Policy analysis 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Policy analysis 2 - Assignment Example This resulted to various birth complications during the delivery process. The introduction of Medicaid cover has enable sufficient access to proper medical services by pregnant women in the state thus increasing its birthrate. The year 2013 recorded increase in the number of registered births in the state of Georgia. The figure rose to 133,947 which depict a 25% increase when compared to the registered birth records in 2011. This is as a result of various approaches put into practice by the Georgia medical service council. For instance, the percentage Medicaid maternal cover for all pregnant women was raised from 25% to 40% thus reducing the labour expense by 15%. GORRC (2013). As a result, 53,579 births were covered by Medicaid in the year 2013. This included an approximate 50% (Gutowski et. al, 2010. Pg. 5) outpatient and inpatient lactation consultation fees where a cost per encounter was $250 (Breastfeeding Inc). The approximate medical saving per woman was $27.5 thus generating a total cost savings of $3683543 from the improved infant health outcomes. Women without lactation consultation were also entitled to the Medicaid fee. The improved infant health led to an increase rate of breast finding as women with no lactation consultation rose to 70% compared to 40% in the previous years (GORRC). This notion indicated a positive approach in infant health care increased the number of women who breastfeed to those using powdered milk (NRDC, 2010). Women who breastfeed were approximately 45, 221 while those who do not breast feed their children summed up to 8358. This approach reduced the incidences of Otitis to babies who are not breastfed and women in the stage of breastfeeding. Episodes of Otitis media reduced from 60% in 2011 to 40.42% in 2013 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Despite the improved infant health care in Georgia, the consultation fee ought to be high for the low income earners in the state. As a result, the figure of

Target Corporation Essay Example for Free

Target Corporation Essay Target Corporation is one of America’s biggest corporations according to Fortune 500. Target is a retailer that operates general merchandise and food discount stores. Being one of the biggest and one of the leading retailers in the America, Target enjoys a strong market position to promote market opportunities and adds to their bargaining power. Here are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of Target Corporation. Strengths 1. Advance technology increased customer preference for Internet shopping. 2. Target Corporation continues to expand by announcing their plan to open more stores in Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles. 3. Target Corporation is the second biggest concession retailer in United States. 4. Target Bulls eye logo is recognize by Ninety-seven percent of American consumers. 5. Target is the leading gift card seller than any other retailer in the United States. 6. Target is opening 220 stores in Canada, which is the first international expansion. Weakness 1. Target stores do not sell firearms and tobacco products. 2. Target settled to decrease their transactions on all supplies having polyvinyl chloride. 3. Target Corporation received criticism and controversy from members of the gay and lesbian community for their donations to anti-gay groups. 4. Negative publicity in 2004, when Target decided to block Salvation Army from seeking donations at its stores. 5. Target Corporation does not have the advantage competitively due to higher prices than other retailers do. Opportunities 1. Corporation ranked at number 38 in Fortune 500 as of 2012 (Fortune, 2012). 2. Target ranked number 64 on Corporate Responsibility Magazine list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens (CRM, 2012). 3. Target ranked number 25 on Fortune magazine list of World’s Most Admired Companies (Fortune, 2012). 4. Target received a score of 100 from The Human Rights Campaign on its 2013 Corporate Equality Index (Human, 2012). 5. Target ranked number 30 on DiversityInc magazine list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity (DiversityInc, 2012). 6. Target ranked 28 in America’s Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities by DiversityBusiness.com (DiversityBusiness, 2012). 7. Target ranked number 22 on Forbes magazine and the Reputation Institute list of America’s Most Reputable Companies (Smith, 2012). 8. Universum ranked Target number 38 on its Ideal Employer List as surveyed by American MBAs, and number 28 as surveyed by American undergraduates (Light, 2012). 9. Target r anked among the 2012 Best Companies for Hourly Workers by Working Mother Media (Working, 2012). 10. The National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, in partnership with Bloomberg LP, ranked Target number 16 on the first comprehensive ranking of the Civic 50 (Bloomberg, 2012). 11. Newsweek magazine ranked Target number 85 out of 500 on its U.S. Green Rankings 2012 (Newsweek, 2012). 12. Target scored an 87 B on the 2012 Carbon Disclosure Project SP 500 Report, an increase over 2011 ranking score of 77 C (Carbon, 2012). 13. Target named to the 2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World Index (Dow, 2012). 14. Target named a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2012 Million Dollar Club for its commitment to supplier diversity and Hispanic Business Enterprises (USHCC, 2012). 15. Target named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute (Ethisphere, 2012). 16. Target named as one of the Top Corporation for Women’s Business Enterprises by The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC, 2012). 17. Regaining of overall economy is worthy opportunity for Target Corporation because it will surge requirement for the products. Threats 1. Target Corporation competing with Wal-Mart, Kmart, and other retailers. 2. The Attorney General and 20 California District Attorneys filed a claim in Alameda County claiming that Target has been unlawfully dumping hazardous wastes in landfill on June 2009. 3. Customer perception that Target Corporation products are more costly than other retailers. The strengths and opportunities are the most relevant parts of SWOT analysis that make investors invest in Target Corporation. On January 13, 2011, Target declared its first international expansion into Canada and it makes the investors to be excited for the opportunities for this corporation to do well internationally. Additionally, Target Corporations continue to be recognized, rank, and awarded by different magazines and association for being one of the best companies in the United States. Those recognitions and awards make the corporation more valuable and that value of the company and their name has marketing importance that give them staying power for years to come (Target, 2012). Stakeholders are groups of people who have an interest in a company or business organization. Internal stakeholders are those members of the business organization such as owners, managers, staffs, and employees. However, external stakeholders are not part of the company such as customers, suppliers, community, and government. Every internal stakeholder has their own needs and hoping that the company can provide or fulfill their need. For many owners, their business in their biggest asset and owner will protect it to secure his/her financial future. For bigger corporation like Target, they make sure they follow the national and local law to avoid lawsuit and bad publicity. Shareholder is an individual that own shares of stock in the company therefore they have right to vote on decision about the organization. Shareholder primary need is to increase the value of their stocks and improve their value in the company by buying more stocks to have bigger influence on the decision within the company. Managers and employees needs are almost the same. They need job security with benefits, good pay, health insurance, and flexibility. In addition, the most important needs for all internal stakeholders is profit because this is the driving force that control the future of the company and can provide all of the them their personal needs. External stakeholder needs are different from the internal stakeholder since internal stakeholder is the one providing and fulfilling to satisfy external stakeholder needs. Customers are the most important stakeholders because they are the only reason that we have business like Target Corporation. Customers have so many needs that managers and employees trying to provide to them as much as they can. Customer needs are friendly representative, discount prices, quality of products, professionalism, and outstanding customer services. Supplier most important needs are to have a good business relationship with the corporations because it gives them stability on their own organization. Community needs is to improve their own community for creating job, charity organization and by increasing the value of their community. Target Corporation can provide it to them since they can create thousands of jobs in the community and donating funds to different organizations within local communities. Government needs from Target Corporation is for them to support the community by providing jobs, donations to charities and most of all is for the company to follow the government policies and regulations. Target Corporation in the most parts fulfilled most if not all of the stakeholder needs. Target Corporation is one of the biggest and successful companies in United States so the owners and shareholders needs of profits, stability, and financial security are easily meets. For managers and employees, the company provided them flexibility, health benefits, retirement plan, life insurance, vacation, discount such as 10% for member and childcare, disability coverage, training and development resources, career planning and option for group legal plan. For community stakeholder, Target Corporation provided 5% of Target’s profit to local communities. They have partnership with community organization such as Diversity Best Practices, The Executive Leadership Council, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and NAACP. In addition, they encouraged their team member to volunteer their time, expertise, and talents to support the community projects. For government stakeholder, Target Corporation has a strong partnership with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support disaster efforts. They also have safety and preparedness partnership to other government service such as Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and American Red Cross. For supplier stakeholder, they actively engage with diverse supplier to support all section of the company. In addition, they develop diverse supplier relationships with Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, N ational Minority Supplier Development Council, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and National Veteran Owned Business Association. For customer who is the most important stakeholder, Target Corporation provides them quality products, outstanding service, competitive price, number of selection, best values, and convenience shopping. For the most part, Target Corporation meets stakeholder needs. I am sure they are few people think that their needs are not met or satisfied the way they want it but you cannot satisfy everybody. The important thing is Target Corporation continues to look on how they can improve to support their stakeholder. They continue to launch customer satisfaction survey, ask their employees, and work with the government and communities to improve their company relationship with stakeholders and this is how Target Corporation can fulfill the need of stakeholder. Target Corporation continues to make improvements to remain the number two retailer stores in the country. Target financial performances are doing great and continue to progress every year. Reports show Target Corporation’s revenue stay in an upward trend regardless of the world’s economy. Additionally, reports also show sales increasing in an upward trend year to year (Target, 2012). By reviewing Target Corporation financial report, I learned that this company should continue to improve for the next five year. Target Corporation bought the leaseholds for up to 220 stores in Canada for their first international expansion. This expansion will improve their sales, revenue and can help them compete with their main competitors: Walmart and Costco. The only concern for Target Corporation is their competition with Walmart and Costco since both company make bigger net sales the last four years. Target Corporation management can use their financial report to compare them with Walmart and Costco to analyze the best way to compete with them. On comparing Target, Walmart, and Costco, Walmart is the largest retailer in the country and it generated more than three time s the combined revenue of both Target and Costco. See figure 1 for Target Corporation, figure 2 for Walmart Corporation, and figure 3 for Costco Corporation’s historical financial reports. Target Corporation technologies compare to Walmart and Costco is about the same. I do not see any advantages between these three retailers concerning technologies. This globalization influenced the company business strategies since Costco and Walmart are having success outside the country. Target Corporation finally expanded internationally due to their main competitor, and to compete with them, they have to expand outside the country. Benchmarking is a process of comparing an organization performance to other organization using objective and subjective criteria. The process compares organizations to those in the industry reviewing its status to use as standard in their own company. Target, Walmart and Costco are three of the top retailers in industries in best practices, operational processes and procedures, and products ranked by reputable magazine and community organization every year. Being ranked in world’s most admired companies, top 50 companies for diversity, America’s most reputable companies, and many more recognition demonstrated that thi s three companies are the benchmark for their industry. The recent economic trends are influencing the business from traversing from enormous changes in global politics to the blasting existence of social media and online technology into our everyday lives. Through all of this, nevertheless, business must go on, but it is not business as usual. The importance of customer has never more important than it is today. With the influx of computer technology, customer worldwide knows what is accessible in the market to buy and how to locate it online at the lowest cost. Through this power has come the capability to form markets, and express the products they want. Advertisements, information sharing, and recognizing the importance of personalized search were some of the strategies the company has used for adapting to changing markets. With the rise of Internet and a population that gradually analyses world travel as just another part of life, online search become the most powerful tool (McClimans, 2011). Target Corporation has implemented tactics to achieve their strategic goals by going international and opening new stores (CityTarget) aimed at the urban market. Target Corporations procured the leaseholds for up to 220 stores in Canada and CityTarget are established to open in Chicago, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Charlotte (Target, 2012). The tactics Target used by expanding their corporation will help them compete with their competitors to meet the consumers demand. Target Corporation can also implement pricing and marketing strategy to achieve their strategic goals. Pricing strategy does not always means lowering price to gain industry dominance, but that is the obvious choice. Using low price tactics presenting rebates, special sales and discount with inexpensive financing and delayed payment. Marketing strategy seeks to target specific consumers with messages that are most likely to draw their attention. It involves seasonal advertising and special promotions as tactics to achieve their goals (Duff, 2012). The role of human resource management plays in helping the company achieve its business goals has change from the conventional hire and fire to a planned manager at the table with operations, finance, and other business focuses that are not centers of profits for the company. Human resource must ensure that its practice, processes, and policies supplement the organizational strategies. Human resource management should understand the business strategy by developing mission statement that relate to the employees, conduct a SWOT analysis, develop consequences and solutions, and evaluation of action plans. Some of the human resource management functions are to handle rewards and compensation certain roles and positions in order to boost performance echelons. Recruitment is another important mission including the selection and retention of employees. Additionally, human resource management balancing the employees and organizations expectations to associated business success and to satisfied employees needs (King, 2012). Target Corporations is one of the biggest, reputable and profitable company in United States so if I have the opportunity to invest with them, I will without hesitation. Target Corporation continues to rise and make significant profits year after year. Figure 1 shows Target’s financial history for the last five years and by looking at it, the trends will likely continue to do well in the future. In conclusion, Target is the second largest discount retailer in the country, second only to Walmart. It has proven its successfulness through the number of stores domestic and internationally, and through the figures of net sales, net income, and free cash flow. Target Corporation logo is recognize by over ninety-seven percent of consumers in United States. In addition, Target Corporation is devoted to promoting diversity and committed to community by donating five percent of profits to charities while encouraging their employees to volunteer in the community projects. Target Corporation continues to expand by going internationally and opening new stores CityTarget in urban areas. Target is growing and bringing new customers as it expands. Target Corporation understands their markets, and this giving them the edge to grow and compete with Walmart in the future. References Bloomberg BusinessWeek. (2012). Civics lesson. Retrieved from http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/2012-11-08/civics-lessons CR’s Magazine. (2012). 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Retrieved from http://www.thecro.com/files/100Best2012_List_3.8.pdf Carbon Disclosure Project. (2012). Carbon reductions generate positive ROI. Retrieved from https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx Costco Wholesale. (2012). Home. Retrieved from http://www.costco.com DiversityBusiness.com. (2012). Top 50 organizations for multicultural business opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.diversitybusiness.com/news/supplierdiversity/45201282.asp DiversityInc. (2012). Top 50 companies for Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.diversityinc.com/target/ Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. (2012). Annual review 2012. Retrieved from http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/review/annual-review-2012.jsp Duff, V. (2012). What are business tactics and strategies? Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness .chron.com/business-tactics-strategies-5148.html Ethisphere. (2012). 2012 world’s most ethical companies. Retrieved from http://www.ethisphere.com/wme/ Fortune Magazine. (2012). World’s most admired companies. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/ Human Rights Campaign. (2012). Corporate equality index. Retrieved from http://www.hrc.org/corporate-equality-index/#.ULdSJKUWFFI King, W. (2012). What role does human resource management play in a business? Ezine Articles. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Role-Does-Human-Resource-Management-Play-In-A-Business?id=563848 Light, J. (2012). Ideal employer list. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703512404576208702115862760.html?mod=WSJ_Careers_CareerJournal_4 McClimans, F. (2011). 5 trends influencing

Internet Issues :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Internet Issues    The Internet is a wide network of computers around the world.   It allows many computers to communicate and share information, with few physical boundaries.   It has become an integral part of today's society.   Today, almost everyone in the US can access the Internet.   It is a valuable asset for people doing research as well as new form of entertainment for many people addicted to the world wide web.      With this great advancement in technology, many people are signing up for accounts with ISP's and people wait in line at their local libraries, just to surf the web.   The Internet has become so accessible and so high in demand, that now even pocket organizers come equipped with 33.6 KBPS modems so that people can connect to the Internet from any location in the world with a phone line.   This new technology, however is not without its   shortcomings.  Ã‚   In fact people are constantly praising it, that they don't always realize the pitfalls of the Internet.      Many people go on the Internet every day to do research or to catch up on current events.   However, one must realize that no one owns the Internet and therefore it is difficult for one organization to control it.   This makes it very easy for people to release false information and to spread propaganda, with almost no laws to stop them.   Even though there are laws restricting people as to what may be posted on the Internet, the Internet is so large that no one can really enforce all the laws.   It may take years for a government agency to find a site with illegal content.   A government also cannot control a site's content if the site is located on a computer outside the physical boundaries of the country.   Also, anyone wishing to spread a rumor can do so by e-mail and the false information will spread around the world like wildfire.   Thousands of users logged into the Internet everyday access information via e-mail, newsgroups, world wide web pages and many other w ays, but how much of the information they access can be trusted to be true.   It has always been a good rule of thumb to only trust corporate or government sites, but what if it were them who also spread false information.   And why shouldn't they? They have nothing to lose by spreading rumors about their competitors, after all.

Egoism and Altruism

1. Metaethics The term â€Å"meta† means after or beyond, and, consequently, the notion of metaethics involves a removed, or bird’s eye view of the entire project of ethics. We may define metaethics as the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. When compared to normative ethics and applied ethics, the field of metaethics is the least precisely defined area of moral philosophy. It covers issues from moral semantics to moral epistemology[->0].Two issues, though, are prominent: (1) metaphysical issues concerning whether morality exists independently of humans, and (2) psychological issues concerning the underlying mental basis of our moral judgments and conduct. a. Metaphysical Issues: Objectivism and Relativism Metaphysics is the study of the kinds of things that exist in the universe. Some things in the universe are made of physical stuff, such as rocks; and perhaps other things are nonphysical in nature, such as thoughts, spirits, and gods.The metaphysical component of metaethics involves discovering specifically whether moral values are eternal truths that exist in a spirit-like realm, or simply human conventions. There are two general directions that discussions of this topic take, one other-worldly and one this-worldly. Proponents of the other-worldly view typically hold that moral values are objective[->1] in the sense that they exist in a spirit-like realm beyond subjective human conventions.They also hold that they are absolute, or eternal, in that they never change, and also that they are universal insofar as they apply to all rational creatures around the world and throughout time[->2]. The most dramatic example of this view is Plato[->3], who was inspired by the field of mathematics. When we look at numbers and mathematical relations, such as 1+1=2, they seem to be timeless concepts that never change, and apply everywhere in the universe. Humans do not invent numbers, and humans cannot alter them.Plato explained the eternal character of mathematics by stating that they are abstract entities that exist in a spirit-like realm. He noted that moral values also are absolute truths and thus are also abstract, spirit-like entities. In this sense, for Plato, moral values are spiritual objects. Medieval philosophers commonly grouped all moral principles together under the heading of â€Å"eternal law† which were also frequently seen as spirit-like objects. 17th century British philosopher Samuel Clarke described them as spirit-like relationships rather than spirit-like objects.In either case, though, they exist in a sprit-like realm. A different other-worldly approach to the metaphysical status of morality is divine commands issuing from God’s will. Sometimes called voluntarism (or divine command theory[->4]), this view was inspired by the notion of an all-powerful God[->5] who is in control of everything. God simply wills things, and they become reality. He wills the physical world into existence , he wills human life into existence and, similarly, he wills all moral values into existence.Proponents of this view, such as medieval philosopher William of Ockham[->6], believe that God wills moral principles, such as â€Å"murder is wrong,† and these exist in God’s mind as commands. God informs humans of these commands by implanting us with moral intuitions or revealing these commands in scripture. The second and more this-worldly approach to the metaphysical status of morality follows in the skeptical philosophical tradition, such as that articulated by Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, and denies the objective status of moral values.Technically, skeptics did not reject moral values themselves, but only denied that values exist as spirit-like objects, or as divine commands in the mind of God. Moral values, they argued, are strictly human inventions, a position that has since been called moral relativism[->7]. There are two distinct forms of moral relativism. The first is individual relativism, which holds that individual people create their own moral standards. Friedrich Nietzsche, for example, argued that the superhuman creates his or her morality distinct from and in reaction to the slave-like value system of the masses.The second is cultural relativism which maintains that morality is grounded in the approval of one’s society – and not simply in the preferences of individual people. This view was advocated by Sextus, and in more recent centuries by Michel Montaigne and William Graham Sumner. In addition to espousing skepticism and relativism, this-worldly approaches to the metaphysical status of morality deny the absolute and universal nature of morality and hold instead that moral values in fact change from society to society throughout time and throughout the world.They frequently attempt to defend their position by citing examples of values that differ dramatically from one culture to another, such as attitudes about po lygamy, homosexuality and human sacrifice. b. Psychological Issues in Metaethics A second area of metaethics involves the psychological basis of our moral judgments and conduct, particularly understanding what motivates us to be moral. We might explore this subject by asking the simple question, â€Å"Why be moral? † Even if I am aware of basic moral standards, such as don’t kill and don’t steal, this does not necessarily mean that I will be psychologically compelled to act on them.Some answers to the question â€Å"Why be moral? † are to avoid punishment, to gain praise[->8], to attain happiness, to be dignified, or to fit in with society. i. Egoism and Altruism One important area of moral psychology concerns the inherent selfishness of humans. 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes[->9] held that many, if not all, of our actions are prompted by selfish desires. Even if an action seems selfless, such as donating to charity, there are still selfis h causes for this, such as experiencing power over other people.This view is called psychological egoism[->10] and maintains that self-oriented interests ultimately motivate all human actions. Closely related to psychological egoism is a view called psychological hedonism which is the view that pleasure is the specific driving force behind all of our actions. 18th century British philosopher Joseph Butler[->11] agreed that instinctive selfishness and pleasure prompt much of our conduct. However, Butler argued that we also have an inherent psychological capacity to show benevolence to others.This view is called psychological altruism and maintains that at least some of our actions are motivated by instinctive benevolence. ii. Emotion and Reason A second area of moral psychology involves a dispute concerning the role of reason in motivating moral actions. If, for example, I make the statement â€Å"abortion is morally wrong,† am I making a rational assessment or only expressing my feelings? On the one side of the dispute, 18th century British philosopher David Hume[->12] argued that moral assessments involve our emotions, and not our reason.We can amass all the reasons we want, but that alone will not constitute a moral assessment. We need a distinctly emotional reaction in order to make a moral pronouncement. Reason might be of service in giving us the relevant data, but, in Hume’s words, â€Å"reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions. † Inspired by Hume’s anti-rationalist views, some 20th century philosophers, most notably A. J. Ayer, similarly denied that moral assessments are factual descriptions. For example, although the statement â€Å"it is good to donate to charity† may on the surface look as though it is a factual description about charity, it is not.Instead, a moral utterance like this involves two things. First, I (the speaker) I am expressing my personal feelings of approval about charitable donations and I am in essence saying â€Å"Hooray for charity! † This is called the emotive element insofar as I am expressing my emotions about some specific behavior. Second, I (the speaker) am trying to get you to donate to charity and am essentially giving the command, â€Å"Donate to charity! † This is called the prescriptive element in the sense that I am prescribing some specific behavior.From Hume’s day forward, more rationally-minded philosophers have opposed these emotive theories of ethics (see non-cognitivism in ethics[->13]) and instead argued that moral assessments are indeed acts of reason. 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant[->14] is a case in point. Although emotional factors often do influence our conduct, he argued, we should nevertheless resist that kind of sway. Instead, true moral action is motivated only by reason when it is free from emotions and desires.A recent rationalist approach, offered by Kurt Baier (1958), was proposed in direct o pposition to the emotivist and prescriptivist theories of Ayer and others. Baier focuses more broadly on the reasoning and argumentation process that takes place when making moral choices. All of our moral choices are, or at least can be, backed by some reason or justification. If I claim that it is wrong to steal someone’s car, then I should be able to justify my claim with some kind of argument. For example, I could argue that stealing Smith’s car is wrong since this would upset her, violate her ownership rights, or put the thief at risk of getting caught.According to Baier, then, proper moral decision making involves giving the best reasons in support of one course of action versus another. iii. Male and Female Morality A third area of moral psychology focuses on whether there is a distinctly female approach to ethics that is grounded in the psychological differences between men and women. Discussions of this issue focus on two claims: (1) traditional morality is ma le-centered, and (2) there is a unique female perspective of the world which can be shaped into a value theory.According to many feminist philosophers, traditional morality is male-centered since it is modeled after practices that have been traditionally male-dominated, such as acquiring property, engaging in business contracts, and governing societies. The rigid systems of rules required for trade and government were then taken as models for the creation of equally rigid systems of moral rules, such as lists of rights and duties. Women, by contrast, have traditionally had a nurturing role by raising children and overseeing domestic life. These tasks require less rule following, and more spontaneous and creative action.Using the woman’s experience as a model for moral theory, then, the basis of morality would be spontaneously caring for others as would be appropriate in each unique circumstance. On this model, the agent becomes part of the situation and acts caringly within t hat context. This stands in contrast with male-modeled morality where the agent is a mechanical actor who performs his required duty, but can remain distanced from and unaffected by the situation. A care-based approach to morality, as it is sometimes called, is offered by feminist ethicists as either a replacement for or a supplement to traditional male-modeled moral systems. . Normative Ethics Normative ethics involves arriving at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. In a sense, it is a search for an ideal litmus test of proper behavior. The Golden Rule is a classic example of a normative principle: We should do to others what we would want others to do to us. Since I do not want my neighbor to steal my car, then it is wrong for me to steal her car. Since I would want people to feed me if I was starving, then I should help feed starving people. Using this same reasoning, I can theoretically determine whether any possible action is right or wrong.So, based on the G olden Rule, it would also be wrong for me to lie to, harass, victimize, assault, or kill others. The Golden Rule is an example of a normative theory that establishes a single principle against which we judge all actions. Other normative theories focus on a set of foundational principles, or a set of good character traits. The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles. Three strategies will be noted here: (1) virtue theories, (2) duty theories, and (3) consequentialist theories. . Virtue Theories Many philosophers believe that morality consists of following precisely defined rules of conduct, such as â€Å"don’t kill,† or â€Å"don’t steal. † Presumably, I must learn these rules, and then make sure each of my actions live up to the rules. Virtue ethics[->15], however, places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead stresses the importance of devel oping good habits of character, such as benevolence (see moral character[->16]). Once I’ve acquired benevolence, for example, I will then habitually act in a benevolent manner.Historically, virtue theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy, having its roots in ancient Greek civilization. Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were later called cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Other important virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity. In addition to advocating good habits of character, virtue theorists hold that we should avoid acquiring bad character traits, or vices, such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity.Virtue theory emphasizes moral education since virtuous character traits are developed in one’s youth. Adults, therefore, are responsible for instilling virtues in the young. Aristotle[->17] argued that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which re gulate our emotions. For example, in response to my natural feelings of fear, I should develop the virtue of courage which allows me to be firm when facing danger. Analyzing 11 specific virtues, Aristotle argued that most virtues fall at a mean between more extreme character traits.With courage, for example, if I do not have enough courage, I develop the disposition of cowardice, which is a vice. If I have too much courage I develop the disposition of rashness which is also a vice. According to Aristotle, it is not an easy task to find the perfect mean between extreme character traits. In fact, we need assistance from our reason to do this. After Aristotle, medieval theologians supplemented Greek lists of virtues with three Christian ones, or theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.Interest in virtue theory continued through the middle ages and declined in the 19th century with the rise of alternative moral theories below. In the mid 20th century virtue theory received special attention from philosophers who believed that more recent approaches ethical theories were misguided for focusing too heavily on rules and actions, rather than on virtuous character traits. Alasdaire MacIntyre (1984) defended the central role of virtues in moral theory and argued that virtues are grounded in and emerge from within social traditions. . Duty Theories Many of us feel that there are clear obligations we have as human beings, such as to care for our children, and to not commit murder. Duty theories base morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation. These theories are sometimes called deontological, from the Greek word deon, or duty, in view of the foundational nature of our duty or obligation. They are also sometimes called nonconsequentialist since these principles are obligatory, irrespective of the consequences that might follow from our actions.For example, it is wrong to not care for our children even if it results in some great benefit, such as fina ncial savings. There are four central duty theories. The first is that championed by 17th century German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf, who classified dozens of duties under three headings: duties to God, duties to oneself, and duties to others. Concerning our duties towards God, he argued that there are two kinds: a theoretical duty to know the existence and nature of God, and a practical duty to both inwardly and outwardly worship God.Concerning our duties towards oneself, these are also of two sorts: duties of the soul, which involve developing one’s skills and talents, and duties of the body, which involve not harming our bodies, as we might through gluttony or drunkenness, and not killing oneself. Concerning our duties towards others, Pufendorf divides these between absolute duties, which are universally binding on people, and conditional duties, which are the result of contracts between people. Absolute duties are of three sorts: avoid wronging others, treat people as eq uals, and romote the good of others. Conditional duties involve various types of agreements, the principal one of which is the duty is to keep one’s promises. A second duty-based approach to ethics is rights theory. Most generally, a â€Å"right† is a justified claim against another person’s behavior – such as my right to not be harmed by you (see also human rights[->18]). Rights and duties are related in such a way that the rights of one person implies the duties of another person. For example, if I have a right to payment of $10 by Smith, then Smith has a duty to pay me $10.This is called the correlativity of rights and duties. The most influential early account of rights theory is that of 17th century British philosopher John Locke[->19], who argued that the laws of nature mandate that we should not harm anyone’s life, health, liberty or possessions. For Locke, these are our natural rights, given to us by God. Following Locke, the United States Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson recognizes three foundational rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Jefferson and others rights theorists maintained that we deduce other more specific rights from these, including the rights of property, movement, speech, and religious expression. There are four features traditionally associated with moral rights. First, rights are natural insofar as they are not invented or created by governments. Second, they are universal insofar as they do not change from country to country. Third, they are equal in the sense that rights are the same for all people, irrespective of gender, race, or handicap.Fourth, they are inalienable which means that I ca not hand over my rights to another person, such as by selling myself into slavery. A third duty-based theory is that by Kant, which emphasizes a single principle of duty. Influenced by Pufendorf, Kant agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and others, such as develop ing one’s talents, and keeping our promises to others. However, Kant argued that there is a more foundational principle of duty that encompasses our particular duties. It is a single, self-evident principle of reason that he calls the â€Å"categorical imperative. A categorical imperative, he argued, is fundamentally different from hypothetical imperatives that hinge on some personal desire that we have, for example, â€Å"If you want to get a good job, then you ought to go to college. † By contrast, a categorical imperative simply mandates an action, irrespective of one’s personal desires, such as â€Å"You ought to do X. † Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical imperative, but one is especially direct: Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end. That is, we should always treat people with dignity, nd never use them as mere instruments. For Kant, we treat people as an end whenever our actions toward someone reflect the inherent value of that person. Donating to charity, for example, is morally correct since this acknowledges the inherent value of the recipient. By contrast, we treat someone as a means to an end whenever we treat that person as a tool to achieve something else. It is wrong, for example, to steal my neighbor’s car since I would be treating her as a means to my own happiness. The categorical imperative also regulates the morality of actions that affect us individually.Suicide, for example, would be wrong since I would be treating my life as a means to the alleviation of my misery. Kant believes that the morality of all actions can be determined by appealing to this single principle of duty. A fourth and more recent duty-based theory is that by British philosopher W. D. Ross, which emphasizes prima facie duties. Like his 17th and 18th century counterparts, Ross argues that our duties are â€Å"part of the fundamental nature of the universe. † However, Ross’s list of dutie s is much shorter, which he believes reflects our actual moral convictions:  ·Fidelity: the duty to keep promises Reparation: the duty to compensate others when we harm them  ·Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help us  ·Justice: the duty to recognize merit  ·Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions of others  ·Self-improvement: the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence  ·Nonmaleficence: the duty to not injure others Ross recognizes that situations will arise when we must choose between two conflicting duties. In a classic example, suppose I borrow my neighbor’s gun and promise to return it when he asks for it. One day, in a fit of rage, my neighbor pounds on my door and asks for the gun so that he can take vengeance on someone.On the one hand, the duty of fidelity obligates me to return the gun; on the other hand, the duty of nonmaleficence obligates me to avoid injuring others and thus not return the gun. According to Ross, I will intuitively kn ow which of these duties is my actual duty, and which is my apparent or prima facie duty. In this case, my duty of nonmaleficence emerges as my actual duty and I should not return the gun. c. Consequentialist Theories It is common for us to determine our moral responsibility by weighing the consequences of our actions.According to consequentialism[->20], correct moral conduct is determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an action’s consequences: Consequentialism: An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable. Consequentialist normative principles require that we first tally both the good and bad consequences of an action. Second, we then determine whether the total good consequences outweigh the total bad consequences. If the good consequences are greater, then the action is morally proper. If the bad consequences are greater, then the action is morally improper.Consequentialist theories are sometimes called teleologic al theories, from the Greek word telos, or end, since the end result of the action is the sole determining factor of its morality. Consequentialist theories became popular in the 18th century by philosophers who wanted a quick way to morally assess an action by appealing to experience, rather than by appealing to gut intuitions or long lists of questionable duties. In fact, the most attractive feature of consequentialism is that it appeals to publicly observable consequences of actions.Most versions of consequentialism are more precisely formulated than the general principle above. In particular, competing consequentialist theories specify which consequences for affected groups of people are relevant. Three subdivisions of consequentialism emerge:  ·Ethical Egoism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable only to the agent performing the action.  ·Ethical Altruism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that act ion are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the agent. Utilitarianism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. All three of these theories focus on the consequences of actions for different groups of people. But, like all normative theories, the above three theories are rivals of each other. They also yield different conclusions. Consider the following example. A woman was traveling through a developing country when she witnessed a car in front of her run off the road and roll over several times.She asked the hired driver to pull over to assist, but, to her surprise, the driver accelerated nervously past the scene. A few miles down the road the driver explained that in his country if someone assists an accident victim, then the police often hold the assisting person responsible for the accident itself. If the victim dies, then the assisting person could be held responsible for the death. The driver continued explaining that road accident victims are therefore usually left unattended and often die from exposure to the country’s harsh desert conditions.On the principle of ethical egoism[->21], the woman in this illustration would only be concerned with the consequences of her attempted assistance as she would be affected. Clearly, the decision to drive on would be the morally proper choice. On the principle of ethical altruism, she would be concerned only with the consequences of her action as others are affected, particularly the accident victim. Tallying only those consequences reveals that assisting the victim would be the morally correct choice, irrespective of the negative consequences that result for her.On the principle of utilitarianism, she must consider the consequences for both herself and the victim. The outcome here is less clear, and the woman would need to precisely calculate the overall benefit versus disbenefit of her action. i. Types of Utilitarianism J eremy Bentham[->22] presented one of the earliest fully developed systems of utilitarianism. Two features of his theory are noteworty. First, Bentham proposed that we tally the consequences of each action we perform and thereby determine on a case by case basis whether an action is morally right or wrong. This aspect of Bentham’s theory is known as act-utilitiarianism.Second, Bentham also proposed that we tally the pleasure and pain which results from our actions. For Bentham, pleasure and pain are the only consequences that matter in determining whether our conduct is moral. This aspect of Bentham’s theory is known as hedonistic utilitarianism. Critics point out limitations in both of these aspects. First, according to act-utilitarianism, it would be morally wrong to waste time on leisure activities such as watching television, since our time could be spent in ways that produced a greater social benefit, such as charity work. But prohibiting leisure activities doesnâ €™t seem reasonable.More significantly, according to act-utilitarianism, specific acts of torture or slavery would be morally permissible if the social benefit of these actions outweighed the disbenefit. A revised version of utilitarianism called rule-utilitarianism addresses these problems. According to rule-utilitarianism, a behavioral code or rule is morally right if the consequences of adopting that rule are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. Unlike act utilitarianism, which weighs the consequences of each particular action, rule-utilitarianism offers a litmus test only for the morality of moral rules, such as â€Å"stealing is wrong. Adopting a rule against theft clearly has more favorable consequences than unfavorable consequences for everyone. The same is true for moral rules against lying or murdering. Rule-utilitarianism, then, offers a three-tiered method for judging conduct. A particular action, such as stealing my neighbor’s car, is judged wrong sin ce it violates a moral rule against theft. In turn, the rule against theft is morally binding because adopting this rule produces favorable consequences for everyone. John Stuart Mill’s version of utilitarianism is rule-oriented.Second, according to hedonistic utilitarianism, pleasurable consequences are the only factors that matter, morally speaking. This, though, seems too restrictive since it ignores other morally significant consequences that are not necessarily pleasing or painful. For example, acts which foster loyalty and friendship are valued, yet they are not always pleasing. In response to this problem, G. E. Moore [->23]proposed ideal utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that we intuitively recognize as good or bad (and not simply as pleasurable or painful). Also, R. M.Hare proposed preference utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that fulfills our preferences. ii. Ethical Egoism and Social Contract Theory We have seen (in Secti on 1. b. i) that Hobbes was an advocate of the methaethical theory of psychological egoism—the view that all of our actions are selfishly motivated. Upon that foundation, Hobbes developed a normative theory known as social contract theory[->24], which is a type of rule-ethical-egoism. According to Hobbes, for purely selfish reasons, the agent is better off living in a world with moral rules than one without moral rules.For without moral rules, we are subject to the whims of other people’s selfish interests. Our property, our families, and even our lives are at continual risk. Selfishness alone will therefore motivate each agent to adopt a basic set of rules which will allow for a civilized community. Not surprisingly, these rules would include prohibitions against lying, stealing and killing. However, these rules will ensure safety for each agent only if the rules are enforced. As selfish creatures, each of us would plunder our neighbors’ property once their gua rds were down.Each agent would then be at risk from his neighbor. Therefore, for selfish reasons alone, we devise a means of enforcing these rules: we create a policing agency which punishes us if we violate these rules. 3. Applied Ethics Applied ethics is the branch of ethics which consists of the analysis of specific, controversial moral issues such as abortion, animal rights, or euthanasia. In recent years applied ethical issues have been subdivided into convenient groups such as medical ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics[->25], and sexual ethics[->26].Generally speaking, two features are necessary for an issue to be considered an â€Å"applied ethical issue. † First, the issue needs to be controversial in the sense that there are significant groups of people both for and against the issue at hand. The issue of drive-by shooting, for example, is not an applied ethical issue, since everyone agrees that this practice is grossly immoral. By contrast, the issue of g un control would be an applied ethical issue since there are significant groups of people both for and against gun control.The second requirement for an issue to be an applied ethical issue is that it must be a distinctly moral issue. On any given day, the media presents us with an array of sensitive issues such as affirmative action policies, gays in the military, involuntary commitment of the mentally impaired, capitalistic versus socialistic business practices, public versus private health care systems, or energy conservation. Although all of these issues are controversial and have an important impact on society, they are not all moral issues. Some are only issues of social policy.The aim of social policy is to help make a given society run efficiently by devising conventions, such as traffic laws, tax laws, and zoning codes. Moral issues, by contrast, concern more universally obligatory practices, such as our duty to avoid lying, and are not confined to individual societies. Fre quently, issues of social policy and morality overlap, as with murder which is both socially prohibited and immoral. However, the two groups of issues are often distinct. For example, many people would argue that sexual promiscuity is mmoral, but may not feel that there should be social policies regulating sexual conduct, or laws punishing us for promiscuity. Similarly, some social policies forbid residents in certain neighborhoods from having yard sales. But, so long as the neighbors are not offended, there is nothing immoral in itself about a resident having a yard sale in one of these neighborhoods. Thus, to qualify as an applied ethical issue, the issue must be more than one of mere social policy: it must be morally relevant as well. In theory, resolving particular applied ethical issues should be easy.With the issue of abortion, for example, we would simply determine its morality by consulting our normative principle of choice, such as act-utilitarianism. If a given abortion pr oduces greater benefit than disbenefit, then, according to act-utilitarianism, it would be morally acceptable to have the abortion. Unfortunately, there are perhaps hundreds of rival normative principles from which to choose, many of which yield opposite conclusions. Thus, the stalemate in normative ethics between conflicting theories prevents us from using a single decisive procedure for determining the morality of a specific issue.The usual solution today to this stalemate is to consult several representative normative principles on a given issue and see where the weight of the evidence lies. a. Normative Principles in Applied Ethics Arriving at a short list of representative normative principles is itself a challenging task. The principles selected must not be too narrowly focused, such as a version of act-egoism that might focus only on an action’s short-term benefit. The principles must also be seen as having merit by people on both sides of an applied ethical issue.For this reason, principles that appeal to duty to God are not usually cited since this would have no impact on a nonbeliever engaged in the debate. The following principles are the ones most commonly appealed to in applied ethical discussions:  ·Personal benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for the individual in question.  ·Social benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for society.  ·Principle of benevolence: help those in need. Principle of paternalism: assist others in pursuing their best interests when they cannot do so themselves.  ·Principle of harm: do not harm others.  ·Principle of honesty: do not deceive others.  ·Principle of lawfulness: do not violate the law.  ·Principle of autonomy: acknowledge a person’s freedom over his/her actions or physical body.  ·Principle of justice: acknowledge a person’s right to due process, fair compensation for harm done, a nd fair distribution of benefits.  ·Rights: acknowledge a person’s rights to life, information, privacy, free expression, and safety.The above principles represent a spectrum of traditional normative principles and are derived from both consequentialist and duty-based approaches. The first two principles, personal benefit and social benefit, are consequentialist since they appeal to the consequences of an action as it affects the individual or society. The remaining principles are duty-based. The principles of benevolence, paternalism, harm, honesty, and lawfulness are based on duties we have toward others. The principles of autonomy, justice, and the various rights are based on moral rights.An example will help illustrate the function of these principles in an applied ethical discussion. In 1982, a couple from Bloomington, Indiana gave birth to a baby with severe mental and physical disabilities. Among other complications, the infant, known as Baby Doe, had its stomach dis connected from its throat and was thus unable to receive nourishment. Although this stomach deformity was correctable through surgery, the couple did not want to raise a severely disabled child and therefore chose to deny surgery, food, and water for the infant.Local courts supported the parents’ decision, and six days later Baby Doe died. Should corrective surgery have been performed for Baby Doe? Arguments in favor of corrective surgery derive from the infant’s right to life and the principle of paternalism which stipulates that we should pursue the best interests of others when they are incapable of doing so themselves. Arguments against corrective surgery derive from the personal and social disbenefit which would result from such surgery. If Baby Doe survived, its quality of life would have been poor and in any case it probably would have died at an early age.Also, from the parent’s perspective, Baby Doe’s survival would have been a significant emotio nal and financial burden. When examining both sides of the issue, the parents and the courts concluded that the arguments against surgery were stronger than the arguments for surgery. First, foregoing surgery appeared to be in the best interests of the infant, given the poor quality of life it would endure. Second, the status of Baby Doe’s right to life was not clear given the severity of the infant’s mental impairment. For, to possess moral rights, it takes more than merely having a human body: certain cognitive functions must also be present.The issue here involves what is often referred to as moral personhood, and is central to many applied ethical discussions. b. Issues in Applied Ethics As noted, there are many controversial issues discussed by ethicists today, some of which will be briefly mentioned here. Biomedical ethics focuses on a range of issues which arise in clinical settings. Health care workers are in an unusual position of continually dealing with life and death situations. It is not surprising, then, that medical ethics issues are more extreme and diverse than other areas of applied ethics.Prenatal issues arise about the morality of surrogate mothering, genetic manipulation of fetuses, the status of unused frozen embryos, and abortion. Other issues arise about patient rights and physician’s responsibilities, such as the confidentiality of the patient’s records and the physician’s responsibility to tell the truth to dying patients. The AIDS crisis has raised the specific issues of the mandatory screening of all patients for AIDS, and whether physicians can refuse to treat AIDS patients. Additional issues concern medical experimentation on humans, the morality of involuntary commitment, and the rights of the mentally disabled.Finally, end of life issues arise about the morality of suicide, the justifiability of suicide intervention, physician assisted suicide, and euthanasia. The field of business ethics exami nes moral controversies relating to the social responsibilities of capitalist business practices, the moral status of corporate entities, deceptive advertising, insider trading, basic employee rights, job discrimination, affirmative action, drug testing, and whistle blowing. Issues in environmental ethics often overlaps with business and medical issues.These include the rights of animals, the morality of animal experimentation, preserving endangered species, pollution control, management of environmental resources, whether eco-systems are entitled to direct moral consideration, and our obligation to future generations. Controversial issues of sexual morality include monogamy versus polygamy, sexual relations without love, homosexual relations, and extramarital affairs. Finally, there are issues of social morality which examine capital punishment, nuclear war, gun control, the recreational use of drugs, welfare rights, and racism. 4. References and Further Reading Anscombe,Elizabeth â€Å"Modern Moral Philosophy,† Philosophy, 1958, Vol. 33, reprinted in her Ethics, Religion and Politics (Oxford: Blackwell, 1981).  ·Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, in Barnes, Jonathan, ed. , The Complete Works of Aristotle (Princeton, N. J. : Princeton University Press, 1984).  ·Ayer, A. J. , Language, Truth and Logic (New York: Dover Publications, 1946).  ·Baier, Kurt, The Moral Point of View: A Rational Basis of Ethics (Cornell University Press, 1958).  ·Bentham, Jeremy, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), in The Works of Jeremy Bentham, edited by John Bowring (London: 1838-1843). Hare, R. M. , Moral Thinking, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981).  ·Hare, R. M. , The Language of Morals (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952).  ·Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan, ed. , E. Curley, (Chicago, IL: Hackett Publishing Company, 1994).  ·Hume, David, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-1740), eds. David Fate Norton, Mary J. Norton (Oxford; New York: Oxf ord University Press, 2000).  ·Kant, Immanuel, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, tr, James W. Ellington (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1985).  ·Locke, John, Two Treatises, ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963).  ·MacIntyre, Alasdair, After Virtue, second edition, (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press, 1984).  ·Mackie, John L. , Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, (New York: Penguin Books, 1977).  ·Mill, John Stuart, â€Å"Utilitarianism,† in Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, ed. , J. M. Robson (London: Routledge and Toronto, Ont. : University of Toronto Press, 1991).  ·Moore, G. E. , Principia Ethica, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1903).  ·Noddings, Nel, â€Å"Ethics from the Stand Point Of Women,† in Deborah L.Rhode, ed. , Theoretical Perspectives on Sexual Difference (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990).  ·Ockham, William of, Fourth Book of the Sentences, tr. Lucan Freppert, The Basis of Morality According to William Ockham (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1988).  ·Plato, Republic, 6:510-511, in Cooper, John M. , ed. , Plato: Complete Works (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1997).  ·Samuel Pufendorf, De Jure Naturae et Gentium (1762), tr. Of the Law of Nature and Nations  ·Samuel Pufendorf, De officio hominis et civis juxta legem naturalem (1673), tr. The Whole Duty of Man according to the Law of Nature (London, 1691).  ·Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, trs. J. Annas and J. Barnes, Outlines of Scepticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).  ·Stevenson, Charles L. , The Ethics of Language, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1944).  ·Sumner, William Graham, Folkways (Boston: Guinn, 1906). Author Information James Fieser Email: [email  protected] edu[->27] University of Tennessee at Martin Last updated: May 10, 2009 | Originally published: June 29, 2003 [->0] – .. /mor-epis [->1] – .. /objectiv [->2] â€⠀œ .. /time [->3] – .. plato [->4] – .. /divine-c [->5] – .. /god-west [->6] – .. /ockham [->7] – .. /relativi [->8] – .. /praise [->9] – .. /hobmoral [->10] – .. /psychego/ [->11] – .. /butler [->12] – .. /humemora [->13] – .. /non-cogn [->14] – .. /kantmeta [->15] – .. /virtue [->16] – .. /moral-ch [->17] – .. /aris-eth [->18] – .. /hum-rts [->19] – .. /locke [->20] – .. /conseque [->21] – .. /egoism [->22] – .. /bentham [->23] – .. /moore [->24] – .. /soc-cont [->25] – .. /envi-eth [->26] – .. /sexualit [->27] – mailto:[email  protected] edu

Globalization: Indigenous Peoples and World

Globalization is the process in which the world becomes connected through communication, trade, and migration. Globalization can transform cultures and the identity of people within those cultures. One of the primary factors that leads to globalization in the advancement of technology In 1980 Dr. Knauft began to study an indigenous group of people deep in the forests of Papua New Guinea. This group of people had no contact with the outside world until the 1960’s, they were cut off from everything. They had a language and a name that was unknown to Anthropologists at the time. They were virtually invisible to the outside world. When Dr. Knauft arrived he met the Gebusi people, and began his study. He watched as they preformed ritual dances and wore traditional costumes. The Gebusi people lived their lives according to tradition and beliefs and were not affected by the outside world. The truth is no one can hide from globalization, not even the secluded Gebusi people. With in a matter of only 18 years they were transformed, most of them willingly converted to Christian beliefs, and they became focused on politics, economics, religion and nationalism. They were caught up to speed with the rest of the world due to globalization. The culture of the Gebusi people and their identity was drastically changed due to globalization. They were now on the same page as the rest of the world, and were now connected with the outside world. Trade organized groups such as NAFTA and the WTO make globalization easier to obtain for the smaller â€Å"developing† countries. For the countries that are a part of these groups goods, and ideas are much easier to share. With groups such as these and other factors globalization is inevitable so there is no sense in fighting it. If it were embraced rather then rejected everyone would be much better off. I understand that it can interfere with older cultures and traditions of developing countries, but it’s eat or be eaten in today’s world and you need to do what you need to do in order to compete with other countries and to survive within your own. Globalization exposes who ever it effects to a variety of new and different opportunities that must be taken in order for that group to survive. It can be compared to having to evolve, or becoming extinct. A lot of people see globalization as a bad thing, but its essential for survival in today’s world, and with out it we would be totally secluded from the rest of the world and that would just make everything extremely hard. It also helps keep the world balanced with power. Without globalization one country, or one group of people could easily be way ahead of others, and that could lead to wars and many other conflicts. The positives of globalization strongly out weigh the negatives and I’m not sure why anybody would be against it.

20 Disney Research Paper Topics

20 Disney Research Paper Topics The legacy of great men go through many trials and tribulations due to the fact that most writers tend to either exaggerate   good or bad sides of their â€Å"characters†, which leaves most autobiographies flawed and this will be the same for Walt Disney. The iconic animated man’s achievements which helped make him a cult hero to some, have also tainted him in the eyes of others and since he is a public figure with the posthumous tag, just about anyone can write about Walt Disney without fear of legal retribution. Therefore, if you have received an assignment to write a research paper on Walt Disney, you have nothing to fear and as there is plenty of facts   about the creator of Mickey Mouse. But for those struggling to find a direction on how to proceed with writing a research paper on Walt Disney, this article is intended to serve as a guide in organizing your thoughts and putting them on paper in such a way that it makes excellent reading for any audience. In that note, we will provide you with 20 Disney research paper topics as well as a sample essay written to give you an example of a structure. So stay tuned. 20 Captivating Disney Research Paper Topics Analyzing the Alice Comedies, Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as an Introduction into Walt Disney’s Early Creative Years The Tragic Loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the Future it Spurned How Walt Disney Learnt the Importance of a Contract Exploring Walt Disney’s Creative Journey as a Glimpse into 18th Century Animation The Animated History of the Academy Awards in Relation to Cartoons The Creation of Disney Studios and Its Mainstream Appeal Recognizing Walt Disney’s Genius through the Oscars The Role of Animation in Driving the Red Scare Movement in the United States Exploring Walt Disney’s Anti-Communist Views in His Animated Works The Story behind the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals Animation as a Tool for Propaganda in the Second World War Understanding the Motives behind Walt Disney’s War Propaganda Using Animation as a Training and Recruiting Medium: The Hollywood Story How the Locomotive Train Inspired the Disneyland of Today Dressing in the Workplace: A Walt Disney Perspective Exploring Walt Disney’s Personal Relationships and Charity Works Tracing Walt Disney’s Footsteps in the Sands of Time Finding Truth in Walt Disney’s Alleged Anti-Semitic Views Analyzing Walt Disney’s Workplace Misogyny and 19th Century Influences Did Walt Disney Share and Encourage Racist Views? Wow! Here are 20 hard-hitting topics that are sure to raise both your and your audience’s interest to the icon and the beliefs that drove his deep convictions. These topics are intended to help you truly explore Walt Disney in your own terms and discuss the legacy he left behind in an educated manner. So do not hesitate to be inspired by them when drafting your research paper. Sample Essay on The Tragic Loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the Future It Spurned In 1923, a young bright-eyed boy with great creative ideas for the motion picture industry, moved to California as most people looking for fame still do till this day. As a great but unproven talent, the young Walt Disney quickly put himself to work and by 1927, he had come up with his first major breakout animated series titled Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. And not unlike most first time entrepreneurs, artiste and athletes, he was at the stage of his career were any distribution deal placing his ideas in front of the masses would fit his dreams to be a successful cartoonist. So in 1927, Walt Disney signed a distribution deal with Universal Studios with the help of Charles Mintz. Desperate to receive help in bringing his ideas to life, the young Disney signed the contract without due diligence and as luck would have it, the Oswald series became best sellers. The contract signing was followed by a successful 26 episode stint as stipulated by the distributors and when the time to renew the contract approached, Walt Disney discovered that he had signed away the entire rights of the cartoon series to Universal Studio. This marked the end of an era, as a semi-successful Walt Disney vowed to produce his own cartoons, seek distribution deals favorable to him and more importantly own all the rights to his future creations. This decision marked the turning point in Disney’s career as it led to the creation of the iconic Mickey Mouse which went on to outdo the Oswald series. That singular decision led Walt and his brother, Roy Disney, to seek a new studio which they promptly used as a springboard in revitalizing their careers. A decade later, Walt Disney Studios had delved into the creation of animated motion pictures and in 1938, their sophomore effort under the Disney name- Silly Symphonies- landed the Academy Award for the best Animated Short Film. It was the first award Walt Disney received as well as the first time the Academy recognized the importance of animation in telling stories. This success paved the way for more than ever creative Disney brothers to develop more animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Three Little Pigs etc. which were high grossing films during the 30’s. Further laurels were added to Walt Disney’s cap when he received his star on the Hollywood walk of fame alongside his iconic character, Mickey Mouse. In Walt Disney’s case, a tragic contract dispute spurned the creative genius to higher heights which can be seen in his personal works as well as the animations it continues to inspire till this day. Here we come to the end of the sample research paper on Walt Disney and the reader can tell that we have included some facts about his life in making this paper accurate. You too can achieve such accuracy by checking out this article containing 10 facts for a research paper on Walt Disney. Article dedicated to writing a research paper on Walt Disney may help you to write well structured coherent essay. It is recommended that you go through these supporting materials for they will aid your writing abilities in the long run. References: Prince, S. (1993). : Behind the Oscar: The Secret History of the Academy Awards. Anthony Holden. Film Quarterly, 46(4), pp.63-63. King, M. (1981). Disneyland and Walt Disney World: Traditional Values in Futuristic Form. The Journal of Popular Culture, 15(1), pp.116-140. Holmlund, C. (1979). Tots to Tanks: Walt Disney Presents Feminism for the Family. Social Text, (2), p.122. Neuman, R. (1999). â€Å"Now Mickey Mouse Enters Arts Temple†: Walt Disney at the Intersection of Art and Entertainment. Visual Resources, 14(3), pp.249-261. Wasko, J. (2008). Review: Michael Barrier, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. University of California Press, 2007. Animation, 3(3), pp.306-309. Davis, A. (2014). Book review: Demystifying Disney: A History of Disney Feature Animation. Animation, 9(3), pp.355-358. Jackson, K. (2012). Book review: The Mouse Machine: Disney and Technology. Animation, 7(2), pp.211-213.

Without Let

Without Let Without Let Without Let By Maeve Maddox A reader coming across this sentence in Arthur Miller’s An Air-conditioned Nightmare (1945) was puzzled by the use of the word let: Night  and day  without let  the radio drowns us in a hog-wash of the most nauseating, sentimental ditties. Asks the reader, â€Å"Could this be a typo for â€Å"without let-up†? The English word let functions as a verb, a noun, and an adjective. Its use as a noun meaning hindrance or obstacle dates to the twelfth century. An obsolete meaning of let as a verb is â€Å"hinder or prevent.† This is the meaning of let in the King James translation of Romans 1:13: Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto). Paul is saying that he wanted to come but was prevented from doing so. In the Miller quotation, let is a noun, the object of the preposition without. In this context let means, hindrance, stoppage, or obstruction. The â€Å"ditties† described are unceasing. They come over the radio without stopping. Miller could have written, â€Å"Night  and day  without let-up  the radio drowns us in a hog-wash of the most nauseating, sentimental ditties.† The thought would be the same, but the connotation would be different. Miller’s intention is to distance himself from what he perceives as mind-numbing and vulgar noise. His feeling about the music is reflected in his choice of words. The word let-up belongs to the same register of language as hogwash and ditties. The more formal let sets the writer on a higher plane. For many modern speakers, the only familiar use of let as a noun occurs in the phrase â€Å"without let or hindrance,† as in Article 22 of the Actors’ Equity Association rule book (2011-2015): It is agreed that deputies may be designated by Equity without let or hindrance. The phrase is a fossilized doublet (two words that mean the same thing) common in legal writing, as in these examples: Her Britannic Majestys Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.- British passport. Henceforth the Vendor shall not have any right, title or interest in the Scheduled Apartment which shall be enjoyed absolutely by the Buyer without any let or hindrance from the Vendor or anyone claiming through them.- Generic sale form available by download. Miller was not alone among twentieth-century writers who used let in the sense of hindrance: They beat us to surrender weak with fright, And tugging and tearing without let or pause.- â€Å"Birds of Prey.† Claude McKay. Now that he knew himself to be self he was free to grok ever closer to his brothers, merge without let. - Stranger in a Strange Land. Robert A. Heinlein. Note: Heinlein coined the word grok. In this context it means, â€Å"to empathize or communicate sympathetically with.† The word is used by modern computer programmers with the meaning â€Å"to understand deeply†: Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about.- Steve Jobs, Wired interview, 1996. Spelling advisory: The word hindrance is frequently misspelled as â€Å"hinderance, â€Å"hindrence,† and â€Å"hinderence.† The verb is hinder. The noun is hindrance. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Arrive To vs. Arrive At10 Techniques for More Precise Writing15 English Words of Indian Origin

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Careerâ€And How to Fix It

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Career- And How to Fix It The time has come to talk about the â€Å"F† word. (No, not that â€Å"F† word.) Failure. No matter who you are or what you do, that word usually has the power to strike fear. If you suspect you’re already failing in your life (for example, you’re not where you thought you would be at this point, or you’ve experienced setbacks), that can be incredibly intimidating. It may keep you from shaking off bad habits and picking up new ones that would get you in a better place. This is especially true in your career. It can be super easy to fall into an inertia bubble and then find yourself shrugging helplessly when you know it’s time to get out. Let’s look at some of the reasons you might think you’re failing at your professional life, and what you can do about them.1. You feel helpless to make changes.This is one I struggle with all. the. time. You may not think you’re helpless per se, but maybe you just feel overwhelmed by dail y minutiae, and you feel like staying afloat is all you can accomplish. If you’re managing only what comes your way, you’re troubleshooting rather than improving.What to do about it: Realize that you do have a say in your daily life, even at work where things might seem very regimented or non-negotiable. If you want to take more agency and control in your life, it starts with you. Learn to advocate for yourself, and negotiate what you want. You’d be surprised at what you can get if you learn to ask for it in the right way.2. You’re too busy blaming other people.I’d be much further along if Susan weren’t getting all the attention and good projects at work. I’d be making more money if Frank paid more attention to what I’m doing. I’d have a better job if it weren’t for my cat/my parents/my therapist.What to do about it: You do you. Your career is yours, and yours alone. This means that ultimately, your decisions are your responsibility- not your cat’s, your parents’, or your therapist’s. It’s time to stop blaming, and instead start thinking about what it would take for you to get what you want: that raise, the good projects, the job you want. Blaming others takes up a lot of mental energy, which you should instead be using to do an internal audit of why things aren’t working out the way you want- and what steps you can take to make progress.3. You’re settling for a mediocre status quo.This is an especially insidious kind of failure. You’re comfortable enough, have a job that pays your bills, but you’re not really going anywhere. It’s settling for the good-enough-right-now, at the expense of what is good for you in the future.What to do about it: Do things that scare you a little (within reason). You don’t have to go busting every piece of your status quo right now, but if you start by doing one thing every week that is outsid e your comfort zone, you’ll likely find that â€Å"status quo† expanding around you. Take on a project that is a bit of a stretch. Take a class in a new skill. Apply for that reach job. If you find yourself hesitating, ask yourself why, and what you have to lose if you go for it. And if the answer isn’t â€Å"it’s physically dangerous† or â€Å"this will cause a divorce,† then consider moving forward with it after all.4. You don’t have the resources or education.If you avoid applying for jobs because you don’t have the necessary skills, experience, or education, that feeling of failure may creep in while you’re browsing job openings. It’s hard not to feel like a failure if all you can see are closed doors.What to do about it: Take a class! Going for a new degree (or completing an old one) just may not be feasible for everyone, but there are often ways to get around the traditional â€Å"going back to school† model. For skill-building, sites like Lynda.com offer free or relatively inexpensive courses you can take on your own time. There are also many universities and colleges that offer part-time degree programs, or non-degree courses online. There are so many ways to stay academically active and keep learning, even when time or money is tight.5. You’re avoiding hard truths.Facing reality is hard. That’s why we have 8 million things to distract our attention at any given time. Cat videos, TV, social media- we all have ways of decompressing and avoiding reality for a while. Those are all temporary, though. Ultimately you’ll have to think about new and different ways of doing things, or facts that make you uncomfortable. If you’ve been avoiding thinking about your professional future because it might lead to uncomfortable realizations about the choices you’ve made and the ones you will need to make in the future, then you’re setting yourself up f or failure.What to do about it: Time for a little self-audit. Where are you in your career, what’s keeping you in it, and where do you want to be in five years? This is an exercise just for you- no one else will see or judge, so it’s important to be extremely honest about what you have, and what you want.6. You think you’re too old to make changes.We often pick our career paths pretty early in life, based on what we want to study in college, or what we think we’d be good at doing when we’re 18. And think about it: how well do many of the life decisions you made when you were 18 still hold up? How many of your hobbies and interests are the same? You’re not locked into a career that you chose because it seemed like a good idea at the time. As you change, you’re never too old to change your professional path.What to do about it: If you feel stuck in a path that doesn’t interest you anymore, think about making a change- no matter h ow significant. Think about what it is you want to be doing, and start doing real research into what it would take- like education, certification, or skills. These are all things you can work on in the meantime, before you make any big moves.7. Your fear of failure has you pinned down.Failing because you fear failure? Is that a thing? Yes, yes it is. It’s possible to back right into failure while you’re on guard against it, avoiding risky changes or proactive steps that could result in failing. This kind of failure is sneaky, because it comes right from the place you thought you were watching.What to do about it: Don’t be afraid to be bad at something, or to make a bad decision once in a while. Failure can actually be one of the great learning experiences, painful though it may feel in the meantime. By letting fear of failure paralyze you, it can kill your career progress. Your professional life thrives on both your successes and your failures.8. You’re o verestimating your abilities.Full disclosure: I’m failing at being a ballet dancer. This is because I am the biggest klutz ever, I don’t have the right body type, and†¦oh yeah†¦I have very few ballet skills. So Misty Copeland’s title is probably safe. But if I expected to be a ballet dancer at this point in my career, I’d be making a fatal assumption that I could be one in my current state. It’s one thing to be confident in the abilities you have, but another thing entirely to be confident that you’ll be good at something without the education or skills to back it up. This kind of mindset lets you get comfortable in the idea that you don’t need to learn or do new things, because you’re the best the way you are.What to do about it: Embrace your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and accept the need to be realistic about what you can do.9. You’re not setting realistic goals.If you’re not planning your car eer in a realistic way, of course you’re going to feel like a failure- you set it up that way yourself. Going from entry level to CEO in two years was never going to happen.What to do about it: Time to set up some SMART goals. That’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Setting these career goals both in the short-term (say, for the next year) and the long-term (five years or beyond) will help you make progress that you can quantify. There are lots of apps and tools you can use to help you, but don’t underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned checklist, and the smug, well-earned sense of satisfaction you get as you check something off the list.If you feel like you’re failing, it’s never too late to stop, figure out why, and start taking concrete steps out of the muck. Understanding why you’re failing is the most important first step you can take.

Research paper on Fences by August Wilson Essay

Research paper on Fences by August Wilson - Essay Example This situation is obviously described in 'Fences' by Troy's frustration and dissatisfaction with his existence. To reach clarity of description. Wilson builds his play in a way that allows problems emerge gradually and logically, so that the reader perceives the problems as close-knit with the thoughts and emotions of the characters. The present paper discusses plot structure of the drama, outlining key elements allowing the reader to dove into the world of small fractions separated by fences. The play is divided into two acts. Act one consists of four scenes, and Act two contains five. The play begins on Friday, which is a payday for Troy and Bono, Troy's bosom pal. Troy works as a garbage collector, but he is not allowed to drive a garbage lorry, because he is an African-American (Wilson, 2000). The first scene is probably the longest scene in the play, since the author uses this scene to foreshadow the vital elements of the plot and to outline those elements which will be repeated or contrasted later in the drama, allowing Wilson to create a sense that time and the characters have altered. The same scene introduces the mane racial issue, racial intolerance and discrimination and related inferiority complex. Brownie's discomfiture over having a watermelon points to racist prejudicial perception of African Americans, who, in turn, begin to see themselves as a 'second-rate social group'. With regard to With regard to the whole structure of the play, the first scene sets up basic patterns. Troy and Bono's friendship is close, since they borrow words from each other's language in their conversation. "This is a technique playwrights have used for centuries to create the feeling that the characters are harmonious" (Bertin, 1986, p.176). The two men frequently use the word 'nigger' as an appealing term in order to "reverse an originally derogatory word used by a majority to denigrate a group into a word that the oppressed group uses for themselves with a positive connotation, lessening the power of its insult" (ibid, p.177). Furthermore, the conversation sets up plot elements - for instance, Bono asks Troy about his relationship with a woman named Alberta, and Troy, in turn, inevitably confesses to this relationship. The scene also portrays Troy's bad temper and his personal problems, associated with his hard life and the job he has to perform, because there are no other professions available for a 'nigger' (Sanders, 1997). The second scene introduces Troy's family: his wife, Rose, and sons -Cory and Lyons. Cory is a good football player, so he begs his father to let him play in the League, in which he has been recently recruited, but Troy, recollecting his own failure to become a sportsman due to the racial issues, requires of Cory to leave the League. Furthermore, the scene introduces one more character - Troy's brother Gabriel, who is brain damaged from a war injury and perceives himself as angel Gabriel. The scene allows the reader a short glimpse into Troy's inner world: his sharp criticism of hopes, dreams and interests. Troy criticizes Rose for her interest in playing numbers (Wilson, 2000), a game that resembles a lottery for its expensiveness, even though he is completely aware of the fact that his affair with Alberta takes much more finances (Sanders, 1997). Thus, he displays his egoistic treatment of his family: Troy is insensitive to the needs of his children and wife, and the first

Simultaneous multiple sales channel increase the intention of Dissertation

Simultaneous multiple sales channel increase the intention of purchasing of luxury brand goods - Dissertation Example However, all this changed with economic downturn of 2009. The Luxury goods market growth was stunted by the recession. Post recession, the luxury goods industry, seems to have survived the onslaught. However, the industry the market for the so called accessible luxury goods has been subdued. The exclusivity that is so much a part of the luxury brand goods has been restored and now more focused, established and pure luxury brand goods are likely to succeed and sustain themselves in the market. This downside in the Luxury goods business is likely to prompt research into finding ways to increasing and sustain the sales of the luxury goods without really tarnishing the pure luxury image of such goods. As per current economic situation, the brand equity for luxury goods has regained a place of prime importance. This raises the question as to whether there are ways to enhance the purchase intentions for luxury brands while preserving the said equity (Euro Monitor 2010). Further, the sustai nability of the luxury brand goods has come into question and found fresh attention from business researchers. Taking a long term view of the marketing efforts, there is a need to investigate the means as to increase the purchase intentions of consumers for luxury brands at a very fundamental level. ... This is so, lest it dilutes the brand image. Thus there is a need to find out whether, the more accessible or economic versions of the other wise luxury brand will be sustainable and in line with overall brand value of the luxury goods. The existing sales channels for any given brand typically have their own strengths and weaknesses. Besides, the effectiveness of a channel varies with time. Thus it is important to find out a way to compensate for the effects of decline in sales through a channel. Another pertinent question that arises from the above discussion is whether new sales channels need to be developed to compensate for the downward trends in a given sales channel. Also, it needs to be found whether they can add any real value in terms of the customer experience. It remains to be seen whether any new channels will really be able to have any positive effect on the purchase intentions of the consumers. If yes then how the additional sales channels can be used to maximize the sa les by affecting the purchase intentions. Luxury goods businesses need to have a guiding tool to help them decide whether and how the specific brand they are selling will respond to opening of any new sales channels and whether they will really be beneficial for their given brand. In this context its important to note that certain brands resist opening new sales and distribution channels for their brands. For instance the Rolex brand owners are against internet as a means to sell their brand (Brand Channel 2012). At the same time other luxury brands are endorsing internet as a sales channel. This raises questions about the validity of sales channels’ effectiveness for luxury brands. These questions can be answered only with proper research into the topic. The procurement or

Various Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Various Assignments - Essay Example In this regard, the procedural fairness provided for in the Bill of Rights is arguably its most important value. Procedural fairness is important because it preserves unto the individual the right to freely participate in political and economic life (Nueborne, p. 83). Moreover, procedural fairness counter-balances the fact that the freedoms and rights contained in the Bill of Rights are not absolute. In other words, there are exceptions to the right to free expression in that the government may curtail freedom of expression in situations where the speaker utters words that can be construed as hate crime or incitement to riot. Thus procedural fairness permits the speaker the right to a fair trial and the right to confront his or her accusers and to defend his or her right to free speech. Procedural fairness recognizes that any government can overstep its power to the detriment of the governed (Nueborne, p. 83). With entitlements to the right to privacy, protection of private property, the right to a fair trial, the right to bail, and so on, the Bill of Rights plays a supervisory role in the constitutional order. ... Institutional enforcement mechanisms are captured by procedural fairness by allowing for judicial review of the exercise of powers by the federal government, state governments and their agents. Even at the state level, state and state agents’ conduct is scrutinized by state judges by reference to the rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights. Thus, as Nueborne puts it, procedural fairness establishes a â€Å"nationwide network† that are â€Å"engaged in constant surveillance of the activities of the governing majority† so that the rights and freedoms articulated by the Bill of Rights â€Å"are respected in everyday life† (Nueborne, p. 84). Procedural fairness is all the more important since the rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights are not expressed in uncertain terms. Many of these rights and freedoms are â€Å"ambiguous† so that they can be open to interpretation (Nueborne, p. 84). Procedural fairness curtails the risk of i nconsistent interpretations of the rule of law in relation to the individual rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights. In promoting procedural fairness judges interpret and apply the Bill of Rights by reference to a system of precedents and thus assures consistency and greater uniformity of rights and freedoms for all (Nueborne, p. 85). In the final analysis procedural fairness ensures that in addition to ensuring that the government treats all individuals equally, procedural fairness also ensures that the government exercise its powers fairly and consistently and that any departure from the fundamental freedoms and rights contained in the Bill of Rights is done so in a way that is only necessary

Critical review of research artical Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical review of research artical - Article Example Special efforts were taken by the research team to obtain data from the business sector exclusively. Problem or objective: Employee misconduct is a serious issue in any organizational setting. The objective of the study was to throw light on the relation between the use of tactics and employee misconduct in the organizational setting or environment. The paper seeks to explore how belt-tightening tactics such as â€Å"adjusted work schedules, layoffs, reductions in compensation and/or benefits, hiring freezes, early buyouts, production slowdowns, and plant closures† have contributed to increased misconduct among the employees (Research Brief from the 2009 NBES, 2010, p. 1). Literature review: The study does not heavily depend on literature reviews as such. On the other hand, the literature reviewed in the paper consists mainly of the previous survey results and reports conducted by the ERC in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and the Survey of Ethics in American Business of 1994. The literature review of the study seeks to identify major trends towards various levels of misconduct in the organizational environment brought out by ethics issues and belt-tightening tactics implemented by organizations. Population sampling for study: The sample population for the study consisted of 3010 responses among whom 158 respondents worked in the government sector and the rest of the 2852 responses were from employees in the for-profit sector. The eligibility of the participants was ensured by choosing participants who were eighteen years of age or older, currently employed and worked at least 20 hours per week in a company where at least two employees worked. Measurement: The data obtained from the study was measured using response rate calculations which were based on particular dispositions of all telephone survey calls. The eligibility requirements for the study were strictly maintained during the measurement stage and completed calls, partial