Iago Soliloquey Essay

Iago’s soliloquy essay At the end of the first act in scene three Iago convinces Roderigo to go to Cyprus. Roderigo then exits, leaving Iago alone. This gives him the chance to express his thoughts through a soliloquy. The purpose of this soliloquy is to show that Iago is always plotting and to show what his plan is. Shakespeare ends the first act with it to put the audience on edge and go into the second act knowing that something bad is going to happen. Before, in his conversation with Roderigo, Iago was speaking in prose. However, now, in his soliloquy, he speaks in verse. Shakespeare does this to demonstrate Iago’s intelligence and implies that Roderigo is not clever or of high intellectual status. If the audience had their doubts about Iago’s dislike of Othello then â€Å"I hate the Moor† dispels such doubts. This phrase has an immediate impact because in a soliloquy a character will not lie; in previous conversation the audience cannot be certain if the duplicitous Iago is telling the truth. So, for the first time he reveals that he hates Othello with a passion. Or, on the contrary, Iago might be trying to convince himself that he really does hate Othello, which implies that Iago doesn’t, and has no good reason to do so. â€Å"And it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets he’s done my office. I know not if’t be true†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦will do as if for surety† Here Iago does not know for sure if his wife is having an affair with Othello but will believe it because it serves his purpose. Again this supports the theory that Iago is trying to convince himself that he has a good reason to hate Othello when he actually doesn’t. Iago thinks that Othello is not suitable for Desdemona: â€Å"Cassio’s a proper man. † This implies that he thinks Cassio is more manly than Othello, and that people would be likely to believe in him as an adulterer. This also shows Iago to be racist because he thinks that a Moor is not a proper man. Later, he also describes Othello as gullible: â€Å"The Moor†¦ †¦thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by the nose As asses are. † The phrase â€Å"let me see now† shows that Iago is already plotting; he creates a clever plan spontaneously, while thinking out loud. This is evidence that Iago is clever. His character is very duplicitous, scheming and, above all, spiteful. If anyone did anything to upset him he would take it too far. Iago says Othello is foolish and easily led: â€Å"And will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are† This shows Othello is easily led as asses can be led by merely holding a tender part of the nose. Also this insults Othello calling him an â€Å"ass. † In Elizabethan times being compared to any kind of animal was considered insulting and rude, as then humans were considered the only proper race. In addition asses were considered to be stupid and comical. Thus comparing Othello to one is considered an insult. Furthermore, this implies that Iago knows that what he is doing is wrong and evil and yet he still goes through with it. This shows Iago to be evil. â€Å"I hate the moor† What did Othello do to him? He didn’t give Iago the job he wanted. Thus Iago decides to plot against him. This shows that Iago is spiteful and also jealous of Cassio (the man who got the job instead of him). â€Å"That he [Cassio] is too familiar with his [Othello] wife. this demonstrates that Iago is jealous because not only is he plotting against Othello but also against Cassio. Iago’s plan involves using Cassio’s status as a womaniser in order to get revenge. This could be perceived as jealousy of Cassio’s way with women, as well as creating a sense of poetic justice. To turn Cassio’s own success with women into a tool to bring him down shows Iago’s quick wit and cunning. This is also a shrewd method of dealing with two problems at once. The final rhyming couplet shows that Iago knows what he is doing is wrong: â€Å"Hell and night must bring this onstrous birth to the world’s light† The word â€Å"monstrous† was used by Iago to show that this plan is evil therefore he knows it is wrong and he shouldn’t do it. Also â€Å"hell and night† shows that this â€Å"birth† is worthy only to be delivered by Hell and night; both of which can be associated with evil, as in every religion good is represented by light and day, but bad is symbolized by dark and night. As Othello is black this could also be a reference to racism. By calling his idea a â€Å"birth† Iago is emphasising that it is his creation. This reveals that he is not ashamed by what he is about to do and that he might even be proud to lay claim to it. The soliloquy as a whole gives us many new insights into Iago’s character, intentions and abilities. It shows him to be deceitful, devious and intelligent; while the intended outcome of his plan reveals that he will stop at nothing to gain the success that he believes he has been cheated out of. Before this soliloquy, the audience may have suspected that his character was not as good as it seemed, but by the end of the act they can be in no doubt.

Lifespan Development Essay

Set forth by Margret Baltes, Paul Baltes and their associates, the life span perspective is the viewing of human development as multi directional, multi cultural, multi contextual,multi disciplinary and plastic. Human development is viewed as multi-directional because with time the characteristics of a human tend to change. Each person’s body consists of a large amount of genes and therefore bring the possibility of having several different directions that they could develop. Different events in life can lead to a change in direction. Some examples of those events may be the death of a loved one, losing a job, getting married, getting into college. etc. Researchers have used the multi directional perspective to figure out that losses and gains tend to occur simultaneously and that losses can lead to gains and gains can lead to losses. Human development is seen as multi contextual because it occurs in various contexts such as physical surroundings and the constellations of family. Urie Bronfenbrenner was the first to shine light on the need to consider multiple contexts. He recommended that when conducting a developmental study we should use an ecological-systems approach. This involves the belief that the individual should be considered in all contexts and interactions that life consist of in the study of human development. Bronfenbrenner later changed the name of this approach to bioecological to show the natural and biological aspects of this theory. There are three nested levels that each person is affected by. Microsystems is immediate surroundings such as friends, school, church and family. Exosystems is local institutions such as place of employment, school, and religious courses. Macrosystems involves the larger contexts such as political, economics and culture. Bronfenbrenner created a fourth system called mesosystem that connects all the systems together. An example of mesosystem would be the connection between family and employment. Family leave policies and overtime are examples of family and employment connections. Bronfenbrenner created the chronosystem or time system which also has an affect on the other systems. Development is viewed as multi cultural because there are many different cultures in the world today. Social scientists describe culture as a â€Å"meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival . . . pursue happiness and wellbeing, and derive meaning from life† (Matsumoto, 2009) Development is multi disciplinary because researchers must study various disciplines to understand it. Scientists usually break the study of human development into three segments to study it better. The segments are biological, cognitive and social. Each segment is a discipline that a scientist specializes in. It is also segmented in age groups such as childhood ,adolescence and adulthood. Development is plastic because the traits of humans can be molded much like plastic and people are durable like plastic. Two Theories of Life Span Development The first theory is Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. He believed that personality was developed in stages. One of the main aspects of Erikson’s theory was the ego identity. This is the conscious sense of self that we develop during social interactions. According to Erik, it is constantly changing as we experience new things and learn new information during our daily interactions with others. Erikson also believed that behaviors and actions were motivated with a sense of competence. Each part of Erikson’s theory involves becoming competent in an area of life. The individual will feel a sense of mastery referred to as ego quality or ego strength if the stage is handled well. The person will feel a sense of inadequacy if the stage is not handled properly. He believed that people experienced a conflict that acted as a turning point during each stage. In his view, these conflicts were focused on creating a psychological quality or failing to create a psychological quality. The second theory is Jean Piaget’s theory. His theory is composed of four stages. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to 2 years and suggests the the child builds a set of concepts about reality through physical interactions. Preoperational stage occurs between ages 2 and 7. The child is unable to understand logic and cognitive thinking. They understand symbolic things and have acquired motor skills. Concrete operational stage occurs between the ages 7 and 11. Children are aware of external events. They develop operational thinking and can show logical reasoning. The formal operational stage occurs from the age of 11 to 16 and onward. Those who reach this stage have developed abstract reasoning and can easily think logically. How Heredity and Environment Affect Development Heredity and the environment both play an important part in human development. The heredity factors affect all aspects of development. Genes have a tremendous affect on the birth, puberty, growth and death of a human being. Many traits are inherited from our family members and determine how we develop. Our genetics help to determine how we might act. For example, if there is a history of mental problems in your family then you might be prone to mental illnesses as well. The environment also helps in the human development process. The way we act, dress, talk, etc can be affected by our surroundings. For example, if you are raised in â€Å"the ghetto† then you might be prone to violence, drugs, baggy clothes, and slang talk. Growing up around violence and drugs might make a person develop into a drug abuser or participate in violent activities. The people we surround ourselves with also affect our development. If we are surrounded by violence and drugs then we might think that it is a normal way of life and we might also participate in these activities. If we are not subjected to these types of activities then we have a less chance of getting involved in these activities. Conclusion In conclusion, the life span perspective sheds light on the many aspects of human development. It is multi directional because our lives can go in many directions as a result of different life changing events. It is also multi cultural as there are several different cultures involved. There are many different contexts involved in human development such as our physical surroundings and family constellations. Multiple disciplines are studied in order for researchers to understand human development. Human development is also referred to as plastic because it can be shaped and molded just like plastic. Our development is greatly affected by genetic factors and environmental factors such as inherited qualities and the people and activities we are surrounded by.

Income and Disposable Income Essay

Income will mean cash income before taxes, and will include government transfer payments such as unemployment insurance benefits, family allowance payments, pensions, welfare assistance, etc. Disposable income specifically focuses on the amount of income available for private consumption and spending. Disposable income takes into consideration the reality that â€Å"take-home pay† is heavily influenced by not only gross income, but also by factors such as government transfer levels, taxation levels, and inflation. Disposable Income is defined in two ways: * Income after federal and provincial income taxes * Income after taxes, employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan Discretionary Income is Disposable Income after deductions for basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation, healthcare, personal care, etc. Life-Cycle State – people change the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Buying is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle-the stages through which families might pass as they mature over time. Marketers often define their target markets in terms of life-cycle stage and develop appropriate products and marketing plans. Described in the following graph, on average, real disposable income has grown at a very slow rate of 0.05% from 1980 to 1998. This varies from 0.32% for a family of 2 parents with children, 0.14% for economic families of 2 persons or more, 0.09% for elderly families to 0.31% for lone parent families. These figures have improved over the last 3 years. In 2000, real disposable income per capita grew 2.7%, its strongest growth rate in over a decade. The above chart shows the percentage change in inflation-adjusted incomes of families with children for the lowest 5th of families to those in the top 5th of family incomes from the late 1970s to 1997. It can be seen that for the lowest 5th of families real incomes fell 21% during past 2 decades, while incomes for the highest 5th increased 30%. That’s quite a swing. Further, the chart shows for the middle 5th of family incomes their current inflation-adjusted income is about 3% less than 2 decades ago. That’s pure and simple. No wonder family saving fell while household debt ratios soared. Look again at this chart. The top family earners increased income 30% above inflation in those 2 decades. But, if recognize that 30% real income growth over 2 decades is but 1.16% average per year compounded above inflation, its not that great, especially compared to all average family incomes increasing at an annual rate of 3-4% above inflation prior to 1970, most with one wage-earner per family. In other words, this chart suggested that the top family earners since the 1970s made out worse than did all average family incomes prior to 1970. Of course the poorest 5th saw their real family income drop 21% past 21 years or about 1.12% per year below inflation rates. This shows how dramatic long-term implications can be, just 2% per year separating top and lower earners – and how much poorer is total family income performance now compared to before. The marketers can use these statistics to estimate the future trend of people buying behavior. In order to develop new technologies or sell strategies, these statistics would help marketer to decide what they have to change to gain more profits.

Given the existence of corporate governance codes, based presumably on Essay

Given the existence of corporate governance codes, based presumably on some ethical considerations, among British PLCs why do we still observe crises and failures of, for example, the Northern Rock type - Essay Example In like manner, Bear Stearns an upper tier US investment bank was only rescued from the crises by the Federal Reserve Bank. (Avgouleas, 2008). In addition other major investment banks such as Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, UBS, and JPMorgan have all announced negative earnings in their last financial reports as well as plans to lay off a significant number of workers. The paper first of all looks at the regulatory environment of Northern Rock; Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the awareness, acceptance, and management of the implications and effects of all corporate decision†making, taking particular account of community investment, human rights, and employee relations, environmental practices, and ethical conduct. (Park, 2007). According to Hsueh (2008) CSR has received much attention in recent years and more and more businesses are taking CSR to improve their corporate image. CSR activities show consideration for the environment, consumers, charity, minority groups, employee welfare, community development, women empowerment, etc. (Hsueh, 2008) For example car manufacturers across the globe are responding to the major global concern of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission which is tremendously depleting the ozone layer and increasing the risk of cancer and other diseases that come as a result of ultraviolet light. The next section looks at the banking code in relation to corporate social responsibility. â€Å"The practice of CSR is subject to much debate and criticism. Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits†. (Sacconi, 2004) â€Å"Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; still others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over

Palliative Care Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Palliative Care - Term Paper Example In order for an individual to have a better experience, a holistic approach should be taken by the medical staff. The therapeutic intervention by nurses should address the following parameters; psychosocial, physical, cultural and spiritual. Several studies have been carried out that showed that nurses at times are unaware of the above mentioned parameters and are unable to entirely meet the needs of the patients (Aziz et al., 2012). Nurse Patient Relationship Evidence has been found that at times the patient’s quality of life may continue to deteriorate despite the fact that they have been admitted to palliative services early on in their illness. It was however discovered that the relationship between the nurse and the patient was the determining factor in the improvement of patient’s quality of life. This factor was found to create trust ad better communication between the two individuals (Aziz et al., 2012). The first aspect of palliative care that nurses should add ress is establishing trust with palliative care patients and their families in order to alleviate and reduce their worries towards the inevitable outcome of their terminal illness. Patients who are suffering from terminal illnesses often present certain symptoms of distress. However, these symptoms need specified management between each patient and this can be largely dependent on the cultural and religious views. These have been found to adversely affect the severity and nature of the symptoms if they are not addressed properly (Aziz et al., 2012). A nurse can familiarize herself with these aspects by better communication with the patient (Mok & Chiu, 2004). Despite the necessity to maintain professionalism, at times a nurse has to place the needs of a patient before her professional opinion .(Boog & Tester, 2008).Autonomy enables a patient to decide his or her medical care, and hence gives him the ability to refuse treatment. The intimate detail of this procedure may be altered de pending on the dynamics of the patient’s family (Boog & Tester, 2008). The nurses also have to address the emotional and physical burden that is placed on the patient’s family (Mok & Chiu, 2004). They need to create a supportive system which is addressed towards both the patient and his or her family. This has been found to be more effective by adopting good listening and communication skills. A study that was carried out showed that palliative care patients have a better quality of life when they are viewed as people separate from their terminal illness (Boog & Tester, 2008). The evident from this survey also states that the dying process can be made more bearable for the patient, family members and caregivers by nurses implementing the above mentioned attributes of palliative care (Aziz et al., 2012). In depth analysis of holistic palliative care Costello estimated that approximately one million people die every week. These figures further emphasize on the importance of palliative care in the community. The initial principles of palliative care emphasize on the care for any individuals facing the end of life. Therefore, these principles have been based on holism and looking at each individual as a whole unique entity. The model for this type of palliative care is known as the whole person care model and is popular among nurses worldwide. As mentioned above, this model creates a healing and nurturing environment which enables each individual to be

Marketing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing strategy - Essay Example One of Porsche’s unique selling points is its engine design and care should have been taken in this regard. Given the heavy losses the company suffered as a result of the introduction of the 928 model, there was a need for a new product strategy. The BCG Matrix was an effective tool for this situation. This portfolio planning method recognizes the need to reposition products in the portfolio to achieve cash flow and profitability. According to the Boston Consulting Group, 928 would have been regarded as a dog because of its low growth rate and low market share. Although 928 may generate enough cash, possibly to break even, it’s simple not worth the investment. Therefore Porsche’s strategy to divest the 928 model and to pump more money in a more promising investment say the 911, was a very sound approach. â€Å"Porsche purists are wary every time a new incarnation of 911 is unveiled. Will there be a change of look, feel, and sound? Porsche’s 911 is going to be made forever, or possibly longer. This is because the company does not know how to end it, only how to make a new one every few years (3)† The use of the product life cycle would have been of interest to the luxury sports car company when deciding its advertising and extension strategies. The 911 model existed at the maturity stage and the failure for the 928 to pick up sales forced the company to reposition and redesign the 911 model over a period of time. So far these strategies were successful, however an important point which Porsche should be aware of is that extension strategies are short term measures and not permanent in nature. In spite of this fact, each product life cycle for each car model is different and therefore its usefulness as a forecasting tool for Porsche may be limited. The Porsche brand developed over the years. There is the belief, however, that the introduction of recent brands

Week 7 didcussion 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 7 didcussion 1 - Essay Example The lower level sexual offenders register for short periods, while more violent sexual assault offenders register for life. Many states have stiffened the punishments regarding sexual offenses, where some have attempted evaluating the death penalty for particular sexual assaults. Enforcement and convictions might be improved through capacity of the DNA analysis within the public crimes laboratories. Provide finances to local and state crime labs to help eradicate casework backlogs. The funding should abolish the database of the convicted offender and initiate aggressive programs to amass exhibits from the convicted offenders. Failure to comply with the requirements of registration should result in the filing of new charges. The sexual battery or sexual assault information should be posted online to enhance publicity (Buzawa, 2002, p. 78). The use of sexually explicit materials such as films, photographs, computer, videos, and other visual depictions is sexual abuse, which can cause psychological or physical harm to the minors involved. Besides shielding individual minors, regulating the child pornography, which gets produced by self, helps the state and congress to regulate child pornography to protect society and children (Zhang, 2010, p. 257). The fact is that, sexting of minors via any form of pornographic images affect all children deleteriously through a perception that children are sex objects. This can lead to further sexual exploitation and abuse of children. Sexting of minors generates an unwholesome atmosphere. The mental, emotional, and psychological development of children gets affected, thus destabilizes the parent’s efforts to encourage the sound, emotional, moral, and mental development of

Cases Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cases Analysis - Research Paper Example The prime role of the central reservation offices is to handle all calls coming from customers. The hotel call centers primarily handle calls regarding rooms’ reservations. Hotel call centers primarily serve the clients seeking for services from hotel chain companies. The central reservation office therewith provides the hotel reservation voice services on a continuous basis. It restores the customer’s feedbacks and provides accurate support to the customers too (Naveed, 2012). To improve hotel positioning, the hotel call centers should need to implement few strategies that can support it to increase its market share. Every individual hotel should suggestively try to establish its own call centre for promoting its business. Every hotel should also develop its own circuit for providing better customer services. Additionally, persons who have been appointed for voice processes are needed to be acquainted with the knowledge of several languages for services in international market. 2. Currently, the hospitality business has gained immense popularity among a large number people. After experiencing the success in leisure online travel market, the Online Travel Agencies (OTA) is observed to drive this success to a larger realm in the business industry. It is also noteworthy that the US travel agencies, such as American Express Travels as well as Carlson Wagonlit Travel have gained huge profit due to the establishment of online facilities. Those online travel agencies have expanded their business from traditional level to a large travel management companies, as observable in the current phenomenon. Moreover, few leisure sites, such as Expedia as well as Travelocity have also developed their sister sites for serving the business travelers. Currently, OTA services have been expanded to the cruise line industry besides making technology innovation to sustain in the global domain. Online marketing in the cruise line tourism industry is

Website Field Trip 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Website Field Trip 2 - Essay Example , their financial status, the organizations they are affiliated with, job opportunities available with ABA and in all the entire purpose of ABA and the way it serves the customers. The website also offers memberships to students that are studying law, to different types of lawyers and all those who are interested in the profession of law. ABA provides the legal professionals with resources for the purpose of developing standard ethical codes, improvements of justice administration, focusing towards law school accreditations, so on and so forth. The website has briefings about its mission and goals and also the career opportunities in ABA. The website gives a good insight on many of the legal issues and requirements on different aspects for lawyers and law students both. The main purpose of the website is to give the law professionals information related to the subject and hence this website would prove to be highly useful for lawyers of any discipline and law students as well. This website can be strongly related to criminal justice, ethics and the course as it provides all the resources such as books and publications required to understanding law of any discipline and ethics as well. All types of government and legislative work details are elaborated on the website that allows the viewers to gain an insight on the law principles. Changes in policies are updated on the website making it easier to be well aware of policy changes taking place in the different disciplines of law. There is a separate section on ethics and professionalism and this section helps to understand the various ways on dealing with ethical situations, ethical opinions and how to respond in an ethical way towards various scenarios. For example, on the website professional conduct rules book is a new book and its information is updated on the ABA website. The new entries as such on ethics and professional conduct are updated on a constant mode. Criminal justice law cases are discussed and

Breakdown of Venezuelan Democracy Research Paper

Breakdown of Venezuelan Democracy - Research Paper Example This began in the 1960s when Venezuela got democratic presidents who steered the country on a path of democratic reforms (Levine, â€Å"Transition† 49). During this period, Venezuela emerged as a model democracy in the Latin America region, which was plagued with undemocratic governments and weak social policies. The democratic presidents that served Venezuela between the 1960s and the 1990s placed Venezuela on a path for growth of democracy as well as the economy (Golinger 23). During this period, the people of Venezuela enjoyed better incomes because of the effective policies and governance that was in place. However, the period of Venezuelan democracy was short-lived. The crumbling of the democracy in Venezuela started showing in the 1970s and 1980s when corruption became rife. This corruption was mainly fuelled by the growing revenues from the country’s main resources, oil. This growing corruption adversely affected the gains made in the previous years and led to the decline of President Carlos Andrà ©s Pà ©rez’s credibility, which led to his impeachment and imprisonment (Golinger 24-25). A new president, Rafael Caldera took over power but did not make any major positive changes to the country. This ultimately led to his defeat in the 1998 elections by Hugo Chà ¡vez., who was president until his death in 2013.

NASA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

NASA - Essay Example NASA's primary activities or business activities start from inbound logistics then it moves to the operation side or production side (designing and development of shuttles, satellites, space stations, rockets, etc.) then it moves to delivery side or outbound logistics (shipping the completed products to the respective authorities usually another department of the administration) then finally enters into the feedback and product enhancement phase. NASA has already spent billions of dollars in its research and development program. NASA's annual R&D budget is more than many countries overall budget. The process of technology development is vital for any company to grow further and gain reputation in the market. Every company's success depends upon its people - how dedicated and qualified they are. Hiring of people in an organization like NASA is not an easy task. The organizational span of NASA is very big and they have to hire people from a peon level to a scientist level. NASA's infrastructure depends upon various tasks; it handles general management issues; accounting and finance department; affairs of government & legal issues; and other issues created or caused by other support and primary activities. Outsourcing has become very common through the globe; especially western counties like the U.S.A., Canada, and England want to outsource their work to reduce cost. Hundreds of industrial giants, including Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel have already outsourced their work to other countries to save billion of dollars. Opportunities to Outsource Globally - NASA Like any other organization, NASA also has opportunities for outsourcing its activities. There are many activities that NASA can easily outsource to other countries

Ying Yang Symbol Essay Example for Free

Ying Yang Symbol Essay The Yin Yang symbol also commonly referred to as the Tai-Chi symbol is easily thought of in today’s popular culture as a reference to the Sun (yang) the moon (yin) and the universe. Allen Tsai’s article provides some insight into the origins of the symbol itself, the meaning behind the curvature of the symbol, and how the Chinese symbol has found a place in popular culture. Allen Tsai goes into explicit detail on how the Chinese developed a surprising understanding of the stars and how they used the constellations and the sun to determine the seasons, the length of a calendar year and the time of the earths rotation around the sun. Tsai explains how the symbol is at its basic meaning a â€Å"Chinese representation of the entire celestial phenomenon. † In Alexia Amvrazi’s essay discussing the Evil Eye symbol, she presents all aspects of the symbol including what it is used for, who uses it, and why it is used. She explains that the Evil Eye is â€Å"a glance believed to have the ability to harm those on whom it falls† and can take place at any given time from any given person. (Amvrazi). The primary purpose of both, Where Does the Yin Yang Symbol Come From? and The Eyes Have It: Evil Eye in Greece, is to inform the reader of both the meaning an the use behind these well known symbols. This is clearly shown by the detailed descriptions of the symbols and the enlightening information; such as Amvrazi’s attempt to explain to readers the many different cultures â€Å"Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and Christians† and how they incorporate the Evil Eye’s meaning into their teachings (Amvrazi). The informative purpose remains prevalent in Tsai’s essay as he explains that â€Å"the Yin Yang symbol is a Chinese representation of the entire celestial phenomenon† and that it â€Å"contains the cycle of sun, four seasons, 24-Segment Chi, the foundation of I-Ching, and the Chinese calendar† (Tsai). The common pattern of both authors is that they each began with the origin of each symbol. Tsai demonstrated this by starting his essay by explaining the the Yin Yang symbol is â€Å"sometimes called the Tai Chi symbol† and that â€Å"Tai Chi is from I-Ching,† also known as â€Å"the greatest foundation of Chinese philosophy† (Tsai). Amvrazi exhibits this pattern by starting her essay off with a scenario of where one might have experienced a result of the receipt of the Evil Eye and then goes on to explain what the evil eye is, what the causes are and who is susceptible to it The secondary purpose of Tsai’s essay is to describe. He describes many different aspects of the symbol. He explains that the â€Å"is a symbol combining the sun (top) and moon (bottom)† (Tsai). He also goes a bit deeper into his explanation by describing the unchanging rules and different ways to observe the sky in order to determine the â€Å"four directions† (Tsai). He also provides multiple visuals to go along with each description. He continues by discussing the seasonal changes and the cycle of the Sun. It’s almost as if he provides his readers with a step by step instructional handout of how to determine the many changes our universe encounters throughout the course of a year, or many years for that matter. Alexia Amvrazi’s essay is very similar in that her secondary purpose is coincidentally also to describe. In this case, she describes what the actual Evil Eye symbol looks like. Her description states that one could recognize an Evil Eye as â€Å"glass blue eye charms to ward against the evil eye† (Amvrazi). She states further that these charms â€Å"are still regularly sold† and worn by many people. They can be spotted on a more regular basis in countries such as Greece and Turkey where many of the residents are very religious and/or superstitious. The next pattern shown throughout Tsai’s essay is a bit of a spatial one in the since that throughout the whole essay, Tsai discusses the ever changing universe and its relation to the sun and moon in the sky. He even talks about the many positions of the Dipper and the way the sun is affected by its changes. The next pattern in Amvrazi’s essays differs from Tsai’s in that she takes more of a compare and contrast route when she discusses the similarities and differences in the ways the Greek Church and folklore view the wearing of the Evil Eye charm. The â€Å"Greek church and folklore are both united†¦in their belief that the curse of the evil eye (or kako mati) exists, but divided in how it can be warded off or tackled† (Amvrazi). The final purpose of both Tsai and Amvrazi’s essays are to help make such technical concepts as these more understandable to the general public. They each accomplish this task by introducing, in Tsai’s case the Ying-Yang symbol and in Amyrazi’s the Evil Eye symbol and providing an in depth and comprehensive understanding of both. What’s great about each essay is that both authors strive to make them as understandable as possible by breaking down each topic as much as possible while still keeping the audience interested. The final pattern of organization in Tsai’s essay is a bit of a process oriented one. He discusses the process of â€Å"recording the Dippers positions and watching the shadow of the Sun† (Tsai). This process was used by ancient chinese [when they] determined the four directions† (Tsai). The final pattern of organization in Amvrazi’s essay is used to introduce and define new terminology used in the churches in relation to the Evil Eye. For instance, she references a term, â€Å"kako mati† which is another term for Evil Eye. She continues to introduce a few other new words, such as â€Å"Vaskania,† all of which are used to help expand readers knowledge of the Evil Eye and the views of the Greek church. Overall the two essays were both written with the primary intention of informing their audiences of the meaning and uses of the Yin and Yang symbol and of the Evil Eye. Tsai main focus was on the universe and all its changes. He talks a lot about the position of the moon, sun, and stars in the sky. The main focus of Amvrazi’s essay was to shed light on a symbol recognized by many different cultures and its significance.

Introduction Of Melamine Milk History Essay

Introduction Of Melamine Milk History Essay In 2008, Chinese milk was a food safety incident in China involving milk, infant formula, other food materials and components added with melamine. Melamine is used to manufacture melamine-formaldehyde resin a type of plastic known for its flame retardant properties. They added melamine that has nitrogen-rich and is illegally added to food products to increase their apparent protein content. It has also been used as non-protein nitrogen in soy meal, corn gluten meal and cottonseed meal used in cattle feed. Melamine is known to cause renal and urinary problems in humans and animals when it reacts with cyanuric acid inside the body sometimes in drinking water and in animal feed. The Kjeldahl and Dumas test the protein levels fail to distinguish between nitrogen in melamine and naturally occurring in amino acids allowing the protein levels to be falsified. Introduced into milk, it can help conceal its fraudulent dilution with water. November 2008 China reported 300,000 victims, six infants dying from kidney stones and other kidney damage. The chemical appeared to have been added to milk in order to cause it to appear to have higher protein content. In a separate incident four years before, watered-down milk had resulted in 13 infant deaths from malnutrition. The scandal broke on 16 July, after sixteen infants in Gansu Province who had been fed on milk powder produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were diagnosed with kidney stones. After the initial focus on Sanlu market leader in the budget segment government inspections revealed the problem existed to a lesser degree in products from 21 other companies. The issue raised concerns about food safety and political corruption in mainland China, and damaged the reputation of Chinas food exports with at least 11 countries stopping all imports of mainland Chinese dairy products. A number of arrests occurred as a result of the scandal; the head of Sanlu, seven local government officials, as well as the Director of the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) were fired or forced to resign in response to the incident. In late October 2008, similar adulteration with melamine was discovered in eggs and possibly other food, traced to melamine being added to animal feed-despite a ban imposed in June 2007 following the scandal over pet food exported to the United States. As of July 2010, Chinese authorities were still reporting some seizures of melamine-contaminated dairy product in some provinces, though it was unclear whether these new contaminations constituted wholly new adulterations or were the result of illegal reuse of material from the 2008 adulterations Source of contamination The World Health Organization (WHO) said that melamine may be found in a variety of milk and milk products at varying levels, from low (part per billion) ppb to (part per million) ppm ranges. One academic suggests it may have been part of the food chain in China for a long time, as cyromazine (a melamine derivative) is a very commonly used poison in China. Cyromazine is absorbed into plants as melamine, and may therefore be present in the food chain, which includes poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy products. It is not known where in the supply chain the melamine was added to the milk. The chemical is not water-soluble and must be mixed with formaldehyde or another chemical before it can be dissolved in milk. Caijing reported that spiking fresh milk with additives such as melamine was no longer a secret to Hebei dairy farmers for the past two years. Caijing reported that the melamine in the tainted milk may have come from scrap melamine costing  ¥700 per tone less than one-tenths of the price of 99% pure industrial grade melamine. The melamine production process produces pure melamine by crystallization; the melamine remaining in the mother liquor is impure (70%) and unusable for plastics, so it is scrapped. It said that Sanlus baby formula melamine content was a result of tampering by adding low cost vegetable protein (such as low grade soya powder), and large amounts of scrap melamine as filler. Scrap melamine contains impurities such as cyanuric acid that form more insoluble crystals than melamine alone, aggravating the problem. Victims On 17 September 2008, Health Minister Chen Zhu stated that tainted milk formula had sickened more than 6,200 children, and that more than 1,300 others, mostly newborns, remain hospitalized with 158 suffering from acute kidney failure. By 23 September, about 54,000 children were reported to be sick and 4 had died. An additional 10,000 cases were reported from the provinces by 26 September. A World Health Organization official said 82 percent of the children made ill were 2 years of age or below. The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety said that 99% of victims were aged less than 3 years. Ten of Hong Kong children were diagnosed with kidney problems at least four cases were detected in Macau and six in Taiwan. Non-human included a lion cub and two baby orangutans which had been fed Sanlu milk powder at Hangzhou Zoo. The government said on 8 October it would no longer issue updated figures because it is not an infectious disease, so its not absolutely necessary for us to announce it to the public. Compiled figures reported by local media across the country, and said the toll stood at nearly 94,000 at the end of September, excluding municipalities. Besides that, 13,459 children had been affected in Gansu, Reuters quoted Xinhua saying. Henan had reported over 30,000 cases, and Hebei also had nearly 16,000 cases. In late October, the government announced that health officials had surveyed 300,000 Beijing families with children of less than 3 years of age. It disclosed that approximately 74,000 families had a child who had been fed melamine-tainted milk, but did not reveal how many of those children had fallen ill as a result. Due to the many months before the scandal was exposed, media suggests that official figures are likely to be understated. Kidney stones in infants started being reported in several parts of China in the past two years. A number of yet to be officially acknowledged cases were reported on by the media. However, those deaths without an official verdict may be denied compensation. On 1 December, Xinhua reported that the Ministry of Health revised the number of victims to more than 290,000 and 51,900 hospitalized authorities acknowledged receiving reports of 11 suspected deaths from melamine contaminated milk powder from provinces, but officially confirmed 3 deaths On treatment of urinary stones in affected infants, the New England Journal of Medicine printed an editorial in March 2009, along with reports on cases from Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei. Urinary calculi specimens were collected from 15 cases treated in Beijing and were analyzed as unknown objects for their components at Beijing Institute of Microchemistry using infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and high performance liquid chromatography. The result of the analysis showed that the calculus was composed of melamine and uric acid and the molecular ratio of uric acid to melamine was around 2:1. In a study published in 2010, researchers from Peking University studying ultrasound images of infants who fell ill in the 2008 contamination found that while most children in a rural Chinese area recovered, 12 per cent still showed kidney abnormalities six months later. The potential for long-term complications after exposure to melamine remains a serious concern, the report said. Our results suggest a need for further follow-up of affected children to evaluate the possible long-term impact on health, including renal function. Sanlu group The scandal began with revelations of contamination of Sanlu milk products. The New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra which owns a 43% stake in Sanlu, said they were alerted to melamine contamination on 2 August (almost a month before the issue became public), and have said to have pushed hard for a full public recall. Although there was an immediate trade recall, Fonterra said that local administrators refused an official recall Apologize On 15 September, the company issued a public apology for the contaminated milk powder. Sanlu was ordered to halt production, and to destroy all unsold and recalled products. Authorities reportedly seized 2,176 tons of milk powder in Sanlus warehouses. An estimated 9,000 tons of product had been recalled. Tian Wenhua, Chairwoman and General Manager of Sanlu and Secretary of the Sanlu Communist Party chapter was stripped of her party and functional posts during an extraordinary meeting of the Hebei provincial standing committee of the four Shijiazhuang officials, including vice mayor in charge of food and agriculture, Zhang Fawang, were reportedly removed from office. Shijiazhuang Mayor Ji Chuntang resigned on 17 September. Li Changjiang minister in charge of the AQSIQ was forced to resign on 22 September after the State Council inquest concluded that he was responsible for the negligence in supervision. Investigators also blamed the Shijiazhuang government. Local Party Secretary Wu Xi anguo was fired on the same day. Arrests Sanlu GM Tian was charged under Articles 144 and 150 of the criminal code. A spokesman for the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department said police had arrested 12 milk dealers and suppliers who allegedly sold contaminated milk to Sanlu, and six people were charged with selling melamine. 300  kg of suspicious chemicals, including 223  kg of melamine, were confiscated. Among those arrested were two brothers who ran a milk collection centre in Hebei for allegedly supplying three tones of adulterated milk daily to the dairy the owner of another collection centre which resold seven tons of milk a day to Sanlu, was arrested, and his operation was shut down. Zhang Yujun (alias Zhang Haitao), a former dairy farmer from Hebei, produced more than 600 tons of a protein powder mixture of melamine and maltodextrin from September 2007 to August 2008. He and eight other traders, cattle farm owners and milk purchasers who bought the powder from him were arrested in early October, bringing the total to 36. During the week of 22 December 2008, 17 people involved in producing, selling, buying and adding melamine in raw milk went on trial. Tian Wenhua, former Sanlu general manager and three other company executives appeared in court in Shijiazhuang, charged with producing and selling milk contaminated with melamine. According to Xinhua, Tian pleaded guilty, and told the court she learned about the tainted milk complaints from consumers in mid-May. She then apparently headed a working team to handle the case, but did not report to the Shijiazhuang city government until 2 August. The Intermediate Peoples Court in Shijiazhuang sentenced Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping to death, Tian Wenhua to life in prison, on 22 January 2009. Zhang was convicted for producing 800 tons of the contaminated powder, Geng for producing and selling toxic food. The China Daily reported Geng had knelt on the courtroom floor and begged the victims families for forgiveness during the trial. The court also sentenced Sanlu deputy general managers Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi to fifteen years and eight years in jail respectively, former manager Wu Jusheng to five years. Several defendants have appealed. Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping were executed on 24 November 2009. Effect on the company The value of the company plunged as a result of the scandal. On 24 September, Fonterra announced that it had written down the carrying value of its investment by NZ$139  million (two-thirds), reflecting the costs of product recall and the impairment of the Sanlu brand because of the criminal contamination of milk. By 27 September, China Daily reported that Sanlu was close to bankruptcy, and might be taken over by the Beijing Sanyuan Foods Company. The company is also facing lawsuits from parents. The Beijing Review said that Sanlu expects to have to pay compensation claims totaling 700  million, and it became clear that the company would be broken up and sold. On 25 December, Shijiazhuang court accepted a creditors bankruptcy petition against Sanlu. Media commentators expected the Sanlu distribution network to be sold. Trade and industry impact for Chinese industry The State Council ordered the testing of product of all dairy producers, and to this end, some 5,000 inspectors were dispatched. The mainland Chinese market has grown at an average annual rate of 23% since 2000. In 2006, milk production reached 30  million tons, ten times the volume of a decade before. It was valued at some  ¥122  billion (US$18  billion) in 2007, and consumers have severely lost confidence in the industry. The events have exposed the often incestuous relationship between local business and local government. In addition to the tax revenues to local authorities Sanlu contributed  ¥330  million in 2007, many companies invite local officials to become silent partners in their corporations in return for protection at the political level; former Sanlu chairman Tian Wenhua, was made honorary deputy to the Provincial Peoples Congress. The scandal has also highlighted structural problems of inadequate production volume, inherent quality issues, and poor production methods. The Inner Mongolia region produces over one-fourth of Chinas milk and Mengniu and Yili have invested millions to establish state-of-the-art dairy facilities in its capital, Hohhot the companies still rely on small-scale farmers for over 90% of their production because of the capacity constraint of the modern facilities. Both companies were said by farmers and agents to have habitually purchased milk which failed quality tests, for only two-thirds the normal price. A new policy was put in place on 17 September to stop that practice. Foreign operations in China Mengniu-Arla, joint-venture between Danish/Swedish co-operative Arla Foods and Mengniu halted production on 16 September 2008 after three out of 28 tests taken from Mengniu showed traces of melamine; contaminated batches had been recalled.Mengniu, milk supplier to Starbucks was replaced by Vitasoy when the coffee retailer eschewed milk in favor of soya milk in its China operations. KFC also suspended selling Mengniu milk. Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group a major snacks maker, recalled its Koalas March cookies in Hong Kong and Macau because of contamination, and promised to look deeply into all the details of the manufacturing process in order to preserve customer confidence. The range was also ordered off Dutch and Slovakian shelves. Its Chocolate Pie was seized when samples tested positive in Malta. On 29 September, British confectionery group Cadbury withdrew all of its 11 chocolate products made in its three Beijing factories, on suspicion of melamine contamination. The recall affected the mainland China markets, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. Tests in Hong Kong found excessive amounts of melamine in China-made Dairy Milk products. On 30 September, Unilever recalled its Lipton milk tea powder after the companys internal checks found traces of melamine in the Chinese milk powder used as an ingredient Heinz recalled cases of baby cereal in Hong Kong after discovering they contained melamine. Nestlà ©s factory in Heilongjiang was also implicated: the Taiwanese Department of Health forced the delisting of six Neslac and KLIM products on 2 October for containing minute traces of melamine, although the minister said they did not pose a significant health risk. Since the milk crisis broke, Nestlà © says it has sent 20 specialists from Switzerland to 5 of its Chinese plants to strengthen chemical testing. On 31 October, it announced the opening of a $10.2  million Beijing research and development centre, to serve as the base and the reference in food safety for Nestlà © in Greater China. Nestlà © Chief Technology Officer said that the centre was equipped with highly sophisticated analytical tools for detecting trace amounts of residues and undesirable compounds like melamine or veterinary drugs or natural toxins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADVANTAGES: No problem of dead baby. No problem of infant breast. DISADVANTAGES: Loss job. Increase in countrys income. Relationship between local business and local government. Ruin relationship with other country. CONCLUSION The foods that have melamine content bring bad impact not only to the customers who are using the product but to the producer. It also gives impact to the China industry. It also makes consumer loss confident to the industry. RECOMMENDATION Government must test the product before market it. Government must take action to the people who make poison product. The organization should run their business with honestly and do not take advantages. Customer should careful before their buy the product.

Book Review: Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement

Book Review: Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement Antonia Wadell Abstract The research was based on interdisciplinary subject of social thanatology to further explain the process of dying, death and bereavement. The main objectives are to sensitize people to the subject of dying, death and bereavement, to aid those who have experienced loss of a love one to help individuals examine their own feelings and reactions to death and grieving, to make readers aware of different cultural groups’ death and bereavement. The topics cover cross-cultural examples of traditions, customs and burial rites through end of life issues. The different theories are introduced from Piaget cognitive stages of development, Durkheim’s four type of suicide, and Erickson’s developmental stages through suggested readings from latent functions of a funeral. Current issues of death and dying are covered in the research and the legal issues of death in today’s society. The scholarly and academically is practical for students because it addresses personal issue s relating to an individual ability to cope with psychological and the social processes of dying, death and bereavement. Summary The text was written to inform students in different fields how to go through end of life issues. The authors, Drs. Leming Dickinson, wanted to prepare informative, practical, words of wisdom to be understood by understanding the emotional and psychological experience to the process of dying, death and bereavement. The textbook begins with the current interest in death from different academic perspective to the through the grieving process through the life cycle. The American public has suffered great losses due to mass killings of the innocence bystanders so it has become a mystery to understand the loss of life and the lingering deaths of the chronic illness of love ones who come to the end of their lives. Thanatology has become a social interest in learning to deal with death emotionally and psychologically. Leming Dickinson desire to prepare medical and theological students for work related death. Death rate is based on gender, race, chronic disease and infant mortality that track the number of deaths for the year. The authors explains the different academia approaches to the topic of death by first understanding the biological approach, the psychological approach, anthropological approach and sociological approach through analysis of these approaches the student should acquire that this is a part of the end cycle of life. We must learn to cope with death because it will not diminish over time but continuing to be a part of life. In our society, we tend to know more about death based on causes and conditions but we haven’t learned to cope with it. Society must learn to talk about death with our young people and explain it to those who are children need to understand their emotions and the concept of death. The more we age the less frighten we become to accept death and we began to depend on intellectual, educational and social skills because our physical prowess will diminish. Our religious beliefs and practices are related to the preparation that Christ gave to the church that we would be transformed physical into a spiritual being. Many different societies believe in a supernatural force due to less complexity of their society however; societies which are more advance tend to rely more on scientific and advance technology to explain the causes of the situation. Religion tends to help people cope with the loss of a love one. The thought of dying is stressful but we must learn to be aware of dying and death through the understanding the emotional and psychological especially dealing with children and siblings of children because this not the natural of life but it is apparent that the effect of the loss will impact the family. The stages of grief developed by Kubler-Ross would benefit a family experiencing grief. The American way of life has progressed and accepted change to the way the dying has chosen to end life being surrounded by family and friends. No longer is the setting to death is at the home of the love one but now the settings can be at hospice care, nursing home and hospital. Hospice allows the younger child to be near the terminally ill and it allows the dying person to have all members there. The dying person may have the option to die where they chose which not an option of the past was. The changes of today’s care of the dying is to give them palliative care which focuses on the whole care of the person ranging from physical,social,psychological and spiritual attributes. Technology has changed the way death is determined because scientific breakthrough can allow the body live without brain activity. An individual can have life sustained for years with life support machines. Patients have the choice to donate their organs to give the hope of life to others who suffering from chronic ailments and diseases. The rise in suicide has been a road of debate does one have the right to take his/her life or rather die on his/her terms instead suffering through the chronic pain of an illness. Dr. Kevorkian begins to assist the terminally ill with the suicide or rather euthanasia procedure to end the cycle of life. The sociological perspective is that suicide occurs based on the feelings, thinking and doing by the person. The most important thing about the effect of suicide is that the love ones may be left with the feelings of shame and guilt. The people who are left to grieve may have a long road to find closure due to the perception of ‘no social support’ among others who are grieving too. The average person who attempt suicide is either adolescent, elderly male and not married. Males, more than females are likely to commit suicide because the males will use deadly weapons to complete the task. The death experience is more than a biological process because it connected to social structure and correct behavior related is shared, symboled and situated by those who are relative to the dying person. In the United States, funerals are the expression of one’s grief and bereavement period for the mourner. The development of insurance policies, cemeteries and funerals are part of the contemporary American life styles and regulation of funeral homes. The process of end of life issues by giving advance directives to dispose of personal property, living will and legal healthcare of power attorney. In the United States, the cost of a funeral expenses may run anywhere from $2500.00 to $9000.00 however; that is only one part of the expenses to death because all the deceased personal and hospital bills need to be paid. The legal system handles a person life from beginning to end. The process of grieving, bereavement roles, normal acceptance to the loss, four tasks of mourning and coping with a violent death are the methods to start the healing process. The grief process is not automatic because those who are grieving really need to do grief work to find closure. The stages of grief developed by Kavenaugh began with the shock and denial, disorganization, volatile reactions, guilt, loss and loneliness, relief and reestablishment. The behaviors and Kubler- Ross five stages of the dying process are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The five stages are described in detail of the behaviors associated to the dying process. The transformative process within grief includes three components that can be understood by three questions: 1.What have I lost? 2.What do have left? 3. What may be possible for me? The process of transformation takes time and each question should be given the work to understand and to accept the loss. The mourner needs to have social support and assistance in the bereavement process. The most important deed that can be given to the mourner is to give of yourself time to listen and comfort them in their loss. The life cycle will be experienced by all and it will not be easy but those who are left behind have to learn to make adjustments to their lives. The loss of a love one does promote a growth experience with those who are left behind because it teaches those to meet the challenges of life without their love one. In conclusion, the textbook begins with the current interest in death from different academic perspective to the through the grieving process through the life cycle. The ability to understand the cycle of normal and abnormal grief by the symptoms identified through the text. To use the text to understand the stages of grief and apply them to the lives those who are suffering from depression and withdrawal from society. The authors give important steps to having a healthy recovery from grief. This is basically a map to begin the road of recovery from the need to understand the supernatural, the secular or the spiritual side of death. Concrete Response Upon reading this textbook of dealing with the subject of death and dying there were two topics that captured my attention. The first topic discussed those individuals who are in older adulthood. The authors talk about how the older adults are treated within the death and dying process. The elderly seem to be placed in nursing homes where they are expected to live until they die quietly. The older adults seem to be forgotten and tossed aside as if they were old news. This topic reminded me of my maternal grandmother and how she went through her dying process. I was stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina when she died. The immediate family, which included siblings, and grandchildren, were called to the hospital to make an important family decision about her arrangements after leaving the hospital. The decisions that needed to be made were where were we going to place her? Would she be institutionalized or would she die at home? The other decision was if the family wanted her to be sustained by life support systems until death. The factors that we had to consider were her age, would her body be strong enough to undergo any surgical procedures if necessary and what type of quality of life would she be able to maintain? First of all, my grandmother was 102 years old at the time of her death. Secondly, her body was so fragile that we were afraid for the doctors to do anything else to her. The doctors let us know that they had done all they could do f or her. Finally, the doctors made us aware of her condition and that her quality of life would not be a good one as her time to live was limited. The family made the decision to let her die at home in peace, and there would not be any life support equipment given to her. I noticed that my mother was not in agreement with the decision and made it known to me after leaving the hospital. My mother wanted to do whatever was necessary to keep my grandmother alive. Needless to say I felt as if I had betrayed my mother and my grandmother due to the decision that was made. The other event that came to mind was the death of a premature baby that belonged to a friend of mine and her husband in the military. I was disturbed by the picture of a family on page 14 posing for a family photo with the dead child in the mother’s arms. I understand that this is their way of keeping record of the living as well as the deceased but I felt that the picture was so impersonal. Not only did the family seem sad but there seemed to be coldness in the picture with the deceased child. My friend and I were stationed in Germany but we were both from the state of Georgia. My friend and her husband had not been married long but they were looking forward to becoming parents. She had to be taken to the hospital early due to some complications with the pregnancy. She had tried to have a baby before but unfortunately she miscarried. My friend had asked me to come to the hospital for moral support sense her family was not present at that time and I agreed to be there. Her husband was fortunate enough to have his younger sister stationed at the same base. When the baby was delivered the doctor told them that the baby was premature and alive but he was not sure for how long. After an hour the doctor came into her room an informed her and her husband that the baby had passed away due to being premature. The nurse came in and asked the couple if they wanted to see the baby and they of course replied yes. The nursing staff brought them their baby, placed the baby in the motherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s arms, and then took a photograph with the couple holding the baby. The father broke down in tears and my friend touched the baby for the last time. I asked the nurse was that a common procedure and why was it necessary. The nurse explained that taking the picture was a common procedure as some parents want to remember their first child whether they are alive or not. In my heart I did not agree with the procedure because of the agony I witnessed in that room but I was in no position to protest. Reflections The textbook help me to truly understand the grief process and I would like to work further on the process for myself because of the loss I have had in my life. I have suffered a great loss within the last nine years. I agree with the author about the experience with grief and losing a child and a parent has given me the ability to finish working through my issues. The scriptures of Lazarus allows me to look at death as an end of growth in natural rim but a new beginning in the spiritual. The key points of story are the time and the end of the story that we overcome through death. Being able to give someone the closure of losing a love one is the greatest gift that a person can give. I had to realize that I had to go on after the greatest loss of my life but God gave me the courage to keep living. I was riding home by myself and I heard the voice of God speak to me with the deepest of conviction: Now, you understand my feelings about my son whom I sacrificed for the world from that moment on I found strength in those words to help those who were suffering from a loss. The content of the book answered a lot of questions for me because I was given a method to actually go through the process and definitely face some the things I didn’t want to face with death. The textbook was a process of healing for me because I suffered loss during my last class and now I know that I am healing from the course. The course and content showed me if I had done the grief work and I honestly say at points I had not work through all of the stages of grief. Application The information from this book will influence how I will continue my own personal and professional growth process by aiding me to provide informative knowledge facts about death and dying to family, friends and clients. For example, there is a wealth of information concerning the â€Å"The Business of Dying in which I can provide help with the task of planning for funerals. I would aide my clients in researching the best options for life insurance so that they will be prepared if death does occur. I had a pastor express to me that one of the most common problems in the African American community is the lack of life insurance needed in order to provide the deceased family member a proper burial. He stated that at the last funeral he held in his church he had to take up an offering in order to assist the family with funeral expenses. I would like to offer grief support groups for parents who have lost their children. The increasing unrest happening in the different cities of our socie ty is being plagued with the deaths of African American children. There seems to be more of a need for grief support groups. While grieving for my son I was recommended to an organization called â€Å"The Bereaved Parents of the USA†. The organization was instrumental in guiding me as well as other bereaved parents through the bereavement process. The actions or changes that I plan to make in my career and personal life as a result of my learning are first to search out training programs that will train me to become an effective crisis response person. This book has demonstrated that death needs to be studied more in depth and that we should not be afraid of the unknown. I would like to volunteer in a church organization that provides trained individuals that are qualified to demonstrate the procedures that need to be used to in a crisis situation. I have an interest in researching what certifications will be needed to qualify to become a crisis response person. This book has furthered my commitment to become a bereavement counselor because I have had the experience and understand the pain which will allow me to help those who have begun this journey and I can walk with them to recovery. If given the chance, I would work with death and dying patients because I believe that they will see the love of God in me and I will offer a listening ear, a very open heart and the gift of laughter to those who need to be comforted in their time of sorrow. Reference Leming, M. R. Dickinson, G. E. (2011).Understanding dying, death, and bereavement (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

The Right to Die Essay example -- essays research papers fc

The Right to Die The word Euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death". Euthanasia (Greek, "good death") is the practice of killing a person or animal, in a painless or minimally painful way, for merciful reasons, usually to end their suffering. However, some people define euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life (Humphy 12). Like so many moral/ethical/religious terms, "euthanasia" has many meanings. Euthanasia, in the strict sense, involves actively causing death. This is, in some cases, legal like in the Netherlands, but in few other countries. Euthanasia, in a wider sense, includes assisting someone to commit suicide, in particular physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Allowing death -- e.g. by not providing life support or vital medication-- is not considered euthanasia if it is the patient's wish (Robinson). It is sometimes called passive euthanasia in cases where the patient is unabl e to make decisions about treatment. â€Å"Living Wills† and â€Å"Do Not Resuscitate† orders are legal instruments that make a patient's treatment decisions known ahead of time; allowing a patient to die based on such decisions is never considered euthanasia. Terminal sedation is a combination of medically inducing a deep sleep and stopping other treatment, with the exception of medication for symptom control (such as analgesia). It is considered to be euthanasia by some, but under current law and medical practice it is considered a form of palliative care (Humphry 14). Advocates of euthanasia generally insist that euthanasia should be voluntary, requiring informed consent, and that it should only be used in cases of terminal illness that cause unbearable suffering, or an eventual, complete loss of awareness. Its opponents challenge it on several ethical grounds, including a slippery slope argument that it is the first step towards compulsory euthanasia (Leon 22). Voluntary euthanasia is the truest and fullest form of euthanasia wherein the individual requests euthanasia - either during illness or before, if complete incapacitation is expected (a coma would be an example). Euthanasia in these cases differs from suicide by existing only within the context of the amelioration of suffering in the process of death. Volition must be informed and free (i.e. not under duress fr... ...ssional leaders announced that they were drafting a bill that would order the reinsertion of Schiavo's feeding tube and allow a federal court to review the case. If passed, President Bush plans to sign it (Stacy). Works Cited Capek, Stella M., Elaine Fox, and Jeffrey J. Kamakahi. Come Lovely and Soothing Death: The Right to Die Movement in the United States. New York: Twayne, n.d. End of Life Choices: Compassion, Dignity, and Control. 2004. End-of-Life Choices/Compassion In Dying: Compassion & Choices . . Euthanasia. Ed. Lisa Yount. San Diego: Greenhaven P, Inc., 2002. Humphry, Derek. Eugene: Hemlock Society, 1991. Lipper, Tamara. Between Life and Death: Behind the unprecedented showdown over one woman's fate.. 2005. Newsweek. . Robinson, B.A.. Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. 02 Sept. 2004. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. . Stacy, Mitch. Schiavo Kin Wants Feeding Tube Reinserted. 20 Mar. 2005. MSNBC Wire Services, The Associated Press. . The Ethics of Euthanasia. Ed. Daniel A. Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven P, Inc., 1999. Wickett, Ann, and Derek Humphry . The Right To Die: Understanding Euthanasia. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.

The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism In The Forest :: essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism in the Forest "The path strangled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest"(179). This sentence displays just one of the multiple personalities that the forest symbolizes in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorn. As seen in the epic story Wizard of OZ, the forest represents a place of evil and delight, but in the Scarlet Letter the forest symbolizes much more then that. Each character brings out a different side of the forest, however the forest also brings out a different side in each character. For some the forest may be a place of sinister thoughts and wrong doing, but for others it is a place of happiness and freedom. The first encounter with the forest we have symbolizes just some of the evil that lingers within the darkness of the forest. As Hester and Pearl are leaving governor Bellinghams estate they are confronted by mistress Hibbins who explains that the witches are meeting in the forest, and she then invites Hester to become more deeply involved with her evil ways. "Wilt thou go with us tonight"(113) asked mistress Hibbins, yet Hester refused to sign her name in the black mans book on that night. She explains that the only reason she does not sign is because Pearl is still in her life. At this time the forest itself is a open door to another world, a wicked world that would take her away from her present situation, but that is not the only door that the forest holds. The forest is an open door to love and freedom for both Hester and Dimmesdale. It is a place where the letter on their bodies can no longer have an effect on them if they choose. A world ruled by nature and governed by natural law as opposed to the artificial strict community with its man made puritan laws. Its as if the forest represents a key to the shackles the Hester and Dimmesdale have been forced to wear, all that they have to do is unlock it. Although if they choose not to unlock them, they begin to dwell on the things that they have done to deserve the shackles. In this the forest represents a thing of truth, weather it be good or bad. In pearls eyes the forest has a totally different concept. To Pearl the forest is like a best friend. It treats her as if she were one of its own. The animals do not runaway at her ever move, instead they come to her with open arms. The light is chasing her no matter where she goes.

Aig Scandal

[pic] THE INTERNAL CONTROLS AND FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES THAT LED TO THE BAILOUT OF OUR NATION’S LARGEST INSURANCE COMPANY By: Monte Schwartz PREFACE Anyone who watches TV has most likely seen the American International Group (hereinafter AIG) commercial with the little boy who walks into his parent’s room while they are sleeping. When his mother asks if he had a nightmare, he says â€Å"no† and that he’s worried about his parent’s financial future. After a twenty-second spiel about his worries, the father says, â€Å"Buddy, we’re with AIG† and he goes, â€Å"Oh! and walks out of the room and (assuming) back to his bedroom. [1] AIG, established as a Delaware corporation in 1921 by Maurice â€Å"Hank† Greenburg, is primarily engaged in insurance-related and financial activities in the United States and European countries (over 130 combined total); including but not limited to home insurance, car insurance, life insurance and various investments. Imagine that this boys parents’ discover one day with their financial planners that they lost all of their investments and insurances in which they paid dearly.The parents had agreed to make an investment so they and their children could have a secured future protection against market risks. Well, it became a reality for many Americans. This devastating loss left many taxpayers with misappropriated assets along with a burden to pay the â€Å"bill† for the bailout of AIG. PART I: HOUSING MARKET SCANDAL: VIOLATIONS IN BUSINESS OPERATIONS To understand the accounting scandal of AIG, one must first understand its business transactions and operations leading up to the SEC investigations. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the OmnibusBudget Reconciliation Act, commonly known as the OBRA-93 or the Deficit Reduction Act. Part XIII, is our primary focus, the Revenue Reconciliation Act which allows limitations on executive compensations by limiting the deductible for tax purposes to $1 Million unless the compensation was earned through performance, bonuses or equity: ultimately increasing the average executives paycheck. [2] When an executive’s paycheck percentage is primarily a bonus, those profits can lead to decisions that are not in the best interest, short-term and long-term, of taxpayers or shareholders.You may think what this Act has to do with AIG, but this act is the very essence of why AIG failed as a business. AIG had paid its top executives a whopping $165 million in bonuses after it had received bailout funds. In early 1995, the Clinton Administration issued new and revised regulations to the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA (in which was created by the Jimmy Carter administration) which de-emphasize a lender to make subjective assessment measures in favor of strictly numerical quotas, or as others may say, racial quotas. 3] In simpler terms, private banks were compelled to provide loans to low income famili es and minority neighborhoods as long as the person was making some sort of income to repay the loan and did not require any initiation of a credit check. In more ways than one, this was a Federal scheme that pressured and extorted banks into loaning money to people at high-risk. The new regulations also instructed lenders to take into account how well they responded to complaints from groups such as Minority Community Activist organizations like ACORN.In December of the same year, Henry Cisneros (herinafter Cisneros), then head of Department of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter HUD), moved Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac towards a requirement that 42% of the mortgages would now serve predominantly minority neighborhoods and low to moderate income families. In 2000, Andrew Cuomo (hereinafter Cuomo), Cisneros’ successor, established an even more aggressive social-engineering goal by increasing the number of mortgages to 50% by method of dramatically hiking Fanny Mae’ s and Freddie Mac’s mandates to buy mortgages to under-serve neighborhoods for the very low income. 4] Cuomo also encouraged them to strongly enter the sub-prime loan markets, which are credit-default swap markets. And who sold the credit-default swaps? AIG did, because it was an insurance on bonds. Large banks buy bonds and insurance policies so that if a company, say General Electric, should declare bankruptcy, the large bank is out on whatever premium amount it paid and receives money from whoever sold the insurance policy, which in this case was AIG since AIG was the biggest underwriter of credit-default swaps. 5] Take for instance, as an example, General Electric (GE)[6]. There are only two (2) reasons as to why a bank would purchase credit-default swaps. Either they do not want to provide the full credit amount as it may be a risk or they are looking to hide something, like a cash transaction. Suppose that Bank A wants to better its business relationship with GE and so GE asks for $70 million on credit. The bank, in return, speaks to their senior credit manager that the maximum they can provide is $50 million, due to risk exposure.However, in order to satisfy the customer, the bank lends the $70 million anyway and writes off the $20 million difference by purchasing a credit-default swap from Bank B. The only problem is, GE believes the entire $70 million came from Bank A. Now, Bank B was â€Å"AIG Financial Products† (hereinafter AIGFP), a division of AIG. Bank A was Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, etc. PART II: THE ACCOUNTING SCANDAL: VIOLATIONS OF INTERNAL CONTROL There are four (4) most common ways of distorting a company’s financial condition.They are revenue recognition, cost or expense recognition, accounting for reserves and accounting related to business combinations. [7] AIG distorted their financials via accounting for reserves. What does that mean though? In accounting, companies use reserves to cover future costs such as taxes, possible litigation and pay-off debts or other liabilities. When a company intentionally falsifies information and misleads auditors of true financial reports, these fake transactions are better known as â€Å"sham transactions†.In 2001, the Securities Exchange Commission (herein after SEC) began investigating and making allegations that AIG was providing investors, shareholders and auditors with false financial statements, showing two sham schemes where the company altered its balance sheets through bogus transactions in efforts to conceal the company’s losses on investments related to the credit default swaps. By September of 2003, the SEC filed a lawsuit against a company known as Brightpoint Inc. (hereinafter Brightpoint), in which is a wholesale distributor of electronics.Their allegations included, but not limited to, improper use of insurance policies in attempting to reduce a loss by 11. 9 Million in efforts to show the public a smaller lo ss. As a result, Brightpoint’s Financial Statements overstated their net income. The SEC found their net income overstated by 61%. [8] It was revealed later in the discovery period that AIG was involved in assisting Brightpoint to spread out their losses over a time period. This technique is known as â€Å"retroactive insurance† which combined two policies into one.The two policies were the Retroactive Coverage and a Prospective Coverage. The â€Å"policy† was supposed to cover the cost of losses over a three-year term. The idea was to â€Å"smooth† the financial statement so that the public did not see such an impact of losses by AIG clients. Brightpoint paid a monthly premium for this policy of $15 Million. This tactic, while completely fraudulent, allowed Brightpoint to show an Insurance Receivable of $11. 9 Million. See, SEC v. Brightpoint (2003). Retroactive Coverage is not insurance.It just moved cash from one place to another, which the SEC called a â€Å"round-trip of cash†. Brightpoint deposited monies with AIG and later on, AIG would return the funds; yet mark it off in their books as if they made an Insurance Claim Payment. There was no risk being transferred. Once Auditors realized that this policy wasn’t quite an Insurance Policy, Brightpoint began making â€Å"restatements† to their financial statements. It is obvious that there is fraud when the books require numerous â€Å"restatements†. After the SEC had filed their lawsuit, AIG quickly made agreements to settle for $10 Million.This was only a civil penalty. No criminal penalties were administered by the Federal Courts for this â€Å"Retro-active Policy†. This payment of $10 Million resulted in AIG’s profit a mere $100,000. See, SEC v. Brightpoint (2003). Brightpoint was not the only company received â€Å"assistance† from AIG around the same time frame. Another company, known as PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (her einafter PNC), was also involved. In short, PNC was a Pennsylvania bank holding company. AIG helped PNC to move $762 million of assets off of the balance sheets. 9] By now, it seems AIG was a â€Å"pro† at distorting balance sheets. They didn’t like low net incomes and they helped others by sharing their tactics of â€Å"distortion†. The SEC calls these â€Å"PAGIC† transactions, since net incomes magically show profit. PNC had transferred their assets to another entity which PNC held major interest. They had created three (3) transactions which were intended to reduce their losses in regards to loans and venture capital investments by â€Å"transferring†, according to the SEC summary findings.PNC had then failed to account for these transfers as an asset or a loan which failed to appear on their balance sheets. This reduced their exposure to â€Å"troubled loans and volatile assets†. (See SEC v. PNC Financial Services, Inc. ) These transact ions were obviously structured to benefit PNC and its interested entities by increasing the value of their net income. Recently, as of January 2010, the SEC has also filed a complaint against a company known as Gen Re (General Reinsurance Corporation) which SEC has evidence of involvement in assisting AIG and other Financial Companies in using this sham scheme.The SEC makes allegations that Gen Re â€Å"knowingly provided substantial assistance to both AIG and Prudential in connection with their own violations of the books and records and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws, Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1932. †[10] AIG falsely reported on its financial statements increases to both loss reserves and premiums written via sham reinsurance transactions. Gen Re helped AIG’s balance sheet transactions appear as thought AIG had an increase in loss reserves[11] by $500 million, which obviously was far from the ac tuality.The loss reserves should have been $250 million – half of the claimed amount – according to the SEC findings. There is also another accounting scandal involving AIG and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The individual parties involved Hank Greenberg, the CEO and founder of AIG and Timothy Geithner, then President of the NY Fed. Bank. The party investigating was the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (hereinafter Committee), whose senior chairman is Darrell Issa, also Republican Representative of California.Over twenty-two (22) hearings, discovery proceedings, interrogatories were produced on behalf of the Committee towards Timothy Geithner in why the Federal Reserve ordered AIG to refrain from disclosing in the notes of the financial statements all the facts of the bailout. Geithner, in hearings, attempted to defend the bailout by suggesting that had AIG collapsed, America would face a Great Depression. This answer was something the Committee h ad heard numerous times before. They demanded a new answer.Even if the case is true, that America would have faced a Great Depression, the Committee smelled a bad scene unfolding, especially since two of Geithner’s closest advisors, Mark Patterson (chief of staff) and Henry Paulson Jr. (former ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve), were both ex-employees of Goldman Sachs. In AIG’s bailout, Goldman Sachs had received $13 Billion. In defense to the bailout, Timothy Geithner’s general counsel had claimed that the disclosures were unnecessary since the company’s regulatory filings had offered more detailed information.In opposition to this statement, Issa released a five-page list of derivative transactions, also known as â€Å"Schedule A†[12] which is a comparative list of notional value, total collateral and negative mark to market values, respectively. Notional value is the value of the derivatives underlying assets at spot price (current price). The total collateral posted is the total securities for the guaranteed repayment of a loan and the negative mark to market measures the fair market value of accounts, which can change overtime.Between the three comparisons, it is clear that â€Å"Schedule A† shows little reason for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York insisted that information should be kept private. PART III: THE RESULTS: BAILOUT & BONUSES A â€Å"bailout† is the giving of financial assistance (via the Fed, therefore taxpayers) to a failing business to save it from collapse. A bailout can be through the use of cash or a loan; however it can only happen when a company faces potential bankruptcy.With AIG’s housing market scandal and accounting scandal, it faced bankruptcy because it reported an overstatement of net revenue on its annual financial statements leading investors and shareholders to believe the company was a success. AIG initially received $85 Billion from the government as a loan, and th en sometime in March 2009, they received another $88 Billion. Now that we know what financial assistance was received, term $173 Billion, what did AIG do with all the bailout money? Well, now we can look closer at Figure 1-1 in determine where the money has gone. 44 Million went back into the Banks of the United States. AIG paid itself $600 Million. Golden Sachs received $13 Billion and Merrill Lynch: $7 Billion. The chart also includes bailout money that each of the 50 states received, totaling $12 Billion, even though they were originally supposed to receive $15 Billion. $113 Billion went to guarantees, such as bond guarantees and securities guarantees. If you look closer, you will see that foreign banks and countries received more bailout money than the United States did. France, Germany and the United Kingdom received the bulk of the funds, a whopping $49 Billion.These countries received, rounded, 80% of the AIG foreign funds. See below figure for details of the funds AIG disbur sed to large banks and foreign countries. [pic] And what about that $165 Million â€Å"bonus† contract AIG had? Senior Judicial Analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano states that (1) the â€Å"existence of a contract is the building block to our commercial society† and that (2) therefore, the contract to pay top executives a $165 million cannot be broken because the â€Å"constitution prohibits the government, federal and state, from interfering with valid contracts and these contracts were valid when they were signed. [13] Much of the debate of where all of the taxpayer bailout funds come into scrutiny but that is another issue of AIG. The majority of the housing market and accounting scandals began during the Jimmy Carter administration when he enacted the CRA. Then, in the Bill Clinton administration, while he may have had good faith intentions to help the minority communities, he literally forced banks to handout loans when the applier had a high credit risk.Then, Cuomo increased the percentage of mortgages that were required to serve minorities via credit-default swaps which AIG were the primary underwriters. This factor, along with the sham balance sheet insurance transactions was the reason AIG nearly went bankrupt. While the bailout certainly helped AIG in avoiding bankruptcy, thousands of American citizens who file and pay annual income tax returns (the 50%), lost their investments and insurances to secure their futures all due to tax-schemers and executives who are high on themselves and want a bigger return. PART IV: AIG:WHAT IT IS NOW Since the discovery of AIG’s fraudulent behaviors in business and financial activities in 2001, the company has had to face many lawsuits from investors and shareholders; some are still pending. The CEO of AIG, Hank Greenburg as well as a few top executives were forced to resign. Some executives received a two (2) year prison term, which isn’t a very long time when considering how much money was misappropriated. Just recently, Oct 2, 2012, the company revealed a new image for their name. They have changed their logo which is the cover image above.They claim the new logo is â€Å"transparent† and â€Å"simplistic†. Does a new logo change the history of a company though? In a company that had so much potential yet failed to secure the futures of the Americans who they insured, the reputation is irreparably damaged and until it repays the billions of dollars back to the government (or, taxpayers). Until then, AIG is owned by the Federal Government. ———————– [1] â€Å"AIG Commercial†  © 2005 < http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=9VvGW98D3XA> [2] Korzenik, Jeffrey D. Forbes. om â€Å"The Tax Code Encourages Big Wall Street Bonuses† Feb 2009. < http://www. forbes. com/2009/02/04/wall-street-bonuses-opinions-contributors_0204_jeffrey_korzenik. html> [3] Money Gather: â€Å"Bill Clinton Helped Cau se the Housing Crisis† September 2008. [4] Morris, Dick. Take Back America. Pg 266, Harper, April 13, 2010. Print. > [5] The Big Picture. â€Å"Credit Default Swaps are Insurance Products. It’s Time we Regulated them as Much. † March 2012. [6] General Electric was in no way shape or form related to the AIG scandal; this is strictly an example. 7] See Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, 2009 Securities Litigation Study 30 (2009), available at http://10b5. pwc. com/PDF/NY-10-0559%20SEC%20LIT%20STUDY_V7%20PRINT. PDF. [8] Securities Exchange Commission v. Brightpoint Inc. , (2003) http://www. sec. gov/litigation/complaints/comp18340. htm [9] Securities and Exchange Commission v. PNC Financial Services Inc. http://www. sec. gov/litigation/admin/33-8112. htm [10] Securities and Exchange Commission v General Re Corporation, 10 CV 458, PACER [11] Loss reserves in the Insurance industry are an estimate of the value of a claim or group of claims not yet paid. [12]

Relativistic Theory of Ethics Essay

One relativistic theory of ethics is situationism. Situationism (also known as situation ethics) was devised by Joseph Fletcher, who was strongly against absolutist theories for instance; legalism and also disliked how religions were taught implying there were some rules that could never be broken, as he thought these rules are too demanding and restrictive. He then created this theory of situation ethics which is seen as the ‘mid way’ because it lies between antinomianism and legalism. Antinomianism is very anti law whilst legalism emphasises the important of law. However, situationism lies between the two as Fletcher was very enthused by making a decision on individual situations. Situation ethics maintains that it’s the consequences of actions which determine whether an action is right or wrong, so it is very much a consequentialist position. Situationists enter each decision making situation with ethical maxims of their community and culture, each they treat with respect. Fletcher proposed that not only the situation guides an individual on what they should do but also the principle of agape (love). In Fletcher’s book he suggests that Christians should make the right choices without blindly following rules but rather by thinking for themselves. Decisions should be made on the sole basis of one rule – agape. Such love involves doing the best thing possible for the other party involved. So maxims could be ignored if they don’t serve agape, for example if a priest is presented by a young lady who is having underage promiscuous sex, the right thing to do would be to insist the young lady uses contraception. This is because the most loving thing to do for the other person is to ensure she is safe. For the situationist the rule of agape is always right. Fletcher created 4 working principles which outlined how situation ethics works. The first one is pragmatism, which states that what you propose must work in practice. Second is relativism, so Fletcher eliminates words like ‘always’, ‘never’, and ‘absolute’. He states there are no objective rules but all decisions must be relative to agape. Thirdly is positivism, which states a value judgement needs to be made, giving the first place to love. Finally – personalism, people are put in first place; morality is personal and not centred on laws, this emphasises the idea that morality is relative to situations. Fletcher put forward 6 propositions which also aid the theory. The first proposition is â€Å"only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love; nothing else at all† Thus, only love is good in itself; action aren’t intrinsically good or evil. Instead they are good or evil dependent on whether they promote the most loving result. Fletcher rejects any statements like â€Å"Adultery is wrong† as the circumstances are always different, and sometimes it may be right for adultery to take place. The second proposition is â€Å"the ruling norm of Christian decision is love, nothing else† Fletcher claims Jesus replaced the Torah with love, also the Ten Commandments are not absolute even Jesus broke them when love demanded it. Love replaces law. The third proposition is that justice will follow from love, because ‘justice is love distributed’. If love is put into practice it can only result in justice. Fourth is that love has no favourites and does not give whom we like preferential treatment. â€Å"Love wills the neighbour’s whether we like him or not† The fifth fundamental principle, love must be the final end, not a means to an end. For Fletcher, the end must be the most loving result. Finally the sixth proposition is that the most loving thing to do will depend on the situation and since situations differ, you can’t say an action will be right in every situation. Fletcher, the good result is that which serves agape love best. Any action that leads to that end is right.