Sexist Attitude in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay

Sexist Attitude in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness This paper will discuss the way Conrads novel Heart of Darkness relies, both thematically and formally, on values that could be called sexist. By sexism I mean the those cultural assumptions that make women be regarded, unjustly, as in different ways inferior to men: socially, intellectually and morally. Since Heart of Darkness has often been regarded as one of the best and profoundest discussions of morality in English literature, this issue is very important. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is how the narrative itself is thought of as unsuitable for women. The narration takes place on a small sailing boat, waiting for the ebb of the Thames to bring it out to†¦show more content†¦The horror! to the Intended, letting her believe instead that his last words were her name. This manipulation of endings, with which Marlowe pretends to please Kurtzs bride-to-be, does not only change Conrads hard-boiled modern tragedy into a romance story, with a love-sick Kurtz longing to get back from the jungle to the arms of his beloved. Kurtz activities in the Congo are now to be seen as an adventure designed to bring him back to civilization as a morally and economically enriched being. This, Marlowes comrades are told (and by extension, the men who are reading the novel), is mere female bogus: just as the Romans who, Kurtz-like, entered a savage Britain two millenia ago, we (the male readers) have to be men enough to face the darkn ess. (Conrad 7) Just as the shaping of history, and History itself, as Chinua Achebe has pointed out, (Achebe 5) is an affair of white men only and not of prehistoric African men, history is also, we could say, shifting the emphasis a little bit, an affair of white men only. One of the minimally active female characters in the novel is Marlowes aunt, who manages to get him a position with the Company. She is, however, described as utterly innocent in terms of her knowledge of what the colonization of the Congo really is about, buying into the high-strung sentimentalist and morally righteous discourse of imperialism with striking naivety. Only men, Marlowes attitude towards his aunt reveals, can bear the realistShow MoreRelated The Role of Kurtz’s Intended in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness1580 Words   |  7 PagesThe Role of Kurtz’s Intended in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Very often in literature minor characters appear for only a short time in the story but carry a very heavy significance in the overall meaning of the book. Kurtz’s Intended, in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is this kind of character. The unnamed woman only appears for a brief period at the end of the novel, but Conrad includes her for three very crucial reasons. He has Kurtz’s fiancà ©e appear to provide a justification forRead More Heart Of Darkness Essay1479 Words   |  6 Pagesthis, instead she was determined to go to school and get an education. She worked had to overcome the sexist attitude that her culture held. This sexist attitude continued after she got married to Francis. Francis is a typical Ibo male. He held the view that the males should go and get educated and the female should stay home, or in Francis’ case, work to support his education. Adah knew his attitude, amp;quot;The sharpness seemed to say to her: ‘It is allowed for Af rican males to come and get civilsedRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1552 Words   |  7 Pagesfollowers. Historically, people have been socialized to accept and adhere to these stereotypes. Women have an important role in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Women are used in this novella reflect an important aspect of culture: sexism. 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Conrad’s Heart of Darkness tells the story of Marlow, an experienced sea captain, who is setting out on a mission to rescue Kurtz, an intelligent butRead More The Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate3726 Words   |  15 PagesThe Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate Since its publication in 1899, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has rarely been disputed on the basis of its literary merits; in fact, it was long seen as one of the great novels of the burgeoning modern era, a sort of bridge between the values and storytelling styles of the waning Victorian period and those of the modern era (Gatten), and regarded a high-ranking space amidst the great literature of the century, if not theRead MoreSimilarity in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim3156 Words   |  13 PagesSimilarity in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim Many times, after a successful novel, an author will publish another story very similar to the praised one. Joseph Conrad followed in suit with the previous statement. After the publication of Heart of Darkness in 1899, Lord Jim was released in 1900. However, according to majority of his critics, Conrad’s Lord Jim arguably outdoes Heart of Darkness to be named his best work. Few realize, though, that Lord Jim was actually started beforeRead MoreWomen in Heart of Darkness2004 Words   |  9 PagesIn Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the portrayal of women takes a backwards step and is reverted back to the primitive, more demeaning viewpoint. Conrad employs characters that reflect the archaic perspectives concerning women. The main character, Marlow, generalizes all women and depicts every woman as living in a dream-like state merely â€Å"going through the motions† of life. His five women characters were kept unnamed and their speech limited, highlighting the belittlement of women in the male-dominatedRead MoreRacial Identity And Sexual Orientation1597 Words   |  7 Pagesorientation entrap and define us† is limiting in that it ‘pidgeon holes’ a great variety of ‘types’ into simplified categories. This essay will explore ‘racial identity’ and sexual orientation’ and exemplify meaning through the use of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Christos Tsiolkas’ Loaded. Although they hail from different times and cultures, the characters Marlow and Ari display similarities in behaviours in as such they put themselves in perilous situations and surround themselves with untrustworthy

An Ethical Dilemm The Patient s Right Care - 1429 Words

An Ethical Dilemma: The Patient’s Right to Refuse Care Theresa Ho Samuel Merritt University Introduction There are many ethical principles healthcare professionals must keep in mind for their patients: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity (Chitty Black, 2014). These principles may collide with one another and cause the fine line of ethics to be blurred. The principle of autonomy asserts that patients have the right and freedom to determine their own actions and decisions about their care and treatment. This principle is often conflicted with the principle of beneficence. Beneficence is defined as the â€Å"doing good† for others where healthcare professionals have the professional obligation to do good for their patients. However if a patient who refuses a treatment and then a doctor proceeds without consent to save their life, does this beneficence supersede the patient’s autonomy and rights to refuse care? When cases involve minors, doctors may be able to legally perform life saving treatments believing it is ethical, but the question i s: Is it acceptable to override ones patient’s rights? If so, when? A patient’s right to refuse care is an ongoing ethical dilemma that continues today. Discussion and Analysis In 1990, the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) was passed and it required healthcare facilities to give written information upon admission to patients about their patient rights (Chitty Black, 2014). These rights

Speech About Vacation Free Essays

Preparation outline for Persuasive Speech Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to support the legislation to provide everyone with four weeks paid vacation Central Idea: Adopted paid vacation legislation in the USA will help us to stay healthy, avoid stress and bond with our family. Introduction Attention: I. Do you know that more than 147 countries, including all developed countries, now have a law that guaranties paid vacation to every employee? But the United States is the only industrial country in the world which doesn’t have any legislation about it. We will write a custom essay sample on Speech About Vacation or any similar topic only for you Order Now What is more, from 1980 to present day we moved from 11th place in the world to 42nd based on vacation longevity, and we spend almost 2 months more at work each year than Western Europeans. II. I am personally also affected by absence of vacation legislation. I have two part time jobs, but unfortunately both my employers do not give me any paid vacation time. My story is not unique, because today in US around 60% of part-time workers don’t receive paid vacation benefits. III. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to encourage you to support the legislation to provide everyone with four weeks paid vacation. Transition: We’ll start by looking at necessity to adopt the paid vacation legislation. Body Need I. Today in the United Stated vacation became a luxury for many Americans, and it is unreasonably short and can only voluntarily be provided by employers as a benefit. A. According to a study commissioned by Expedia. com, 13 days is the average vacation time in the U. S. 1. Average vacation time among the other countries – chart. (Expedia. com and Ray) 2. The Bureau of Labor Statistics a. 1 in 4 workers – no paid vacation b. 40% of American women earning less than $40,000 a year – no paid annual leave . Low-wage and part time workers and employees of small businesses a. Rebecca Ray in her publication No-vacation nation only 35% of part-time workers in the U. S. have a paid vacation. B. Paid vacation in the U. S. is only voluntarily provided by organizations. 1. Vacation formula is based on years of service. a. Society for Human Resources Management – employees in middle and large-sized companies – work for 25 years to get a 4 week (Ray). C. American work-life is out of balance and we are losing necessary vacation time to stay healthy, avoid stress and bond with our family. . The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: an average American works one month per year more today than in 1976. 2. Burnout and stress – lack of vacation time, timeday. com: it costs the U. S. economy over $300 billion a year. 3. Men who don’t take regular vacation are 32% more likely to die of a heart attack, and 21% more likely to die early of all causes. Women have 50% more risk of a heart attack. (www. timeday. org) 4. â€Å"Vacations are so important for family bonding†, said William Doherty, professor of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. The strong memories from childhood involve family vacations. And yet fewer families are taking them now (right2vacation. com). Transition: Now that you know the need of paid vacation legislation let’s look what can be done about it. Satisfaction: II. The lack of vacation time is a serious problem in the United States and the only way to solve this is to adopt a law guaranteeing 4 weeks paid vacation to every American. A. The adopted paid vacation law will provide a 4 week vacation to every person regardless of full-time or part-time status, company size, and years worked in the company. And this law would allow us to catch up to other nations. B. All developed countries and more than 70% of all countries in the world already have paid vacation laws, and every European worker gets a minimum of 4 weeks paid vacation, according to the New York Times C. More than two-thirds of Americans strongly support vacation law favoring 3 weeks of vacation and more, based on the information from the poll results on Rifgt2Vacation. org D. And I know from my audience-analyst questionnaire that most of you also support such plan and would prefer to have 4 weeks of vacation or more. Transition: You can see that vacation time problem can be simply solved by passing such legislation. Now let’s look at effects of a government guaranteed vacation. Visualization: I. Such vacation legislation have worked in many countries, and in the United States it will improve health, family bonding and the life quality overall. A. You will work less and reduce time pressures, and it will give an opportunity to exercise, healthy eating habits and connection with family and friends. And you will likely to stay healthy with having less risk of stress or burnout. B. You would sleep better and your productivity and creativity will increase. C. You will have more time for stay connected with your family, and your future kids will enjoy family vacations and more time outside. Conclusion Action: The first paid vacation bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in May of 2009. You can help get it passed by signing the various online petitions. Here are the online sites where you can sign these petitions, and I also will pass you handouts, which provide this information. Here is another way how you can participate in the process: follow this link and print the poster, which you can distribute to your friends or place at work to encourage people to support this legislation. If we will all work together, we can get the paid vacation bill through the Senate and many of us will finally have a paid vacation. Worked cited: â€Å"2009 International Vacation Deprivationâ„ ¢ Survey Results. † . â€Å"Right 2 Vacation. † Take Back Your Time. Web. 15 May 2011. . Ray, Rebecca, John Schmitt . No-Vacation Nation. Washington: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2007 Take Back Your Time Day. . Tugend, Alina. â€Å"Vacations Are Good for You, Medically Speaking†. New York Times 7 Jun. 2008 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 15 May 2011. . How to cite Speech About Vacation, Papers

The Interconnection of the Three E’s Economy, Energy and Environment Essay Sample free essay sample

The intent of the undermentioned web log station is to present the reader to the relationship between our planetary Economy. the Energy that we produce and the Environment we are portion of. besides known as the three Es. My end is to give my readers a better apprehension of the connexions these three different countries have and how they relate to one another. Furthermore I would wish to enable readers to grok the increasing challenges all three E’s are confronting. and the deductions these may hold on our hereafter. What are the three E’s and what do they dwell of? At first. thought of similarities and interconnectednesss between our economic system. energy and the environment may look absurd. All three countries are really contrastive and concentrate on wholly different thoughts and constructs. Therefore. we must foremost understand what each of them means and what they incorporate. Economy: The word Economy is a term that has to make with how a societal system converts resources into goods and services. This is achieved throughout the work that is done by companies. The goods that a company produces are manufactured stuffs that are bought from costumiers and services. Economy is really the manner that we organize ourselves’ and without a functional economic system all of our hopes and dreams will pervert. since we need sensible and utile procedures to do usage of the resources that we need in each society group. ( 1 ) Energy: Energy plays a large function for the costs of the goods and services produced. Without energy beginnings there can be no economic development. Energy is any type of renewable or unrenewable resource. Energy resources are sometimes much more of import than the money we are puting into a concern. since energy is responsible for the growing of any good produced. ( 1 ) Environment: Environment is the most of import thing in footings of resources. The resources that many people use to bring forth nutrient for themselves or the energy that industries use to goods are wholly connected to the environment. Peoples use the environment so intensely that there is a fright that many energy resources are traveling to shortly be depleted and accordingly. unrenewable. Humans consume natural resources every twenty-four hours no restrictions. If our society continues to germinate around this intense. and fast turning world â€Å"the following 20 old ages are traveling to be wholly unlike the last 20 years† . Resources are acquiring less and less and the environment is non matching with the upcoming and demanding evolves of society and engineering. ( 1 ) In short. our economic system is mostly dependent on energy. The production of energy. in bend. depends vastly on the handiness of natural resources. Until now. we have relied to a great extent on the usage of fossil fuels. However. as Withgott and Brennan explain. â€Å"our product ion of fossil fuels will get down to worsen. We can react to this challenge in originative ways. promoting preservation and developing alternate energy beginnings. Or. we can go on our current dependance on fossil fuels and delay until they near depletion before we try to develop new engineerings and ways of life. † ( 1 ) Intelligibly. the way we are traveling to take will hold an tremendous impact on our planet and on the hereafter of humanity. Indeed. there are many people who support this interconnection of these three Fieldss of life. and one of the most influential and at the same clip the first to seek and explicate this interconnection is Chris Martenson. In add-on to his improbably simple and consecutive to the point video-explanations. our professor has made us the subject clearer throughout our full semester. seeking to demo us different ways and illustrations that pointed out the strong relationship between these three E’s. As a affair of fact. non merely I have become more cognizant of the issues raised in this subject but I am able to do all the connexions with everything else that I have been larning throughout this semester. population growing. environmental jobs such as pollution and many other refering issues. which helped me understand the chief points that the presenter tried to expose in the picture. [ hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=msTW7D_rSm4 ] Who is Dr. Chris Martenson. and is he a dependable individual to be speaking on this affair? Dr. Chris Martenson. is a individual who has worked with immense passion on corporate finance and strategic consulting. He has a PhD in Pathology from Duke University every bit good as an MBA from Cornell University. Furthermore. he is the Godhead of the so called Crash Course. an â€Å"online picture class that educates viewing audiences on our broken economic system. the crisis of population demographics. and Peak Oil. † ( 2 ) Hence. given his respectable academic way and his legion accomplishments. I believe Chris Martenson to be a really dependable beginning. Add to all this. his extended research and his experience. I think he is a creditable authorization that can enable us to achieve a more all-around and planetary position on the universe and life around us. The ‘Crash Course’ and what it is aboutDuring Chris Martenson’s picture presentation â€Å"Crash Course† . about the interconnectedness of the three E’s. it becomes clear that each constituent is straight related to the other two constituents. Basically. in the above mentioned pictures. Chris Martenson describes the interrelatedness between the three Es. In the beginning. he proposes the thought that there is really a connexion between apparently unrelated events. such as incidents that that take topographic point in the planetary fiscal market and environmental catastrophes. More exactly. he refers to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 2010 and the recent planetary fiscal meltdown. followed by a serious series of public violences and unrest worldwide. He begins by presenting the first E – the Economy – and explains how we worlds mostly believe that in order to populate good. we need a working economic system to continue our criterions of life and quality of life. Without Energy. nevertheless. the economic system has no significance. This is when the 2nd Tocopherol enters the image. We can hold all the money in the universe. but without energy we would non be able to construct an economic system. To acquire energy. in bend. we need to do usage of resources. which are portion of the 3rd E – our Environment. This analysis demonstrates how indispensable the three Es are. and how the whole system we have created ourselves will non work if merely one of the three is losing. Afterwards. Dr Martenson goes on to explicate some cardinal observations that he has made which are characteristic of the universe around us. and an penetration into which will assist us accomplish a better apprehension of the relationship betwee n the three E’s. He goes on explicating that it is critical for us to understand how they are connected as we can see immediate feedback of our actions and the reactions we trigger in our environment. in the province of our economic system. When we look back at chapter 6 in our text edition ( â€Å"Environment: The Science behind the Stories† ) we can see how there ever seems to be a tradeoff between our environment and our economic system. I think it is of import to understand that steps to protect our environment frequently relate to our ethical considerations. they. nevertheless. clang with our economic involvements. As discussed in category legion times. our population has exceeded our maximal lovingness capacity and we are consuming our natural resources to a unsafe extent. However. in footings of GDP and other economic figures. every bit long as we are sing exponential growing. economic experts say. there is ‘no’ demand for concern. The image above demonstrates how the economic system needs to turn. this is. nevertheless. merely possible with the ‘help’ of the other two constituents which are affected negatively from this economic growing activity: foremost. this growing happens with the aid of the beginnings of energy that are non prone to infinite growing or in other words will non be turning everlastingly ; and 2nd. with the aid of the resources found in our planet which are really closely to the depletion point. intending that they are unrenewable beginnings. Martenson criticizes this thought during his presentation and gives hearers the illustration of the Wembley Stadium and the generation of the individual droplet of H2O. Similar to the illustration given in our ecology category with bacteriums the other twenty-four hours. it depicted how. in no clip. we are making our environmental lovingness capacity. Materson decidedly helped hearers understand that we can non travel on with the manner we are populating right now because our resources are limited. Hence. he highlights that there is drastic demand for alterations in our day-to-day actions. Martenson. continues his address by supplying one highly interesting characteristic which all money. regardless of currency. has in common. He suggests that â€Å"all money is loaned into existence† . and illustrates it utilizing a really simple illustration. To turn out his point. in bend. he represents the fiscal state of affairs of the United States. which has $ 52 trillion debt. but merely $ 14 trillion worth of existent money. The talker so introduces the construct of ageless growing. which is seen as a must-have by the economic experts presents. At that point of his talk. he besides addresses the construct of another type of growing. and more exactly. that of exponential growing. Since we worlds are prone to believing linearly. in order to do us better understand the construct. the talker introduces the undermentioned chart stand foring the exponentially turning human population. The cap we see at the top of the chart illustrates the figure of people that our planet can prolong. In add-on to the exponential human growing. Martenson goes on and attempts to explicate that in order to prolong this large figure of people in the planet. we besides ought to hold an exponential growing of resources. energy and economic system. Consequently this means that since the ‘growth’ should be exponential. it besides means that the depletion and the negative effects on the environment are exponential as good. This oil graph shows that the universe is really close to making its extremum on oil supply. This can once more be referred back to our schoolroom treatments of resource depletion. Unfortunately modern economic experts. specifically Neo-classical economic experts. believe resources to be â€Å"renewable† on a consistent footing. I believe that if we hit our maximal extremum of oil supply now or in a few old ages. this will hold a immense impact on our day-to-day lives and finally name for some drastic planetary alterations. Furthermore. Martenson depicts the â€Å"Energy Cliff† diagram in order to exemplify his concern for energy but besides the measure of oil. It becomes clear. that we are running out of clip to happen a suited solution for this damaging issue and that in effect. our economic system is traveling to endure in the hereafter. Last. Martenson attempts to complect the points he made throughout the presentation. He refers back to his point. that our economic system must go on turning but that this occurs at the disbursal of our energy ingestion. as we continue to consume resources on a consistent footing. After holding made the construct of exponential growing clear. the writer helps us do the differentiation between jobs and quandaries in order to reply his most cardinal inquiry which is posed subsequently in the picture. He emphasizes another highly of import factor we need to maintain in head. and that is the thought of energy returns. In other words. how much energy do we necessitate to really bring forth energy? To give an illustration of our unreasonable patterns. he addresses copper extraction. and presents the US’s larger Cu mine. the Bingham Kenyon Mine. With this. he is seeking to direct our attending to the energy needed to acquire a mere 0. 2 % of that resource. This minimum measure is a consequence of the uninterrupted extraction of the resource. Consequently. the undermentioned graph represents the expected depletion of other unrenewable resources during the following twosome of decennaries. This analysis and all the above mentioned facts demonstrates how indispensable the three Es are. and how the whole system we have created ourselves will non work if merely one of the three is losing. We want an economic system that can turn. but the growing of the economic system depends on energy that really can’t grow. Quite the reverse. since energy depends on depleting resources. non merely are at that place no opportunities for growing. but instead for complete resource extraction. Once. once more here is a graph that Martenson nowadayss in order for us to hold a clearer apprehension of the round dependance and interconnection of the three E’s. Finally. this brings us to the most cardinal inquiry posed by Chris Martenson: Is the state of affairs we are confronting with respects to the three Es a job or a quandary? In my sentiment Martenson’s concluding solution is one that is effectual and long lasting. He clarifies that we must utilize less energy every bit good as fewer resources on an one-year footing. diminishing the sum of use every twelvemonth and more. get downing from now. Even though these might seem like minimum alterations at first. they will finally hold a positive long-run impact on our universe and on human life in the hereafter. In add-on he criticizes that it is critical for states to rethink their ain constructs of economic growing and the ingestion degree of their state. as we already have learned in our category to inquiry and reconsider footings such as ‘economic growth’ and ‘development’ and what constitutes them in our modern universe. Through this presentation one can determine their position on the relationship between all three E’s and recognize that it is a more or less a ‘cause and effect’ relationship ; significance that an happening in one of the E’s will hold a direct impact on the other E and will finally do a concatenation reaction. In order for us to be able to do positive alterations in the hereafter we must understand the importance of all three E’s and alter the manner we interact with them in our mundane lives. as persons. Beginnings Used: ( 1 ) Brennan. Scott R. . and Jay Withgott. Environment: The Science behind the Stories. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. 2005. Print. ( 2 ) â€Å"About Chris Martenson – Chris Martenson – Change. Chris Martenson. Community. Family. Investing. † Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. chrismartenson. com/about gt ; . ( 3 ) NASA-NOAA Satellite Reveals New Views of Earth at Night. Retrieved December. 07. 2012 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/earth-at-night. hypertext markup language Graphs and Diagrams: ( 4 ) â€Å"Part 1 of 6 – UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=msTW7D_rSm4 gt ; . ( 5 ) â€Å"Part 2 of 6-UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=GqtuXKdat2Y gt ; . ( 6 ) â€Å"Part 3 of 6-UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=vHZPXL5p4Xk gt ; . ( 7 ) â€Å"Part 4 of 6-UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/user/ChrisMartensondotcom gt ; . ( 8 ) â€Å"Part 5 of 6-UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol : //www. youtube. com/watch? v=dlUzVi2cL64 gt ; . ( 9 ) â€Å"Part 6 of 6-UK Crash Course – YouTube. † YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=JoJS9RCryrw gt ; . ( 10 ) â€Å"Energy. Economy. Environment Symposium†-YouYube-Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. lt ; World Wide Web. youtube. com/watch? v=P5HYXW93T4g gt ; .

Slavery Essays (558 words) - Slavery, Abuse, Crimes Against Humanity

Slavery The issue of slavery has been touched upon often in the course of history. The institution of slavery was addressed by French intellectuals during the Enlightenment. Later, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which declared the equality of all men. Issues were raised concerning the application of this statement to the French colonies in the West Indies, which used slaves to work the land. As they had different interests in mind, the philosophes, slave owners, and political leaders took opposing views on the interpretation of universal equality. Many of the philosophes, the leaders of the Enlightenment, were against slavery. They held that all people had a natural dignity that should be recognized. Voltaire, an 18th century philosophe, pointed out that hundreds of thousands of slaves were sacrificing their lives just so the Europeans could quell their new taste for sugar, tea and cocoa. A similar view was taken by Rousseau, who stated that he could not bear to watch his fellow human beings be changed to beasts for the service of others. Religion entered into the equation when Diderot, author of the Encyclopedia, brought up the fact that the Christian religion was fundamentally opposed to Black slavery but employed it anyway in order to work the plantations that financed their countries. All in all, those influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, equality, liberty, the right to dignity, tended to oppose the idea of slavery. Differing from the philosophes, the political leaders and property owners tended to see slavery as an element that supported the economy. These people believed that if slavery and the slave trade were to be abolished, the French would lose their colonies, commerce would collapse and as a result the merchant marine, agriculture and the arts would decline. Their worries were somewhat merited; by 1792 French ships were delivering up to 38,000 slaves and this trade brought in 200 million livres a year. These people had economic incentives to support slavery, however others were simply ignorant. One man, Raynal, said that white people were incapable of working in the hot sun and blacks were much better suited to toil and labor in the intense heat. Having a similar view to Raynal, one property owner stated that tearing the blacks from the only homes they knew was actually humane. Though they had to work without pay, this man said slave traders were doing the blacks a favor by placing them in the French colonies where they could live without fear for tomorrow. All of these people felt that the Declaration of the Rights of Man did not pertain to black people or their descendants. All people were not ignorant, however. There was even a group of people who held surprisingly modern views on slavery; views some people haven't even accepted today. In his Reflections on Black People, Olympe de Gouges wondered why blacks were enslaved. He said that the color of people's skin suggests only a slight difference. The beauty of nature lies in the fact that all is varied. Another man, Jacques Necker, told people that one day they would realize the error of their ways and notice that all people have the same capacity to think and suffer. The slavery issue was a topic of debate among the people of France. The views of the people, based on enlightenment, the welfare of the country or plain ignorance were tossed around for several more years until the issue was finally resolved. In the end the philosophes, with their liberated ideas, won out and slavery was abolished.

Ergonomics in Clerical Environments

Ergonomics in Clerical Environments 2800 words no commentsERGONOMICS IN OFFICE AND CLERICAL ENVIRONMENTSADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT 200GROUP PROJECT WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTErgonomics is becoming one of the most important aspects of administrative management. Since the introduction of computers, offices are becoming more technologically based. Employees are spending greater amounts of time in the office and therefore must be comfortable to remain productive. Workers that feel stressed and do not like their work environments lose morale and spend more time away from the office than usual. Furniture, climate, training procedures, lighting and many more aspects are related to ergonomics in the office and clerical based environments.Keeling and Kallaus (1996;384) says that office furniture and equipment has traditionally been manufactured and used with a view of using efficient office space and cost saving. Although these factors are vital to work within the budget, managers fails to consider the ergonomics need of the employees. Sleeth (1996;10) defines ergonomics as a study of the office environment to allows employees to work productively.Keel-billed ToucanErgonomically designed work environment that takes into consideration both psychological and physical needs increases job satisfaction and prevents injuries (Hess:1996;28).Troyer (1996;20) says that employers have become extremely concerned about potential discomforts associated with extended use of repetitive duty on computers and other office equipment. These discomforts can cause serious bodily injuries and force organisation to lose millions of dollars in loss hours of work, hospital cost and workers' compensation claim. Organisation became aware of the high cost associated with injuries therefore ergonomic furniture and equipment became an important issue in the work place. Ergonomic furniture and equipment is an important issue that management should consider because it decreases the medical cost, insurance cost associated with injuries and also i ncreases worker's efficiency in the workplace (Allie;1996;20).Keeling and Kallaus (1996;384) says that in order to...

4 article summaries and 1 website review Assignment

4 article summaries and 1 website review - Assignment Example Sources reveal that contracts from first imprints give the publisher the freedom to come up with fresh sources. Most of the big houses have declined to comment on the matter as they argue it is not their place to discuss contract negotiations. One of the challenges of reporting changes of book publishing is that all new contracts are open for discussion (Fawcett 5). This is the normal way of conduction business but agents believe that the fear that vague language about formatting begins to come thus they advocate for a format that was globally accepted in the past. Random house has made changes on its contracts because of criticism from SFWA and other groups on the terms of new digital imprint. The most significant change is that prospective writers will have a chance to choose from the original profit share deal and more traditional royalty deal. In addition to adding new option to the contract, the house has also made public the terms of new contract, which is something that the publishers are not ready to do. There is no advance given in the profit model. Hydra or Flirt and the author will share equally the profit from the first copy sold. The cost of production will be covered by Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, or Flirt and they will also cover marketing cost connected to imprint. They will also cover marketing costs specifically for the book up to $10000 but the title marketing cost will be proposed to the author (Maeda 17). If the author agrees and there is increment on the cost of the title, then deduction will be made from sale revenues before the profit is shared. If there is any cash owned to the author, then it will be paid quarterly. The advanced plus royalty offers authors a more traditional way of publishing with the royal standard 25% of the net receipts. The authors will be paid an agreed amount against the royalties and production, shipping, and marketing cost will be covered by Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, or Flirt. Both models give Hydra, Alibi,

Victimology and Victims Advocacy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Victimology and Victims Advocacy - Assignment Example 1) Victimology Victimology is the study into the escapades and behavior of victims may have led, fully or partially, to the predicament. Victim in this case refers to any individual who goes through injury, loss or adversity due to any cause. It isan indiscriminate term that refers to any person who undergoes negative experiences. Victimology is a scientific discipline that studies phenomena and victimization related causal relationships. It includes the study of events resulting in victimization, victim’s incident, outcome and actions taken by the victim’s society to counter cases of victimization. Victimology involves the study of vulnerabilities, people responses, recoveries, precursors, organizations and cultures connected to the victimization (Doerner & Lab, 2012). 2) History and development The term Victim has its origin in numerous languages and cultures that stretched from Asia to North-West Europe. These languages had like linguistic pattern. They included Old European, Latin, Old Norse, Sanskrit and Old German. However, it is Latin that has the closest term to victim, both in terms of pronunciation and meaning. Latin’s equivalent for Victim is victima-which means sacrifice or scapegoat- and its combination with the Greek term logos gave rise to the discipline called victimology. The word ‘victim’ was used as early as1776 criminologists such as Beccaria (1764), Garofalo (1885)and Lombroso (1876) among others. It was not until Benjamin Mendelsohn (1937; 1940) that the study of victims became an independent discipline. It was still Mendelson that proposed the adoption of victimology to define the discipline through his benchmark article â€Å"A New Branch of Bio- Psycho-Social Science, Victimology† that he published in mid 20th century. He studied victims and came up with the six type typology for victims. Only one of these six types includes an innocent victim that had nothing to do to his or her predicament, whi ch he termed as the innocent. All other five types involved victims who had a part in their own harm, which he referred to as victimization precipitation. Von Hentig, credited as the other father of victimology with Mendelsohn, advanced Mendelheson theory of victim precipitation by studying homicide victims. He came to the conclusion that certain types of individuals were victim prone. The probable types of victims included the depressive type, greedy type, wanton type and the tormentor. Schafer and Wolfgang are also notable contributors to the victimology. Victim assistance program were first adopted in 1972 in the US in California and Washington states. Two years later, Fort Launderdale, Florida stated a police based victim advocate project. In 1984, the Victims of Crime Act sets up a countrywide Crime Victims Fund from the federal crime fines kitty to compensate victims. In 1985, the UN adopts the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, becoming the first international breakthrough on the subject. Countries have since then entrenched Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power into their constitutions, such as Japan in 2005 (Worrell, 2001). 3) Difference with Criminology, sociology and psychology The main difference between criminology and victimology is in the subject of interest. Criminology is the study of criminals while victimology is the study

Airports and ground handling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Airports and ground handling - Essay Example te a close collaboration between the top management of air transportation system including airline managers, handling agents, government agencies, as well as specialist agencies and the airport operators. The airport operators vary significantly in relation to the ownership, management structure, funding and degree of autonomy, thus making the manner with which one airport is managed to be significantly different from the other. Nevertheless, each airport operator is faced with challenging tasks of coordinating all services to enable the efficient functionality of the airport system. Each airport operator has a unique responsibility, but all assume the overall responsibility for control and coordination of the operations of the airport. In an attempt to understand the nature of work of the airport operations and the management system of the airports, this paper will analyze some of the future challenges operators are faced with, as well as analyze some of the consequences of these challenges. The paper will also provide an analysis of some of the mitigation measures that can be employed by the airport operators in the event of the potential future challenges. Airport operators are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of passengers and freight through the development of a safe airport environment. However, in some instances, there have been reported incidences when terrorist have managed to evade the security checks and measures in some of the modern and technologically sophisticated airports and managed to spill terror to the airline passengers and crew. An example of the June 8th 2014 terrorist attack on Jinnah international airport, Pakistan, resulting to the death of 36 people is an indication of the sophistication of terrorist attack on airports. Current terrorist attacks on airports are indications that terrorism in the 21st century has revolutionized and points to the development of more sophisticated methods that could be used by

Analysis of Free Trade and Free Trade Agreements

Analysis of Free Trade and Free Trade Agreements Introduction In 1776 Adam Smith published â€Å"The Wealth of Nations†, in which he introduced the proposition that free trade among nations improves overall economic welfare. The concept of free trade has since become a generally accepted principle. A considerable number of economists assume that free trade is beneficial for countries involved in and raises overall economic welfare. Free trade, generally explained as the elimination of tariffs, quotas, or other governmental restrictions on international trade. This allows each nation to specialize in the production of goods that it can produce relatively cheaper and more efficient than other countries, which eventually results in higher real income. In spite of free trades benefits, it sometimes hurts the domestic industry, because the removal of tariffs makes it difficult for domestic firms to compete with the cheaper imports of that good coming from partners. Free trade agreements among countries are set up multilaterally, bilaterally or regionally. Multilateral agreement involves a number of countries, which is currently promoted by World Trade Organization (WTO) that also permits implementation of bilateral (involves two countries) and regional (involves two or more countries in a region) arrangements. WTO website reports that 462 bilateral and regional trade agreements are in force up to February 2010. In this report, the theory of free trade agreements is analyzed on the basis of economics along with their practice in real life taking into account the examples of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU). Furthermore, given empirical evidence related to free trade agreements provides a clear picture of the pattern of those agreements. Economic Integration Free trade agreement (FTA) is a negotiated treaty among a designated group of countries that have accepted to eliminate trade barriers between them. As a consequence, member countries allow one another preferential consideration in trade. In order, this results in closer economic integration between nations. Economic integration is materialized under several associations. First of those is free trade areas (FTAs), under which tariffs and non-tariff barriers on trade have been eliminated between members, nevertheless, each country preserves its private trade policies outside the region. The second preferential trade institution is customs union, in which countries create free trade among members and keep hold ofcommon tariffs and other policies outside the organization. Common markets, the third type of preferential trade, is a further step of customs union, which not only promotes elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers with common tariffs for non-members, but also free moveme nt of capital and labour across internal borders within the market. The last form of arrangement in terms of preferential treatment is economic union, in which countries go further beyond by bringing together their economies with setting up a common currency, in order a unified monetary policy, at the same time as other economic institutions. The most essential example of such a group of member countries is the European Union, which initially started as a customs union and eventually reached to an economic union.According to Cooper (2005), majority of recent FTAs comprise rules oneconomic activities along with trade in goods, including foreign investment, intellectualproperty rights protection, treatment of labor and environment, and trade in services.The dimension and complexity of the FTA will predominantly demonstrate the size and difficulty ofthe economic relations. Economics of Free Trade Free trade agreements are believed to bring economic growth to member countries with respect to the volume of trade. According to Trentmann (1998:226), â€Å"thedoctrine of free trade, that provides unrestricted commodity exchange between places is the best way to advance their mutual prosperity†. To explain the benefits of free trade, economists use David Ricardos theory of comparative advantage and basic tariff or quota analysis. In 1817 Ricardo presented the concept of comparative advantage, which is regarded as one of the most significant laws of economics. It refers to, for a country,producing a good or a service at a lower cost compared to another good within an economy. Therefore, the comparative advantage ability of a nation contributes to trade with its partner. Even if a country has an absolute disadvantage in producing any good than the other nation, there is still a foundation for joint beneficial trade. According to the theory, bearing in mind two goods, the first nation should specialize in production and exportation of the good, in which it has smaller absolute disadvantage and importationof the item in which its absolute disadvantage is greater.As a result, specialization among nations, allows them to allocate their scarce resources to the production of the certain goods and services, in which that country has a comparative advantage. Since free trade grants specialization among countries, this expands worldwide output level. The welfare of specialization with economies of scale, which is the fall in costs because of output increases, makes the global production possibility frontier to enlarge. This displays the fact that under free trade the quantity of produced goods and services is higher than the previous level, which leads to international economic prosperity. Another method of describing the advantage of free trade is using a basic tariff analysis. A tariff is a tax on imports, which simply raises the price collected by domestic producers of that good. Figure 1 shows the benefit of free trade with the example of tariff assumption. The above graph illustrates the imposition of an import tariff on a made-up good. Previous to tariff, Pworld is the price of the good in the world market. However, the levied tax on the good increases the domestic price from Pworld to Ptariff. As a consequence of higher prices, the domestic production grows from Qs1 to Qs2 at the same time domestic consumption shrinks from Qc1 to Qc2. The increase in price due to introduced tariff has significant effects on the welfare of the society. This ultimately leads to a decrease in consumer surplus with the new border of Ptariff level, a rise in producer surplus up to Ptariff level, and additional revenue for the government (the blue area). Nevertheless, the consumer loss is considerably more than the profits of producers and the government together. The size of societal loss is shown by the two triangles. Hence, imposition of tariff makes society worse off, vice versa; free trade would provide a net gain for society. The similar analysis of export tariffs, import and export quotas all generate practically very same results. This makes consumers occasionally better off and producers worse off or sometimes consumers worse off and producers better off, yet establishing trade barriers create a net loss to trading countries as the amount of losers from trade limitations is greater than winners from those restrictions. Landsburg (2004), based on empirical evidence, states that free trade also produces winners and losers; nonetheless, the volume of gains from free trade is bigger than the losses. Hence, being under free trade positively affects nations economic welfare. Economic impact of free trade Formation of free trade agreements throughout the world raises notions about their impact on member countries and nonmembers. The issue has been discussed by economists and separated them into those who are strongly against the free trade and find it economically inefficient, and those who are in favour of it and believe that it creates freer trade. To build their analysis on the impact of the free trade, economists use the theories of trade creation and trade diversion. Jacob Viner first introduced these theories in 1950, whose work later has been mostly applied for free trade agreements. The concept of trade creation is based on the assumption that a member country substitute domestic production of a good with imports of that good from another member, since launch of free trade makes it more profitable to import rather than produce domestically. This is also described as a shift from a higher cost domestic zone to a lower cost partner source. Trade creation with an example of a European Union (EU) member. A member country should import from a EU partner, which charges a lower price thanks to termination of tariffs and this leads to a rise in consumer surplus. The creation of trade contributes to economic welfare within the member countries as resources are utilized more efficiently. Trade diversion is implemented when a member country shifts its import of a good from an efficient nonmember to a less efficient partner in view of the fact that elimination of tariffs among the members and imposition of tariffs on imports from nonmembers make it more affordable to do so. It is a shift from lower cost international territory to a higher cost regional partner source. The graph of trade diversion again using the example of EU. In view of the fact that, EU is a customs union, it has a common external tariff on products coming from nonmember countries. This raises the price of imports from the rest of the world, which at the same time brings inefficiency by reducing consumer surplus. Consequently, costs are higher for a EU country if it formerly had entry for a lower cost producer. The graph also shows the deadweight losses as a result of trade diversion. Trade diversion is meant to lower economic welfare as a less efficient producer now uses resources rather than an efficient one. In general, creation of free trade agreements are subject to both trade creation and trade diversion. When countries are forming a freer trade among themselves, with respect to pattern of the agreement, they could be economically and financially deteriorated. This would be a result if diversion of trade exceeds its creation according to Lipsey and Lancasters (1956) general theory of the second best principle. Therefore, forming a FTA does not always improve efficiency or bring prosperity, but sometimes moving to it may reduce the national welfare of the nations involved. Empirical Evidence Foundation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, significantly affected expansion of world trade by reducing tariff barriers on manufactured goods. Over the years, average tariffs have fallen from around 40 percent to about 5 percent currently. GATT became World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and now involves worlds 153 countries. Although WTOs success on world trade, it still has the problem of maintaining and extending liberalism in the global trading system. Multilateral negations, which include many trading partners, over trade liberalization move very slowly. Besides this, it has not had a great success in liberalizing trade in agriculture, textile, or apparel industries. For this reason, rather than multilateral negotiations, bilateral or regional trade agreements has become a preference for a number of countries. Source:http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/rtaap_overview.pdf The rapid increase in the regional trade agreements from the 1950s hitherto. It is indicated that around 450 RTAs have been notified to the WTO, of which almost 250 are currently in force. Source: http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/rtaap_overview.pdf Source: http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/rtaap_overview.pdf In its early years, implementation of a free trade agreement was subject to free trade of only goods, however, currently trade agreements involves trade in services as well. According to the UNESCAP (2009), out of current 246, 171 RTAs cover trade in goods, 61 trade in services and 15 are accessions to existing RTAs. Besides this, 70% of RTAs being reached an agreement but not yet in force, provides free movement of services on trade. Source: http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/rtaap_overview.pdf The above chart displays that the majority of trade agreements with 82% are free trade areas, whereas only 11% of those account for customs union and the remaining part belongs to partial scope. Slow progress on the multilateral agenda has led to many countries to attain more efficient negotiations for the deeper regional integration.One of these agreements is North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA NAFTA is a trilateral free trade treaty that came into force in January 1994 involving three countries-United States, Canada, and Mexico. The fundamental object of the agreement was to put an end to the huge majority of trade barriers among the members. The formation of NAFTA led to the instant removal of tariffs on US-Mexico business transactions, whereas nearly all US-Canada trade was already tax-free. According to Hufbauer and Schott (2005), NAFTA was created to boost economic growth by stimulating competition in domestic markets and promoting investment through national and international sources. They also state that this has worked and consequently has brought efficiency and productivity to North American Firms. Currently, they can benefit from economies of scale in production and intra-industry specialization. NAFTA at a Glance NAFTA Partners Canada U.S. Mexico Combined Population (2008 est.) 33.3 million 304.1 million 106.7 million 444.1 million Languages English and French English Spanish GDP (2008) 1,501 billion 14,441 billion 1,087 billion 17.0 trillion Trade with NAFTA 570.8 billion 919.9 billion 393.5 billion 946.1 billion Inward FDI (2008) 240.0 billion 229.8 billion 156.0 billion _1 Jobs created (1993-2008) 4.3 25.1 9.3 39.7 Employment Level, 2008 17.1 145.4 43.2 205.7 Source: http://www.naftanow.org/facts/default_en.asp Establishment of NAFTA has contributed significantly to the trade relations between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Although, economists disagree whether the growth is a direct outcome of the agreement, the expansion is proved by the facts from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). USTR (2008) reports that trade within the members more than tripled between 1993 and 2008, from $297 billion to $946.1 billion. Besides this, business investment in the United States has risen by 117 percent between the same years, as compared to a 45 percent rise in the fourteen years prior. Trade with NAFTA members, currently, makes up more than 80 percent of Canadian and Mexican trade, and more than a third of U.S. trade. NAFTA has allowed North American businesses to have a better entry to sources including materials, technology, investment and human capital accessible within the partners. This brings competitiveness to the businesses in the North America as a consequence of trade liberalization. In order, trade liberalization makes an important role in promoting economic growth. Since NAFTA came into force, the economy of member countries has more than doubled in size. As it is shown in the Figure 4, in 2008, the combined gross domestic product (GDP) for partners exceeded US$17 trillion, up from US$7.6 trillion in 1993. Both Mexico and Canada have experienced economic growth since the formation of NAFTA. Being a member of this institution caused a rapid increase in trade with the United States for these economies. Thanks to trade liberalization, a substantial reduction in prices for Mexico and Canadas consumers occurred as a result of tariff removals along with bringing up efficiency in business relations.In case of United States, NAFA countries became top two largest export markets in 2008. USTR (2009) reports that the value of U.S. exports to NAFTA was $412.4 billion in 2008, up 7.2 % ($27.6 billion) from 2007, and up 190% from 1993 (the year before NAFTA). The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2008 were: Machinery ($63.5 billion), Vehicles (parts) ($59.5 billion), Electrical Machinery ($49.2 billion) and Mineral Fuel and Oil ($27.9 billion), and Plastic ($22.3 billion) (USTR. 2009). U.S. exports to NAFTA evaluated 32.0% of total U.S. exports in 2008, down slightly from 32.2% in 1994. Whereas U.S. imports from NAFTA accounted for 26.4% of overall U.S. imports in 2008, down from 26.9% in 1994. NAFTA countries Canada ($339.5 billion) and Mexico (215.9 billion) are totaled the largest and third largest importers for U.S. respectively in 2008. U.S. goods imports from NAFTA accounted for $554.4 billion in 2008, up 5.2% ($27.7 billion) from 2007, and up 268% from 1993 (USTR, 2009). The five largest categories in 2008 were Mineral Fuel and Oil (crude oil) ($157.8 billion), Vehicles ($79.7 billion), Electrical Machinery ($63.5 billion), Machinery ($46.5 billion), and Special Other (returns) ($14.3 billion). It is very obvious that NAFTA has become very successful in soaring trade between its member nations. Yet, it is not very clear to understand whether the increase is really contributed to world trade or whether the increase actually symbolizes trade diversion. Just like any other free trade area, NAFTA members are subject to hold their own external tariff for third countries. This behavior of FTAs features Rules of Origin (ROO) concept. Its intention is to prevent trade deflection, i.e. goods or services accessing the member country with the lowest tariff for the object of trans-shipment. Although a product, coming from a member, has an access of free entry, if it contains material or processing from a third country it is then necessary to set which such inputs are permitted (Augier). A quite number of negative effects are attributed to ROO in economic literature. It could be said that these rules are protectionist and leads to negative economic welfare.Krueger (1997) states that eve n where the purpose of ROO is not protectionist, they provide a great amount of cost for producers and administrators. NAFTA possesses restrictive rules of origin procedure as well.Hufbauer and Schott (2005:23) comment that in a few industries, most notably textiles and apparel where yarn forward rules of origin were imposed specifically to make US textile firms the preferred suppliers for Mexican apparel manufacturers, NAFTA has indeed fostered trade diversion†.The rules of origin have possibly brought about trade diversion for certain industries under NAFTA. European Union European Union (EU) is the worlds largest trading bloc. The Treaty of Rome established the foundation of the EU in 1958. This treaty created a supranational institution called European Economic Community (EEC) between six countries (France, Western Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg). The primary purpose of the EEC was to create a customs union and an incomplete common market. Customs Union has entailed free trade between members with the protection of the union against the rest of the world. Merging markets brought up rapid progress in the 1960s and early 1970s. The following objective was to implement an economic union by setting up common policies. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty implemented the single market and the European Union was formally established. Currently, the EU involves 27 countries with over 500 million population. The advantages from free trade predicted by theory encouraged the founders of EU to adopt removal of barriers on trade. In the 1970s and 1980s the new partners both those, which joined in 1972 (the UK, Ireland and Denmark) and those, which joined in the 1980s (Spain, Portugal, and Greece) eliminated all tariffs and quotas in intra-EU trade. After the completion of the customs union, the EU has picked a common external tariff (CET) in their relation with the rest of the world. The CET principle applies generally to all manufactured products. Until recently it did not apply to agricultural products market, which is protected by the EU. Nonetheless, being under a customs union has had a favorable influence on the EU members so that trade among member states overweighs the trade with the third countries. Between 1958 and 1972, the trade among the six original EU members had increased by nine times, whereas goods trade with the third countries grew by three times (Molle, 2006). This was attributed to the trade creation effect of the EU. In 1993, the completion of single market provided removal of all trade barriers and free movement of goods, services, capital and people within the EU. It is believed that the single market actually benefits the union with reducing the business costs along with stimulating competition and increasing efficiency for the advantage of consumers. BIS reports that in 2006 the EUs GDP was 2.2% higher than it would have been in the absence of the Single Market, which benefited consumers by an average increase of â‚ ¬518 per capita. Furthermore, an extra 2.75 million jobs have been created as a result of the single market across Europe. Molle (2006) states that in the period 1960-2000 intra-EU trade has expanded by almost 7 per cent annually, which is considerably in excess of GDP growth. The main factors of this growth were the EU integration and ongoing liberalization of world trade. After the enlargement of Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995, original members trade with the three new partners increased significantly, indicating an effect of integration. In 2004 and 2007, EU experienced its biggest enlargement by the join of 12 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). This resulted in changes in the EUs trade pattern because enlargement made the new partners as a part of intra-EU trade, which used to be considered as an extra-EU commerce. As a result, EUs internal trade accounted for nearly two thirds of the EUs total foreign trade, summing approximately â‚ ¬4.9 trillion in 2006 (Panorama of European Union Trade). David (2009) based on his research, states that the enlargement led to a net trade creation caused by notable gross trade between the EU and CEECS. Although exports from older 15 members to new eastern European members surpass their imports, this in general increases liberalized trade between partners and creates overall positive impact. Free Trade Area vs Customs Union Both of these two major forms of economic integration have a distinctive behavior that has notable implications. For an FTA, with every single country possessing its own external tariff, the ROO is the typical feature. In terms of a CU, the distinguishable factor is the common external tariff (CET), which is related to third countries. When a common external tariff is the case, imports into the unions area meet the same tariff in each member country; therefore there is no incentive for trans-shipment of imports among members. Mirus and Rylska statethat the once CET established, it remains non-negotiable, although this may result in increase in non-tariff barriers, common commercial and trade policies would limit such attempts. The administrative simplicity in a CET makes it easy to implement, promoting efficiency and competition as a result of lowered input costs. Taking into account FTAs ROO feature, Krueger (1995) has revealed that an FTA does not cause more net trade creation than a CU for the same partners. Besides this, an FTA will not be economically more successful than a CU for the same members, if the CET is placed below the level of the high cost country. In this situation, trade is created when the high cost nation lowers production because of tariff cuts, in contrast an FTA would maintain the tariff and creates less trade. Considering the protectionist (trade-diversion) effect of ROO, this accounts for more trade creation and less trade diversion for a CU. Bearing in mind the borders and separate customs operation under an FTA, a CU resembles a larger single market, in which the power of interest groups compared to an FTA is significantly low and scale economics along with competition effects are importantly greater. Furthermore, a fairly large CU will have a remarkable influence on the prices of globally traded products, compellin g non-member countries to undertake the existed prices inside the CU. As a result, non-members will export to the CU at prices that contains CET and transport costs, granting an aspect of monopsony power to the CU. This effect is not that clear for an FTA with similar partners. Hence, the welfare-enhancing benefit of a CU is greater than those of an FTA. Conclusion This report provides analysis of free trade and free trade agreements with their economic implications including economic integration, comparative advantage, trade creation and trade diversion effects. Moreover, the practical impacts of NAFTA, the worlds largest free trade area, alongside the European Union, which is the worlds biggest customs union, are surveyed. The results reveal that formation of both of these institutions has enormously increased the dimensions of trade among members. In addition, a rise in investment, competition and closer economic integration has contributed economic welfare of the countries involved. Welfare enhancing characteristic of free trade as a consequence of elimination of trade barriers stimulate nations to implement free trade agreementsacross the world. This was primarily undertaken by GATT/WTO, however, inefficiency and inadequacy of this institution in trade liberalization required countries to move towards the bilateral and regional trade agree ments preferred to multilateral trade negotiations. Under regional trade agreements, Bhagwati (1992) states that trade diversion is more likely to prevail trade creation in most cases. Besides this, the dominant view among mainstream economists is that regionalism is disadvantageous for the multilateral trading system because they bear discriminatory features in their nature. In contrast, Krugman favors regional agreements and states that contemporary trade barriers are much more complicated to agree on multilateral level, whereas, negotiating in regional forums is really easy to cope with. Moreover, he does not find regional trade agreements to have any kind of negative effect on multilateral structure. Recent studies demonstrate that,under regional and bilateral trade agreements, trade diversion effects are limited and a significant amount of trade creation effects dominate under those treaties (Urata and Okabe, 2007).Both the cases of NAFTA and the European Union show that the tr ade creation effects prevail, as a result, this generates economic welfare.

The Digestive System Essay -- Anatomy Processes Eating Digestion Essay

The Digestive System The digestive system is a group of organs that perform the process by which food, containing nutrients, is eaten and broken down into different components. This breakdown makes it possible for the digested material to pass through the intestinal wall into the blood stream. The digestive process contains many different steps that take place in many different organs.The first step of digestion begins at the mouth, where the food enters the mouth. Saliva is secreted from the salivary glands. The saliva contains enzymes such as Ptyalin, which starts sugar digestion. The enzymes also provide lubrication to help in the chewing and swallowing of the food. The food then goes down the esophagus and into the stomach, where the next step of digestion takes place. In the stomach, a mixture of hydrochloric acid and Pepsin, which is secreted by the stomach wall, liquefies the food. At the same time, a substance called intrinsic factor binds Vitamin B in food and various gastric enzymes, such as Pepsin (which begins protein digestion), which are secreted by the stomach wall. Secretions of mucus protect the stomach from its digestive enzymes. The food is then mixed in the stomach, turning it into chyme(digested food). The muscular pumping motion called peristalsis churns the chyme around.The chyme then passes through the pyloric valve by peristalsis to the first portion of the small intestine, the duodenum. The duodenum is where most of the chemical digestion takes place. Here, bile from the gallbladder and enzymes from the pancreas and intestinal walls combine with the chyme to begin the final part of digestion.Bile liquid is created in the liver, and stored in the gallbladder. Bile aids in the mechanical digestion of fat. The pancreas and gland cells of the small intestine secrete digestive enzymes that chemically break down complex food molecules into simpler ones. These enzymes include trypsin for protein digestion, amylase for carbohydrate digestion, and lipase for fat digestion. When the food passes through the duodenum, the digestion is complete.From the duodenum, the chyme passes to the jejunum and ileum, where tiny finger-like objects called villi, cover the walls. These villi start the absorption of food. During the absorption, food molecules enter the blood stream through the walls of the intestine. From the small intest... ...um often affects the amount or frequency of one’s bowel movements. People should see a doctor if they experience any change in their bowel movements or pain while having a movement. Most patients whose cancer is confined to the intestine have the growth removed by surgery. They may also receive radiation therapy or chemotherapy. These patients have an excellent chance of being cured. Patients whose cancer has spread beyond the intestine usually have surgery, supplemented by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Works Cited Broitman, Selwyn A. â€Å"Digestive System.† Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1998. â€Å"Digestive System.† A.D.A.M. The Inside Story. Vers. 2.01. Computer Software. A.D.A.M. Software Inc., 1996 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Constipation.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Diarrhea.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Digestive System.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Franklin, James L. â€Å"Ulcer.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Lindsay, Mary. The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body. New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1991. Plaut, Andrew G. â€Å"Appendicitis.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 The Digestive System Essay -- Anatomy Processes Eating Digestion Essay The Digestive System The digestive system is a group of organs that perform the process by which food, containing nutrients, is eaten and broken down into different components. This breakdown makes it possible for the digested material to pass through the intestinal wall into the blood stream. The digestive process contains many different steps that take place in many different organs.The first step of digestion begins at the mouth, where the food enters the mouth. Saliva is secreted from the salivary glands. The saliva contains enzymes such as Ptyalin, which starts sugar digestion. The enzymes also provide lubrication to help in the chewing and swallowing of the food. The food then goes down the esophagus and into the stomach, where the next step of digestion takes place. In the stomach, a mixture of hydrochloric acid and Pepsin, which is secreted by the stomach wall, liquefies the food. At the same time, a substance called intrinsic factor binds Vitamin B in food and various gastric enzymes, such as Pepsin (which begins protein digestion), which are secreted by the stomach wall. Secretions of mucus protect the stomach from its digestive enzymes. The food is then mixed in the stomach, turning it into chyme(digested food). The muscular pumping motion called peristalsis churns the chyme around.The chyme then passes through the pyloric valve by peristalsis to the first portion of the small intestine, the duodenum. The duodenum is where most of the chemical digestion takes place. Here, bile from the gallbladder and enzymes from the pancreas and intestinal walls combine with the chyme to begin the final part of digestion.Bile liquid is created in the liver, and stored in the gallbladder. Bile aids in the mechanical digestion of fat. The pancreas and gland cells of the small intestine secrete digestive enzymes that chemically break down complex food molecules into simpler ones. These enzymes include trypsin for protein digestion, amylase for carbohydrate digestion, and lipase for fat digestion. When the food passes through the duodenum, the digestion is complete.From the duodenum, the chyme passes to the jejunum and ileum, where tiny finger-like objects called villi, cover the walls. These villi start the absorption of food. During the absorption, food molecules enter the blood stream through the walls of the intestine. From the small intest... ...um often affects the amount or frequency of one’s bowel movements. People should see a doctor if they experience any change in their bowel movements or pain while having a movement. Most patients whose cancer is confined to the intestine have the growth removed by surgery. They may also receive radiation therapy or chemotherapy. These patients have an excellent chance of being cured. Patients whose cancer has spread beyond the intestine usually have surgery, supplemented by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Works Cited Broitman, Selwyn A. â€Å"Digestive System.† Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1998. â€Å"Digestive System.† A.D.A.M. The Inside Story. Vers. 2.01. Computer Software. A.D.A.M. Software Inc., 1996 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Constipation.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Diarrhea.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Dubois, Andre. â€Å"Digestive System.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Franklin, James L. â€Å"Ulcer.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999 Lindsay, Mary. The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body. New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1991. Plaut, Andrew G. â€Å"Appendicitis.† World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999

Hamlets Tragic Flaw

Procrastination is an action or rather an inaction, because when you procrastinate, you are avoiding completing a task. â€Å"Emotionally, Hamlet’s procrastination produces in him a growing rage that leads to his killing of Polonius (3. 4) †¦. Set in motion the incidents that lead to the bloody climax† (Boyce). This quote illustrates the topic of the following essay. It clearly outlines why the inability to act is ultimately the tragic flaw of the character Hamlet. Firstly, Hamlet’s procrastination ultimately leads to the premature death of many characters throughout the play.In act 3 scene 4, while confronting his mother, Hamlet hears a noise from behind a curtain. Thinking it was Claudius spying, Hamlet passes his sword through the curtain and stabs Polonius. Polonius calls out â€Å"O, I am slain! †(3. 4. 22), then falls and dies. Hamlets Procrastination led to this because his emotions are being built up so, that when he hears the slightest thing that may be Claudius, he reacts in a violent way. That is not a good thing, because the death of Polonius will lead to two other events that will eventually cause three other characters to die.Moreover, in the final scene, three more characters die. Claudius has a cup of poisoned wine for Hamlet, but Gertrude unknowingly drinks it and immediately starts to die. Just before she passes, she exclaims â€Å"No! No! The drink, the drink – O my dear Hamlet – the drink, the drink! I am poisn’d (dies)† (5. 2. 299-300). After Gertrude dies, Hamlet and Laertes fight more violently, and Laertes cuts Hamlet. In a brawl, Hamlet gets a hold of Laertes’ sword and stabs him. When Hamlet realizes the sword is poisoned, he turns and stabs Claudius.Hamlet says â€Å"†¦the point envenomed too†¦ (stabs the king)†¦ Follow my mother! (Claudius dies)† (5. 2. 311-317). After Claudius dies, Laertes says to Hamlet â€Å"†¦he is justly served†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (5. 2. 318-322) then dies. He says this to reassure Hamlet that he did the right thing. Hamlet’s procrastination led to the climax of the play, because if he would have killed Claudius sooner, he would have discovered that Hamlet knows about the murder and he never would have called the sword fight, and none of this brutality would have occurred.Secondly, Hamlet’s procrastination is causing other characters to plot against him. After Hamlet killed Polonius, Claudius plans to ship Hamlet away to England and make Polonius’ death look accidental. When he reveals his plan, he is talking to Gertrude and says â€Å"O Gertrude, come away! / The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, / But we will ship him hence: and this vile deed / We must with all our majesty and skill, / Both countenance and excuse! † (4. 1. 28-32). He is simply telling Gertrude that Hamlet will be on a ship to England before the sun rises.He also adds that they must both â€Å"co untenance and excuse† the death of Polonius to protect their identity. Furthermore, when Laertes hears of his father’s death, he returns to Denmark, and he and Claudius plan to kill Hamlet and make it look like an accident. The king devises a plan and tells Laertes â€Å"to thine own peace†¦ he shall not choose but fall†¦ even his mother†¦ shall call it accident† (4. 7. 61-68). Laertes is not fully satisfied with the kings plan and he says to Claudius â€Å"My Lord, I will be ruled; / The rather if you devise it so / That I might be the organ† (4. 7. 69-70).Laertes and Claudius devise a plan in which Laertes will kill Hamlet to avenge his father’s death, and Claudius will not need to worry about Hamlet revealing the truth of King Hamlet’s murder. Lastly, Hamlet’s procrastination allows time for events to unfold, ultimately bringing about his own death. Claudius caught on that Hamlet knows what happened to his father, so Claudius has Hamlet fight Laertes in a fencing match. We find out about this plan when a lord comes to invite Hamlet to the match. The lord entered the room where Hamlet was and said â€Å"My Lord, his majesty†¦ if your / Pleasure hold to play with Laertes† (5. . 186-190). Hamlet accepts the invitation to the match. The purpose of the fencing match is for Laertes to get revenge on Hamlet for killing Polonius. This will also serve as a means for Claudius to eliminate Hamlet so that he will not reveal the truth about King Hamlet’s murder. Furthermore, unbeknownst to Hamlet, the match is rigged. When Claudius tells Laertes that he is to kill Hamlet in the fencing match, Laertes responds â€Å"I will do’t†¦ I will anoint my sword. / I bought an unction of a mountebank, so mortal†¦ if I gall him slightly, / It may be death† (4. 7. 140-148).He says this because he wants to inform the reader that he will poison his sword to ensure Hamlet dies if h e cuts him even slightly. This shows how determined Laertes is to get revenge on Hamlet for killing Polonius. Therefore, the tragic flaw of Hamlet is ultimately procrastination. There are many examples throughout the play supporting this fact. If the other characters would have procrastinated the way Hamlet did, the play would have been much heavier with subplots and underlying moods and feelings. Based on this play, most people would think twice before putting off any large tasks that they may need to accomplish.

Queen Victoria Quotes

Queen Victoria Quotes Queen Victoria, the longest-ruling monarch of Great Britain, ruled during a time of economic and imperial expansion, and gave her name to the Victorian Era. Selected Queen Victoria Quotations We are not amused. (attributed) Please understand that there is no one depressed in this house; we are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist. Move Queen Anne? Most certainly not! Why it might some day be suggested that my statue should be moved, which I should much dislike. (about moving a statue of Queen Anne for Victorias Diamond Jubilee) The Queen is most anxious to enlist every one who can speak or write to join in checking this mad, wicked folly of Womans Rights, with all its attendant horrors, on which her poor feeble sex is bent, forgetting every sense of womanly feeling and propriety. The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them. His purity was too great, his aspiration too high for this poor, miserable world! His great soul is now only enjoying that for which it was worthy! When I think of a merry, happy, free young girl and look at the ailing, aching state a young wife generally is doomed to which you cant deny is the penalty of marriage. I feel sure that no girl would go to the altar if she knew all. An ugly baby is a very nasty object, and the prettiest is frightful when undressed. I dont dislike babies, though I think very young ones rather disgusting. I would venture to warn against too great intimacy with artists as it is very seductive and a little dangerous. Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves. He speaks to Me as if I was a public meeting. (of Mr. Gladstone) More About Queen Victoria Queen Victoria BiographyHow Is Queen Elizabeth II Related to Queen Victoria?   About These Quotes Quote collection assembled by Jone Johnson Lewis. Each quotation page in this collection and the entire collection  © Jone Johnson Lewis. This is an informal collection assembled over many years. I regret that I am not be able to provide the original source if it is not listed with the quote.

Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1859, to Sarah Miller Tanner and Benjamin Tucker Tanner. Henry is best known for his paintings of everyday African American life and for his from the bible. His most well known work is The Banjo Lesson painted in 1893, at the Hampton University Museum, in Hampton, Virginia. When he was 13 years old, Henry watched an artist at work and was fascinated by it. It was then that he decided to become an artist. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. He became the second black student to attend the school. Tanner traveled to Europe in 1891, where he spent a short time in London before settling in Paris, where he studied painting at the Acadà ©mie Julien. In the summer of 1893 Tanner returned to America to recuperate from typhoid fever, but he lived permanently in France after 1894. He submitted his painting Daniel in the Lions’ Den to the Paris Salon Exhibition of 1896 and received honorable mention, an honor no other American received that year. His religious works brought Tanner recognition in both France and America. Tanner was elected a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1923, and in 1927 he was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1996 Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City was acquired for the art collection of the White House in Washington, D.C.; it was the first work by an African American painter to be chosen for this collection. Tanner’s work is appreciated by many including the government of the United States of America, which has a select number of works of his on display in the White House. He was appreciated in his lifetime and is certainly appreciated for his great contributions to American art for all of us. Henry Ossawa Tanner died in 1937.... Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner Free Essays on Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1859, to Sarah Miller Tanner and Benjamin Tucker Tanner. Henry is best known for his paintings of everyday African American life and for his from the bible. His most well known work is The Banjo Lesson painted in 1893, at the Hampton University Museum, in Hampton, Virginia. When he was 13 years old, Henry watched an artist at work and was fascinated by it. It was then that he decided to become an artist. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. He became the second black student to attend the school. Tanner traveled to Europe in 1891, where he spent a short time in London before settling in Paris, where he studied painting at the Acadà ©mie Julien. In the summer of 1893 Tanner returned to America to recuperate from typhoid fever, but he lived permanently in France after 1894. He submitted his painting Daniel in the Lions’ Den to the Paris Salon Exhibition of 1896 and received honorable mention, an honor no other American received that year. His religious works brought Tanner recognition in both France and America. Tanner was elected a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1923, and in 1927 he was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in New York. In 1996 Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City was acquired for the art collection of the White House in Washington, D.C.; it was the first work by an African American painter to be chosen for this collection. Tanner’s work is appreciated by many including the government of the United States of America, which has a select number of works of his on display in the White House. He was appreciated in his lifetime and is certainly appreciated for his great contributions to American art for all of us. Henry Ossawa Tanner died in 1937....

Increasing taxes of alcohol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Increasing taxes of alcohol - Essay Example According to the health minister, when in the year 2000 the previous government initiated a tax decrease on these products, it led to a drastic increase in the consumption of these products. Official data suggests that the consumption increased form 14 percent to around 60 percent with young girls. Moreover, an even more alarming situation for the government is that the consumption of ready to alcohol drinks is increasing within teenagers and data suggests that girls are even more responsive towards this trend in comparison with boys. The government hopes to reverse this trend with this price increase since the segment is price sensitive plus the government also promises to spend the tax revenue in preventive health schemes. The above-mentioned case in many ways relates to different concepts of economics. The first one can be the very basic relation of price and demand. Economics at its initial level teaches that price charged for any product and quantity demanded of that product enjoy a negative or inverse relationship. If price charged for a product increases than the quantity demand decreases and vice versa1. This case shows a similar kind of a situation. According to the health minister when in year 2000, the previous government decreased the taxes, it led to the decrease in the price charged for it to consumers and this decrease in price led to a drastic increase in the quantity demanded for ready to drink alcohol drinks. Official data suggests that it rose from 14 percent to 60 percent within the segment of young girls. The price demand relationship explains the idea and phenomenon behind this happening. Another important concept of economics applied here is the price elasticity of demand. Sensitivity of quantity demanded to the changes in the price charged is the price elasticity of demand. In order words, it can also be said that it refers to the responsiveness of demand in relation to the changes in price.

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role Essay

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role of supra-national organizations in crises like the Arab Spring and Libya in 2011 Why - Essay Example The mistreatment of the people in Libya and victims of the Arab Spring should have been a concern for the supra-national organizations. The political leaders in Africa for example in Libya use their power to oppress the minority. These leaders deny their subjects their human rights and make their lives miserable under their rule. The success of NATO depended on the chance of Libya emerging as a stable democratic nation.2 The success of supra-national organizations is dependent on their objectives. Doubts have been casted over the responsibility of networks to protect vulnerable populations. Supra-national organizations have the ability to protect the vulnerable through ensuring there are fair elections among less democratic state. Such states are exposed to unfair elections and election violence, as well as oppressive rules. However, the supra-national organizations have legal authority only over member states. This means that cases of Libya and the Arab Spring can be handled by the African Union or the United Nation among others.3 This is legal right of membership is the reason why Falk questions NATO’s involvement with Libyan issues. Conclusively, networks may be a threat to governments; however, confronting them is not a simple task. This is because interaction of individuals through the internet is the cause of the expansion of networks. Supra-national organizations must ensure every person around the globe practices his or her human rights. NATO intervention in Libya might be question, but despite going against the UN, NATO’s move might have saved lives of many individuals in Libya. Jie Tang, Irwin King, and Ling Chen, Advanced Data Mining and Applications: 7th International Conference, ADMA 2011, Beijing, China, December 17-19, 2011, Proceedings, Volume 1. New York: Springer,

Ethics, Genetics and Reproduction Philosophy Essay

Ethics, Genetics and Reproduction Philosophy - Essay Example Had the things been that simple, any type of intellectual debate would have become a mere travesty that would have predominantly remained confined to evaluating the emerging social and ethical issues by the established yardsticks. However, this was never to happen. Luckily, such a travesty of intellectual and ethical catechism is infact next to impossible in the contemporary technology driven society where the emergence of latest scientific discoveries and novel possibilities infact more then ever impinges upon the collective human consciousness to see and analyze the emerging issues in a multifaceted context. In such a mature and liberal social scenario, issues related to fertility, reproduction and surrogate motherhood assume special significance in an ethical, legal, theological and philosophical context that attract the attention and interest of thinkers and intellectuals from all the spheres of social life. In her work 'The Case against the Legalization of Contract Motherhood', Christine Overall defines surrogate motherhood as, "a reproductive practice in which a women agrees before becoming pregnant, to surrender the baby she gestates to a man who has commissioned the pregnancy, usually in return for a set fee (112)." As is evident to any thinking individual, the issue is doubtlessly open to a variety of conflicting opinions and is fraught with contention, so far as its ethical and legal ramifications are concerned. It not only invites a debate on the issue of the 'right to reproduce', but also implores whether the criminalization of commercial surrogacy contracts infringe upon the right to reproduce. A whole spectrum of opinions exists on the issue under consideration that vary from being outright endorsing or reprehensive to those somewhat being mild, liberal and situation based. The case of Mary Beth v/s William Stern litigated in the Supreme Court of New Jersey infact raised more issues that are relevant to the given topic then coming out with ample i nalienable and irrefutable conclusions and guidelines. Many of the outspoken feminists hold that commercial surrogacy amounts to trivializing the whole concept of labor and motherhood. The very fact that such activities are coordinated and conducted by astute brokers makes the whole thing sound more of an industrial activity then the scared and sensitive experience of becoming a mother. This issue is fraught with grave possibilities, so far as the status of the women and the children in the society is concerned. It can not only thwart the society's onward march to achieving sexual equality, but has the potential to infringe upon the rights of the children. The problem is that most of the heard of opinions till now, pertaining to this issue were forwarded by theologians and conservatives. This temporarily obfuscated the logical and rational moorings of the whole issue and made it seem anti-science and recidivist. Still, there is no dearth of critics who are outright modern and contemporary in their perspective and who denounce the idea o f contractual surrogacy on the more understandable grounds of human exploitation and the blatant commercialization of the ability to reproduce. There exists a school of opinion makers of

European society Essay Example for Free

European society Essay The eighteenth century saw a revolution sweeping Western philosophy and a simultaneous upheaval and transformation in Western social life. In this period, the west, particularly the European society and state seemed cold and heartless. The dislocations of industrialization and urbanization exposed the weaknesses of the old system and stimulated a need for more innovative political institutions adaptable to the new socio-economic conditions. This desire for change was accompanied by strong nationalist sentiments. Initial Western nationalism was lauded as a liberal form of mass political engagement and allegiance to the secular power of emerging states, consistent with popular rule. Accordingly, its birth was announced with the representation, rights, and toleration of Englands constitutional monarchy and its banner the â€Å"liberty, equality and fraternity† of the French Revolution against absolutism. Many scholars estimate the birth of the American nation from 1750-1775 (see for example, Weeks, 1994). In the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, social, political, and economic turmoil and instability transformed many Western countries into the world’s most chaotic amphitheater of disruption. People who thought that their cultural and political borders were violated waged a series of insurrections and rebellions. This strong feeling and desire to fight violations of inalienable natural rights came to be known as nationalism. Nationalist feelings became a decisive power in the Romantic Era. In nationalism, the individual is â€Å"the very center, the arbiter, the sovereign of the universe† (Kedourie, 1993, p.17). The political implication of this was that self-determination constituted the supreme good. Later political philosophers building upon Kantian ideas proposed that: humanity is naturally divided into nations; each nation has its peculiar character; the source of all political power is the nation; for freedom and self-realization, people must identify with a nation; loyalty to the nation-states overrides other loyalties; and the primary condition of global freedom and harmony is the strengthening of the nation-state (Smith, 1983). In the early years of the twentieth century, the striking similarity displayed by the nationalist movements throughout Southeast Asia derived from their common inspiration in Western ideology and their largely identical economic bases – the former guiding the intellectuals who lead the movements in their respective countries; the latter supplying the driving power from the masses. However, it must be pointed out that nationalist movements in this region did not have the support of more than a very small fraction of the native peoples, who for the most part are not aware that the question of autonomy even exists, and whose major concern is simply survival (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942). In Southeast Asia, native nationalism has been the forced growth of a transplanted Western seed. In spite of the centrifugal forces of a plural society artificially bound together solely by the profit motive, nationalism has taken root among the indigenous peoples. It has penetrated most deeply among the native peoples who are united by a common language, pride of race and glorious historical traditions (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942). Thus, â€Å"Within each group, nationalism has proved to be a cohesive force, welding people who were until its advent hardly conscious of the existence of compatriots beyond their own village, absorbing disparate religious and regional loyalties, and nationalizing such international influences as they experienced. However, from the perspectives of Southeast Asian countries as individual units, nationalism has proved a disruptive force. It has made each racial group more self-conscious, more prone to assert itself at the expense of other groups, and either tends toward a disastrous break-up of the present mosaic by some vigilant outsider playing upon this grave weakness in the body politic and social, or leads toward the forced assimilation of the weaker minorities by the most powerfully placed group. † (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942, p. 144) The establishment of national unity through was essential ingredient in the emergence of democracy. According to Marx (2003), nationalism is an essential prerequisite to democracy, since â€Å"it establishes the boundaries of the community to which citizenship and rights are then accorded, without which democracy is impossible† (p. 31). And the birth of nationalism was related to the political baptism of the lower classes whose empowerment helped bring democracy, with both nationalism and democracy thereby relatively and impressively inclusive (Marx, 2003). While many have witnessed nationalism and democracy going together, for the past few years, nationalism has been largely considered a disruptive force on the prospects for democratization. For one, national unity gives rise to the question of the state and its boundaries, which is believed to be more fundamental than that of regime type and that can disrupt debate about appropriate political forms. Nationalism in this sense is a disruptive force because it gives rise to issues regarding religious beliefs, language, and customs. Moreover, nationalism is largely seen as being potentially disruptive to achieving democratic outcomes since it stimulates mass mobilization which frightens authoritarian rulers, causing them to suppress activities that may stop the progress of the whole process of political change. The argument that nationalism is a disruptive force is validated by the experiences of southern Europe and Latin America. The disintegration of all of the federal Communist states along republican lines adds force to this argument; however, it is not as clear-cut as this in the post-Soviet experience. According to McFaul (2002), ten years after the collapse of communism, only Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are democracies, while the other republics are under regimes that are either facade democracies or nondemocratic. Nationalism was also seen as a disruptive force on the eve of the First World War. It played an important role in the rivalries between superpowers: Germany vs. France (revenge for 1871), Russia, vs. Austria-Hungary (expansion into Balkans), and Germany vs. Great Britain (control of seas, arms race). Nationalism was also a disruptive force regarding the emergence of unsatisfied nationalities: Poles, Irish, Serbs, Czechs, and many others In Poland, following the 1830 uprising, conservatives began to drift away from nationalism. By the 1850s, only few on the right were interested in talking about nationalism, which came to be seen as a dangerous term signifying disruption, disorder, and even revolution (Porter, 2000). Within Poland itself many nobles may have shared the hopes of the Czartoryski circle, but since they could do little to further such a cause, they retreated to apolitical lives (Porter, 2000). Not only were the conservatives uncomfortable with the politics of the patriotic activists, but they found it difficult to speak the language of national romanticism. â€Å"They might appreciate some of the poetry of Mickiewicz or Slowacki, but they soon discovered the disruptive force of the progressive historiosophies to which the concept of the nation had been so firmly linked. † (Porter, 2000, p. 31) References Emerson, R. , Mills, L. A. , and Thompson, V. (1942). Government and Nationalism in Southeast Asia. New York: Institute of Pacific Relations. Kedourie, E. (1993). Nationalism, 4th expanded ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Marx, A. W. (2003). Faith in Nation: Exclusionary Origins of Nationalism. New York: Oxford University Press. McFaul, M. (2002). The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship: Noncooperative Transitions in the Postcommunist World. World Politics 54(1), 212-44. Porter, B. (2000). When Nationalism Began to Hate: Imagining Modern Politics in Nineteenth Century Poland. New York: Oxford University Press. Weeks, W. E. (1994). American Nationalism, American Imperialism: An Interpretation of United States Political Economy, 1789-1861. Journal of the Early Republic, 14, 485-495.