparkles on the inside, when she talks about her illusive acting career. Dreams meant so much more to people during the American Depression as they do to our generation due to the great span of activities we can do today compared to the limited amount in the 1930s.A number of peoples dreams can be accomplished today for we have the technology. Hopes and Dreams became the great factor in George and Lennies relationship, for it gave them something to talk about that they both understood and talking is the key to a good friendship. Lonesome migrant workers did not have a friend to confide instead they constantly thought about the long working hours and their isolation. A dream kept them focused and acted as an aid to comfort them. George has now become one of these lonely souls, who we envisage trekking along dusty roads with a face tangled by his own grief. It would not have been right if Lennie, George and Candy went to the idyllic farmhouse and lived happily ever, as that would have not been reflecting the outcome of so many migrant workers lives and Steinbeck would have been interpreting a false hope to the reader. Characters in the novel such as Candy and Crooks fell into the invalid category, where they were envisaged as being outsiders who looked up to normal people on the ranch. Crooks was a black man and at the time of the Depression, black people were looked upon as dirt and only being able to do jobs that would not involve them with any human contact, therefore he was very much isolated from the world and felt bitter and resentful towards any human who tried to bond with him. An example of Crooks bitterness: Crooks said sharply: You got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.

Howard Gardners Theory Of Multiple Intelligences Education Essay

Howard Gardners Theory Of Multiple Intelligences Education Essay Walk into a class of typical second grade students and you will quickly learn that there is nothing typical about any group of students.   It would be expected that some of the students would excel in reading, and some would excel in math.   According to traditional academic standards, these students would be considered intelligent and their intelligence would not be questioned. But look beyond the surface of academic achievement, and you would find that some of the students in this class can express themselves through beautiful poetry, some are graceful dancers, some are superior basketball players, some play instruments with such ease that it looks effortless, some can create exquisite artwork, and some are peacemakers.   Are these children intelligent, or are they simply talented? Howard Gardner would say that their abilities stem from intelligence, not just talent. Howard Gardner introduced his theory of multiple intelligences in 1983 and in doing so challenged the way people regarded intelligence (Ferguson, 2009).   In the 1920s Spearman proposed that there is only one type of intelligence, called general intelligence or g. The notion that there could be only one type of intelligence was questioned by other psychometric theorists, such as Cattell and Thurstone.   But even these theorists proposed that intelligence is limited to cognitive functions that can be measured.   Traditionally, intelligence is measured using IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. IQ tests focus on assessing verbal skills, perceptual and spatial reasoning, working memory and processing speed (Berk, 2013). Gardners theory offers an opposing view to the psychometric theory. His theory proposes that intelligence is broader than what can be measured on an intelligence test. Gardners theory suggests that there are eight intelligences and each person possesses each one to a certain degree.   The intelligence types are linguistic, logico-mathmatical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, intrapersonal (Berk, 2013).   A person who possesses linguistic intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate language.   A person who possesses logico-mathematical intelligence has logical reasoning ability and can understand and manipulate numbers. A person who possesses musical intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate sound.   A person who possesses spatial intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate visual or spatial images. A person who possesses bodily-kinesthetic intelligence has the ability to move his or her body with skill.   A person who possesses naturalistic intelligence has the ability to understand and question the natural world.   A person who possesses interpersonal intellige nce has the ability to understand and respond to the emotions and needs of other people.   Finally, a person who possesses intrapersonal intelligence has the ability to understand and respond to their own emotions and needs (Christodoulou, 2009). Gardner has proposed a ninth type of intelligence called existential intelligence (Christodoulu, 2009).   In Howard Gardners 2005 paper Multiple Lenses on the Mind he explains that when people ask questions regarding the how and why of life, they are exhibiting this intelligence. However, Gardner explains that he is not sure if this phenomenon should be declared an intelligence, My hesitation in declaring a full blown existential intelligence stems from my uncertainty about whether certain regions of the brain are dedicated to the contemplation of issues that are too vastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to be perceived (Gardner, 2005, p. 9). This statement reveals that the heart of Gardners intelligence theory is intelligence, not talent. Gardner reminds his readers that in order for something to be classified as a type of intelligence it must be something that the brain is capable of doing. In this case, Gardiner has reservations about including this type of intelligence in his theory because the human brain may not be able to fully ponder existential questions. From an educators point of view, Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences makes sense. Go back to the second grade classroom and take a look at the students sitting in the seats. Every child in that class learns differently. Every child in that class observes and understands the world in his or her own way. I was the teacher in that classroom and I drew on Gardners theory to reach my students. I learned about the theory of multiple intelligences as an undergraduate education student. When I was first hired as a teacher I researched ways to integrate this theory as a way to promote learning in my classroom. I found many educational books, websites, and journal articles that provided real world application of multiple intelligence theory. My students clapped and sang their spelling words, which appealed to those with strengths in the musical or bodily-kinesthetic intelligences. My students drew pictures to illustrate main ideas, which appealed to those with strength in spatial intelligence. Our class took a field trip to the Mississippi River, which appealed to those with strength in naturalistic intelligence. In implementing these teaching methods I was doing more than reaching out to the different way my students learned. I identified their intellectual strengths and gave them opportunities which allowed their strengths to grow and flourish. This understanding and belief in educating the whole child extends beyond self-contained, grade level classrooms. I taught in a school that valued education of the whole child. The students attended weekly classes in Spanish, art, music, physical education, library, and computer. For three years I was a specialty teacher in the school and I used multiple intelligence theory to guide my lesson planning. I taught computer for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As the computer teacher, I designed curriculum based projects where students used technology to create original works that had a direct classroom application. For example, elementary school students used Kerpoof, a web application, to make stories illustrating their understanding of beginning, middle, and end. Middle school students used a program called ComicLife to create comics about everything from the Revolutionary War to famous scientists. The eighth grade student read The Giver in their literature class and the n used a web application called Weebly to create a website for their own, imaginary, utopian society. All grade levels had the opportunity to use Garage Band to write music to accompany their PowerPoint presentations. Not every project appealed to every intelligence type. Some of these projects were required group projects while others were individual. Some relied more on verbal intelligence abilities, while others required more visual intelligence. But, every project relied on more than one intelligence type. And every project lead to the creation of work that the students were happy to share with their classmates and the school community. Reconciling the theory of multiple intelligences with the traditional psychometric theory of intelligence is difficult, if not impossible, to do. The debate that started nearly thirty years ago when Gardner introduced his theory continues to this day. In the article Not Every Child is Secretly a Genius, Christopher Ferguson criticizes Gardners theory for being an all encompassing theory that allows for everyone to be smart (Ferguson, 2009). Joanna Christodoulou takes the opposing view in the article Applying multiple intelligence. She explains that we need to stop thinking in terms of how smart people are. Instead, we should be asking, In which ways is she smart, and how can that profile be marshaled for meaningful goals? (Christodoulou, 2009, para. 22). The theory of multiple intelligences is not a data driven theory. There is little empirical evidence to support it (Ferguson, 2009). It will not yield an IQ score. It will not lead to a diagnosis of learning disability, intellectual disability, or gifted. If a teacher is interested in tracking a student Gardners theory will be of little help because this is not the purpose of Gardners theory (Christodoulou, 2009). The purpose of Gardners theory is to understand the intellectual capabilities of the whole child. It tells us that everyone is capable of intelligent thought or intelligent action on some level. It is a hopeful theory. It is a theory that highlights that intelligence is not fixed, but rather a dynamic capacity amenable to change via good teaching, high motivation, and adequate resources (Christodoulou, 2009, para. 24). Finally, it is a useful theory with many practical implications for the classroom. The purpose of the psychometric theory is to give an IQ score and, possibly, a diagnosis. But, the purpose of Gardners theory is to give educators a plan for reaching all students regardless of their score on a test or diagnosis on a psychoeducational evaluation.

Emotion And Disgust As A Moral Emotion Psychology Essay

Emotion And Disgust As A Moral Emotion Psychology Essay This research study aims to explain the relationship between feelings of disgust, cleanliness, and moral judgments, and also their potential impact on willingness to pay for fair trade products. In our experiment, participants watched a video including disgust issues and according to their cleanliness priming they cleaned their hand with a sanitizer, with hand wipe, or no cleaning. In the control condition, they only answered questions without seeing the movie. Based on literature review we proposed that there is a negative correlation between state of moral cleanliness and their willingness to pay for ethical products. If people are too moral, their willingness to pay decreases or if they feel immoral, their willingness to pay increases for fair trade products. The findings were not supporting the idea that cleanliness make moral judgments less sever and willingness to pay for fair trade products decreases. Keywords: emotion, disgust, morality, moral judgment, embodiment; embodied cognition, moral licensing, moral cleaning, fair trade products, willingness to pay. How can Disgust Feelings Impact on Purchasing Decision of Fair Trade Products? We do our decisions either rational or emotional. Now think about the scene that you are in a store and standing in front of shelves, and you fetch the fair trade labeled product. After coming home, you realize that you bought so many fair trade labeled products. Normally, you do not buy these kinds of products, but today was different. Does fair trade labeled product make you feel better? Do you think that you are more ethical now? There might be a significant correlation between your instant emotional state, moral judgments and your decisions. Previous studies demonstrated that decision process is related with emotions. In this paper, we want to study the impact of emotions on decision making process. In this research paper, we want to focus on disgust as emotion and its possible association with moral judgments and influence on decision making process. We especially want to focus on economic decisions, because we want to see if it is possible to implement marketing campaigns of fa ir trade product based on moral judgments related issues. Emotion and Disgust as a Moral Emotion Emotions are crucial both in shaping moral judgment and behavior and as reactions to morally-relevant behavior. For this reason, there are so many studies addressing emotions (e.g., fear, anger, disgust, etc.). According to the social intuitionist model of moral reasoning (Haidt, 2001), emotions are the primary driver for shaping moral judgments. This perception is closely in same line with other study, it emphasizes on quick and automatic valuations, in other word intuitive-emotional processes, are critical in the judgment process (Greene Haidt, 2002). People use their affective feelings as a source of information and interpret their conditions in the environment. According to the state of their feeling (e.g., positive or negative), peoples interpretations show differences when making evaluative judgments. In other words, people usually like when they feel positive and dislike when they feel negative about the situation (Schnall, Benton, Harvey 2008). This concept is similarly sta ted in the affect-as-information framework; there is a relationship between emotion and cognition (Schwarz Clore, 1983, 1988, as cited in Schall et al, 2008). According to Niedenthal et al. (2005), social information processing involves embodiment, where embodiment refers both to actual bodily states and to simulations of experience in the brains modality-specific systems for perception, action, and introspection (p.184). Processes of embodied cognition is both online and offline. While online embodiment uses physical objects, offline embodiment has to do with abstract objects in the surroundings. In order to make a meaningful interpretation of symbols, individuals have a count on the relevant, first online embodiment (Niedenthal et al., 2005). Herein, we want to stress on disgust more specifically because it is more related with the focus of our research subject. We often use disgust in a food related concept, but it is also proper for socially immoral people, situations, and behaviors. For instance, a violation of a moral issue regarding to purity has been shown to stimulate disgust feelings (Rozin, Lowery, Imada, Haidt, 1999). Especially, its evolutionary position as a protective emotion, disgust seemed to be a particularly significant emotion concerning moral judgment (Pizarro, Inbar, Helion, 2011). There is also other research addressing the same mechanism of disgust with another remark. According to Rozin, Haidt, and McCauley (2000), the mechanism of disgust has been changed from being a protection of body from harm to being a shield for the soul in case of harm. At this level, disgust becomes moral sense and powerful form of negative socialization. Several studies underlined that pure disgust and moral disgust not only create a similar impact in body, i.e., face expression and physiological activation (Rozin, Lowery, Ebert, 1994 as cited in Zhong Liljenquist, 2006) but also have a place in particularly same brain areas, essentially in the frontal and temporal lobes (Moll et al., 2005, as cited in Zhong Liljenquist, 2006). In order to understand the moral judgment mechanism, we should look at a bit closer the social intuitionist model. According to this model, people usually make their moral judgments according to their feelings (Haidt, 2001). For instance, previous studies showed that moral disgust has immediate impact on judgments and make moral judgments more severe (Schnall et al., 2008; Wheatley Haidt, 2005). Social intuitionist model proposes that moral judgments are shaped by various factors including intuition and instinct, and hardly because of a cognitive process. In other words, intuitions and emotions do not require effort, and they are instant; and that we are not aware of the process consciously. Intuition with reasoning is purposeful, conscious, and to have need for several steps. Moreover, emotional state may play a role, but they do not affect the moral judgment in a straight line. The roles of moral reasoning might be looking for a reason to defend own instant instinctive responses, using logic to share judgments with others and influence them to agree, and counting on reasoning in case of no initial intuition or conflict situation in intuitions(Haidt, 2001). In their study, Schall et al., (2008) stated that disgust feelings can be conveyed to objects for which they are not related. This shows that judgments are under the effect of disgust emotions even it is not interrelated with the situation or object. For instance, Lerner, Small, and Loewenstein (2004) investigated the relationship between emotions and their impacts on endowment effect. They showed that induced disgust emotion by former, unrelated situation had carry-over-effect to normatively independent financial decisions. As a result of inducing disgust when it compared with being in a neutral mood reduced the capital amount that participants were willing to pay for certain objects and endowment. Additionally, the research results of Schall and colleagues (2008) point out a causative relationship between physical disgust feelings and moral criticism. In their experiment, participants made their moral decisions while going through extraneous feelings of disgust. Manipulation of dis gust performed by a bad smell, working in a disgusting room, recalling disgusting experience, and watching a disgusting video clip. In common, the results indicated that disgust causes to moral judgments more severe when it compared to the control condition. More specifically, the participants who were exposed to the unpleasant smell had more severe in their judgments. Additionally, people who showed a high level of body consciousness were more severe in their moral judgments. Cleanliness and Moral Judgments The consideration of cleanliness helps to form a key moral judgment that developed from the need to protection from possibly hazardous materials (Haidt Joseph, 2008, as cited in Schnall et al., 2008). Investigation of the relationship between physical cleansing and moral judgments by (Schall et al., 2008) helped out to understand the importance of cleanliness over moral judgments. They observed that, after washing their hands with cleanser and water participants can reduce their moral judgment severity of video clip including disgust issues. Based on this finding, they assumed that physical cleansing can reduce feelings of disgust and the severity of the moral judgments. With similar viewpoint Zhong and Liljenquist (2006) conducted a study in order to investigate an interchangeability relationship between physical and moral purity, to put it in a different way, physical cleansing acts as a substitute for moral purification. They asked participants to recall a moral or immoral action from their past, as a result of an immoral action came up with more words with cleaning related than those who remembered a moral act. Afterwards, they examined whether a hidden treat to moral cleanliness creates a psychological desire for cleaning; they observed that copying the immoral story amplified the interest of cleansing products. In their next experiment, the possibility of taking an antiseptic cleansing wipe after remembering a moral or immoral act. Not surprisingly, most of the participants who recalled an immoral act took the disinfectant wipes as a gift. In the last experiment, participants described an immoral act from their past. After that, they either cle ansed their hands with an antiseptic wipe or not. They finished a survey regarding with their current emotional state before asking to participants if they would be eager to help for a different research study without pay. Participants, who had preferred to clean their hands, were less willing to be a volunteer to help. The possibility of expressing feeling of guilt, regret, shame or discomfort was eliminated with cleaning. According to the findings; we can conclude that physical cleansing repairs moral self-image. The desire for cleaning is a human coping mechanism, which has changed to reduce feelings of guilt when we act unethically. In a different paradigm, to figure out the importance of sense on behaviors Holland, Hendriks, and Aarts (2005) conducted a study. The result of the research demonstrated that scent can have non-conscious influence on both thought and behavior and makes participants more sensitive to moral-related words. In addition, pleasing fragrances activate and expose positive memories, information and moods, which leads to increased ease of access of information, and information processing depth. On the other hand, their study did not clearly address the role of odor in moral judgments and moral cleansing. The research study by Liljenquist, Zhong, and Galinsky (2010) also demonstrated that clean smell both motivates clean behavior and increases moral behaviors such as mutual trust as well as proposing help for charity. Moral Licensing and Moral Cleaning Researchers Khan and Dhar (2006) describe the phenomena of moral licensing as an unconscious effect that provides a moral enhancement in oneself self-image. They point out the significance importance of prior choices in activating and improving oneself self-image. It helps us to understand the preference mechanism of human among the set of alternatives. In addition, results of the research demonstrate that a primary altruistic intent enhancing the relevant self-concept can free a person to pick a more indulgent possibility. It is an valuable outcome for understanding the influence of priming on a self-concept for the next choices. According to this research results (Merritt et al., 2010) moral licensing is not only decrease prosocial enthusiasm, but also less inhibit ethically doubtful behavior. The study conducted by Sachdeva, Iliev, and Medin (2009) also demonstrated compensatory and regulatory behavior of people. It suggests that with high moral self-worth people can behave immora lly. Also, people can show opposite behavior in other area of their life because their ample self-image in some way forces them to balance out all that goodness. In other words, we adjust our sense of self-worth by doing moral self-regulation continuously. For example, when we think that were too moral, we feel that we have the right to be immoral for a moment. On the other hand, if we think that we act immoral, we feel necessity for doing something moral to feel better again about ourselves. This type of reactions can be thought of as moral licensing. Principally, thinking of positive behaviors increases ones self-worth while negative behaviors decrease it. In the experiment, conducted by Sachdeva et al. (2009), participants thought that they took part in a handwriting test. All experimentations involved positive traits and negative traits behaviors condition. By asking participants to think of both positive and negative behaviors connected with them, they manipulated participants degree of self-worth, and they also were asked if they have a desire for contributing for a charity with money on hand. Participants who had higher self-worth donated low amount of money to charities than participants with lower positive self-image. They observed that priming people with positive and negative deeds strongly affected ethical behavior. Participants, who wrote about their moral behavior, donated the lowest amount, while participants who wrote about immoral behavior donated highest amount. Dissimilarity, participants, who were in the negative condition and wrote about their immoral story, gave more than those who wrote a unethical story about others. Participants showed a need for the moral-cleansing or moral-licensing only when they wrote about themselves. To put it in a different way, changes in self-concept would take place when participants think about themselves, rather than thinking about another person. In short, talking about themselves activated the occurrence of the moral-cleansing and moral-licensing effects on people. Merritt et al. (2010) claim that when individuals have had a chance to establish their kindness, generosity, or compassion, they should worry less about engaging in behaviors that might appear to violate prosocial norms (p.346) and behaviors that establish ones morality can disinhibit people to act in morally dubious ways (p.354). Sachdeva et al. (2009) said If people feel too moral they might not have sufficient incentive to engage in moral action because prosocial behavior is inherently costly to the individual (p.524). The other research study (Jordan, Mullen, and Murnighan, 2009, as cited in Merritt et al., 2010) found similar outcomes using prosocial intentions as a dependent measure. After asking participants to describe their past activity in terms of their ethical, unethical and neutral themes, they indicated the probability of their engagement in each of numerous prosocial activities (i.e., money donations, giving blood, and volunteering). Participants who remembered their ethical act stated less prosocial intentions than the control group, representative of moral licensing while prosocial intentions of participants, who recalled a their unethical act, were higher than the control group. This performance referred as a moral cleansing. In the second experiment, they asked participants if they would cheat on a math exam. Participants, who recalled a past good action, were most probable to cheat than people who recalled a past immoral action. Horberg and colleagues (2009), propose that disgust can polarize moral judgments, leading people to judge other people and their behaviors as more morally negative when the behaviors or people are themselves objectively negative, and more morally positive or commendable when the behaviors or people are themselves objectively positive. Hypotheses As we discussed in the previously, cleansing has a significant effect on moral judgments in other words, making them less harsh and we make our decision according to these instant emotions. We also know that disgust induced emotions effect can be carried over to unconnected economic decisions. Economic decisions show differences according to persons moral self-worth need (moral cleansing and moral licensing). Based on this logic, we set hypotheses as following: The first hypothesis stated that participants in the sanitizer condition will be less willing to choice for fair trade product when it compared to those in the movie condition. The second hypothesis stated that participants in the sanitizer condition will be less willing to pay for fair trade and regular products when it compared to participants in the movie condition. The third hypothesis stated that participants in the sanitizer condition will be less severe in their moral judgment for moral dilemmas when it compared to participants in the movie condition In this present research we measure the effect of cleanliness on moral judgments and economic decision by constructing dependent variables: willingness to pay (to what degree that participants willing to pay for fair trade and regular products), product choice questionnaire (to what degree that participants choose fair trade products), moral dilemmas (to what degree that participants moral judgments are affected by cleanliness priming), and chocolate sheet (to what degree that participants choose fair trade chocolate). We defined four dependent variables according to their possible relationship with moral judgments by sourcing former studies. Method Participants In total 149 (71 male, 78 female, M age= 24.32, SD=4.67) undergraduate students, a great majority of them were studying in the University of Bern, participated in the experiment individually. Participants of the study were recruited at the UniS cafeteria at the University of Bern. They were asked if they would like to participate in the short experiment attempting to investigate the consumer behavior. They were also told that they would get 3 Swiss Franc for their participation. Research Design The experiment was designed as a combination of between and within subject design. It employed 4 cleanliness (sanitizer, hand wipe, movie and control) x 2 product categories (fair trade and movie) in a mixed factorial design. In the experiment, independent variables (short video, hand cleansing and hand wipe) were manipulated between subjects and dependent variables (product choice and willingness to pay (WTP)) were manipulated within subjects (regular and fair trade products). By combining different independent variables with each other, we defined four different conditions. These conditions were the video-hand sanitizer condition, the video-hand wipe condition, the video clip condition and the control condition. The control condition was used for manipulation check. Materials Independent Variables A Short Video- Ninety seconds scene from the film Trainspotting that was presented to stimulate in disgust (Schall et al., 2008), was used to show the participants in the related conditions. Hand sanitizer (branded as Nexcare) an alcohol-based disinfection gel It works in 30 seconds and 99.9% protection against bacteria, fungi and viruses. Hand wipes (branded as Coop Fresh Clean)- for gentle cleaning and pleasant refreshment. Product Evaluation Questionnaire- By using a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good), participants were asked to evaluate the related product which they were given to use (hand sanitizer or hand wipe). The questions asked were: How well did the hand sanitizer / hand wipe clean your hands?, How clean do your hands feel after the using hand sanitizer gel/ hand wipe?, How pleasant was the usage of the hand sanitizer gel/ hand wipe? Dependent Variables Willingness to Pay (WTP) Questionnaire- Participants were asked to define their price level for the 8 different regular and the 8 fair trade product types. Products were banana, chocolate, oranges, pineapple, ice cream, coffee, gummy bears and rice. Participants were given 15 different prices with the reference price (market price) in the middle of the price scale. Increment for prices in the scale was +/- 10% of the reference price. Product Choice Questionnaire- Once finished the part related to willingness to pay, participants were asked to indicate that how often (scaled as 0 to 10 purchases) they would buy the fair trade products. In this part, same 8 product kinds used similarly in the WTP Part. Moral dilemmas- Directly after completing the product choice part, participants continued with rating five moral dilemmas (Schall, Haidt, Clore Cordan, 2008). Short stories were used to associate whether disgust related scenarios would be judged more severely than scenarios involving no disgust. Participants indicated their judgments about how wrong each of five moral dilemmas by using the 9-point Likert-type scales from 0 (perfectly OK) to 9 (extremely wrong). The rating scale label was reversed to simplify the interpretation of results, with higher ratings indicating higher levels of moral disapproval. We assumed that two out of five of these vignettes involved a moral violation with disgust: Dog (a man who ate his dead dog), Plane Crash (starving survivors of a plane crash consider cannibalism). The rest of vignettes involved a moral violation with no disgust: Wallet (finding a wallet and not returning it to its owner), Resume (a person falsifying his resume) and Trolley (prevent ing the death of five men by killing one man). The instructions told participants to go with their initial intuitions when responding. Chocolate sheet- It was including 12 different types of chocolate types with pictures (6 regular and 6 fair trade products). Participants were asked to choose 5 chocolates in total without limitation. Control Variable Private Body Consciousness Questionnaire- After finished the moral judgment vignettes, participants completed the Private Body Consciousness Questionnaire (Miller et al., 1981), which contained five items. Participants used a 6-point Likert-type scale from 1 (disagree strongly) to 6 (agree strongly). The items used were: I am sensitive to internal bodily tensions, I know immediately when my mouth or throat gets dry, I can often feel my heart beating, I am quick to sense the hunger contractions of my stomach, and I am very aware of changes in my body temperature. Procedure When the participant arrived to the PC room, first it was asked to sign a consent form. After participants had signed the form, it was showed to a sit at the computer desk which was isolated from other computer desks with a cabin in order to prevent disturbing the participant by others during the experiment. Before each participant entered to the PC laboratory, the room was ventilated in order to be sure there had been no smell from the sanitizer or the hand wipe as a result of the previous experiment session. First, participants were told to wear the headphone when they were watching the video. In the video-sanitizer condition, participants watched a short video which was previously mentioned in the material section and then they were given a hand cleansing to clean their hand for 30 seconds. The next part of the experiment was framed as product evaluation and participants answered the product evaluation questionnaire which was mentioned in the material section. In the video-hand wi pe condition, participants followed same steps like in the video- hand sanitizer condition. However, they were given hand wipe to clean their hand and asked to make the product evaluation based on hand wipe with the same questions. In the video clip condition, participants watched only the video clip and continued to do the experiment with a willingness to pay part. For the control condition, participants directly started to do the experiment from the willingness to pay part. From the point of willingness to pay questionnaire, all participants of all conditions followed the same path until the end of the experiment. In the first part of the willingness to pay, participants were asked to define their price over eight different regular products (banana, chocolate, oranges, pineapple, ice cream, coffee, gummy bears and rice). Same procedure was repeated for the fair trade products. Afterwards, participants were asked to indicate that how often (out of 10 purchases) they would buy the fair trade products with product choice part. In the product choice part, the same eight product types were used also in the willingness to pay part. After completing this part participants rated five moral dilemmas. Immediately after the priming task, participants finished the experiment by completing the Private Body Consciousness Questionnaire. After participants had finished the experiment, they were given a chocolate sheet (including six regular and six fair trade chocolate kinds with pictures) and asked to choose 5 chocolates in total out of 12 different kinds of chocolate. The number of fair trade choice was noted down. At the end of the experiment, participants were remunerated with 3 Swiss Franc for their participation and asked to sign the receipt of reward to confirm the payment. They also got the chocolates which they chose as a part of the experiment. Results Choice of Fair Trade Products In order to test whether the cleanliness priming had an impact on the choice of fair trade products at the end of the experiment, we analyzed results by independent t- test with the priming (movie vs. sanitizer) as a factor. The result of group statistics indicated the choice of fair trade product in sanitizing condition (M = 4.61, SD=2.21) and the movie condition (M=4.15, SD=1.87). To make a valid conclusion from this result, we looked at the results of t-test for independent samples (t (78) =0.98, p =0.32). Significance level indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the choice of fair trade products for sanitizer and movie conditions. By looking at this result, we summarize that cleanliness priming did not show any influence over the fair-trade product choice. WTP for Fair Trade Regular Products In order to investigate the impact of the cleanliness priming (movie and sanitizer) over willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products, results were analyzed by ANOVA. The results were in the same way with hypothesis. WTP for fair trade products was higher in movie condition when it compared to the sanitizer condition. In a 2 (willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products) x 2 (sanitizer and movie conditions) mixed factorial analysis of variance the interaction was significant, F (1, 78) = 6.54, p = 0.012. We can say that there was a significant interaction between willingness to pay and conditions. Also looking at the significance value of WTP in tests of within subject contrasts (F (1) = 132.4, p = 0.000) shows us that there was a significance difference WTP of fair trade and WTP of regular products. Participants were more willing to pay more for fair trade products when it compared to regular products (Figure 1). Figure 1- Willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products according to sanitizer and movie conditions. In order to analyze if there is a real connection between the condition type and the willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products, we carried out independent t-test. According to the result of it, there was no significant difference for willingness to pay for fair trade products between sanitizer (M =8.57, SD =1.87) and movie condition (M = 8.67, SD = 1.87); t (78) =-0.216, p = 0.829. We can interpret this as; there was no effect of conditions on participants willingness to pay for fair trade products. On the other hand, there was marginally significant difference between sanitizer (M = 6.92, SD = 1.88) and movie condition (M = 7.61, SD = 1.70); t (78) = -1.71, p = 0.09 for willingness to pay for regular products. We can only say that conditions had an effect on willingness to pay for regular products. Participants were willing to pay more for regular products in movie condition than the sanitizer condition. When we look at the effect of the movie and sanitizer conditions on willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products, we see no significant main effect of conditions (F(1, 78) = 0.98, p = 0.32). Moral Dilemmas We calculated the average composite ratings for all moral dilemmas as a first step (Figure 2). We assumed that participants who cleaned their hands after watching the disgusting video would make less severe judgments than participants who did not clean their hands. We used an independent-samples t-test to compare the severity of moral judgments in sanitizer and movie conditions. There was a significant difference in the scores for sanitizer condition (M = 6.80, SD=1.49) and movie condition (M = 6.09, SD = 1.13); t (78) = 2.39, p = 0.019. These results indicated that conditions had an impact on moral judgments. Specifically, sanitizing hands had on the effect about making moral judgments more severe than in the movie condition. Cronbachs alpha was calculated as 0.31, which indicated a low level of internal consistency with regards to moral dilemmas. This value showed lower bound for reliability, and moral dilemmas were not measuring the same phenomena. Figure 2- Average composite ratings for moral dilemmas in the experiment for sanitizer and movie condition. Discussion The present study examined the role of cleanliness on moral judgments, more specifically on purchase decision and willingness to pay for fair trade products. We used experimental method in order to have evidence for our predictions, but we observed relatively inconsistent support for our hypotheses. We found that there was no significant difference regarding participants choice of fair trade products in the movie and sanitizer conditions. Consequently, one of our hypotheses about the cleanliness was unsupported. We did not see any influence of cleanliness on moral judgments and more specifically on the choice of fair trade products. On the other hand, it did not mean that our research finding challenges the validity of influence of cleanliness on moral judgments. The concept and identity of fair trade products might have a bias effect on the choice of them. For example, the price of fair trade products is higher than the regular products. Price can be a powerful influence on the deci sion of fair trade products purchase. We did our study mostly with university students who have low purchasing power and. Second finding of our research was about willingness to pay for fair trade and regular products in terms of two cleanliness conditions (movie and sanitizer). We saw significant interaction between conditions and willingness to pay at first look. When we looked in detail, we saw that there was no effect of condition on wiliness to pay in general. We looked at the results again because at first sight we saw an interaction between conditions and product types. The main aim was to figure out the interaction in individual level both fair trade and regular products. It was obvious that participants were willing to pay more for fair trade products than regular products. We observed that there was no effect of condition on willingness to pay for fair trade products. We assume that there were other influences triggering this effect. As we mentioned before, fair trade products have high in price value and this might have bias effec

Reshaping Our Conception of the Amateur Astronomer Essay -- Explorator

Reshaping Our Conception of the Amateur Astronomer Until recently, if you had asked me to describe what I would have envisioned an astronomer to look like, I probably would have given you two alternate pictures; the first would be the academic or professional astronomer-aided by grants, funding agencies, university budgets, and access to the latest technology in the field. The other astronomer, then, would be the "amateur" astronomer: the wide-eyed observer whose sole passion in life is to design, build, and use telescopes of their own creation. While I am certain that both of these stereotypes exist, I was surprised to discover that there is indeed a third type of astronomer, namely the "serious amateur." The serious amateur falls somewhere in between my two previous categories; while the professional/academic astronomer would classify an amateur as "anyone who has not earned a graduate degree in astronomy...," the serious amateur would more likely view his or her non-professional status as a result of "...not earn(ing) his or her l iving from watching the skies." [1] Nonetheless, with the aid of recent developments in astronomical technology, a serious amateur astronomer now has the ability to aid professional astronomers by observing unrecorded (or underrecorded) stellar objects. Indeed, the present comet Hale-Bopp was simultaneously discovered by both a professional and a serious amateur astronomer alike. Therefore, in this article I would like to outline some of the new technological advances and new relations between serious amateurs and professional astronomers, give some examples of the "new" astronomer, and then analyze the changing role of the astronomer--including both the roles of the professional and of the se... ...ercury, p. 38. 5. Koch, Bernd. "Amateurs and the CCD Revolution." The Mercury, p. 40. 6. Fountain, Henry. "Backyard Astronomers Enlist as Foot Soldiers of Astrophysics." The New York Times, 3/18/97, C4. Bibliography:       http://www.halebopp.com    Jevons, F. R., Science Observed. London: George Allen & Unwin Limited, 1973.    Latour, Bruno. Science in Action. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987.    Wilcox, Ken. "The Golden Age of Amateur Astronomy." The Mercury, volume 25, #1, Jan/Feb 1996. pp.32-35.    Bracher, Katherine. "Amateur Astronomy in America." The Mercury, volume 25, #4, Jul/Aug 1996. pp.7, 25-27.    Fountain, Henry. "Backyard Astronomers Enlist as Foot Soldiers of Astrophysics." The New York Times Tuesday, March 18, 1997 C4.    Koch, Bernd. "Amateurs and the CCD Revolution."Sky and Telescope, January 1997. pp. 38-42.

Comparing Evil, Abuse and Escape in Oliver Twist and Great Expectations :: comparison compare contrast essays

  In Oliver Twist and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, both main characters refuse to except the poor hand the world has dealt them.   Pip and Oliver reach a great epiphany in regards to social injustice, and in turn rebel against the system that oppresses them.   They are tired of being mistreated and neglected, and therefore decide to make a stand.   Charles Dickens exhibits through Oliver and Pip that the revolt of the weak against the strong results from the oppression of the poor.   As a result of their revolt against the system, Pip and Oliver are ostracized for their non-conformist ideals.   Thus change in an oppressing and conformist society can only be achieved through change in moral, social, and political instincts.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In both novels the main character faces abuse and neglect which result in rebellion and distancing of them from the society which chooses to hold them down.  Ã‚   In Oliver Twist, Oliver receives a great amount of abuse through the orphanage.   While suffering from starvation and malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver is chosen by the other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner.   After making this simple request, â€Å"the master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with a ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for the beadle† (Oliver Twist 16).   This pain and neglect caused a change in Oliver.   He realized that he must rebel against the society that wishes to oppress him, in order to truly start living.   In Great Expectations, Pip receives a great deal of abuse at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery.   On one occasion â€Å"I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from be hind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and having my face ignominiously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer those questions at sufficient length† (Great Expectations 12).   This anguish inflicted by the hands of his sister resulted in Pip distancing himself from any ties with his family.   Thus his independence grew as a direct result of the abuse he had faced.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In both novels the main characters have to escape from harsh living conditions and evil surroundings which in turn forces them to grow as individuals, and become independent from a conformist society.   Oliver finds himself residing in an orphanage that is dark and sordid.   As well he finds himself in London’s lowest slums, such as the pickpockets hideout, the surrounding streets, and the bars, which are all described as dark, gloomy, and bland.