Goffman: Impression Management

February 8, 2013 Impression Management The notion that we see ourselves as an object, as others see us, forms the basis for one of Goffman’s central concepts; impression management. Impression management refers to the verbal and nonverbal practices we employ in an attempt to present an acceptable image of our self to others. Some of the principal ways in which impressions are created and maintained are by the person’s demeanor, the deference, the front, the backstage, the character, and the performer. The demeanor deals with how a person conducts and dresses himself individually.For example, the greetings and salutations we offer others, the disclosure of personal information, the closing or granting of physical space we give others, and countless other acts, if done right can mark an individual as well-demeaned person and thus deserving of the deference only others can give to him. Deference refers to having honor, dignity, and respect towards others. The reciprocal na ture of deference and demeanor is such that maintaining a well-demeaned image allows those present to do likewise as the deference they receive obligates them to confer proper deference in kind.The front is what an individual shows toward others while the backstage is the region of the performance normally unobserved by, and restricted from members of the audience. Meaning that people have there own secrets about themselves that no one knows about. As a character, the self is in reality an image, a managed impression that is fabricated in agreement with others during an encounter. However, when we turn to the self as a performer, we as an individual look to impress or get approval by others by what we do/achieve at something.For example, you’re getting your house ready for when you have guests coming over because you want to make an good impression. The individual as performer is the thinking, fantasizing, dreaming, desiring human being whose capacity to experience pride and shame motivates him or her not only to perform for others but also to take precautions against embarrassment. The process of impression management and social interaction both include a rational and a non-rational dimension in different ways.Merchants of morality is in both of them, it means individuals’ attempts to â€Å"engineer† interaction â€Å"profits† through properly enacted performances, and to live up to the standards of morality by which their performances will be judged. We present ourselves as well-demeaned persons in part because it is in our best interest to do so but, by doing that, we announce our adherence to the moral standards that ritually organize social encounters. In other words, the self is the mask the individual wears in social situations, but it is also the human being behind the mask who decides which mask to wear.

Possible Violation of the Eighth Amendment Essay

The article I found was written on March 14, 2011 about the controversy of the constitutionality of the treatment of Private Manning. There have been many articles about this topic, but the one I looked at was an editorial in the pages of the New York Times. Private Manning was convicted of leaking restricted military files to WikiLeaks and was arrested on the twenty sixth of May in Iraq. Since then he has been imprisoned at Quantico in Virginia and has been treated as the some of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib have. For example, he is in solitary confinement twenty three out of twenty four hours, on the twenty four hours his ankles must be shackled on the way to and on the way back from the exercise room. Finally, he is forced to sleep naked and when inspection comes in the morning, he is naked throughout that too; only when it is over is he permitted to have his clothes back. The controversy is whether this is treatment for cruel and unusual punishment; also known as the eighth amendment. I think this treatment of Private Manny may very well lead to a court case over the eighth amendment. In my opinion, there was most definitely a violation of the eighth amendment, I do not condone torture in any sense and consider not only despicable and disgraceful on American soil, but unconstitutional, and the treatment of Private Manning falls under this position. Being forced naked and in isolation for such extended periods of time is torture. Torture is cruel and, most definitely, unusual punishment especially considering the non-severity of Private Manning’s actions.

Nursing Leadership of Florence Schorske Wald Research Paper

Nursing Leadership of Florence Schorske Wald - Research Paper Example Florence Yale served as an instructor at Yale initially, and then became dean. She resigned from her deanship after being inspired by Cicely Saunders’s (an English physician) work on hospices and pursued education in palliative care (Friedrich, 2011). Starting with an interdisciplinary team that led to the establishment of the first hospice in US, her hospice movement brought about many positive changes in the field of nursing in relation to care for the terminally ill and/or dying patients (Mills, 2003). 1.2 Significant Contributions to Nursing In 1971, Wald and colleagues opened the first Hospice in the USA (Mills, 2003). The aim of this hospice according to Wald (1969) was to assist the persons going through the developmental stage of saying good bye in maintaining dignity and quality of life. After the establishment of this first US Hospice, Wald started a Hospice movement, which spread a lot in the following years and resulted in the establishment of more than 4700 hospic es all over USA. Wald attained several awards and honors for her work and in addition to her contribution in motivating, organizing and training nursing, her highest contribution to the profession of nursing remains her Hospice movement (Bullough, 2000). ... 1.3 Leadership Strategies Wald was doubtlessly a great leader and inspired many others to take further initiatives in hospice (McKorcle, 2009). According to Adams (2010) Wald was critical of the way dying patients were treated after World War II. Her mission was to bring a change for the better in the care of dying patients. Her leadership was transformational; she imprinted a change in the field of hospice (Adams, 2010). Interviews from her close colleagues regarding her leadership style revealed that she included an element of caring while leading her team. All her activities were research based and she motivated her team on basis of empirical evidence regarding the difference hospice care can make in the lives of the dying. Wald was in the habit of obtaining a consensus from her interdisciplinary team before implementing anything. She was a committed mentor and strived to enhance the quality of life for dying patients (Adams, 2010). 2. BARRIERS FACED BY FLORENCE SCHROSKE WALD Wald faced many barriers inclusive and exclusive of nursing in the pursuit of her mission. 2.1 Nursing Barriers The department of medicine was over burdened with patients after the World War II and the dying or terminally ill patients were deliberately shifted towards the end of sick ward, so as to discriminate between the patients who had hope of life and those who did not (Wald, 1979). This situation in the country posed a problem in initiating and pursuing the Hospice movement (Adams, 2010). This was a great barrier faced by Wald, since it was difficult to convince the medical officials to treat the dying and non dying patients equally (Friedrich, 2011). Wald fought this barrier by immaculate transformational leadership and by involving the

Taiwanese and American Art Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11500 words

Taiwanese and American Art - Thesis Example Still, the Eastern art had a thoughtful impact on Western impressionists where the work was hailed as the ultimate performance art form by master dramatists (Hong 2005). A number of Western artists have expressed their fascination with the spirit of nature in Chinese paintings and how Chinese artists imprison it in a few strokes, thereby, making the blank space on a canvas as reminiscent as the painting itself (Hong 2005). The delineation of Chinese ink and wash landscapes held by this contemporary has caused a substantial blend within the capital's art circles. The last few decades have witnessed a blast in the ideas as well as the theories of art, for it has never been more popular, however, much present thinking remains out-of-the-way and difficult to use (Costello 2007). This thesis effectually delineates the Hybridity and association of the Eastern art with that of the West. The aim of this research is to investigate the similarities as well as differences between Western modernism and Taiwanese Ink and Wash painting, chiefly in their representations as well as the usage of pictorial space, time and color. ... This thesis effectually delineates the Hybridity and association of the Eastern art with that of the West. The aim of this research is to investigate the similarities as well as differences between Western modernism and Taiwanese Ink and Wash painting, chiefly in their representations as well as the usage of pictorial space, time and color. Abstract expressionism and surrealism play a significant role and the Traditional development of modern Ink and Wash painting during the period from 1949 to 2000. According to Bradley, Surrealism reflects the visual richness as well as vivacious confrontations in Documents between art, archaeology, ethnography and other popular culture (Bradley 1999). Moreover, it will focus upon some prominent Taiwanese modern Ink and Wash painters who were respectively influenced by the specific theories and figures of abstract expressionism as well as Surrealism. There have been examined several western methods and ideas which were adopted by the Taiwanese arti sts and their incorporation within the specific cultural contexts of the various schools of art that allow them to establish new, formal as well as stylistic innovations. These comparative perspectives will then be applied to Ink and wash modernists and the abstract expressionists with its leading representatives. 2. Introduction Ink and Wash painting is a genre of the conventional Chinese painting performed on Xuan paper in black with no other colors. Simple, yet elegant, it slowly and

Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Groups and Teams - Essay Example d 20 in forming stage (the initial stage of the team when they are high dependant on other factors such as leader, company, atmosphere, rules and regulations), 22 in storming stage (it is the stage when the members of the team are not sure about their goals, they are familiar with each other but they are not making much progress), 28 in norming stage (a stage where there are arguments and discussion but they are resolved after through work and exercise, the goals have to be achieved with some difficulty and it is hard to bifurcate between the what has to be done and what is the team doing) and 30 in performing stage (a most stable stage in which the team is well aware about the goals and has the ways to achieve them). According to the test taken it has been proven that our team is in the performing stage. It is a stage when the team is clearer about their goals and objectives. The team has a proper vision that they follow. The team is more focused in achieving their goals. The message is clear and in unity, there are certain discussions on various topics but they don’t turn into arguments that can result in a negative impact on the group’s performance. Team work is highly complicated and complex matter, and they need to be handled in a much efficient manner to achieve the desired goals (Chapman, 2013). Each individual in a team has to be understood accordingly and instead of managing them collectively they need to manage individually. Each member had to be given the work that suits their abilities to the best, had to ensure a balance between the work and no discrimination is made between the works distributed. Good teams are formed by good leaders and good leaders. A good leader is a person who is not insecure of his teamwork, understands the responsibilities, ensures that his team is also appreciated in their work and rewarded accordingly. A good team leader is a person who can motivate his employee, and create respect for himself. Where the employees are

Workplace bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Workplace bullying - Essay Example Subsequently, effects in the wider community can include lower production, early retirements and an increase in the costs of health care services. Globally, nations are implementing laws to promote dignity within the workplace, and to ban a range of forms of workplace harassment (Giga & Hoel, 2004). However, actual research of how best to ascertain the presence and degree of workplace bullying within an organisation remains contentious. This paper will explore the suitability of using survey instruments to understand the organisational context of workplace bullying. First the background of workplace bullying shall be outlined. Second a literature review of survey instruments used shall be presented, with a focus on the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ). Strengths and weaknesses of the survey instrument shall also be identified. The conclusion will resolve the question of survey question suitability, and also provide recommendations for future research. There are various forms of workplace bullying that can be broadly categorized into two main types: 1) work-related and 2) person-related. Work-related bullying is indicated by constant criticism, not being provided with information, and excessive monitoring. Person-related bullying can include being subject to insults, teasing, false allegations, rumors, social exclusion, humiliation and or intimidation (Einarsen & Hoel, 2001; Knott, 2004). Bullying, whether in the workplace or elsewhere, is about power in social relationships, or more specifically, power differences (Hoel & Cooper, 2000). Within the workplace, bullying may also be referred to as mobbing, workplace aggression, petty tyranny or victimization (Aquino, Grover, Bradfield & Allen, 1999). Ultimately, workplace bullying is repetitive, persists over time, and results in a hostile work environment (Hoel & Cooper, 2000).The antecedents to workplace bullying vary across organisations and departments within organisations, howev er, studies point to the values of the organisational culture, the representation of these values in policies, and the roles, and task demands of employees as primary factors (Hoel & Cooper, 2000). The direct consequence of workplace bullying has been shown to be increased stress and negative responses from some employees (Giga & Hoel, 2004). Conceptual issues of how to define and measure workplace bullying in order to understand it are dominant research areas currently (Knott, 2004). Studies show that a failure to address issues of workplace bullying places organisations at risk of increasing costs due to sick leave, compensation and a tarnished public image (Hoel & Cooper, 2000). Literature suggests a focus on the psychosocial aspects of the workplace as potential antecedents and prevention variables (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf & Cooper, 2003). There is a current emphasis on the use of survey instruments to identify and measure bullying within the workplace adequately account for the or ganisational context. However there is a lack of literature exploring the efficiency

Video review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Video review - Assignment Example The bureaucratic class was also intelligible and competent for helping spreading literacy skills throughout the kingdom through education and social reforms. However, this glass was not destined for Catholicism, which the video barely discusses. Much like economic inequality today, literacy during their religion revival was trickling down. Second, the Catholic Church had integrated the Roman organizational structure for centuries before Charlemagne’s rule. Yet the narrators make it seem as if Charlemagne was beginning from scratch when forming and enacting education reforms to spread literacy. Third, Charlemagne did promote liberal arts but did not operate without support. Liberal arts were already existent but not homogenous, centralized, and integrated into the system, which became Charlemagne’s role. The narrators did not clarify several annotations. First, I did not understand at Charlemagne’s inability to master writing truly meant. I get that Charlemagne was dealing with immense diversity and was possibly the reason he could not interact with others fluently (Smarthistory 2013). Was Charlemagne unable to put his own thoughts to paper or was he able to write

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

International Business - Essay Example No doubt, the country observed negative economic growth due to worst economic recession during 2008 – 2009, which reduced its per capita income from $14,500 to$13,500. The total labor force of this nation is estimated to be 47 million out of which nearly 5% is unemployed. The share of two major industrial and services sectors in GDP is nearly 33% and 63% respectively. In addition, there is special attention over use of modern technology and latest equipments at private and public offices, educational institutions, hospitals, households etc., which is why the manufacturing and imports of durable consumer products and electronics are ranked number 2 across Mexico. In the light of above statistics, it is justified to argue that Overhead Projectors (OHP) are although locally manufactured (to some extent) by domestic industry, yet they are heavily imported from China, Canada, India Japan, USA etc. (CIA World Fact Book, 2010). Unfortunately, the researcher has failed to garner statistics regarding total demand of office equipments or OHPs as well as on import volume of the chosen product. Indeed, it should be highlighted that there is no data available on internet that could provide near-to-accurate idea of demand of OHPs in quantitative terms. However, some of the major suppliers of Overhead Projectors include 3M Mexico, Hotline CPT Ltd, Cartridge Plus Inc., Vcom International Multimedia Corporation etc. are some of the international companies that have been supplying computer accessories and overhead projectors across lucrative Mexican market. As far as the quality and useful life of OHPs are concerned, it is worthwhile to mention that various local and international brands of OHPs are available in Mexican market having useful life of 2000 – 15,000 hours. The better the quality and useful life, the higher the prices charged from sellers. In other words, the prices are in a range of $500 - $4,000 depending upon quality, life, brand

Teenager Substance Abuse Essay Example for Free

Teenager Substance Abuse Essay For youth leaders, this is a study of a teenager who has a substance abuse problem and was released from a detention center. It involves a seventeen old male who abuses marijuana, alcohol, and ecstasy; and is also the son of two ministers. This story should help readers understand the dynamics involved with a teenage drug user and will also help youth leaders develop effective skills for reaching out to a troubled teen in need of support, especially after incarceration. A seventeen-year-old male, Jimmy, lived in a middle-class suburb. Jimmy was referred to me by his sister, ecause she felt my knowledge and past experiences might be helpful in reaching him. Later on I decided to meet and conduct an interview at his house, with his sister present in an adjacent room. During the conversation, several facts emerged. Jimmy had been in trouble with the legal system, mostly for drug possession and motor vehicle infractions. He said he had been kicked out of high school because of his drug use. He had been using alcohol and marijuana since he was about 13. He had more recently been taking ecstasy. When asked why he used drugs, he claimed it educed his boredom and provided a way to escape and have fun. Additionally, it was discerned that his father worked long hours (in the mental health field), and was basically absent from the family. Later, I learned that his father denied his sons habits. The family, which also includes a younger 16-year-old brother, had gone to see a therapist but Jimmy was an unwilling participant. Jimmy noted that he does have a problem with authority figures, like the police, because he believes they are corrupt. Jimmy did admit that police have a Job to do, in terms of protecting people rom harmful practices. Jimmy also realized that there are consequences of drug use and that he was headed for a state prison sentence if he did not improve his actions. He learned that his mother could be arrested under law if he had drugs in her house; this bothered Jimmy. I researched about what state prison was like and told him all about it. Throughout the intervention, then I listened and affirmed the young man without condoning his bad behavior. In the end, I gained his trust and told him that his personal feelings would be kept confidential. I recommended that Jimmy be areful when he with his peers, and I encouraged him to select a friend who would help hold him accountable. I shared my phone number with him. Jimmys behavior improved. The relationship between teens and drugs has been around for decades; however, this is not what you would call positive. Substance abusing (which is using drugs or alcohol in ways than can cause physical harm) is often associated with crime. But why do youths take drugs? Youth take drugs for the following reasons: social disorganization, peer pressure, family factors, emotional, or rational choice. Social isorganization deals with drug abuse to poverty and disorganized urban environment. Drug use by youth minority group members has been tied to factors such as racial prejudice, low-esteem, social status, and stress produced from environment. The National Youth Survey found that drug use tends to be higher among urban youths. problem was bad and the police officer and teachers that worked at my high school had no idea whatsoever what was going on right under their noses seriously, I remember people at football games found this place behind a shed where no one went and they used to smoke and do drugs, it was bad. But of course no one could say anything about anything they saw otherwise that person will get death threats and get their tires slashed in the parking lot and have to go to homecoming fearing for their life. Like one time I remember this girl said something and everyone in the school hated her and she was instantly unpopular. So yes there is a huge drug problem and getting students to rat each other out is so not going to happen. In a perfect world maybe, but in the real world, not a chance. Jimmy is a classic case of a lonely teenager who is never with his parents and is basically always hanging out ith his friends which are a very bad influence. The pattern that I recognize from Jimmy is that he has been wanting to get his parents attention and the only way he gets it, is by consuming excessive alcohol or illegal drugs. Teens feel alone at home and family. They look for something attractive that pleases them. They dont get enough attention from parents. They were not used to get enough attention when they were kids. But when they were kids there were a lot of childish things that could make them busy and temporarily happy. But when they reach 14, those things can ot attract them anymore. They still suffer from lacking of attention and the things that could be a relief for them, have lost their attraction. So they look for new things. Definitely these new things cannot be found in family. They are already disappointed about family. Parents should be trained and educated about these things. They should know that all of these problems come because of lack of attention from one or both parents. One hour attention to children and teens saves hundreds of hours of therapy in future. It prevents a lot of problems that addiction is only one of them. By interviewing Jimmy I found that teenagers see taking / using drugs are Just a way of teenage-hood, most youth will try some sort of drug, maybe Just to try it out or maybe for a reason. This teen said he has taken drugs because it was something to do, and everyone else around him was doing it and it was seen cool to take drugs and that it was a way to escape from the real world. Interviewing Jimmy was very interesting because I could sort of relate what he is going through from when I was in high school. Luckily Jimmy is acting on time before he goes to the wrong path and becomes a failure in life.

Death of Marat Essay Example for Free

Death of Marat Essay I love the story of a conversation that took place at an English country house during a dinner party, where the host had just started up the discussion of death and asked the various guests what will happen to them after they die. Some thought about reincarnation and others though about different plains of being, and others thought that they were going to be annihilated. All of the guests had answered the question except for sir Roderick, who was a military type, a very devout man to the church of England where he was also the church warden, chief of the vestry, in the local county of Parish. The lady said â€Å"sir Roderick you haven’t said a word, what do you think is going to happen to you when you die? † oh he said â€Å"I am certain that I will go to heaven and enjoy everlasting bliss, but I wish you wouldn’t indulge I such a depressing conversation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  The polarity of death; It is talked about with such anguish and fright yet portrayed through art as something that represents relief or enlightenment that all together are emotionally wrenching idea’s that have been both subject for artists and served as an incentive for artistic production throughout history, perhaps as much as, perhaps more than, any other subject since artists have dealt with death, dying, the threat of death, escape from death, thoughts of death, and preparation for death through the centuries. For me, death in neo-classicism was the obvious choice because it so strongly reflects the change that was going through Europe at the time, where plagues, revolution and war scattered the common wasteland. Through the age of enlightenment death began to play a different role amongst artists and scientists where the interest in mortality and old age, the decayed body and the anatomical structure layered in lifelessness took new forms. With death came the peeling back of layers, skin, muscles, organs – embalming and mummification, posing the question on whether there is an immaterial soul or whether the body is only a complicated organ capable of immense things. This is something I felt is strongly expressed in the painting that I have chosen. The Death of Marat, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1793 is a story that relates to the French Revolution, in which a radical journalist, Marat, is murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who believed that his death would end the violence throughout the country. It has been described by T. J. Clark as the first modernist painting, for the way it took the stuff of politics as its material, and did not transmute it(1). However I believe that the painting also allows a portrayal of a philosophical confrontation on the subject of death. Through this essay I will argue how the painting demonstrates the struggle between the polarizations of death through a neo-classicistic point of view. Analysis The painting Death of Marat depicts the death of a murdered radical journalist during the French revolution. Charlotte Corday, the murderer, was a Girondin(2) from a minor aristocratic family and a political enemy of Marat who blamed him for the September Massacre. She gained entrance to Marats rooms with a note promising details of a counter-revolutionary ring in Caen. Marat suffered from a skin condition that caused him to work from his bath. Corday stabbed Marat, who died. She did not attempt to flee, and was later trailed and executed. While the painting is done in a realistic style, it has elements of being idealized, so that Marats death is almost graceful. His head is resting peacefully on the edge of the tub, and despite being stabbed in the chest he is still holding a quill in his right hand with which he was writing a letter, which he still holds in his left hand. This along with the dramatic lighting and overall calmness of the scene betrays the actually brutality of the stabbing. In fact, its a very peaceful painting. You could almost be forgiven for not thinking him dead. The Death of Marat is designed to commemorate a personable hero. David intended to record more than just the horror of martyrdom. In this sense, for realistic as it is in its details, the painting, as a whole, from its start, is a methodical construction focusing on the victim, a striking set up regarded today by several critics as an awful beautiful lie. (3)† To fully understand this artwork there are essentially two aspects to consider: first the style used by David, i. e. Neo-classicism, and secondly the artist’s purpose, i. e. turning Marat into a hero of high moral virtues according to the classical tradition. Neoclassicism as the name says was essentially a rediscovery of classical art from the Greek and Roman time. This style prescribed rigorous contours, sculptured forms, and polished surfaces and was based on ideals of harmony and austerity. By applying such technique, death is glorified and allows further depth for the beholder, which makes the message of the decisive clash of life and death stronger. Marat is dying: his eyelids droop, his head weighs heavily on his shoulder, his right arm slides to the ground. His body, as painted by David, is that of a healthy man, still young. The scene inevitably calls to mind a rendering of the Descent from the Cross. (4) The face is marked by suffering, but is also gentle and suffused by a growing peacefulness as the fangs of death loosen their grip. The significance of this is the inference that Marat sacrificed himself for the good of the people, just as Christ is said to have done. Other religious elements are also prominent, the halo like turban around Marat’s head, and the heavenly light shining upon Marat’s angelic face. The portrayal of Marat in this way contrasts with other accounts describing him. Marat up until the moments before his death was a violent man who totally supported the executions of all those who opposed the government. Marat was once known to have said, â€Å"In order to ensure public tranquility 200,000 heads must be cut off. †(5) It was David’s aim to â€Å"construct images of a secular saint. † David believed that Art must have a social mission (appeal to the beholders moral sense instead of merely giving him pleasure). Art must contribute forcefully to the education of the public. However in a time when violence was so prevalent â€Å"actuality† was replaced by inaccurate images resulting in historical misrepresentations. This was partly due to the fear people experienced, due to sympathies people held. David supported the Jacobins and so this representation is biased, giving only the Jacobins perspective, not at all representing the views of Corday or the Girondins who particularly hated Marat. All reflections in history are biased documents, but that’s another discussion. My interest with the Death of Marat lies within two philosophical notions, dualism and physicalism, Most religious views have a belief in the afterlife and the continuation of living in some other form after life has been completed. For Christians death leads to heaven, or hell to nonbelievers. For Buddhists death restarts the life cycle in reincarnation, the person becoming another living entity in another shape. Death in this piece of art has the power to confront the viewer with their own mortality, their own livingness, in ways that surpass normal emotions. In most modern countries, death is something that is hidden away from people, separated into cemeteries and funerals. Most would agree that death is an inherently bad thing, that living surpasses death in possible everyway. Death in culture has such wide ranging importance between nations and societies that one simple analysis does little justify the range of connotations. Conclusion The theme of death in art has been around for centuries. Death and the last living hours are present in the passion of the Christ, a subject matter that has been present strongly through art’s history. The dramatic use of neo-classicistic art techniques allowed David to capture not just a painting but also a symbolic gesture that death represents. By taking the fundamental pillars of neoclassicism and romanticizing them he was able to gain entrance to a certain presence. If theres ever a picture that would make you want to die for a cause, it is Death of Marat. But thats to separate it from the appalling moment of its creation, the French Revolution. For David, Marat wasn’t a monster, he was a saint. This was martyrdom, and part of David’s manifesto of the revolutionary virtue. When analyzing representations from the past we must recognize motivating factors behind representations. Subsequently we must question representations of the past, such as Davids â€Å"The Death of Marat† and the validity of opposing views. However death is far from being a radically new idea, it contains a wide range of philosophical concepts, depending and varying on cultural differences. The belief that human beings survive death in some form has profoundly influenced the thoughts, emotions, arts, scripts and actions of mankind. The belief occurs in all religions, past and present, and decisively condition the evaluations of man and his place in the universe.

The Merits And Demerits Of Each Philosophy Education Essay

The Merits And Demerits Of Each Philosophy Education Essay Introduction: This essay will discuss two research philosophies. It starts by giving a brief account of each. Followed by a discussion on the preferred philosophy which will be adopted for the research project, i.e. social constructivism alongside post positivism In this discussion the merits and demerits of each philosophy, are given along side the research strategies associated with each as well as the rationale for adapting social constructivism. Here, a brief history of each outlines philosophy: Post positivism arose out of dissatisfaction with some aspects of the positivist stance. Whereas positivists accept an objective, apprehendable reality, post positivists acknowledge an objective reality that is only imperfectly apprehendable (Lincoln Guba, 2000). This position holds that human intellectual mechanisms are flawed and that lifes phenomena are basically intractable, and therefore, one can never fully capture a true reality. A key distinction between the positivist and post positivist views is that the former stresses theory verification and the latter theory falsification (Lincoln Guba, 2000, p. 107). Despite some important differences between the positivist and post positivist paradigms, the two perspectives share much in common (Lincoln Guba, 2000; Ponterotto, 2002). A goal for both is an explanation that leads to prediction and control of phenomena. Both perspectives emphasize cause- effect linkages of phenomena that can be studied, identified, and generalized, and both paradigms proffer an objective, detached researcher role. Furthermore, both paradigms operate from both a nomothetic and etic perspective. Positivism and post positivism serve as the primary foundation and anchor for quantitative research. Whereas, constructivists hold that reality is constructed in the mind of the individual, rather than it being an externally singular entity (Hansen, 2004). The constructivist position espouses a hermeneutical approach, which maintains that meaning is hidden and must be brought to the surface through deep reflection (see Schwandt, 2000; Sciarra, 1999). This reflection can be stimulated by the interactive researcher-participant dialogue. Thus a distinguishing characteristic of constructivism is the centrality of the interaction between the investigator and the object of investigation. Only through this interaction can deeper meaning be uncovered. Qualitative research and the seeds of constructivism-interpretivism can be traced back to Kants (1881/ 1966) Critique of Pure Reason. According to Hamilton (1994, p. 63), Kants position was that human perception derives not only from evidence of the senses but also from the mental apparatus that serves to organize the incoming sense impressions and that human claims about nature cannot be independent of inside-the-head processes of the knowing subject. Another significant figure in the development of constructivism was Dilthey (1894/1977). Proponents of constructivism-interpretivism emphasize the goal of understanding the lived experiences (Erlebnis) from the point of view of those who live it day to day (Schwandt, 1994, 2000). Dilthey believed that every lived experience occurs within a historical social reality. He further believed that these lived experiences may be outside the immediate awareness of the individual but could be brought to consciousness. Understandably, the constructivist-interpretivist paradigm provides the primary foundation and anchor for qualitative research methods. Linking it to the philosophy of constructivism-interpretive and the research on leadership styles prevailing in Risxcel. My research project will adopt constructivism-interpretivism instead of post positivism. The ensuing discussion explains why: The methodology to be used for the research will be influenced by social constructivism which is often in combination with interpretivism (Mertens 1998, Bryman 2008) because its underpinnings are appropriate to act in response to the leadership in Risxcel. Social Constructivist-interpretist holds the hypothesis that folks seek an understanding of the world in which they work and inhibit, Creswell (2009). In this area, folks build up subjective meanings of their experiences meanings focussed toward some objects or things on leadershipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The aim of research is to extract participants views of the leadership styles prevailing in Risxcel. Such views will be extracted from CEO, managers and staff as the researcher visits the context and seek an understanding of leadership styles prevailing at Risxcel, however such an understanding can only be made possible by seeking the views and perceived experiences of those working on leadership positions at the college. From this point of view, this research will require an understanding community, i.e. Risxcel staffs subjective meanings of leadership. Adopting Constructivism enables participants to give their subjective experiences which are socially and culturally constructed. It is anticipated that by applying social constructivism to this research, if the context will form the explanation of data. By applying Social Constructivism, the project therefore positions the acknowledgement of how the interpretation of data flows from historical experiences, personal and cultural (Creswell 2009). As Crotty (1998) notes, meanings are generated by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting. In this case, it is anticipated that being informed and directed of the post positivist paradigm would have make the study somewhat people -less (Kitchin 2006: 6) as it ignores their views and beliefs within a study population otherwise highly charged with these, given the subject of leadership. Against this bac kground, the research project adheres to the supposition by social constructivists that the generation of meaning is always social, arising in and out of interaction with a human community (Crotty 1998 in Creswell 2009: 9). Qualitative research strategies, i.e. individual in depth views and focus groups, will therefore utilized in this research as they allow the researcher to extract participants views, experiences, beliefs on the subject of leadership This being the case, quantitative research strategies, which are informed of post positivism would inappropriate as will be further discussed below. Given that the research project will be using qualitative research strategies, a definition may be crucial at this point. Qualitative research is a positioned activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of material practices, interpretive that makes the world noticeable. These practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ turn the world into a series of representations including photographs, field notes, and interviews, to the self. At this level, qualitative research involves a naturalistic, interpretive approach to the world. This explains that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, interpret phenomena and attempting to make sense in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005: 3). In addition to the issues noted above post positivism and its research strategies would not be appropriate for the research project because post-positivist assumptions hold true more for quantitative research than qualitative research which is called sometimes the scientific method (Creswell 2009). As well, post-positivists hold deterministic philosophy in which causes determine effects or outcomes, which are the reflection to the need of identification and the assessment of the causes that influence outcomes such as found in experiments (Creswell 2009). Also, has the intent to reduce the ideas into small, which discrete a set of ideas to test, such as the variables that comprise hypotheses and research questions. The knowledge is based on careful observation and measurement of the objective reality that exist in the world. It becomes paramount for post-positivists the development of numeric measures of observations and the study of the behaviour for individuals (Creswell 2009). Challenges to Qualitative Research, while the project will utilise qualitative research as informed by social constructivism, its notable that it is by nature demanding and time consuming. There is need for dedication to field work, collecting the data, gaining rapport and when it comes to data analysis, one must sort out through large of data before reducing them to a few themes (Creswell 1998). After analysis, one must contend with writing a lengthy piece of work as evidence must substantiate claims and quotes from population study inherently increase the length of the study (Creswell 1998:17). It is also note worthy that social constructivism has been criticised fro being too dependent of participants views and experiences and also being too subjective to researcher interpretation (Lincoln and Denzin 1994). However to counter, this in the research project, reflexivity will be applied. This will involve seeking constant guidance from the supervision term when in doubt on how to int erpret findings. This will also be the strategy used for countering possible bias. In spite of the above acknowledged problems related with its utilization, the research project on leadership at Risxcel will utilise qualitative research due to the nature of the topic as well as my philosophical worldview position. In this instance, qualitative research will enable me to explore the Risxcels leadership styles within a given context in detail. And gleaned explanations on peoples views, behaviour, actions and beliefs as culturally, socially and historically informed. Indeed, the topic of the research project need to be explored in detail and as (Creswell, 1998) notes; qualitative research is the method suitable for research topics with no easily identified variables or explanations for behaviour and requiring explorations to be carried out. As Creswell (1998: 17) comments, one must select qualitative research over quantitative research when the topic needs to provide a detailed view because the wide -angel lens or the distant panoramic shot will not suffice to present answers to the problem , or the close up view does not exist. In conclusion, this essay has discussed two philosophies, i.e. social constructivism and post-positivism. It has also presented the philosophy which will be applied to the research project on leadership at Risxcel and given a rationale for its selection. In this selection process, the merits and demerits of each philosophy have been discussed, alongside the research strategies associated with each. While social constructivism clearly has its challenges, it was deemed more appropriate for the research project.

An Analysis of Rappaccinis Daughter: Nathaniel Hawthornes Most Complex Short Story :: Rappaccinis Daughter Essays

An Analysis of Rappaccini's Daughter: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Most Complex Short Story Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on the forth of July in Salem, Massachusetts. He writes of the sentimental affection for the town of his birth - he described his feeling "to the deep and aged roots which my family has struck into the soil" (DLB 144). Hawthorne's work is unique because of the combination of these three ideas: "love of his ancestral soil, a strong sense of the richness of the American past, and that moral quality of the human heart" (DLB 145). Because he loved life and his background and where he was from and enabled him to be a better writer. Interestingly to me, Hawthorne attended college and when he graduated he moved back home with his mother (his father died when he was only four). He had started writing some in college and soon published his first work after graduation. He said this was a lonely and difficult time for him because he earned little money, but did learn a lot. The first thing he published was Fanshawe (1828). Soon after he did, he learned that publication of his work was a mistake and he wanted all copies destroyed. He disposed of all the ones that he could get his hands on and asked his family and friends to do the same. A fire at the local bookstore destroyed all of the rest of the unsold copies. This must have been a sad time for him. To be able to actually write something and publish it and then deliberately trash all of them. On the ninth day of July in 1842, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody. He wanted to marry her long before this time, but was not making very much money and was afraid he would not be able to support. He did slow down writing for a while and worked at a farm to try to earn some money so he could have the money that he wanted. He learned fast that manual labor left little energy for anything else (DLB 153). Edgar Allan Poe described Hawthorne as a man of "truest genius". Others said he was a "truly American literary voice".

Homelessness in the Jane and Finch Area of Toronto :: Struggle for a Community

Many individuals would define leisure as time free from paid work, domestic responsibilities, and just about anything that one would not do as part of their daily routine. Time for leisure and time for work are both two separate spheres. The activities which people choose to do on their spare time benefit their own personal interests as well as their satisfactions. While some people may enjoy one activity, others pay not. Leisure is all about personal interests and what people constitute having a good time is all about. Some may say that the process of working class leisure can be seen to contribute their own subordination as well as the reproduction of capitalist class relations. Self-produced patterns of working class leisure can lead to resistance to such reproduction. This leads to social class relations and inequalities, and the fact that it they can never be completely reproduced in the leisure sphere. This film Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community, gives some examples of the role of leisure within a capitalist society dealing with issues such as class inequalities, and how they are different among various societies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One might define the relations between police and community relations in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto to be very discriminating. The start of the film already gives some insight on the issue which the film is trying to portray. A coloured man’s is being harassed because the police do not think that he has ownership for the van to which he claimed he owned. The police were violating his rights and treating him in an impolite manner simply because of the standard that has been set, claiming that all coloured individuals are violent and dangerous. This is also the case because the film has been recorded in the Jane and Finch area; where people are looked down upon and regarded as dangerous, violent and unemployed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The video Home Feeling: A struggle for Community covers the lives and individual stories of the residents of the Jane and Finch area, primarily the Indians who make up at least 15% of the immigrants who reside in the area. The residents of the Jane and Finch area have strong feelings against the police who constantly wander their community looking for trouble or trying to cause some of their own. Many blame the police for their frustrations claiming that they feel they have no privacy because they are always being watched.

An Export-Led Growth Strategy: Pakistan Essay

This essay makes no pretence to offer a novel concept or a new development strategy and most economists reading it will probably stifle a yawn and turn the page. Yet it is a subject worth talking about. Many countries round the world, most notably the former Asian Tigers, China, Brazil, Turkey and more recently India have followed such a strategy with great success. Pakistan has not and it is well to ask why and what we can do about it. Pakistan has never had a consistent, coherent and well-articulated export-led growth strategy. Indeed, exports are often treated as a residual, an after-thought, once the domestic market has been filled. This is inexplicable given our persistently large trade deficit which has not been reduced over time and we have difficulty financing it (filling the gap) each year. Economic growth has at various times been driven by either the public or private sector or more recently – and most disastrously in the previous government – by consumption which created dangerous asset- price bubbles in the domestic economy, led to overheating pressures and a surge in inflation and imports. Economic growth has never been driven by exports nor has building a dynamic export sector been at the forefront of any government’s economic strategy. While the large-scale manufacturing sector in Pakistan is the focus of policy attention not least because it has a powerful lobby, it is the tip of the manufacturing (and export) sector ice-berg. It is the small and medium-enterprise manufacturing (SME) sector in Pakistan that generates four-fifths of our manufacturing output, employment and exports. Sustained and focused policy-driven growth in this sector with its strong forward and backward inter-industry linkages is the kind of -inclusive- growth that Pakistan urgently needs. With labor-input a large component of capital and output, rapid SME growth has important positive implications for wages, employment, living standards and the goal of poverty alleviation. Why Pakistan has shied away from adopting such a strategy is not clear. Of course every now and then there is much bluff and bluster about boosting exports and grand plans to contain our external deficit and debt. Since the government is busy giving â€Å"top priority† to everything, the priority that should be given to exports is drowned amid the â€Å"noise† of the many – and often contradictory – pronouncements. Perhaps the first reason for not paying sufficient attention to the SME sector – and an incredible one at that – is that we don’t know much about the SME sector despite its size and importance in the economy. We have large bureaucracies dealing with SME in all provinces but it is unclear what they do. Surveys of activity this sector are taken in -frequently, sometimes as far apart as 15 years, and a inter-survey growth rate is calculated which is then put into the National Income Accounts and repeated year-after-year until the next survey. The real growth rate of the SME sector has been fixed at as low a figure as 2. 5% per annum. The present fixed rate is 7. 5% per annum. But what is really happening in the SME sector in the inter-survey years no one knows except through crude methods of linear interpolation. If there is no information and just a fixed assumed growth rate with fixed and outdated coefficients for employment and capital, there can be no meaningful strategy of export- led growth in the SME sector to begin with. The second reason could be that we don’t like to talk about exchange rate policy except in whispered conspiratorial terms. Maintaining a -stable† exchange rate is always thought to be a reflection of how well economic policies are being managed. Governments frequently interfere with exchange rate management issues and demand that the exchange rate is kept -stable. † An appreciating exchange rate is greeted with applause. Devaluation is always bad. Nominal â€Å"exchange rate stability† was one of the highly –touted achievements of the Musharraf years even though no one was noticing that Pakistan’s export to GDP ratio was falling (along with our notoriously under-performing and falling tax-to-GDP ratio). This presented prima facie evidence that export profitability was most probably being compressed and the authorities should have done something about it. But given that we were in an era of plentiful aid and other capital inflows there was no pressure on government to do much either on the export or the tax front. Added to the conspiracy theories, there is a widespread view that exchange rate devaluation which for exporters means more rupees earned per dollar exported, has no effect on export performance. The reality is more nuanced and worthy of some elaboration. There are fairly long lags between exchange rate depreciation and the response of exports. It takes time to gear up production to the new level of export profitability. Furthermore, for devaluation to impact exports in a positive way, the exchange rate must depreciate in â€Å"real,† rather than only â€Å"nominal,† terms, that is, the extent of depreciation (or increase in nominal export profitability), of say 10 percent, must exceed the going rate of domestic inflation, say 7 percent. Exports respond to increases in real profitability (in the above example the real increase in export profitability is 10 percent minus 7 percent = 3 percent, not just the nominal change in profitability, 10 percent). If the extent of devaluation is offset, or more than offset, by higher inflation because macro policies are insufficiently tight and there is cost-push inflation, there will be no stimulus to exports because there is no, or perhaps even a negative, change in real export profitability. Importantly, any increase in real export profitability needs to be sustained if the stimulus to exports is to be lasting. If exporters see that the improvement in real export profitability is likely to be fleeting and will dissipate through future inflation, or a change in government policy, they will have little incentive to export and would prefer to sell in the domestic market. Given the concentrated, oligopolistic structure of industry in Pakistan and the high-levels of protection afforded to producers in the domestic market from foreign import competition, real profitability in the domestic market can be very high, often a multiple of what can be earned in the export sector. In Pakistan this has been a strong disincentive to produce for exports. This brings to the foreground a â€Å"second-order condition† for a successful export drive. Even if there is a real increase in export profitability, the much higher real profitability levels, or â€Å"monopoly rents,† that can be earned in the domestic market will induce firms to sell domestically, eschewing exports. Worse, firms may actually switch back to selling in the domestic market and cease exporting altogether as the differential between domestic profitability and exports rises. Of course, a judicious application of trade, tax and tariff policies and other incentives can help countries achieve an incentive structure more favorable to exports. Many countries that are more aggressive with their export drive actually tilt profitability sharply towards the export sector and ensure it is sustained. The importance of establishing an incentive structure favorable to exports is underscored by the fact that exporting, per se, is a challenging task. Not only are quality requirements higher, strict adherences to, for example, packaging, labeling, and hygienic standards is essential. One often hears of Pakistani exports being banned in foreign markets because of our failure to adhere to high standards. Competition from other countries selling in the same market is intense; price wars and dumping can be ruinous, and there are tariff and non-tariff barriers and complex procedural regulations in the importing country that have to be negotiated and complied with. These â€Å"non-price† determinants of exports can be of significant importance. While price and non-price factors interact to determine competitiveness, exports also respond to export market income growth. The magnitude of the response of exports to income growth is the â€Å"income elasticity of demand for exports† which generally reflects the country’s export mix. Given the commodity composition of Pakistan’s exports, dominated by low-value textiles such as yarn and cloth, the income elasticity of our exports is not large, perhaps even less than unity (or less than one). This means that for every one percent increase in export market income growth, our exports respond by less than one percent. This less than â€Å"unitary income elasticity† of our exports explains why Pakistan’s export market share has lagged behind the growth in global income and trade. By contrast, in the more dynamic exporting countries, the income elasticity of exports of their higher-value added products can be as high as four or six and these countries have made impressive strides in expanding their global market share. Many countries use the exchange rate as a weapon of export competitiveness, most prominently China, where the exchange rate is kept artificially depreciated (by some calculations by as much as 42% but now down to 24%), when China’s massive trade surpluses with other countries, most notably the US, and even more massive foreign exchange reserves (presently $2. trillion) would point towards a policy of gradual appreciation of the currency that would slow down the torrid pace of China’s exports and pull in more imports driven by domestic demand. In doing so, China’s massive trade surpluses would start to diminish, and with other surplus countries adjusting in a similar manner, the global economy would be better balanced. According to a recent estimate a 20% appreciation of the Chinese currency would cut $150 billion off the US trade deficit with China and create 1 million US jobs by making US exports more competitive. Pakistan needs to change the commodity composition of its exports, add new higher value products for export and look for new export markets. After 62 years we still export the same products of largely unchanged quality to the same markets as reflected in the estimated â€Å"Commodity Concentration Index† of our exports which has remained broadly unchanged. We have made little progress in moving up the -value-added chain† and getting better unit prices for our exports. One study showed that the unit price our exports can be as low as one-third of the unit price other developing exporting countries earn for the same product. The unit price of our exports of garments, for example, was lower than the unit price received by exporters in Bangladesh for the same garments selling to the same market. This is a distressing fact since it shows the Is there any empirical econometric support to the view that the real exchange rate matters? There have been a surprisingly few studies done in Pakistan given the importance of the subject (most of the studies have been done by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the IMF using Pakistani data). These studies do point to a strong and fairly robust relationship between the real exchange rate and exports. Of course, other factors too contribute as explanatory variables such as world income growth. The lags between real exchange rate changes and real exports mentioned earlier need to be carefully specified to get a better â€Å"fit† of the predictions of the econometric model to the actual data. Other than these models which are probably out-of-date, the projections that are made each year in the context of our export targets are based on what can be termed â€Å"casual empiricism. The government iterates to a target figure for each export commodity based on discussions with trade bodies and simply extrapolates by using an agreed compound growth rate from a given base-year figure. There is no rigorous forecasting model which specifies explanatory variables that underlies the export targets. To sum up, Pakistan needs more information and better information on what is going on in the SME sector from which most of our exports emanate. It will be costly since the SME sector is widely dispersed but the benefits would more than justify the cost of more frequent surveys of the full population of the SME sector, say every three years with smaller sample surveys taken each year so as to build-up a time-series profile of the dynamics of the SME sector. External donors would be more than willing to finance such a survey (s) with grant (non-debt-creating) funds if Pakistan can present a credible plan. The decision by the US to give $100 million to the SME sector could portend a new beginning for the sector but one has misgivings about the administrative and technical capacity of the SME establishment and whether they can or will deliver meaningful results. Discussion of the appropriateness of the exchange rate and how domestic inflation and relative inflation affects export profitability, the difference between nominal and real exchange rate, the overall conduct of exchange rate policy, and different exchange rate regimes followed by more successful exporting countries, needs to be more transparent, up-front and better understood. The point to drive home is that the real exchange rate does matter and is an important – albeit not exclusive – determinant of lasting export success. It is the most important price signal in any economy. The incentive structure needs to tilt towards exports versus selling in the domestic market through judicious adjustment in trade, tax, finance and tariff policies. Special, selective incentives should be given to exporters, especially new exports which should not be available to producers selling in the domestic market within of course the ambit of WTO rules. To prevent abuse of these incentives they should be tied to performance and withdrawn if performance is not forthcoming as measured by, say, actual exports in the previous three years. If this â€Å"tilt† is sustained, new exports will emerge of products and from sectors previously un-thought of A look at the rag-bag category of â€Å"Miscellaneous Exports† in the export data turns up some surprising high-value items that Pakistan exports (some to very sophisticated markets in Europe) but the amounts are small and their year-on-year growth is erratic. Since there is little targeted encouragement given to these new exports, they usually fade out of the export picture altogether. If there is no domestic market that they can turn to, these firms shut down. In both cases, Pakistan has lost a potential export item and valuable foreign exchange something that we can ill-afford. Focusing on fostering growth in these high-value exports which emanate from the SME sector would improve the export mix, diversify the export base, reduce the commodity concentration of our exports and increase the income elasticity of demand for our exports in world markets. The non-price determinants of exports need to be strengthened through emulating â€Å"best-practice† techniques employed by the leading exporters of the world. This is not rocket-science since most of the â€Å"best-practice† techniques can be gleaned from the internet. Furthermore, domestic investors and FDI proposals that are aimed at exports should be given the highest priority and placed on a fast-track of approval. FDI inflows offer the best route to securing structural shifts in the technological progress function in the SME sector while at the same time bringing in better managerial and marketing skills which are so critical in exporting. Enhancing productive efficiency in the SME sectors means being able to offer higher wages in line with productivity improvements which would lead to higher living standards and poverty levels dropping to the teens as demonstrated by the remarkable success of other exporting countries. As productivity growth responds to output growth (as in the P.  J. Verdoon and Kaldor models which inverts the causality of neo-classical models of Solow and Swan) with output growth being driven mainly by net exports as would be the case in an export-led development strategy, static and dynamic economies of scale can be reaped through the process of â€Å"Learning-by-Doing† as espoused by the US economist Kenneth Arrow in his path-breaking work. Such dynamic economies of scale and increasing returns can generate positive cumulative circular causation effects that impact costs, prices and profitability in the export sector.

Price Floors and Price Ceilings

Kristen Fowler Economics April 16, 2012 n   Price Controls: How efficient are  price ceilings and price floors? If you think one is better than the other, make sure to bring up examples from our economy to validate your stand. Price ceilings and price floors are essential aspects of our economy. Price ceilings are government enacted laws preventing suppliers from establishing prices of key resources higher than a certain price, which is set by the government. Price floors are price minimums that can be charged for a good or service.These price controls are put in place in order to maintain an affordable lifestyle and protect consumers from suffering form unfair inflation. However, when not executed properly, price controls can become ineffective. Price ceilings are enacted in order to benefit consumers. Price ceilings prevent businesses from charging unfair prices. For example, if only one seller has access to a certain product that is a necessity to consumers, without a price ce iling they have the ability to charge an outrageous price. Price ceilings also assist in keeping the cost of living reasonable in the case of high inflation.If prices rise faster than incomes do, people will be unable to maintain a comfortable standard of living. However, when enacted out improperly price ceilings can have a negative outcome. It is important that price ceilings are set above the market price. If a price ceiling is set below the market price, it will result in a shortage. An example of misuse of price ceilings is when a price ceiling is established on a product in which the price is thought to be too high; however a more efficient means of solving this problem would be to increase production.An ineffective price ceiling is one that is set above the market equilibrium price. The product is already selling for much lower than the price ceiling, so unless the price greatly increases, the price ceiling serves no vital purpose. Price floors are a government imposed limit of how low a price can be for a good or service. I do not believe that there should be a price floor set on products or services, and that the law of supply and demand should determine the pricing of products. However, a necessary price floor our government has in place is minimum wage.Minimum wage is essential because if employers were able to pay employees as little as they want, workers may not be able to afford the cost of living. Although minimum wage is beneficial to the people, it is also beneficial to the government as well. By setting a minimum wage, the need for public assistance decreases. Setting a minimum wage also encourages consumption. If people just have enough money to pay for their basic needs, they will not have money to spend and put back into the economy.The effectiveness of price floors greatly depends on where it is set in respect to the market equilibrium price. If the price floor is set underneath the market equilibrium price, it has no effect since the con sumer is already paying a higher price. This price floor will not be effective unless the market price decreases. A price floor will make a direct impact on the market if it is set above the market equilibrium price. By setting a higher price floor, you are ensuring that more products can be made, however there are negative results as well.Consumers will recognize that they are now paying a higher price for the same product, which may lead to less consumption, directly leading to a surplus. This idea holds true in the example of minimum wage as well. If the minimum wage rate is set too high, more unskilled workers will enter the labor force, and less employers will be willing to pay this rate leading to less hiring. Therefore setting the minimum wage rate too high will directly lead to increased unemployment. http://smallbusiness. chron. com/advantages-disadvantages-price-ceiling-25210. html

History of the Phantom of the Opera Essay

In 1911, Gaston Leroux published Le FantÔme de l’Opera, the now famous book that gave birth to the legend of the Phantom.   Leroux had been fascinated by the mystery and design of the Paris Opera House.   As a theatre enthusiast, he had toured all the levels of the Opera House including a visit to the underground lake, cellar and hidden passageways. The mysterious events at the Paris Opera House which ignited Leroux ‘s interest began with Napoleon III’s call for a new opera house to be built in Paris in 1860, after he had survived an assassination attempt one evening when returning from the Opera.   The construction of the Opera House, faced many delays and construction stopped during the Franco Prussian War. After the war, the then unfinished Opera House was occupied by the working class who used it as a warehouse, observation post, communications center, military post and a powder store.   The cellar was once used as a torture chamber.   The new Paris Opera House was finally finished in 1875.   Finally, adding to the mystery, an unfortunate incident occurred in the Paris Opera House in 1896, a counter-weight of six and a half ton chandelier fell from the ceiling, killing a patron. Gaston Leroux always claimed that the ghost in the story was true, based on his investigations and tours of the Opera House.   He is quoted as saying: â€Å"The Opera ghost really existed.   He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants, or the concierge.   No, he existed in flesh and blood, though he assumed all the outward characteristics of a real phantom, that is to say, of a ghost.†Ã‚   (Leroux, G, n.d) In 1925, began the chain of events that would give rise to the phenomenon of the Phantom.   Universal Studios made the first film of the book – the silent movie, Phantom of the Opera, which starred Lon Chaney Snr.   A second version of the film, this time with sound and color, starring Claude Raines was produced in 1943.   Followed by a Spanish version in 1962, and a 1974 version starring Herbert Lom and Heather Sears. The Phantom was produced twice on stage in 1935 and 1975, without much success. Then, in 1986, the legend of the Phantom of the Opera would become one of the most famous stories in the world, when Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Musical – Phantom of the Opera hit the stage in London.   In the 21 years since the Musical began, it has broken all theatre records and is now the longest running Broadway Show in History. The success of the musical spurred the movie industries interest again in 2004, with a moderately successful movie called â€Å"Phantom of the Opera† based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s opera.   Critical acclaim for the movie has been varied. The Phantom has outlived his creator who died in April 1927 and has become iconic to the 20th and 21st Century.    History of the Hit Musical – The Phantom of the Opera   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera opened in London’s Majesty Theatre on 9 October 1986.   In the original London Cast, â€Å"The Phantom† was played by Michael Crawford, and â€Å"Christine† by Sarah Brightman (then wife of Andrew Lloyd Webber). The original creative team of the Phantom was: Harold Prince  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Director Cameron Mackintosh  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Producer Andrew Lloyd Webber  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Composer, Book, Co-orchestra Maria Bjà ¶rnson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Production Designer    While Andrew Lloyd Webber had already been phenomenally successful with productions like Evita and the Sound of Music, â€Å"The Phantom† made stars of the actors and creative team members. The musical is still running 21 years later (2007) in London, Broadway (N.Y) and touring worldwide.   The Phantom has won over 50 awards including 3 Olivier, an Evening Standard Award, 7 Tony’s and 3 Outer Critic Circle Awards. At the time of writing, it is estimated that over 80 million people have seen the musical, with total ticket sales of over $3.2 billion.    Reviews of the Phantom of the Opera: The Daily Mirror’s first review of the Phantom of the Opera in 1986: It’s fantastic, fabulous and phantasmagorical! It’s fantastic, fabulous and phantasmagorical! From the eerily flickering lights that greet you outside Her Majesty’s Theatre to the last, glorious curtain call, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-awaited new musical, Phantom of the Opera, is a triumph. The special effects are among the most spectacular ever seen in the West End. The music is very bit as memorable as one would expect from the man who wrote Evita, Starlight Express and the rest. But most of all, the show belongs to Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, who soar and swoop through their hugely demanding roles like eagles. After all the well-publicised false starts and back-biting, Lloyd Webber has created a musical which deserves to be around well into the next decade. The story is based closely on the original novel of 1911 – unlike most of the Phantom of the Opera films which have been made over the years. Michael Carwford’s Phantom hides his hideously disfigured face by skulking in the stage caverns and pools deep beneath the Paris opera. His passion for music is the only thing which gives his life meaning until he becomes obsessed by Sarah Brightman’s Christine – a young opera singer whose beauty is matched only by the purity of her voice. He coaches her in secret while visiting dreadful catastrophes on anyone who refuses to advance her career. A hanged scene shifter is suddenly hideously dropped on to the stage in the middle of a performance. A vast crystal chandelier crashes on to the audience. As the phantom becomes more fiendish so Christine becomes increasingly mixed in her feelings towards him. A dreadful climax is fast approaching. The eerie sets of the unfolding drama – great stages filled with mist and shining candles – are interspersed with all the colour and spectacle of the operas being prepared and presented at the theatre. Despite all the â€Å"ghost train† theatricals the greatest thrills of the show come from Michael Crawford. He not only sings superbly but also captures the torment of the Phantom perfectly. If you only see one show this year, make sure it is this one! (Blake, J, 1986) In 2002, The Times wrote: Long-runners One answer is obvious: Maria Bjà ¶rnson’s stunning designs. The story, based on Gaston Leroux’s novel, begins on the Paris Opera’s stage in 1911. The building is dusty and neglected, the stage festooned with great swags of grey fabric. Old theatrical props are being auctioned off. Then, as the auctioneer announces the final lot — the opera’s enormous chandelier — the dustsheets fall away, the scene seems almost to dissolve and the theatre travels back in time to 1881 before our very eyes. It’s a vision of gaudy grandeur: gas lamps flicker, red velvet glows in the light and plaster nymphs and satyrs frolic on pillars. The opera is dogged by misfortunes that are rumoured to be the work of the Phantom, a malevolent figure who haunts the theatre. This sinister creature has become obsessed with Christine Daaà ©, a pretty chorus girl. But only cadaverous Madame Giry, the formidable ballet mistress, knows the terrible secret that lies behind the mask the Phantom wears. The musical’s best sequence occurs when the Phantom leads Christine through labyrinthine passages to his lair beyond a hidden lake underneath the building. As their boat glides over the misty water, surrounded by flickering candles, the effect is breathtaking. The problem is that this spectacle takes place early on and nothing afterwards can really compete. Harold Prince’s direction is slick and Gillian Lynne’s choreography effective, but Lloyd Webber’s music is often trite and dated. There’s little depth to any of the characters, either, yet the musical’s central relationship intrigues. For while Christine is Beauty to the Phantom’s Beast, she is haunted, not only by the opera ghost, but by the memory of her dead violinist father. This lends a pleasingly perverse Freudian twist to the erotic tension between the two characters, and the performers John Owen-Jones and Celia Graham make the most of it. Not only are they both excellent singers, they are fine actors too. Graham brings both passion and a childlike neediness to her portrayal of Christine. Owen-Jones uses his rich, powerful voice to great effect, crooning one moment, spitting bitterness the next. But the real star of the show is Bjà ¶rnson’s work. The designer died earlier this month, aged 53, and if Phantom has stood the test of time, it’s because of her. It is not the music audiences will remember; it’s the opera’s chandelier swinging crazily over the stalls, or a masked figure crouched menacingly over a gilded angel. And for those images alone, this show is still worth seeing. (Marlowe, S,   2002) The New York Times revisited the Phantom in 2005 and wrote this review: New York Times revisits the Phantom Old and Ghostly but Still a Hoot The paint on the balconies of the Majestic Theater looks chipped and the electronic drum machine sounds like something left over from a music video from the 1980’s. But â€Å"The Phantom of the Opera† really shows its age (17 years and running) when the signature special effect is presented. Musicals have opened and closed in the time it takes that chandelier to lumber to the floor. Looking like one of Ed Wood’s teetering flying saucers, it crashes to the stage with the force of a shopping cart, the biggest, most extravagant anticlimax in town. Seventeen years later: Sandra Joseph and Hugh Panaro are now playing the roles of Christine and the Phantom. Under the fearsome shadow of Hugh Panaro in â€Å"The Phantom of the Opera.† But what do you expect? It was designed during the Reagan administration. For a top-of-the-line chandelier, you will have to wait for the $40 million production of â€Å"Phantom† opening in Las Vegas next spring. But if the technology of the Broadway show seems a bit quaint, the real news is that the rest of the production has grown old gracefully. Judging by sheer invention, emotional punch and onstage talent, the venerable blockbuster still beats out almost all of the whippersnappers currently on Broadway. Maria Bjornson’s flamboyant gothic design and Harold Prince’s fantastical staging still have the gleam of finely polished professionalism. Led by the current Phantom (there have been 10 after Michael Crawford), Hugh Panaro, an up-and-coming musical theater star who finds the right mix of shock and schmaltz, most of the cast retains the freshness of opening night. That does not mean that Andrew Lloyd Webber haters, a large and very grumpy contingent, will be won over. Sorry, â€Å"The Music of the Night† hasn’t changed. Nor has Charles Hart’s bumbling lyrics (â€Å"You have brought me to that moment when words run dry†). But for those sentimental souls looking for a popular entertainment to transport them to a baroque, romantic new world with a powerful smoke machine, â€Å"Phantom,† I’m happy to report, still delivers the goods. Which is especially impressive, given that not long ago, the musical seemed to be on its last legs. By the fall of 2003, its peers â€Å"Miss Saigon,† â€Å"Cats† and â€Å"Les MisÃÆ' ©rables† had faded away. Ticket sales were down and rumors of its demise were common around Broadway. Flash-forward to today: crowds are lined up around the corner to see the show, which regularly sells out. Last week, 99 percent of the seats were filled. In January, barring a strike, disaster or nuclear holocaust, â€Å"Phantom† will eclipse â€Å"Cats† as the longest-running show in Broadway history. What happened? For one thing, it received a boost from Joel Schumacher’s film version of the musical, which opened in December. Even though it wasn’t a smash hit, the movie introduced a new audience to the show (as evidenced by the large number of young girls at the Majestic) and reminded old ones how superior the musical is. In fact, the bombastic film may be the only thing that makes the musical look understated. Mr. Prince, who continues to oversee casting and reportedly checks up on the show every few months, deserves credit for tending to it with care. When the box office dipped, he never panicked and cast a former Backstreet Boy for a short-term boost in sales. Unlike so many long-running shows, â€Å"Phantom† has not resorted to stunt casting. Although don’t be surprised if Mr. Panaro, who has been rumored on theater Web sites as the choice to star in â€Å"Lestat,† Elton John’s vampire musical heading to Broadway next season, becomes a household name someday. A young, charismatic actor, he brings a maniacal energy and Grand Guignol charm to the tortured Phantom. In his hands, the show concentrates more on the horror than the romance; but only once does he turn to the audience and growl – which, considering how scenery chewing this role could be, counts as admirable restraint. Surrounding him is a solid supporting cast who deliver disciplined performances free of the lazy flourishes that sneak into a role when an actor becomes bored by repetition. As the diva Carlotta, Anne Runolfsson flashes a hundred-watt smile and shows off a richly textured voice in the opening song, â€Å"Think of Me.† Jeff Keller and George Lee Andrews, the only actors with major roles who have been with the company since the beginning, are marvelous as the nervous theater managers who made the mistake of buying the Paris Opera House. In 2001, Mr. Prince had them switch roles to keep things fresh. Sandra Joseph (who doesn’t perform Wednesday evenings or Saturday matinees) is perfectly competent as Christine, although in her scenes with the Phantom she can come off as a bit bland. As her other love interest, Raoul, a terribly underwritten role, Tim Martin Gleason provides a strong voice and a stiff performance. In the romantic songs, one’s mind easily wanders to the bitingly funny Lloyd Webber parody in â€Å"Spamalot,† which droned on and on until the stars looked tired of their own voices. Then again, the winking and eyebrow-raising in satirical musical comedies like â€Å"Spamalot† and â€Å"The Producers† are part of what makes the proudly melodramatic and unironic â€Å"Phantom† a nice change of pace. The musical may seem as if it is from a different time, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. (Zinoman, J, 2005) Personal Review:    The Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera captures your attention right from the start and then you will be you will be drawn into a mysterious world of horror, romance and tragedy. Your journey keeps you spellbound through resonating songs sung by a handpicked cast, Maria Bjornson’s magnificent sets and costumes to both delight and frighten you. Gaston Leroux’s gothic novel comes to life through Andrew Lloyd’s Webbers’ Phantom.   The musical beautifully combines a mixture of genres, performed through opera, leaving the audience entrapped in a tragic tale of love. Whether you are recovering from fright or floating on Phantoms’ songs – this musical will keep, you entertained, wistful and somewhat disturbed leaving you thoughtful as to who should triumph in the end. New fans and old are still being enraptured by the phenomenon of The Phantom.       Works Cited: Blake, J, (1986) It’s fantastic, fabulous and phantasmagorical!, The Daily Mirror U.K. Retrieved 04/18/2007, http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/poto/news_mediareviews_story.php?id=38 Leroux, G. n.d. Quotation Phantom of the Opera Official Site. Retrieved 04/18/2007, http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/poto/show/the_show_history_filmography.php Marlowe, S, (2002), Long Runners, The Times, UK.   Retrieved 04/18/2007 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article805339.ece Zinoman, J, (2005), New York Times revisits the Phantom: Old and Ghostly but Still a Hoot, The New York Times, USA.   Retrieved 04/18/2007 http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/poto/news_mediareviews_story.php?id=216    Bibliography: Paris Opera House (n.d.), Music of the 19th Century Paris, Opera. Retrieved 04/18/2007 http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/music/opera/opera_house.html The Phantom of the Opera (n.d.), Official Website.   Retrieved 04/17/2007, http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        

Biff Loman’s Role in Death of a Salesman

Biff Loman may not be the â€Å"Salesman† in Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Death of a Salesman, but he is the main character of the play. The character known as Biff Loman is at the root of his immediate family’s internal dilemmas and inner conflicts. Biff’s essence is what motivates the men in his family to choose the path that they take in life. For this reason, even when Biff is not present in a particular scene, he is still omnipresent because of his invisible pull on the actions and feelings of his family members whom he had impacted throughout the years. The play finds Biff Loman at age 34, while his younger brother Happy is 32. Growing up, Happy was influenced greatly by his older brother. This is common in most young boys, especially when they are this close in age. Happy was eyewitness to the arrogant and womanizing behaviors of his elder brother, Biff during their youth. Happy saw the way Biff behaved during high school and witnessed the positive feedback that he received from both his peers and his father as a result of his behavior, which was less than exemplary. Happy saw Biff skate through his teenage years living in this manner. Biff got the attention from their father that Happy had yearned for. The stage was set for Happy to attempt to emulate Biff’s womanizing, unscrupulous actions during his own life. Happy became a womanizer on a level which even exceeded Biff’s promiscuous behavior during his youth. Happy often found himself sleeping with his boss’s wives, girlfriends and fiances. He couldn’t even understand why he did it. It was simply an instinct which was engrained in him after spending his impressionable years so close to Biff, even sharing a bedroom with him during this time. Willy Loman, himself, was obsessed with his eldest son. During Biff’s prime of life, Willy found happiness by living vicariously though his son. Poor Happy was hardly noticed by his father who was so wrapped up in Biff. Willy believed that he would find all his dreams that were never realized finally seen through by Biff. He thought Biff would succeed in college and find the successful career that Willy himself was never fortunate enough to have. All of Willy’s hopes and dreams were wrapped up in this one boy and when Biff failed to live up to them, Willy felt that failure just as deeply as he felt the let-down of his own unfulfilled life. To make matters worse, even though Willy did not admit it, he knew that he, himself was to blame for Biff’s downfall. Willy never pushed Biff to do the right thing in life. He chuckled when Biff stole from his football coach and was proud of his son when Biff made his friends clean the family’s basement. Biff said to his father, â€Å"I think I’ll have them sweep out the furnace room† to which Willy replied, â€Å"Good work, Biff. (Miller 1192) Willy’s wife, Linda, had warned him about Biff being rough with the girls and this, too, was shrugged off . Linda said, â€Å"He’s too rough with the girls, Willy. All the mothers are afraid of him. † Willy replied, â€Å"Shut up†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦There’s nothing the matter with him! †¦ . He’s got spirit, personality†¦. † (Miller 1195) Willy felt that Biff already possessed all the qualities needed in order to be successful in life, so there was no need to offer guidance to his son or punish his missteps along the way. This was a parenting strategy that Willy would later live to regret. The paramount of Willy’s guilt was the fact that Biff caught him in a hotel room with a woman with whom he was having an affair. Willy made up ridiculous excuses to cover the fact that this woman was in his hotel room naked. He tells his son, â€Å"Biff, she’s a buyer. They’re painting her room†¦. She lives down the hall – they’re painting. † (Miller 1240) Biff saw through to the truth of the matter, though. He yells at his father, saying â€Å"Don’t touch me, you – liar! (Miller 1241) Biff was so crushed by the realization that his father was not the family man whom he had idolized that he did not even bother to make up the math course that he had to complete that Summer in order to graduate. This one small action threw away his chances at attending college. The immense guilt that Willy felt as a result of his son discovering his infidelity is at the cor e of play’s plot. This guilt and attempted absolution is what ultimately leads to the death of Willy Loman. Willy is attempting suicide in order to finally make things right with Biff. He wants his first born son to collect twenty thousand dollars from a life insurance policy. Willy, who has his own identity so wrapped up in Biff, feels that Biff will become successful with this money and therefore Willy’s legacy will be one of achievement and success in life. Willy is so convinced of this idea being a reality, that he is willing to throw his earthly life away for a chance at an afterlife view of his own dreams being carried through his son, Biff. This makes Biff the lead character in the play. Bibliography; Only the actual play is refererenced in this report.

Estimating multiple regression model; GCC countries Statistics Project

Estimating multiple regression model; GCC countries - Statistics Project Example The assignment will conduct a multiple regression analysis using the data from observations for a period from 1999 – 2012. The multiple regression analysis is a technique of statistics that is used to develop a linear model for predicting the unknown value of a variable from known or assumed values of independent variables. In this case, the model Y = ∠« (Xa, Xb); where Y = GDP per capita, Xa = FDI, and Xb = Export is represented by the equation Y = b0 + b1Xa + b2Xb. The task of the multiple regression analysis is to determine the values of parameters a, b1, and b2. In order to it, the assignment collected data for Xa, Xb, and Y for years from 1999 – 2002. Table 1 presents data set; values will be used for regression analysis. The sample data of table 1 is collected from the annual reports published by the Qatar Central Bank (â€Å"Annual Reports†, n.d.) and Index Mundi (â€Å"GDP†, n.d,; â€Å"Exports†, n.d)). The set represent values of three variables collected from 14 observations. These values will be used to find a regression line that best fits the data illustrated in Table 1. The regression coefficients of variables as well the intercept of the regression equation are calculated using Excel functions. The parameter calculation method does not consider the noise in regression analysis. This study does not conduct sample data distribution phenomenon; however, it does conduct a study of Goodness of fit of the model. The given data are used to conduct descriptive and inferential analyses. Descriptive coefficients characterizes the data set; the concept represents the central tendency and dispersion of data taken from observations. Inferential analysis, in this case, describes the behavior and authentication of the model through hypothesis testing of regression parameters. Descriptive statistics of all three variable are evaluated using Excel built in function; they are presented in Table 2.

Strategic Management-Case study Nike Research Paper

Strategic Management-Case study Nike - Research Paper Example The other factors entail the customers who are capable enough to compel firms to bring down its prices by triggering competition between the particular firm and its respective competitor. Suppliers can also restrict the profits of the firms by way of demanding higher prices. Fresh participants or competitors with new facilities and zeal to capture the market can escalate the investments for a firm in order to stay in the competition and compete with the fresh force. Lastly, alternate choices also negatively manipulate the profit of the firms as it can facilitate in taking away the customers of a particular firm by luring them with the alternate choices. Therefore, all these factors need to be evaluated while designing an effectual strategy of a firm. The evaluation would provide a complete understanding of the ways by which the profit can get affected in an industry (Porter, 2011). Firms should get a complete understanding of the mentioned forces and structure plans particularly to cut down on the profits that are being taken away by the other market contestants or competitors. Firms require taking heed of those forces and planning accordingly so as to continue its sustained existence. Firms should take steps to counterbalance the power of the suppliers by setting specifications for the procured materials so that it becomes easy for the firm to change vendors without affecting the operations as well as increasing the related costs. In order to reduce the effect of the powers of the customers, firms need to develop and spread out their services as well as products so that it can hold on to the customers from losing to its opponents. It is a common phenomenon for the opponents to alter its prices in order to capture the market. Owing to this reason firms need to manufacture products which should vary notably from the products of its competitors. Therefore, firms need to design strong

Report about the National Transportation Safety Board Essay

Report about the National Transportation Safety Board - Essay Example In cases of suspected criminal activity, certain other federal agencies might get involved in the investigation process. Meticulous reporting is done and recommendations are issued at the end of any investigation as it is the primary goal. NTSB also undertakes specialised research on transportation safety to create new knowledge to make effective recommendations. NTSB also engages in safety advocacy by issuing safety alerts for the public and transportation providers. For instance, recommended actions to â€Å"prevent aerodynamic stalls at low altitudes† (NTSB, n.d.) is for the pilots and technicians, while various alerts regarding highway safety addresses the public. These could be accessed on NTSB website and appear to be highly useful. Another key division of NTSB is its Transport Disaster Assistance (TDA) division that functions as a coordinator after any transport accident in order to provide various support services to the victims and their families. To name a few, TDA coordinates forensic services, counselling, translation and interaction with foreign governments. TDA acts as the coordinator between those who respond to an accident and those affected, that is the state and federal agencies or volunteer organisation and the respective transport carriers. It also helps in planning disaster assistance. Throughout the period of investigation, TDA serves as the information source for the

Outline the processes of evolution and explain how either theory of Essay

Outline the processes of evolution and explain how either theory of mind or altruism is an adaptation resulting from the selective forces that have operated dur - Essay Example This is also the rationale behind the arrival of variations in the species of organisms through time. The genius of evolution lies in the fact that although organisms have obviously changed though time, a lot of their features remain strikingly comparable to something from a different age. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) Simply put, evolution is one of the major factors that cause different life forms to continue to exist in the universe. Evolution is a complex process that makes use of several mechanisms or sub-processes. These evolutionary mechanisms are responsible for affecting change in population.. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) The basic mechanisms of evolution that affect change include natural selection, genetic drift, migration or gene flow and mutation. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) Natural selection is the course of action by which inherited characteristics that are pertinent to continued existence and reproduction become more prominent. In natural selection, the traits that are detrimental to one’s survival become less prominent in the next generations. (DOBZHANSKY, 1955) According to the ‘Understanding Evolution’ website, genetic drift can be simply described as an â€Å"evolutionary equivalent of a sampling error†. Another way to describe genetic drift is that the genetic material from one generation does not go on in the same proportions in the next generations for due to a lot of indiscriminate reasons. Genetic drift can be likened to a lottery where a â€Å"winner† is determined by sheer luck or in this case, chance. Genetic drift affects the process of evolution in three ways. First, genetic drift causes a reduction in variations. This causes a population to be