Conrad vs Holden

Ordinary People and The Catcher in the Rye: Reckless Actions In current day society, people strive for the untangible feeling of happiness. Genuine happiness can develop a person to become lovable; however, the nonexistence of happiness may do the complete opposite. Holden a protagonist from the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, and Conrad the main character from the movie, Ordinary People, are searching for this happiness within their own lives. However, they are unable to find it because of the solidarity that they feel between their friends and families.The loneliness and the decreasingly lack of joy in Conrad’s and Holden’s lives triggers them to make decisions that would lead to consequences which would negatively affect their surrounds in the future. The absence of happiness within the lives of Holden and Conrad causes them to act reckless in different ways that ultimately harms himself and people around him. Throughout the movie Conrad makes many i mpulsive decisions that harms his friends, family members, and also himself.The first wrong decision that started the domino effect on the other wrongful decisions that he makes, is the fact that he didn’t come back to shore when he and his brother, Buck, saw â€Å"how bad the weather was becoming† while they were sailing. This decision results to the death of his brother and the event stays in his mind leading to the reckless behavior that begins to engulf his mind. Following, this decision is Conrad’s suicidal attempt by cutting his wrists vertically in his bathroom sink.Although this act puts pain on his family, it mostly affects Conrad physically and emotionally because he has to endure the pain of the slits and the depression that had caused him to make the decision to begin with. Even after Conrad returns from the hospital he continues to feel the lack of happiness within his own life. The depression causes him to not want to eat the breakfast that his mot her makes just for him. Hurt by the rejection, Conrad’s mother dumps the meal into the drain and leaves in an abrupt manner.In addition, much of the bottled up emotions that Conrad keeps causes him to become quite distant with his own family and his friends. This solidarity eventually leads Conrad to lose his past close relationships with them. These impulsive decisions allow Conrad to expand upon his emotions, since in the beginning of the movie he bottles it up and allows it to accumulate over time. Within the novel, Holden displays reckless attitude that results in harming both himself and those around him.The factor of his reckless behavior begins when Holden runs away from Pency Prep due to the fact that he gets kicked out and is afraid that his parents would be upset. In turn, Holden decides to live in the city and waits till he is expected to come home. This act eventually leads him to hurt himself mentally because after a time spent in the city, Holden begins to †Å"feel more depressed.. † and lonely (95). In an act of desperation, Holden tries to fill in his loneliness and sorrows by finding company with a girl named Sally that he â€Å"wasn’t too crazy about† (105).However, as Holden and Sally are still on their date, Holden displays his reckless behavior when he insults Sally calling her â€Å"a pain in the ass† (133). Sally is thus deeply hurt by the insult and â€Å"she was even crying† (134). This act in turn leaves Holden to become lonely and depressed once again. With the feeling of depression weighing on his shoulder, Holden decides to leave town and head for the west. Phoebe, Holden’s kid sister, hearing his plan also wants to tag along as well bringing along her suitcase that contains her personal items.Even though Holden doesn’t want to be alone, he refuses his sister’s plea to run away with him and in turn results him to display another act of recklessness. Holden yells at Ph oebe telling her to shut up which triggers her to â€Å"start to cry† (206). Holden’s consideration of leaving Phoebe hurts Phoebe because she really cares about her brother’s well being. Since Holden’s siblings Allie and D. B are no longer currently living in the household, if Holden were to run away, Phoebe would feel lonely having only her parents as companions.Holden and Conrad are similar types of characters because they both act recklessly and unintentionally hurt themselves and the people that surround them. Both of the characters punch one of their good friends due to immature decisions. Holden gets into a fist fight with Stradlater since Holden continues to invoke Stradlater about his date with Jane, knowing that a punch to the face would follow the dispute. This act displays that Holden makes wrongful decisions knowing the consequences of the act, however still continuing with the act.In addition, Conrad also displays reckless behavior by contin uingly punching Stillman out of the remark that Stillman makes of Jeannine. Conrad punches Stillman out of anger and frustration since Dr. Berger, Conrad’s psychiatrist, unlocks his emotions; it begins pouring out uncontrollably. With this act of violence, Conrad loses many of his once close friends because his friends now perceive him as â€Å"crazy† after the punching incident. Both Holden and Conrad displays thoughtless decisions by punching their friends in an act of rage which results in the consequences of more hurt.Even though Holden and Conrad may be similar they are more different than alike because they exhibit different acts of recklessness. While Holden may use strong words and loud voices to harm others, Conrad uses physical actions to harm the ones around him. When Holden was on his date with Sally in the restaurant, he begins to ramble about the future that Sally and Holden could have together. Holden suggests that Sally runs away together with him howev er Sally rejects his proposal causing Holden to become upset.This urge that is raging inside of him impulses him to say things that he didn’t think through therefore enabling him to insult her. However, this is not the only case in which Holden says things without thinking. In another scenario where he is speaking to Phoebe, Holden tells Phoebe to shut up, he â€Å" didn’t mean to tell her to shut up †¦Ã¢â‚¬  but the impulse enabled him to do so (206). On the other hand, Conrad uses his non-thought out actions to affect the people around him. Having Conrad attempting suicide by cutting his wrists vertically harms his family because it causes them to have to worry about their son.Conrad’s parents have already lost a son and if they were to lose another one then it would further devastate their family’s reputation and the family would thus fall apart. In addition, due to Conrad’s depression it causes him to not have an appetite when eating. Th us, when Conrad’s mom makes him breakfast and he refuses, this act causes his mother to become hurt from the rejection and therefore dump the meal in the garbage dispenser. Even so the slightest of actions of Conrad should effect and hurt the people around him.In conclusion, even though both Holden and Conrad are unintentionally hurting their loved ones, they differently act out recklessly when making out a decision. Both Holden and Conrad are both misunderstood teenagers that are trying find a way to get through the day. This is caused by the fact that their life is missing the genuine happiness that everyone in society searches for. However, at the end of both stories, they eventually achieve their idea of true happiness and therefore can live through the day knowing that they are truly happy.

Dickens presentation of the four spirits Essay

In ‘A Christmas Carol’ four spirits meet Scrooge and they haunt and warn him of how he disregards Christmas and how people look upon him. Dickens uses his own unique writing skills in portraying the spirits, making the appearance relevant to the purpose of the each spirit. The first supernatural being to visit Scrooge is the ghost of Jacob Marley – Scrooge’s deceased working partner. The appearance of this spirit is directly similar to what Marley wore in his first life when he was a slave to money – exactly like Scrooge. These same working clothes show how he is still chained down by the burden of money and that his afterlife has been made rather painful by being a slave to work. Marley’s ghost is warning Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his character, he will too be burdened in his afterlife. The spirit also foretells the appearance of three more ghosts. The chains ‘clasped about his middle’ and all the different items that are wrought to the chain all symbolize money and greed of the spirit. The cash-boxes and the keys all represent the hiding away of money and keeping the wealth to themselves and not sharing the abundance of money. The imagery of heavy objects such as the ‘padlocks’ and ‘steel purses’ show how laden the ghost is with the weight of the money. The ‘ledgers’ and ‘deeds’ show the detailed accounts of money and proper ownership and this is a symbol that everything has to be accounted for, no money can pass by the scrutiny of the accountant which is so true to Scrooge’s life. Apart from being immensely weighted down by his possessions of greed which held back his life, Marley was transparent. This was so obvious that Scrooge could see the two buttons on the back of his coat. This transparency conveys the sense that this person was never a normal human, he was a chilling figure who lacked some human qualities that most usual persons have. This is a ghost which freezes the presence around him with his ‘death cold eyes’ and his ‘chilling influence’, he is cold, like his life. He has no real substance and the only apparent clear images Scrooge can see of this spirit are the symbols of hoarding, selfishness and greed. The ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ reveals itself to Scrooge, shortly after the affair with Marley, and the purpose of this ghost is to show Scrooge of the times of his past life which involve his school and family life as well as his relationships with Fan and Belle. The first line of the description portrays excellently the appearance of this unusual spirit: ‘It was a strange figure – like a child; yet not so like a child as like an old man’. Dickens shows that even though this spirit is a child, representing youth and looking back in to the past, it is strong bodied being able to be firm with Scrooge. This strength, and the indication of the spirit being old, shows that the ghost is wise and experienced, able to lift Scrooge out of the window with considerable ease and make the miser look up and pay attention. The spirit is also strangely attired with stark contrasts in its dress for the spirit has a holly branch in his hand and summer flowers lining the end of its dress. This displays the progression of time and the seasons which in turn reflect the stages of Scrooges past life and the progression of a mans life, which is slowly been clutched by the grasp of money. The spirit also possesses another unusual quality in that a ‘bright clear jet of light’ springs out from his head as well as having extensive description of the whiteness of its being. This clear whiteness and the jet of light symbolizes the simplicity of what the spirit is showing – It is making thing apparently clear to Scrooge. This ghost is not satisfied with a complicated face and bizarre attire for it also changes the form of its being from ‘being now a thing with one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and the changes vary so much that at one point the spirit has no head. This unusual distinction, I feel, represent the change in emotions and I think Dickens is trying to portray the alterations of Scrooges past and of all the feelings and events that changed him in to a tight-fisted businessman. The ghost of Christmas present is a bit simpler to understand for he represents the things and spirit of Christmas. His purpose is to show Scrooge the way people celebrate Christmas at present and to point out the abundance of Christmas joy there is in families, which is alien to Scrooge. The spirit is introduced with a large range of different Christmas foods such as long plum-puddings, mince pies, ‘cherry-cheeked apples’ and ‘immense twelfth cakes’, just to mention a few of the items layering the floor. The abundance and feeling of plenty is conveyed with the magnificent quantities of tangible items on display, with the ‘barrels of oysters’ and ‘wreaths of sausages’. Dickens eloquently describes the food making the reader feel tempted by these appetizing descriptions. All this is completely foreign to Scrooge. He has never seen this type of thing for he never shares his money to make these things happen, therefore this is appropriate so to open Scrooge’s eyes to the celebration of Christmas. The actual spirit is huge, happy and incredibly relaxed which is shown by his ‘easy state’ upon which Scrooge finds him. This peaceful, kind and generous spirit holds Plenty’s horn which is a sign of abundance and a richness of possessions and atmosphere. He is full of Christmas spirit and he knows what it is like to have a good time and a laugh, he is only haunting Scrooge with good things he has not seen before. The spirit is radiant, full of light for it pours on to Scrooge, he cannot escape the joyous plentiful atmosphere. He cant run away for the light is so strong it grasps him. The spirit is kind to Scrooge yet he is not passive telling Scrooge in a firm manner to look upon his wide, inviting eyes. The ghost has clothes of a simple nature with a ‘simple green robe bordered with white fur’. This shows just how relaxed and unpretentious the spirit is, he is even bare-breasted showing that he just wants to present himself as he is with no false attachments – even his feet are found without covering. The holly wreath which is seen on the spirit, is a symbol. Jesus once wore a similar wreath and he was peaceful and kind, just like the spirit who is compared to the son of God for they are both cheerful and immensely unconstrained. The ultimate peace of the spirit is displayed when Scrooge notices that in his scabbard there lay no sword but a hole of air polluted by the aging rust. The spirit is a provider, feeding his immense family of 1,800 well, with the full stuffing of Christmas spirit and all the joyous aspects this brings with it. This open hearted spirit is showing the true meaning of Christmas to Scrooge who has only ever lived for money seeing Christmas as a wasted day. There is a very stark difference between the ‘Ghost of Christmas Present’ and the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ for the spirit which foresees the future is firstly described as moving ‘slowly, gravely, silently’. This is more a haunting spirit, he is meant to be scary and menacing and he certainly is introduced in this fashion for he is to show the grim tales of Scrooges future which are not pleasant. The overwhelming fear in Scrooge is seen, in that he quickly bends down on one knee and the atmosphere disperses in to one of ‘gloom and mystery’. There is definite sense of fear for the words convey ghostly imagery such as ‘shrouded’ which is a dark word in that it is often associated with a funeral or a burial. The deep, piercingly solemn appearance of a hand is all Scrooge needs to fill him with ultimate fear for the ghost is incredibly hard to distinguish and the outstretched hand is all one can see. This mysterious invisibility makes the ghost even more harrowing for there is only one hand which brings about this dark and undistinguished presence, the ghost is a shape which is horribly not complete. As well as not being able to see all the parts of the ghoul, the spirit does not even talk which makes him even more fearful for it is impossible for Scrooge to communicate to this haunting phantom. Scrooge is desperate for the ghoul to utter a word but Dickens purposely does not let the figure talk for it adds to his mysterious and chilling demeanor. This spirit is one which people dread, it is of an appearance of a phantom which chills the surrounding air which others choke on in fear. The description continues, with Dickens using metaphorical speech to describe the ghoul: ‘but a spectral hand and one great heap of black’. The effect of the metaphor is once more of absolute fear and terror. The description ends with Scrooge requesting speech from the ghoul but it is not going to respond which rounds off the passage with a feeling of fear. Dickens shows skill in describing these ghosts so relevantly to what there immediate purpose is. Each ghost has its own specific meaning and Dickens presents this effectively giving each spirit a unique appearance which tells a story with a true moral which still applies today. Dickens is a storyteller with unique gifts and this is shown in these descriptions of the four spirits.

How effectively has Steinbeck created tension during the incident with Candy’s dog? Essay

The killing of Candy’s dog in Steinbeck’s novel â€Å"Of mice and men† is a very important incident. The author makes this scene very tense using different techniques. Everything starts because Slim considers the dog is useless and has a bad smell. â€Å"He ain’t no good† (p70). And as he just got five puppies he believes Candy could make good use of one of those. Candy, very nervous and doubtful, finally accepts that killing his dog, which has been with him for a very long time, will be the best to do. Even though he knows that he will miss him. Carlson, described as â€Å"thick bodied† (p70), goes out of the ranch and kills the dog. These moments in the ranch are of absolute silence, and nobody is able to break this silence. â€Å"Silence fell† (p75). Time seems to pass very slowly; every sound scares everyone, until we can finally hear a shot from outside. The poor old dog was killed, we knew he should die, but didn’t want it to happen. After this death, everything came back to normality in the ranch, or the men were at least talking to each other again. In these pages, Steinbeck uses different techniques to achieve tension and time passing slowly. Time passing slowly can be shown when he starts sentences with a conjunction. â€Å"And slim †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p74). â€Å"And the silence †¦ † (p75). This creates a long pause between one sentence and the other, giving a sense of conclusion. Steinbeck uses time in a very special way to increase tension. The more slowly the time passes, the tension increases greatly, â€Å"A minute passed and another minute† (p75). The author is really emphasised in time, we can almost listen the tic-tac of the clock, which makes us feel nervous, not really about what is going to happen, but whatever it is; we want it to happen immediately. Steinbeck also uses a series of short sentences in page 75, just before the smelly dog is going to be killed. â€Å"It was silence outside. Carlson’s footsteps died away. The silence came into the room. And the silence lasted.† (p75) This short sentences makes the reader pause a lot, it suggests that something dramatic is about to happen. It makes everything be very tense, you could just cut the tension with a scissor. In pages 75 and 76 there is a lot of repetition of the word silence. Steinbeck uses this word seven times through the passage. He really wants us to know about the atmosphere in the room, in complete silence. George won’t even break himself the stillness by shuffling the cards, but everybody is grateful for things that break the silence. â€Å"A little gnawing sound †¦ all the man looked toward it gratefully.† (p75). This silence is personified by Steinbeck â€Å"The silence came into the room† (p75). It seems as if the silence is another character in the scene, invading the room, making everybody feel nervous. It really increases a lot the tension. Steinbeck seems to have divided the characters, Candy: the one being hurt, Carlson; acting as the antagonist, the rest of the man; just avoiding the situation, and Slim acting as a sort of judge. Candy is suffering and is very uncomfortable as we can see in these pages. He might even be desperate. â€Å"Candy looked from help from face to face† (p72). This shows Candy’s loneliness, he is alone while his dog is about to die. Carlson clearly is the antagonist; he is waiting anxiously to kill the dog, to shoot the back of his skull. He does not care about the bond between Candy and his dog; he doesn’t feel any emotion at all. This is seen through the following quotation â€Å"I’d put the gun right there† (p72). George, Whit and the other men are evading the situation. They dislike the dog too, but prefer to stay in absolute silence and play cards instead of helping his good old friend. Slim is acting as a sort of judge, because he is trying to please Carlson and at the same time convince Candy about the situation. It is night in this scene and very dark. â€Å"Darker’n hell in here† (p70). It shows that something bad is about to happen, and when it is about to happen, or when it gets near, the darker it gets. â€Å"Out into the darkness† (p75). The dark sky is invading everything, everyone. Death is near. They can fell it in this atmosphere, were nobody can see clearly. Steinbeck also uses a comparison; at the beginning he compares George and Lennie to Candy and his dog. They are live partners; one of them takes care of the other. They are both friends who love each other and would do everything for his partner. Until now, that Candy accepted to kill his dog believing it would be the best thing to do. He didn’t even say good-bye. This might tell us that George will do the same with Lennie, maybe make a new friend, who knows.

International Accounting Regulations Assignment

International Accounting Regulations - Assignment Example FRS 10 defines the classes of intangible assets that would be covered by the provisions. These intangible assets may include â€Å"licenses. Quotas, patents, copyrights etc and also other assets that are capable of being disposed of or settled separately without disposing of the entity.† (Neil D. Stein 1998)FRS 10 defines the classes of intangible assets that would be covered by the provisions. These intangible assets may include â€Å"licenses. Quotas, patents, copyrights etc and also other assets that are capable of being disposed of or settled separately without disposing of the entity.† (Neil D. Stein 1998)However, FRS 10 has left certain important issues in connection with the intangible assets vague that makes the provisions unserious about the objective it intends to accomplish.  Ã‚  Ã‚  FRS 10 has the following shortcomings which have made the treatment of goodwill and other intangible assets favorable to the firms:†¢ FRS 10 gives the firms the liberty to carry through the value of the goodwill or other intangible assets permanently at the purchased cost. This vitiates the chances of the true and fair valuation of the intangible assets as shown in the financial statements.†¢ Although there are provisions governing the impairment of the value of the intangible assets, the impairment process as detailed in the FRS 10 and FRS 11 are highly subjective and devoid of clarity. This allows the firms to postpone the impairment of the intangible assets as long as they want on the plea that the valuation and impairment procedure is costly and cumbersome.†¢ Moreover, the treatment of the negative value of the goodwill under FRS 10 does not follow normal accounting practices.†¢ The provisions of the Companies Act 1985 are not taken into account while allowing the goodwill to be carried for an indefinite period.

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies Essay - 13

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies - Essay Example I clear separation must b made between mergers and consolidation. In the latter, both companies lose their identities and come together to form one major corporation which a completely new identity (Gomes, 2011). Mergers are regulated by the state laws as they are likely to eliminate competition leading to creation of oligopolistic firms which may collude to form cartels that may tend to harm the economy. Mergers and acquisitions are beneficial to the economy in the sense that they can bring about better approaches to management of the firm. They lead to economies of scale which has the effect of increasing production, reducing operation costs leading to decrease in the selling price which favors the consumers of various commodities. A merger can enable a business owner to sell the firm to someone who is already familiar with the industry and who would be in a better position to pay the highest price. Less competition will also mean low risks to the owners of the merged firms (Cardel, 1998). There are basically three categories of mergers which are based on the competitive relationships that exist between the merging firms. Vertical merger is a form of merger in which one firm acquires a customer or a key supplier of another firm. Horizontal mergers is where one firm acquires or takes over another firm that manufactures and sells an identical product in the same geographical location in a bid to lower competition that was originally existing between the two firms. Conglomerate mergers are those that the merging companies do not have any evident relationship between them. This paper takes an in-depth analysis on two public corporations in the United States in which one has a history of mergers and acquisitions and operated internationally and the other does not bear any history in relation mergers and acquisition and only operates within the nation. The two companies are Apple that has a long

African American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

African American History - Essay Example After the founding of the United Nations, a formal ban on racial discrimination set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement. This paved the way for political opportunities and served to expose racism in America on the international scene. It was Du Bois and others who helped to frame a 150-page petition detailing racial discrimination in America that stated â€Å"Peoples of the World,† we American Negroes appeal to you; our treatment in America is not merely an internal question of the United States. It is a basic problem of humanity.† In 1928, during the sixth World Congress involving the COMINTERN, Kelly stated that they â€Å"insisted that Blacks concentrated in the black belt counties of the Deep South, constituted an oppressed nation.† (Robin D. G. Kelley) They were given no voting rights and suffered from oppression, exploitation, violence, segregation and racial discrimination. This became popularly known as the â€Å"Jim Crow† system and took place from the 1950’s to the 1960’s. Some of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement were Martin Luther King Jr., W.E. Du Bois, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks. All these leaders were key figures in fighting and bringing about a radical change not only on civil rights but also dealt with the fundamentals of gaining freedom, dignity, respect and equality in the socio – economic sphere. After the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement picked up the heat. Student activists from the non–violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) took Pat in Freedom Rides.

The Contemporary Hospitality Industry - British - Food and Drink Assignment

The Contemporary Hospitality Industry - British - Food and Drink Trends - Assignment Example This industry is now becoming more competitive because multinationals companies are incorporating new products with innovative. In recent trends, this industry has gain more customer trust, which is important for the development of this industry (Food Marketing & Technology, 2012). Food Science helps to understand the theory of food in the food industry and its significance in the healthcare industry. Food science and food technology is a new field, which helps to understand the nature and structure of the food industry (Jessie & Aruna, n. d). Food and drink is an important consideration for the hospitality industry as quality of food and the trend is a crucial aspect. The paper intends to evaluate about the food and drink industry with regard to the latest developments. The food and drink industry is growing on continues basis due to the changing and increasing demand for food. This industry has to deliver the products according to the demands of the customer for surviving in the market. The law of food industry has developed in the last two years and is likely to be continued. The development of legislation is important for the enhancement of food and its nutritional value, which affects the health of people (Leatherhead Food Research, 2014). Food and drink products are vital in the daily life and it plays a fundamental role in the safety of the life of people. For the development of food and drink industry European food and drink manufacturers has to improve the environmental performance of their products continuously (Bear, 2007). The food and drink industry has changed due to the use of new advanced technology. New technology opens new doors and new areas for this industry as per the changing trend and food habits of people. There are number of roles of legislation for the development of food and drink industry as per the trend and season. The major roles are support by the government, export incentive, R & D

Theories of Just War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theories of Just War - Essay Example Keeping this in mind, people of this century need to look at the theories that have been recorded in history that regulate the forms of war that states are allowed to wage against any other state or community. The importance of this lies in the fact that it may be able to reduce or eliminate the casualties that occur in today’s world as a result of the wars that have become a regular feature of the political landscape of every continent on the world. It is ironic that even Antarctica is not exempt from being a site of war. The theories of war that exist in contemporary times have to be juxtaposed with those that were proposed by religious thinkers like Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine. Any theory of war that needs to stand the test of time needs to fulfil the basic purpose of its establishment- the meting out of justice. In this context, it would be useful to look at the theories of justice that have been a part of human historical records. Prominent among these are the ones o f Plato and Aristotle. These two thinkers have had a profound effect upon the theories of justice that have come after them. ... The criteria that the state must follow to decide which person upon which it can confer citizenship and which one it cannot is one that may seem unjust to some at present. These were based on laws that were created during the times of Ancient Greece and they were done when Greece was one of the greatest powers in the earth. To restrict foreigners from entering the land and establishing their rights was one of the main concerns of the state. Aristotle’s arguments need to be seen in this light. When viewed in the light of the democratic societies that present observers are used to, Aristotle’s arguments that have a profound impact on the development of present conceptions of the sovereignty of a state may appear to be unjust to certain sections of the society. Seemingly unjust powers are granted to the state that would enable it to treat its citizens in an arbitrary manner. The state is also shown to be the ultimate reason for the existence of the citizen. This can be see n from the fact that Aristotle considers it to be of more importance for a person t be a good citizen than a good person. The goodness of a person is determined by the utility of his self to the state (Clayton). These theories of citizenship and justice can be extended to understand the powers that Aristotle may have envisaged for the state in relation to other states. The sovereignty of other states too, thus is not important, in the same way that the sovereignty of an individual is unimportant. In this context, all the actions of the state, including an unjust war may be justified and the arbitrary nature of the decisions of the state would ensure that dissent is not a part of the solutions that the citizens of a particular state may

Pre-modern and Modern Political Philosophy Essay

Pre-modern and Modern Political Philosophy - Essay Example Pre-Modern period: Locke and Hobbes Locke and Hobbes are representatives of â€Å"state of nature† political philosophy. On the one hand, â€Å"state of nature† is rather dangerous for the society. There is a lack of security for the society and in spite of the fact that people honor each other and keep their promises and the atmosphere is friendly and pleasant, violent conflicts may occur. Hobbes underlines an obligatory subjection of people to ever existent hazards and violence and no society may exist on the background of unsafe conditions for individual’s existence. Both, Locke and Hobbes underline that the evolution from the state of nature to the civil society does not disturb human nature. Moreover, they claim that when an individual transits from the nature of state to civil society he is improved for sure. Basically, their views of state of nature were different: for Locke state of nature is a peaceful place and for Hobbes it implies brutality, a place f or violence. Therefore, these phlosophers use theoretical tool of â€Å"state of nature† in two different ways: for Hobbes, â€Å"a common Power† is required for people to provide them with safety conditions for existence and avoid conditions of â€Å"Warre† (Hobbes, p. 75). ... Thus, further ideas of Hobbes about a sovereign imply that the latter is the protector of people, the supreme authority. For Locke, sovereign power should be in hands of citizens. In other words, position of Hobbes may be interpreted as relevant to the development of the States with authoritarian regime and Locke’s views are relevant to the States with democracies. Modern Period: Hegel and Marx For Hegel, history’s progression is the realization of absolute mind. In spite of the fact that this concise definition of concept of â€Å"history† was mainly criticized, it should be viewed as an objectification and abstraction of a more multifaceted definition. The main critic of Hegel’s history conceptualization was Marx. Hegel’s philosophy was considered by the latter as an â€Å"inapplicable† philosophy. Hegel’s valuable idea was about history’s progression as the progression of the Spirit from a state of a lesser to a greater freed om. Of course, materialist philosophy developed by Karl Marx contradicts with Hegel’s historical developments. While contrasting spiritual and materialistic philosophies of Marx and Hegel, it can be seen that the moving force for historical development for Marx is material production, not an individual. For Hegel, an important motive forces is mind. The main goal of the State for Hegel is its serving for the needs of people and protection of the private property. For him, the government represents the highest form of ethical life or, in other words, it regulates and corrects internal conflicts of the civil society. For Marx, the civil society is the â€Å"base† for mutual co-existence of productive

Discusses the nature of contemporary societal problems in general and Essay

Discusses the nature of contemporary societal problems in general and Dubai in particular (two to three pages) - Essay Example Even though the pollution problem cannot be considered new and is apparently diminishing within the developed world, it is still a rapidly growing problem globally and it’s most common effect today being global warming and unpredictable weather patterns. The rapid population growth is yet another problem and is considered as the side effect of advancements in improved life expectancy and diminished child mortality rates. The rapid population growth has put a lot of strain on the available resources and some of the recent wars can be linked to fighting over control over limited resources. Dubai has in the recent years rapidly developed to become a prototype of a modern city. Dubai’s advancements have of cause come with a lot of modernization advantages but have at the same time come with major disadvantages to the society. Among the problems experienced today is prostitution which involves adults and unfortunately, children too (Mooney, Knox & Schacht, 2008). There have been a few cases of children being abducted from other parts of the world and smuggled into Dubai to serve in prostitution rings. While there have been recent attempts to this vice, there still remain wide areas within the city where the vice goes on unchecked especially within low class hotels and parking lots where the police rarely intervene (Davison, 2008). Dubai’s successful free port is a haven for human traffickers and has provided them with an opportunity to do carry on with their illegal trade and in most cases, go unpunished. Dubai’s human trafficking trade has flourished to a point where Dubai is regarded as a major human trafficking centre. The large heterogeneous expatriate population, combined with Dubai’s attempts to create a friendlier environment for foreign tourists and investors has resulted in major erosions of some important components of the society in Dubai. Dubai is mostly made up of Muslims and the cases of binge drinking and

Famous for their creative ideas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Famous for their creative ideas - Research Paper Example In short, he helped his country to gain independence from Britain and cope with social suffering connected with this transition (Mandelbaum, 1973). In the essence of his worldview, he strived to solve the lack of morality in modern India (Chakrabarry, 2006, p. 3). Because of this, he invented the moral principle of satyagraha, or truth force, which opposed existing violence by wise authority (Chakrabarry, 2006). On the implementation of his ideas, his leadership skills enabled his achievements. In fact, he headed the national revolution, and was creative in starting it from rural areas not presidency towns (Chakrabarry, 2006, p. 4). Thus, Mohandas Gandhi’s name is an essential part of huge transition for the Indian society. In general, Mandelbaum (1973) shows how different hard situations helped Mohandas Gandhi to turn from the average life plan of his time to become national leader Mahatma Gandhi. For instance, Chakrabarry (2006) says the very simplicity of Gandhi’s la nguage enabled him to become noticeable and easily refer to the grassroots (p. 1-2). Furthermore, numerous obstacles he faced in social life of India strengthened his conviction of the necessity of political reform. For example, he considered poverty as social violence and encouraged people to resist it. Thus, the case of Mohandas Gandhi demonstrates how important it is for political leader to be attentive to social problems. If he did not question the authority of division within Indian society, he would never become as great and creative as we know him. Hence, his idea of non-violence and moral authority is still up-to-date. On another hand, Benjamin Franklin made a crucial contribution to the further development for another part of the world, America. In the time of his living, the question of what does it mean to be American was up-to-date (Houston, 2008, p. 6-7). Thus, the introduced by him concept of improvement mostly referred to this challenge. In wider

Youtube In school Essay Example for Free

Youtube In school Essay Almost every student and teacher has come across the YouTube ban. In just about every school in the nation,the website, YouTube is banned. Most students are frustrated and find the YouTube ban illogical. YouTube is a great resource for students and teachers alike, it can help them both learn and teach. Allowing the site could greatly improve the way a student is educated. Many people believe that youtube should be allowed in school, and not all of them are students who want to use it to mess around. There are many useful videos on YouTube that are being kept from the youth of America. There is a wide variety of how-to, instructional and other educational videos students could use for projects and research. YouTube could also let students express their creativity through projects that could be viewed by the public. Many educational websites use youtube videos to support the things that are taught in the classroom. An example of this is Khan Academy, which is one of the leading math websites and its owner, Salman Khan, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School, teaches a variety of math lessons through â€Å"hands on experience† and by doing the lesson in YouTube videos, which teachers and students don’t have access to. Many social studies/ history videos could aid history teachers in their lesson plans, such as videos from the History Channel, while keeping the kids entertained and still educating them. Many people who believe that youtube should not be allowed in school think that access to the site would simply distract students from their learning experience. The presence of videos that have non-educational, inappropriate, violent or explicit content may cause them to believe that. Students could possibly watch videos such as those during school hours that could distract them, or teach them something not up to par to the DOE standards. Some argue that students or teachers could use it as a form of cyber-bullying and an invasion of privacy. A video could be made putting down a teacher, student or group of students. A video like this could easily be shared and spread through the campus and students. Some videos may show students that did not want to be seen by the public, or their parents didn’t want their child to be â€Å"put on display†. So should YouTube be allowed in schools all around America? I think that the pros of allowing youtube heavily outweigh the cons and that it should be allowed in school. Many will argue that it will not go well but I think that if the staff and faculty of the school monitored the use of the site by the students then any misuse could be prevented and/or stopped. I know that this is a controversial topic and others may have different opinions, so I hope I helped you make up yours. Bibliography http://www. nytimes. com/2012/03/10/education/youtube-finds-a-way-off-schools-banned-list. html? pagewanted=all_r=0 http://people. cornellcollege. edu/MNeef12/ http://www. debate. org/debates/Youtube-should-be-allowed-in-schools-and-not-blocked/1/] http://acrawford24. wordpress. com/2012/09/23/youtube-in-schools-should-it-be-allowed-as-a-teaching-tool/.

Violence against children in Vietnamese daycare

Violence against children in Vietnamese daycare Outline: I. Introduction: 1. What is violence? 2. Children in daycares. 3. Violence against children in daycares. II. Situations: Violence against children in Vietnam. 2. The consequences of the violent using. 3. Parents’ responsibilities. III. Problems: Public daycares overload. Risks of private daycares. The careless of parents. IV. Solutions: Increase the nannies’ knowledge in teaching and caring children skill. Enhance daycares’ facilities and infrastructure. Increase inspection and supervision of the authority at private daycares. V. Evaluation 1. Advantages 2. Disadvantages VI. Conclusion Nowadays, violence against children is become one of the most alert issues; especially in Vietnamese daycares. The children are physically and mentally ill-treated. Firstly, violence means using physical force against people and an act of aggression against a person who resist or not (definitions.net). In that sense, toddlers, children aged from two to four years old are the victims of violence in daycares. Using violence against toddlers is seriously violating the human rights, especially the children rights. According to UNICEF, â€Å" Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for, and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them† (Article 19,unicef.org). In recent years, Vietnamese daycares are facing a lot of doubtful legal cases. Many of these daycares are caught in the act of hitting and persecuting small kids. The government, especially the child-care organizations also takes a part in this alarmin g issue. One of the first responsibilities belongs to Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The issue which has been originated from the insufficient skills of management operation in children-care centers has led to a lot of severe and social and educational consequences. As a result, the Vietnamese government and local organizations are now making the revolution in the child-care system to calm parents’ mind. II. Situation First of all, the toddlers have the right to learning and growing with love. They are not deserved to be ill-treated that some adults have done. For example, the case which causes a tide in Vietnamese public opinion happens in Phuong Anh daycare in Thu Duc District. The scene was based on the video clip which people living around the daycare have been recording; the babysitters hit and forced small kids with violent actions. Although they were crying, the babysitter still throttled and slapped them. This is just one of cases which involve the violence against children in daycares. â€Å"The violence against children phenomenon is not popular however it’s not so rare†, said Ngo The Minh, the Deputy Chairman of Committees of cultural and educational youth and children of Congress (24h.com.vn). However, Vietnam is not the only country having the violence against small kids. This phenomenon happens everywhere in the world, especially the developing and poor countries. Belo w is the statistics showing the percentage of children from some countries experiencing violent discipline, psychological aggression or physical punishment (unicef.org): Children are the future of every country. They make the world become a better place and more complete day by day. If they were treated badly in the past, they would become the one who will treat their children the same in future. Particularly in daycares, the kids begin to learn and understand about the world. Therefore, when they grow up, they remember how the adults rose and taught them. The fact that nannies apply violence with kids just makes them more hard-headed and stubborn. As a result, parents are the people who suffer the most because of the kids’ misbehaviors and inappropriate attitudes. Parents also take important responsibilities in this issue. They don’t have time with their children because of their busy works. In Vietnam, the parents who don’t have time to take care of their children such as workers, office staff or even doctors having some busy jobs usually send their children to daycares. Some of them even send their kids to the not-officially- certified daycares. As a consequence, this carelessness leads to a lot of unfortunate accidents which have been written a lot in various newspapers. III. Problems In recent years, the violence against children is the most concern issue in Vietnam. There are a lot of toddlers being abused in illegal daycares. Some of them are badly injured and the others are dead because of nannies’ brutal act. Thus, there are many reasons for these tragic accidents which happen every year. The first reason is public daycares are having an oversupply of kids. Families who have toddlers living in the big city or the capital are having difficulty in finding public daycares, especially families with low income or don’t have city household. The Vietnamese daycares are oversupplied with kids because the population growing faster in recent years. Every mother and father wants their children sent to the place with good education and skillfully teacher. Consequently, the late ones don’t get the chance to send their children to public daycares so they must take their children to private daycares. Secondly, the percentage of using violence against children in private daycares is usually high. Private daycares were opened to help the children who didn’t get a place to study because of the public daycares’ overload. However, most of the private daycares fail to meet the requirements in the facilities, infrastructure and teaching qualifications. Moreover, normal people even can open the daycares at homes without officially-certified papers. As a result, there are so many accidents happen at home daycares such as the story happen at Thu Duc district. The nanny name’s Nho who is the criminal for killing the eighteen-month kid name’s Long. â€Å"When Nho was getting the breakfast for Long, she saw the kid cried. Then she yelled at Long and threatened him to eat the food. However, Long still cried which make Nho became angry and lost control. Therefore, she lifted up the boy and threw him in the air without catching the boy back. The falling make Long go t badly injured then he cried out loud which was the reason make Nho stomped on the baby’s chest and head two times. Unfortunately, the kid didn’t survive the thrashing of the nanny† (vtc.vn). Thus, this issue also takes a part in the responsibilities of parents. Thirdly, the careless of parents are one of the reasons that make children being ill-treated. They didn’t learn carefully about the daycares where they entrusted their children. Parents absolutely trust in the babysitters. If something happen to their children, they will often ask the babysitters instead of finding the reasons from their kids. Some parents give nannies that take care of their children some extra tips on special events. For this reason, low-income families may have disadvantages with the nannies even so their children. Which means parents know that violence is exist in daycares and they accept that by bribing the nannies. Consequently, when the violence is finding out, they take all the blame on the daycares as well as the nannies. Besides, people who live around the daycares also be the accomplice in most of the violence issues. They knew what happened in these illegal daycares everyday but they are indifferent with that. If they have a parent’s heart, they should tell the abused children’ parents as well as the newspaper office to accuse the illegal daycares. In this manner, the unfortunate events could be prevented. IV. Solutions: The child abuse phenomenon can’t be stop immediately; it requires time and lots of solutions. Therefore, there are many possible solutions being proposed to stop this phenomenon. Accordingly, the first solution is â€Å"Increase training and periodic retraining to improve professional skills in the work of nurturing, caring and education for young nannies†, said Trinh Viet Then, lecturer of psychology at Van Hien university (vnexpress.net). Small children such as toddlers are very hard to teaching and caring which lead to many acts of violence. Even the well-trained nannies sometimes think about using violence to kids. Toddlers don’t conceive things right or wrong which make the nannies sometimes become furious and cannot control the behaviors. Consequently, if the nannies have both of these skills, the child abuse in daycares will decrease dramatically. According to Thuy Nguyen Radio Station, Dong Son daycare has applied this solution in 2014. The daycare gives the nannies the opportunities to learning and training. In present, most of the babysitters in Dong Son daycare meet the requirement of teaching qualifications (haiphong.gov.vn). In addition, daycares should enhance the infrastructure and as well as the facilities to serve for the teaching purpose. Pham Hien, psychological expert said: â€Å"Daycares must have cameras to help parents easier to observe their kids every day† (youtube.com). Better equipment and infrastructure, the more effective in teaching and caring children. Moreover, daycares having cameras in the classes make the nannies have more self-conscious in their behaviors towards toddlers. This solution also helps parents and researchers easier to keep an eye on kids and avoid problems for the daycares itself. Additionally, daycares with good equipment make kids feel comfortable and easily learning the lessons. For example, the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) has donated a large amount of money to enhance the facilities and infrastructure of two kindergartens at Long An province and Binh Duong province (baomoi.com). As a consequence, children studying at these kindergartens are prevented from the violence using of nannies. However, the authority’s inspection and supervision at kindergarten is indispensable. In addition, private daycares without officially certificates must be banned and stop working. Nguyen Thi Loc, vice-director at Hoa Mai semi-public kindergarten said: â€Å"The authority should permanently increase the inspection toward the nannies such as examine the employment records or the nannies’ license† (mamnon.com). Besides, the MOET should investigate and total up the documents of violent victims such as toddlers. Based on the documents, the authority proposes solutions to prevent the violence. Furthermore, people should using banners of anti-violence against children near daycares. People who live near the daycares should encourage others to find out the illegal one and report to the nearby authorities. For example, the Women’s Union at District 8 has made a monitoring at three daycares in November, 2014. The reason is through the monitoring, they can raise aw areness and sense of responsibility for those who have the responsibility of raising children, and to prevent and promptly handle those who abuse children (gov.vn). V. Evaluations:

Report into Strategy and Social Responsibility of British Petroleum

Report into Strategy and Social Responsibility of British Petroleum This project examines the operation of British Petroleum (BP) in the light of established international business theories. Two major aspects are considered; Globalisation strategy and corporate social responsibility ethics. Although certain failings are highlighted BP is assessed to perform optimally on both counts. A conclusion is drawn and certain recommendations with respect to the style of research are made in the final section. Report Contents The report assesses the operations of British Petroleum to establish to which degree the operations of BP are in line with related management theory. The project starts with a brief introduction on the business of BP. This sets a stage and develops a context for further discussion. The second section discusses the research method adopted in the preparation of this project. Several methods are explored and the most feasible selected as the method of choice. The third section looks at BPs operations in two respects; international trade and globalisation strategy, and corporate responsibility and ethics. The final section of the project is a conclusion that summarises the main themes highlighted in the work, noting its achievements and limitations and sets the stage for future research. At this stage some recommendations are also made. Introduction British Petroleum (BP) is a global Oil and Gas company with its headquarters in the UK. It is one of the worlds largest businesses by virtue of its revenues. On is corporate website, it terms its self as one of the worlds largest companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemical products for everyday items. As of its financial year end 2009, it owned 22400 service stations around the globe, it owned operations in 30 countries around the world, it employed 80,300 people in different countries, it owned 16 refineries around the world (with the biggest in Houston Texas), it produces 2.3 million barrels per day and owned oil reserves of about 18.3 Billion barrels (BP web 2010) Research Methods This project aims to assess the operations of BP. It takes into focus two major issues in global business and strategy; International trade globalisation strategy and ethics including aspects of corporate social responsibility. The management literature proposes several qualitative research methodologies (Bryman, 2004). These methodologies include; surveys, questionnaires, case studies, focus groups, experiments and interviews (Bryman, 2004). Pursuant to the aims of this project, a case study approach is employed in which I consult several documents which discuss management theory (detailed in Hill, 2009) and I examine how their application in practice basing on the case of British Petroleum. I use the BP website as a core source to derive information for this purpose. Given the lack of resources, other research methods such as interviews, questionnaires and focus groups are impractical. The next section details the operations of BP and the related theoretical underpinnings. British Petroleums globalisation strategy Globalisation refers to the current trend where the world is becoming a global village by effectively inter-knitting, national boundaries are being relaxed and countries are increasingly dependent on each other for survival. Globalisation presents significant opportunities to businesses as well as challenges. Firms that can cope with the trend enjoy larger markets, cheaper resources and therefore higher profitability. Firms that are unable to compete efficiently are faced out. As highlighted above BP is a global company with a highly acclaimed globalisation strategy. The success of this strategy could be attributed several (three main) factors as discussed below. First-mover advantage The history of BP can be traced back to the establishment of the Anglo Persian Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Burmah Oil Company in 1909. This firm explored the Persian golf for many years and was converted to the British Petroleum company after the Second World War. Scanty reports show that the firm expanded tremendously by 1960 developing its operations beyond the Persian golf into North America. Most importantly it established a significant presence in the North Sea by being the first company to find Oil in Alaska (BP web, 2010). The above indicates the length to which BP has gone to establish itself as one of the worlds biggest and most successful companies. New Trade theory suggests that first movers can benefit enormously from certain economic and strategic advantages in terms of operations. The theory argues that for those products where economies of scale are significant and represent a substantial portion of world demand, the first movers in an industry can gain a scale based cost advantage that later entrants find almost impossible to match (Hill, 2009. p 187). First mover advantage can potentially explain the structure of the Oil and Gas industry. The industry is made up of few big players and many small players in the Western world where competition is free. In other countries such as Kuwait, Saudi, Russia, China, Iraq and Qatar competition in the industry is restricted and the major oil exploiters are government owned. BP has established itself in most of the western world due to its first mover advantage. It is able to cut costs in its operations and derive benefits from economies of scale and scope. Many firms can compete effectively in Oil exploitation, exploration, extraction and refining, and therefore they turn to engage in the provision of support services such as distribution or the derivation of chemicals for other manufacturing industries. Competitive advantage Porters findings on national competitive advantage can be extended to understand why BP locates in the regions it does. BP is a global firm but has operations at varying degrees in about 30 different countries world wide (BP web, 2010). Despite operating significantly in 30 countries, its products and services are available in over 100 countries (BP web, 2010). Porters diamond asserts that the degree to which a nation is likely to achieve international success in a certain industry is a function of the combined impact of factor endowments, domestic demand conditions, related and supporting industries and domestic rivalry (Hill, 2009. p 191). Hill (2009) argues that based porters theory a profit seeking firm should localize its operations in those countries where such activities can be performed optimally. BP operates in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America. In Africa, it operates in Joint Ventures with firms in Egypt, Angola and Algeria. Its choice to operate only in join ventures in this country can be explained by the political economy of these countries. These countries cannot be termed as full democracies and are often susceptible to civil crisis. Operating as a joint venture, curbs the firms risk in the event of a political crisis but allows it to enjoy the revenues to be derived from its operations. It also has a huge presence in the Southern regions of Africa but in these regions it engages more with the marketing of its solar energy concepts. This region is rich in natural resources (sunshine) but the development of energy networks is very poor. The countries in this region rely heavily on hydroelectricity which is usually not sufficient to provide for industries and households. BP also operates as joint ventures in Asia with operations in Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, South Korea and Malaysia. It manufactures lubricants and solar panels in China and India where labour is cheap. BP does not explore petroleum in Australasia. Its operations in this region are geared towards the provision of solar energy. BP operates as a stand alone entity in much of Europe. Its operations in Russia are partly owned (joint venture) by a Russian company. It has major exploration and production facilities in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Columbia. These regions are rich in natural gas and oil necessitating BPs localisation to the areas. Products Hill (2009) noted that Raymond Vernon developed the product lifecycle theory after his realisation that firms had to keep innovating in order to maintain a demand for their products and ensure growth in revenues. The theory can be used to explain the globalisation trends, innovation drive and product mix of British Petroleum. BP currently produces a wide range of energy products including oil, natural gas, wind energy, solar energy, bio fuels and petroleum based lubricants. Two decades ago, its primary product was Oil. Research and development in the industry has led to the introduction of cleaner and more sustainable forms of energy. These forms of energy are widely regarded as the future of the Oil and Gas industry. Speculators believe that at some point in time oil will be faced out as coal was faced out with the discovery of oil. BP has realised the fact that oil as a product has reached its maturity stage and its demand might diminish with the advent of new forms of energy. The firm has taken a colossal position in the new energy market by running a major portfolio of energy products representing the mix of all bespoke and innovative new forms of energy. Unlike televisions for example, Oil cannot be re-engineered and further developed. Innovation by modification is therefore difficult. BP has turned the focus on energy efficiency i.e. researching and developing ways in which energy can be saved. Instead of devising faster or stronger energy which might be impossible BP has turned the focus to the development of equipment and usage techniques that will save energy through low consumption. This encompasses innovation that fuels the demand for its products. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility As Hill (2009) emphasized ethical issues in international business are brought about by political, legal, economic and cultural differences in between countries- what is considered normal practice in one country might be considered unethical in another (p. 124). The ethical challenge, I will argue, is significantly increased for global firms. BP for example operates in all the different continents of the world. In keeping with Hills argument ethics is relative and context dependent. In certain countries, it is ethical to employ young people. In the UK, all employees must be above the legal age of 18 to gain full employment. The legal age changes significantly between countries varying from 16 to 21. Most multi national firms deal with this challenge by devising a set of corporate values which govern their operations in all regions. BP web (2010) argues that the company is driven by four major values; progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven. In terms of being responsible, BP asserts that We are committed to the safety and development of our people and the communities and societies in which we operate. We aim for no accidents, no harm to people and no damage to the environment. This commitment can be seen in the fact that BP reporting covers all aspects beyond financial reporting including health, safety, human rights, environment and energy. BP is at the forefront of the cleaner energy debate. It does its bit by engaging in energy saving initiatives and constantly researching on cleaner ways in which energy can be produced and delivered. It has diversified strongly into the green energy industry engaging in the production of liquefied petroleum gas, fossil fuels and renewable energy. A major part of corporate ethics that has been pervasive in the management literature in recent years is corporate social responsibility. Hill (2009) argues that multinational corporations such as BP have power that comes from their operations and their ability to move production from country to country. Considering for an instance the revenues generated by BP annually, I find that the corporations revenues is higher than the GDP of many countries. Social responsibility advocates that managers should consider more than just the economic consequences of their decisions (hill, 2009). More importantly, importance should be placed on the social consequences of decision making. The European commission defines corporate social responsibility as A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (EC website, 2010). It basically refers to the companys interactions with its surrounding communities and looks at how the company strives to promote development and social cohesion and participates in maintaining the environment within such communities. A firms community is a major stakeholder of the firm and thus needs to be considered. BPs financial reporting incorporates major aspects such as its social responsibility, its strive for cleaner energy, its contributions towards preserving the environment and its strive to improve sustainable extraction of energy. Communities take corporate social responsibilities seriously especially when it comes to Oil and Gas firms. This is largely as a result of the potential dangers that can arise from their operations with these communities. Recent crises have ranged from large explosions with severe casualties to major spillages with the destruction of flora and fauna. -A review of the BP 2010 Oil spill crisis BP faced a deep water horizon drilling rig explosion which killed 11 of its off shore workers and injured 17 other workers. The rig gushed out over 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Mexican Golf between April and July 2010. The spill was catastrophic and so were its effect on wild life, the fishing industry, the tourism sector and the surrounding neighbourhoods. In response to this BP set up a crisis management program. It publicly apologized for the distress it caused and undertook to foot the clean up costs. The company has currently set up a $20 Billion dollar fund to manage the after-effects of the crisis. During the crisis, BP showed effort employing several techniques to attempt to stop the leakage. It also arranged a compensation plan for those affected by the crisis. This attests to the fact that BP takes its corporate social responsibility and ethics very strongly. Hill (2009) also notes the social contributions or social investments of BP in Algeria. Hill notes that BP realised its communities in Algeria lacked clean drinking water and created two desalination plants to produce clean what for the public. To add to this, the company provided water cans to help residents transport water from plants to their homes. Conclusions Summary of findings This study has examined the operations of BP in the global context to see how certain management concepts are applied in practice. Two aspects; globalisation strategy and corporate social responsibility were reviewed. BP is found to have a sophisticated globalisation strategy which it has fortified over the years. This helps it to compete efficiently and to remain one the worlds leading corporations. Again, BP is found to have a robust stance towards corporate social responsibility and ethics. Its industry is hazardous and it is pruned to corporate disasters such as spills and explosions. BP has managed to keep these to a minimum and when they do occur, BP has taken necessary steps to manage the crisis and limit the damage Limitations This work is limited in the fact that it strongly relies on public information sources to assess the operations of BP. Several aspects could have been better scrutinized and invaluable insights drawn through other research methods such as interviews with key workers and focus groups to draw varied opinion. Due to the limitations in space (number of words) the aspects discussed can not be reviewed in greater detail. Future research Recommendations This research has examined BPs operations in light of established theory but has not confirmed if such a method of operation is optimal. It might be interesting to investigate whether the product strategy, globalisation strategy or their approach to ethics and corporate social responsibility affect their performance or contributes significantly towards the achievement of organisational goals and objectives. The limitations highlighted above also provide avenues for future research into the area. Several theories have been propounded in the management literature. Their understanding will only be facilitated by examining how these theories are applied in practice or by investigating the contributions of such theories to management practice. In light of this argument, this form of study is encouraged.

Disease Images In Hamlet Essay -- essays research papers

Hamlet's Disease The somber images of poison and disease taint the pages of Hamlet, and shadow the corruption pervading the recent and future events of the castle. The poison with which Claudius kills King Hamlet spreads in a sense throughout the country, until "something is rotten in Denmark", as Marcellus notes (I.4.90). Shakespeare shades in words of sickness continually during the play, perhaps serving best to illustrate the ill condition of affairs plaguing not only Denmark, but the characters as well. Shakespeare immediately conveys the sense of cold and apathy in the opening scene. As the play opens in the cool, black night, Barnardo and Francisco are high atop the looming walls of Elsinore, keeping watch for the impending revenge of enemy Fortinbras (I.1). Midnight strikes and Barnardo notes, subtly referring to the sentiment of Denmark, that "tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart" (I.1.8). Since the beloved King Hamlet has died and the Queen remarried, the morale of the people is low, and cold. The act continues, and the Ghost appears out of the dark shadows (I.1). Horatio, who had doubted the men's earlier details of sightings, now contemplates the reasons for the Ghost's visit as the spirit disappears into the ramparts. He tells the men of King Hamlet's battles, and adds how the appearance of the Ghost reminds him of what he has read about the portents of Rome, just before the assassination of Julius Caesar. As "the graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead did squeak†¦[the moon] was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse" (I.1.120). Horatio believes that the vision of the haunting Ghost is a forewarning to Denmark, just as the pale, sick moon was to Rome an image of the ill events to come. Even future events are drearily portrayed to the reader, a sense of the power of Fortune. This force was also referred to earlier, in Hamlet's soliloquy of the "slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune", going on to speak of being "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (III.1.90), yet another image of disease. Still in the opening scenes of the play, even men outside of the country can sense the rotting inside. Scornfully, Claudius says Fortinbras thinks "by our late dear brother's death, our state to be di... ...is "rotten in Denmark?" Hamlet must be the one to accomplish this, but he is ill as well, contaminated with a sickness of thought. Though his madness is arguably feigned, this "antic disposition" reiterates Hamlet's lack of resolution. Throughout the play, Hamlet has opportunities to rid Denmark of ills, such as striking the kneeling Claudius, but he hesitates constantly due to the sickness of his mind. Thus, Hamlet seems to have his own personal theme of irresolution, quite a contrast to Laertes quick and passionate decisions, who if he were Hamlet, would have "cut his throat in church" (IV.7.127). The end of the play seems to culminate each character's sickness into their downfall, with "purposes mistook, fall'n on th' inventors heads" (V.2.385). The deadly poison Claudius prepared ends his own life, as it does to Gertrude and Laertes for their ill trust of the malicious king; the obvious mental disease of Ophelia leads to her demise. Hamlet, the indecisive tragic hero and one character who could have ended the disease plaguing Denmark, is unable to do so because he is afflicted with his own illness as well.

Animal Farm - Knowledge Is Power Essay -- essays research papers

George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ is an allegorical fable of the Russian Revolution. It depicts the Revolution in a way that is inoffensive to people and also very easy to understand. This controversial novel also teaches many valuable lessons, all very true in man’s past and also in the present. In all of man’s histories, there are legends of tyrannical kings and merciless emperors, corrupted with the thirst for ultimate power. Education also played an important role in the subjugation of mankind; the intelligent and educated use their knowledge to undermine and control the naà ¯ve uneducated proletariats. The naà ¯vetà © of an ignorant working class is detrimental to any society; neither communist nor democratic societies are unaffected. Power is a blessing and also a curse, cast upon man and affecting us all, nevertheless, it affects those without power, as well as those with power. All great leaders had and have great power. Power is not biased, it does not make a good leader a good person, but it can make a good person a tyrannical and merciless leader. For example, Adolf Hitler was a great leader, but he was a very bad man. Due to the knowledge, cunning and coaxing of education, leaders can become corrupted and tainted, tainted with the poison of corruption laced in their meal of power and control. Such was what occurred in ‘Animal Farm’; the pigs who were educated gained power and control over Manor Farm, which under the concept of Animalism, they called Animal Farm. Fro...

Consumers Take a Shine to Apple Inc. Essay

Apple came back from near extinction to become one of the most revered technology companies in recent memory. They achieved this status by developing innovative design products and pushing the limits of their marketing prowess. Apple is known for their ability to listen to consumers and revolutionize market segments by providing modern design laden and feature rich alternatives to the target markets. They employ strategies that might contradict normal convention by keeping their prices high to build a brand image of prestige and promote their products through word of mouth. The impact on marketing is hugely noticeable by other companies following suit with store models resembling Apple stores. Key Marketing Issues 1. Identify Trends – Apple built its business by recognizing trends for the ditial consumer. As Apple products continue to age and become saturated in the market they must look to uncover the next big â€Å"it† product to brand as their own. 2. War with Competitors – Apple holds many patents on software and hardware that competitors imitate to bring products to market. With the complicated war between companies Samsung and Apple reaching the masses, people start to take sides and demonize Apple. Apple must learn walk the fine line of protecting it’s intellectual property without being seen as the big corporate entity that attacks every other company that tries to enter the market. 3. Innovation – Apple’s core products have enjoyed largely rave reviews and enormous profits, but the target market is starting to feel that Apple products are not as revolutionary as before. Even though the processers and screen quality continue to rise, the need to upgrade or buy another version of the same product is waning in consumer’s minds. Apple cannot lose sight of this and continue to explain the benefits of its products to consumers. 4. Remember Customers old and new- Apple is known for superior customer service. They must continue to coddle new customers  to build their loyalty without alienating the early adopters and by now seasoned customers. The creative customer service model must be sustained to ensure the competitive advantage is not lost. Personal Case Analysis I learned that Apple is a juggernaut when it comes to their technological products and marketing goals. Apple focuses on the needs of customer’s light years ahead of their competition and even before most consumers have realized they want Apple’s products. Through their innovative marketing involving social media, word of mouth, Apple Stores they have convinced consumers about the high value of their product even lending to the formation of a â€Å"Mac cult† for its diehard fans. The way ahead for Apple is not to lose sight of its brand loyalty and continue to service the customers and entice them with the brand’s prestige. Even with the death of Steve Jobs, I believe Apple forge ahead to differentiate itself from the markets they are in. Case Questions 1- How has Apple implemented the marketing concept? Apple implemented the marketing concept by focusing on customers’ needs through imagination, design, and innovation creating an emotional brand for its customers. Even though Apple is a technological company it takes a humanistic approach to satisfying the needs of its customers far better than the competition. 2- Describe the role of Apple stores as an important part of it’s marketing strategy? Apple stores allow customers to interact with physical products and discover the companies design language while receiving human interaction to enhance their experience. Customers who come into a store learn firsthand the vast array of Apple products and the ease of connectivity. 3- What will Apple need to do to maintain product innovation and customer loyalty? In order for Apple to maintain it’s product innovation it will have to refrain from complex diversification into other fields and continue to focus on delivering the most superior products to the market. Apple is dominant in refreshing their product lines every couple of years and should update Ipods, Imacs, and Ipads frequently as processers and designs age. For Apple to continue customer loyalty it must not alienate or diminish support and assistance to their customers. The empathetic company along with its employees is a value added experience to the customers. Conclusions Apple is a dynamic American comeback story. From the brink of obscurity it was saved by the very man which helped create it. Through its growth, Apple was able to produce innovative products and bring them to the market with style. The marketing juggernaut focused on the marketing concept always keeping its eyes on the customer. Apple must continue to evolve to changing markets and retool marketing strategies as it competes in key industries Works Cited Moorman, Christine, â€Å"Why Apple is great marketer†, Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/

Reading and Writing Development

Reading and Writing Development Tyesha Woods March 10, 2013 ADE/202 Susan Clark The two age groups that I have chosen are early childhood and middle childhood. Early childhood ranges from two to six years of age and middle childhood ranges from six to ten years of age. In the beginning stages of early childhood the child would not be reading or writing just yet. But they would be starting to learn how to read and to write. They should be learning how to recognize letters and how to put them together to form words.At the end of this stage the child should be able to read and write, or they should be at the beginning stages of reading and writing. The beginning stages of middle childhood the child should be at the beginning stages of reading and writing. By the end of the middle childhood the child’s reading and writing skills should be more advance. They should be able to read at a higher level. They should be able to take spelling words and look them up in the dictionary, writ e out the words, and make the words into sentences. For the children in early child the material that I would use would be handouts.The handouts will have the letters for the kids to trace. Then they would a beginners reading book. They would have to read the book and they would have to write about what they read. Another thing that I would do, is give the children an assignment where they had to match up the word with the picture. For example if the handout had pictures of a dog, cat, kite and cow the child would have to match the word with the picture. That should help with the reading aspect. For the writing I would have the child write the words out two times each. The material that I would use for the children in middle childhood is vocabulary and reading.I would give spelling words and assign to read a book. As far as the spelling words the first thing that I would do is have the students write out the words five times each so that they can get know the words. The second thing that I would do is, have the children look up the words in the dictionary. Another thing that I would do is having the students make sentences out of the words that I have given them. The finale thing that I would do is to give the students a spelling test. Now for the reading I would assign the children a book to read and the students, would have to read a few pages at a time.By the end of the week the student should finished the book, and as a weekend assignment they would have to write a small book report. The book report would have to tell what they read. I would also ask the children to write down the words that they did not understand. So, that I could take the words and turn them into spelling words. I would do this so that children would have a better understanding of the words that the children did not understand. I feel that these methods will help the children to improve their reading and writing skills. For both groups I would ask the parents to get involved with the ch ildren’s schoolwork.I would ask the parents to make sure that the kids do the work when the children are home. I will give the children work packets to take home so that they can keep practicing their work. The work that I would give would be done when the kids have spring break or on the weekend. I would do this so that the kids will not forget what they have learned in school. I would not give so much work that it would take away from the kids time off, but just enough to keep them sharp when it comes to their school work. I would recommend that the parents do the work with the children for two hours out of the day.The parents and the teachers need to work together. That is why I keep saying that the parents can help the child; the teachers can help the child while they are at school. The parents help at home by making sure that the child does the schoolwork and the teacher will check to make sure that the child did the work. If the parents and the teachers work together th ey can both help the child to strengthen their reading and writing skills. References Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod. (2004). Child Development: Educating and Working with Children and Adolescents. Retrieved from Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, ADE202 website.

Media Effects Body Image Essay

Over the past 10 years, mass media and the access to social networks has evolved substantially causing the effects of negative self-image and what is considered beautiful. Body image expectations for both African-American male and female share the battles of society’s expectations, yet African American women body images come with a stricter and more unhealthy stigma; growth of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter brings these expectations of self-image into our homes and our children minds. â€Å"The Internet is easily the most pervasive form of mediated communication that we encounter in our lives. Even traditional forms of mass communication drive us toward the Internet† (Bryant, Thompson & Finklea, 295). Social networks influences negative self-image and expectations of what is beautiful to society. Beauty expectations has a long standing history into our lives, but comparing the increase in body augmentations, extreme dieting and even bulimia nervous in our generation is heavily related to mass media. Over exposure to social networks may contribute to the development of low discrepancy for sexual desire with partner, negative views toward self-body image, and even the need to seek illegal avenues for plastic surgery. As humans, we tend to rate ourselves pretty harsh and I believe social media networks have caused an increase for the expectations of body image. Recently, the media has had a huge impact on relationships, the proper raising of children and especially the ideal body that an African- American woman should have. Although, I do highly believe that we should improve woman’s health, I also know that every person doesn’t look like the model we see on television. In the African American culture, recently, it has been a turn of times and the media thin-ideal is being curvy within our community. Every new music video and social media networks put the black woman with the tiny waist with huge thighs and butt as the perfect woman. The impact of the  media is causing a change in African American women views on their lives, body and overall expectations as what a black woman should look like. It is well known that obesity and being curvier than other races is well documented withi n society, yet it’s now becoming an issue with our society to enhance these features that we are so well known for. Even for the common thin-ideal woman that is often portrayed in the media is typically 15% below the average weight of women, representing an unrealistic standard of thinness (tall, with narrow hips, long legs, and thin thighs) (Johnson, Tobin, & Steinberg, 1989). Yet within the African American culture, video vixens promote their bodies as a sign of owning who they are and controlling the situation regardless of what they may have on. Still another perspective is that of Melyssa Ford, â€Å"the highest paid video girl to date† (Byrd and Solomon, 2005) who describes her vulnerability on video shoots, objectification by men, and the process of reclaiming power over her own body, which she describes as her commodity. Without denial, Melyssa Ford is a well-educated woman and one of the few vixens who have used her body to open doors to new opportunities, but believing her body is the golden ticket is the main issue that I have with the media influence. These contrasting perspectives demonstrate the complexity of issues (e.g., the range of perceptions about woman’s objectification) and pose critical questions for scholars who seek to understand contemporary Black women’s experiences (Byrd and Solomon, 2005). The idea that the African American woman has been created as an object and should have a particular body to be accepted into their culture as the ideal African American woman. Black culture has always been the more voluptuous curves in women, yet those women were considered cornbread fed and the ones who weren’t blessed with these assets, didn’t go out their way for unethical surgical practices. The social media negative influence on African American women growing up within the 21st century has made it seem the simple life is depending on the curves of your body, instead the knowledge of your mind and the power in your beliefs. Proper parenting is started at home, yet with social networks being such a part of our children’s lives, the media is also in the homes. In the process of the media influence, I believe the importance of the media understanding the black culture and the expectations of a woman’s curves also cause many medical issues that we are associated with, such as: Type I and II diabetes,  high blood pressure and obesity. With overweight being accepted in most black families homes, the media and social networks should deter as much as possible from promoting the oversexed woman is the ideal woman. The effect social networks has on the children coming behind us is powerful and I believe the power of the media should be used more effectively. There is evidence that social media influences behaviors at home because women such as Ford promotes her body as her job, just as woman who is a part of the corporate community, but her body expectation is for her job, natural African American women are not all curvy. I had the opportunity to speak with several close friends who utilize social networks as often as I do and I wanted to know their take on their own body image when looking at different women on Facebook or Instagram. Do they feel the need to conform and seek that particular body? Do they feel less beautiful that moment when looking at these women? Although all of them stated they didn’t feel any less beautiful and was comfortable within their skin, they did state it causes them to want to stay in the gym more or avoid a meal for the sake of staying the â€Å"ideal body type† as an African American woman. But 2:3 of the women claimed they did have a lower sexual discrepancy when it came to being with their mates and questioned themselves during sexual intimacy after looking at these women. 1:3 of the women even resulted in having plastic surgery for a breast implant after seeing the changes in a models career off of Instagram because she felt like this would increase her chances of finding a husband. â€Å"Social comparison theory is one of the few theories that are commonly used by mass communication scholars to understand the relationship between media exposure and body image dist urbance† (Zhang, Dixon & Conrad, 266). The ideal African American woman portrayed in the media and on social networks is difficult, almost impossible, for the majority of the women if you want to live a normal, healthy life. When you have a certain type of body within the African American community, the woman seems to be more glorified by men and catches the attention quickly. Yet, often African American women who have curvy shapes find themselves not liking the attention because of comments. The effects of lower discrepancy are basically the lack of compatibility between two individuals and this may increase with the harsh media influence. I believe social networks and media influence has caused African American women to want a voluptuous body  because apparently this is what gets a man attention. â€Å"Stice and Shaw (1994), suggested that as women internalize the thin-idea/media image, they tend to experience heighted body dissatisfaction, set unrealistic body dimension goals, and ultimately engage in disordered behaviors designed to achieve the thin-ideal body image (Hawkins et al, 2004). The increase of plastic surgery within the Black American culture probably has increased within the last five years due to the wanting of large buttocks and smaller waist which media makes to believe this is what a Black woman should look like. The media so- called expectations of the perfect African American woman can’t be the only problem when it comes to the issues the culture experiences toward wanting a certain look. Possibly, the future research will get the attention of media and social media executives to realize their power over the younger generations to develop positive influences and promote healthier lifestyles. In this research, I was able to find that African-American women often compare themselves to images on social networks and although it causes them to work out more, it isn’t necessarily causing a healthier lifestyle and positive self-body image. Works Cited Bryant, Jennings, Susan Thompson, and Bruce W. Finklea. Fundamentals of Media Effects. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print. Byrd, Ayana, and Akiba Solomon. Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips and Other Parts. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. PsychINFO. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. . Hawkins, Nicole, P. Scott Richards, H. Mac Granley, and David M. Stein. â€Å"The Impact of Exposure to the Thin- Ideal Media Image on Women.† University of Houston- PsychINFO. Taylor & Francis, Inc., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. Johnson, C. L., Tobin, D. I., & Steinberg, S. L. (1989). Etiological, developmental and treatment considerations for bulimia. Special issue: The bulimic college student: Evaluation, treatment and prevention. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 3(2-4), 57-73. Stice, E. â€Å"Risk Factor for Eating Pathology:

Social media

All three articles promote the concept of using social media to build and maintain relationships with the public. In the state of emergency all three highlight the significance of social media networks because they allow for Instant communication between lost family members, volunteers and emergency services. Article 1 concludes that companies that are active on social media need to follow 3 strategies: disclosure or openness, Information delimitation and Interactivity and Involvement (Men & Tsar 2011).Both Article 1 and 3 both underline poor use of social medals attention and recommended online Interaction through two-way communication, which Includes replying or acknowledging user posts and comments, and posting content for entertainment purposes rather than just promotion. Article 2 showcases how organizations can better use social media platforms to interact and build relationships with their publics.The studies in all three articles reveal that overall the Chinese level of engag ement with corporate social network sites was rated at the medium level because users on Render (Chinese social media site) viewed social Edie as a platform to ask enquiries not Just view marketing and promotion material. 3) The common theme found in the research surrounding ‘social media' is its rapid transformation over the past ten years and how its use can go beyond its original intention. Backbone, was referred to at the time as a college version of Friends (DRP.Curtis 2013). Backbone and Twitter have developed new features to companies to stay relevant in the new digital age. Social media has changed communication channels and mediums over the last 10 years (Pashas 2013). All of the articles display the significance of creating a ‘sense of community belonging and affiliation' because social media connects and engages people from the comfort of their own home. However, our group learnt that organizations do not utilize social media to its best potential in relation to creating user to company relationships.As seen in the additional two articles ‘Moms for Blobbing' (source 1) and ‘China's Social Medal Fuel Citizen Quake Response' (source 2), social media Is connecting societies and communities around the world. As seen In source 2 the ability of civil society groups o coordinate a relief effort were â€Å"enhanced by Sins Hello, the Twitter-Like microbiology that did not exist in 2008 but now has more than 500 million users â€Å"(c)level society Is much more capable today compared to 2008,† (Levin 2013).All five articles and additional research highlight the evolution of social prom has the ability to influence people's attitudes and behaviors. 4) When it comes to social media and public relations the ability to form, build and maintain affiliations is a pivotal factor and will assist an organization to attain positive public relationships. As Ferguson stated ‘relationships – not the organization, nor the publi c, nor the communication process – should be the unit of study in public relations (Manager 2012).Therefore the relationship theory, which focuses on public relationships, is proposed by a number of scholars. As recommended in all the supporting articles time invested [in creating and maintaining relationships] makes a difference' (Sterner 2012). The relationship theory best demonstrates the conclusions of all articles because it supports the concept of developing ‘a social Edie strategy to grow virtual communities with stakeholders' (Lovely, Waters & Sexton 2012). It also promotes effectively building and maintaining relationships between the organization and the publics.However as illustrated in the articles 1, 2 and 3, the effective execution of this may be limited due to ‘cognitive dissonance' through the instruction received on application of social media. The notion of organizational public relationships as core to public relations is the focus of scholars B urning and Laddering (2000, p. 9) who state that, â€Å"the purpose and direction of an organization (its mission) is affected by relationships with key constituents (publics) in the organizational environment†.The emergence of social media has altered public communication and interaction from human-tachometer to human-to-human and human-to-content. The excellence theory provides a rich and abundance body of knowledge in public relations and a key finding in the study found that PR is a â€Å"unique management function that helps an organization interact with the social and political components of its environment† (des Chic,J & Snotty, G 2009). Social media All three articles promote the concept of using social media to build and maintain relationships with the public. In the state of emergency all three highlight the significance of social media networks because they allow for Instant communication between lost family members, volunteers and emergency services. Article 1 concludes that companies that are active on social media need to follow 3 strategies: disclosure or openness, Information delimitation and Interactivity and Involvement (Men & Tsar 2011).Both Article 1 and 3 both underline poor use of social medals attention and recommended online Interaction through two-way communication, which Includes replying or acknowledging user posts and comments, and posting content for entertainment purposes rather than just promotion. Article 2 showcases how organizations can better use social media platforms to interact and build relationships with their publics.The studies in all three articles reveal that overall the Chinese level of engag ement with corporate social network sites was rated at the medium level because users on Render (Chinese social media site) viewed social Edie as a platform to ask enquiries not Just view marketing and promotion material. 3) The common theme found in the research surrounding ‘social media' is its rapid transformation over the past ten years and how its use can go beyond its original intention. Backbone, was referred to at the time as a college version of Friends (DRP.Curtis 2013). Backbone and Twitter have developed new features to companies to stay relevant in the new digital age. Social media has changed communication channels and mediums over the last 10 years (Pashas 2013). All of the articles display the significance of creating a ‘sense of community belonging and affiliation' because social media connects and engages people from the comfort of their own home. However, our group learnt that organizations do not utilize social media to its best potential in relation to creating user to company relationships.As seen in the additional two articles ‘Moms for Blobbing' (source 1) and ‘China's Social Medal Fuel Citizen Quake Response' (source 2), social media Is connecting societies and communities around the world. As seen In source 2 the ability of civil society groups o coordinate a relief effort were â€Å"enhanced by Sins Hello, the Twitter-Like microbiology that did not exist in 2008 but now has more than 500 million users â€Å"(c)level society Is much more capable today compared to 2008,† (Levin 2013).All five articles and additional research highlight the evolution of social prom has the ability to influence people's attitudes and behaviors. 4) When it comes to social media and public relations the ability to form, build and maintain affiliations is a pivotal factor and will assist an organization to attain positive public relationships. As Ferguson stated ‘relationships – not the organization, nor the publi c, nor the communication process – should be the unit of study in public relations (Manager 2012).Therefore the relationship theory, which focuses on public relationships, is proposed by a number of scholars. As recommended in all the supporting articles time invested [in creating and maintaining relationships] makes a difference' (Sterner 2012). The relationship theory best demonstrates the conclusions of all articles because it supports the concept of developing ‘a social Edie strategy to grow virtual communities with stakeholders' (Lovely, Waters & Sexton 2012). It also promotes effectively building and maintaining relationships between the organization and the publics.However as illustrated in the articles 1, 2 and 3, the effective execution of this may be limited due to ‘cognitive dissonance' through the instruction received on application of social media. The notion of organizational public relationships as core to public relations is the focus of scholars B urning and Laddering (2000, p. 9) who state that, â€Å"the purpose and direction of an organization (its mission) is affected by relationships with key constituents (publics) in the organizational environment†.The emergence of social media has altered public communication and interaction from human-tachometer to human-to-human and human-to-content. The excellence theory provides a rich and abundance body of knowledge in public relations and a key finding in the study found that PR is a â€Å"unique management function that helps an organization interact with the social and political components of its environment† (des Chic,J & Snotty, G 2009).