Monday, September 30, 2019

Antigone Minor Character Essay

The play Antigone tells the story of one of Oedipus’ daughters standing up to the law in order to honor her brother. The story begins after Polyneices and Eteocles have killed each other and King Creon issues an edict forbidding the burial of Polyneices. In the prologue Antigone’s sister Ismene is introduced. Ismene while a minor character serves a great purpose in the play. In the opening lines of the play a dialogue is occurring between Ismene and Antigone. In lines 14-29 Antigone is telling Ismene of her plan to bury Polyneices even though Creon forbids it. Ismene tells her â€Å"We are only women; We cannot fight with men†¦. We must give in to the law†. Ismene’s refusal and fear of breaking the law serves to emphasize Antigone’s stubbornness and hardheadedness. In scene 2 when Ismene tries to take partial blame for the burial of Polyneices, Antigone refuses her. This shows Antigone’s pride for her actions and her protectiveness and loyalty to her family. Ismene is included to act as a foil to Antigone’s character. Where Ismene not included in the play, the play would not have such a great effect. Ismene represents the average women in this Greek society. Had her character not been introduced the reader would assume that all women in that society were as hardheaded and stubborn as Antigone. If Antigone would have represented the average woman the theme of loyalty to family would be lost. Through out the prologue Ismene refers back to the fact that they are just women and have no power against the laws or what is done about them. In scene 2 Creon is convinced that it was a man who buried Polyneices and not a woman this serves to verify the gender roles in Greek society. Ismene’s shy, hesitant, and reluctant behavior is typical of a woman of that society since after all they had no rights and were treated as property. In conclusion Ismene while a minor character serves the role of a foil to Antigone by emphasizing Antigone’s hardheaded stubbornness. She is included to show how typical women in Greek society acted and what they believed. If it weren’t for Ismene several themes in the story would not appear.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Analysis of the Poem “Variations on the Word Love” Essay

The writer of the poem Margaret Atwood was born in November 18, 1939 in  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is not only a poet, but also a novelist, a literary critic,  an essayist and an environmental activist. And she is an excellent writer, a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature. Her genres of writing include historical fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction, and dystopian fiction. The theme of the poem â€Å"Variations on the Word Love† by Margaret Atwood  is that there is a wide range of types of love that are expressed differently. The poem mainly composes of two parts. Firstly, she explores the word â€Å"love† and how widely it is nowadays used. And secondly, Atood related her own personal experience about love. In the first stanza, Atwood described the commercial side of love, making â€Å"love† seem insignificant. An example would be one of her line: â€Å"for those red heart-shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing like real hearts.† This line shows that how commonly that the symbol of love is used in commercial ways, thus depreciating the value of love. Later in the poem, Atood also described the patriotic feeling that soldiers in the battle fights upon in the line â€Å"they shout it. Love! Love! Sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute. This shows that there are other types of love exist beside the romantic ones. As well in the last stanza, Atood explored her relationship with her husband within the topic of the deep connection they shared with each other. Through the poem, Atwood had revealed several forms of love, and how love can take on different meanings. She portrayed the theme effectively through her outstanding writing. Many poetic devices were used in the poem include enjambment, repetition, and imagery. Enjambment is used throughout the whole poem. For example, in the last line, Atwood used line breaks abruptly and meaningfully to emphasize  the phrase â€Å"hold on or let go†. This invites the readers to focus on the struggles of love. Also, the poetic device, repetition is also used in the poem. The word â€Å"love† is repeated several times in line 11, 19, and 34. In line 23 and 24, â€Å"too† is also repeated. And in line 34, repetition is used through the word â€Å"again†. Some examples of imagery are used in this poem as well. Such as in line 19 and 20 of the poem, Atwood describes soldiers’ love for their country through a very vivid image â€Å"Love! Love! Sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute.† Another example would be in line 31 to 36 of the poem, the complicated feeling of love was described by Atwood as â€Å"Itâ€⠄¢s a single vowel in this metallic silence, a mouth that says O again and again in wonder and pain, a breath, a finger-grip on a cliffside.†

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Character Analysis of the Short Story Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass by Essay

Character Analysis of the Short Story Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass by Carol Shields - Essay Example As the past history of Mrs. Turner unfolds, the reader is left gasping at the many dalliances and infedities of this ordinary woman. Indeed, this story is a testimony to the belief that behind simple facades lie some of the most interesting lives. The story begins simply enough with Mrs. Turner going through a routine task and the reader is led to believe that she is going to be confronted with a neighborly fight, but soon we find ourselves in the youth of Mrs. Turner. Carol Shields, with a quick turn of phrase talks of the peccadilloes of Mrs. Turner youth, her subsequent fleeing to New York, her abandonment of her child, her return to her home town and the final settling down into domesticity. B. Carelessness was indeed one of Mrs. Turner’s unusual traits. This is very apparent when we see her mowing the lawn. The grass flies around her but she does not use a catcher, to the dismay of the Saschers, her next door neighbor. Her extensive use of pesticides to control the weeds is another instance of carelessness she exhibits. C. Again, we see Mrs. Turner’s careless and casual attitude which results in her pregnancy which she carried so far as to even abandon her little baby, unmindful of what would happen to it. Her physical appearance is also hastily put together as evinced from the following phrases that go to describe this attitude saying she had an â€Å"ancient pair of shorts†, paired with a halter top. She has on her feet a pair of â€Å"crepe-soled sandals† and covers her head with her dead husband’s golf cap. D. This trait of carelessness of Mrs. Turner gets her often into trouble and makes her a person of contempt and disgust to all those around her. Her pregnancy was the result of a careless dalliance, which ultimately made her leave New York because she found that she could not take care of a baby by herself. E. Mrs. Turner was a woman not used to doing things for others and in

Friday, September 27, 2019

Assingment 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assingment 2 - Assignment Example Transformational leaders give attention to the concerns and development needs of individual followers. A good situation when contemporary leadership strategy was used is a company that trained staff in reading and understanding its financial statements and how they directly relate to their work. Employees from all sectors were encouraged to study the company books and financial statements. This policy extension was to go hand in hand with all employees in groups and discuss what the future meant, in particular, how they related to the work that they were doing and eventually to the big picture of profitability of the organization. In this situation, leaders used several development levels and styles. First, leaders were passionate and energetic in all they did. They showed lots of care to employees and urge to see them succeed. This is evident as they take the employees in group discussion to make them understand how they work relate to the company profitability. The leaders put pass ion and energy into everything as they care about the employees and what they goals are. In this, the development levels and styles demonstrated includes; developing vision, selling vision, finding the way out and leading the charge. For instance, in this case, the transformational leadership starts with developing the vision which was to educate the employees on how their work relate to the company profitability. Developing vision is followed by selling it. The leaders took their time, energy and committed themselves to ensuring the vision is embraced and accepted by the employees. They also distributed copies of the financial statements to employees in order to ensure the vision was understood. In hand with selling activity and vision, is seeking the way forward. Most of the transformational leaders know the way and their goal is usually to urge others to follow them. The route forward is not obvious and may not be plotted in details. Therefore, transformational leaders need to ha ve a clear vision, thereafter, direction will define itself. The final development level is leading the charge. The leaders are always visible and would stand up to be considered rather than behind their group. They demonstrated by their actions and attitudes how everyone else should behave. Further, they make continued attempts to motivate and bring together their followers, constantly doing the round, soothing, listening and enthusing. The actions taken by leaders to ensuring employees understand their work relation with company profitability was very effective. The contemporary leadership approach used showed progressive ideals of collaboration and equality in the actions. The leaders are usually urged to co-exist and cooperate with subordinates instead of dictating over them. In this case, the leaders are encouraged to possess and utilize emotion and intelligence. The employees get more interested in the books and financial reports because they see how their leaders were well ac quainted with them. Moreover, contemporary leadership is mainly concern with effective leaders exhibiting emotional and social intelligence (Winkler, 2009). This ensures leaders think, focus on goal, understand employees’ emotions and are able to demonstrate common ground before rushing to act. The actions taken, that is, developing vision, selling vision, finding the way out and

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Strategic Management - Essay Example Operational control is guided by the strategy used by the company and in the example given above, the operations of the company would need to setup the right kind of offices, get the required HR for the various functions of the business in the new market and then manage the day to day running of the business. In essence, while strategy is set to guide the company, operations are set to manage and run a business. While it may be possible and even politically correct to say that a company could work with the idea of bringing continual improvements to itself and thus remove any requirements for operational controls, the reality of the situation may be quite different. Operational controls are required to give the company some guidance in terms of how things are supposed to be done and how they are to be optimized (Welch, 2005). Simply searching for continual improvements may lead the company to be guided in several different directions in terms of operations as each department or even each individual may seek to bring improvements that may only apply to them on a personal basis. Similarly, it would be difficult to say that strategic controls could replace operational controls and the simple reason for that is they both have different realms of operation. Quality may have different implications for different customers since it is essentially an ethereal concept where the measure of quality for one customer may not be the same for another. For example, in the automobile industry, there are certain brands which are known for their quality and their repute as luxury brands. On the other hand, there are companies which work across the spectrum in the automobile market and produce economy as well as luxury cars. However, the perceived quality of the brand which is a luxury brand would likely to be higher than one which is a value brand. At the same time, there are customers who would consider

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Electrical Health & Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Electrical Health & Safety - Essay Example There are a number of hazards faced during the usage of electricity. The following ones are important. Human body is an electrical conductor and electricity can flow through human body. If any of the materials or equipment using electricity is improperly handled, then it could cause a shock to the person operating it. This in turn, could lead to burn injuries; sometimes even death. Electricity, instead of flowing through human beings if it flows through material, then it could cause burning of the material if it has a higher resistance and is not rated to carry the current that is flowing through it now. In this case, there could be fire accidents in the place that could cause damage and loss of property. Electricity could cause fire accidents. Therefore, we can classify the loss caused by electricity into two; one, damage to personnel and two, loss to property. In either case, it is one of the following hazards that cause such happenings. 1. Ungrounded Equipment: Electricity always flows through the path of least resistance. For that matter, anything that flows always takes the path of least resistance. ... Instead if the equipment is ungrounded, then it becomes dangerous to the operators if there is a short circuit in the system. 2. Overloading : One of the major causes for short circuits is the overloading of the outlets at home or in the office. This could also happen when there is an instrument or an equipment that is running with out anybody attending to it and should there be an overload due to some internal problem in the machine, then the overload could make the equipment burn. This could cause loss to the property. Therefore, it is very important that overloading of the equipment does not occur. 3. Unsafe Equipment: There are equipments that are not made to any specific standards and are not clearly tested as well. When these equipments are used, it is possible that these equipments could cause overloading or could also cause short circuit that could lead to break of service as well could turn out to be hazardous to people using the equipment. This could also be cables and cords that are running in the office which are not to the standards and when there is a higher current is drawn might cause a break down of the cable resulting in failures. 4. Unguarded or Open Live Parts: Open live parts might be present in the office or in the factory that is considered as the most dangerous electrical situation. Similarly, plugs getting pulled out to stop supply to equipment are also not a good practice since this could cause sparking at the time of pulling out and the plug contacts are not made for this kind of breaking sparks. Working on live equipment is another major flaw of similar nature. This can happen when say, a motor which is running is to be repaired and the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Population control through forced sterilization in the past and Essay

Population control through forced sterilization in the past and medication, food in the present - Essay Example In this regard, the state observed a growth of compulsory sterilization laws that encompassed progressive era reforms and the popularity concerning the eugenic movements (Eccleston 2). The reformers proposed the use of mental institutions and prisons to separate these kinds of the population from the people. On the other hand, the eugenicists proposed that the elimination of such persons from the society is the sure way of curbing the problems of criminal tendencies and disabilities. In the contemporary society, there are modifications of eugenics to involve foods and vaccines that harm the populations. Arguably, the use of eugenics has profound adverse effects on the people that consume them, hence, they should be stopped. The medical communities targeted the feebleminded people in the communities because of the challenges posed by their increased numbers. For instance, the doctors referred to the feebleminded as morons, idiots, and imbeciles claiming that they are legible to initiate crime or settle on begging. Eccleston asserts that studies conducted during those times claimed that high-grade morons would grow to become prostitutes and criminals. The research added that, women of the feeble mind bred at very high rates, thus the need to curb this phenomenon since it led to many welfare dependents and crooks (Eccleston 4). Further, the officials of the public welfare elucidated the potential of social inadequacy by relating disability, the socioeconomic status, and criminality. The state then conducted a survey indicated various challenges amongst many individuals. Eccleston notes that, the President of Campell ascertained that the survey indicated a mutual interdependency between delinquency, dependency, and mental defects. The situation meant that there was enough evidence for the state to support the use of eugenics in population control (Eccleston 5). Due to sexual defiance in the society, the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Netflix Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Netflix Analysis - Case Study Example On the basis of this an overview of analysis tools has been discussed such as the 3C’s, STP and the 4 P’s. The 3 C’s model is used to provide an overview of the company. Based on this overview the market conditions can be assessed which help the managers in forming strategies for the company. Based on this the company can rectify its weaknesses and progress towards success. Company: Netflix is a DVD rental and online streaming business. The services offered by the company are in a combined form and these have attracted the customers. The services of the company are slow but once the videos are acquired then the services and facilities which are offered are unmatchable and incomparable. Customers: For the success of the business, the needs and requirements of the customer are important and therefore they should be assessed. The company has faced losses when a new strategy of separating both the practices was introduced. This also increased the subscription charges of the company. Competitors: The business faces competition from products like Apple iTunes, Amazon video on demand (VOD), Google TV and YouTube and others. All these provide similar services and have benefited highly from the splitting decision of the company (Dau, and Wesley). Segmentation: In this process the company will identify the segment which will be interested most with availing the services of the company. The company has segments its consumers in order to market them in a better way. by segmenting consumers, the company can do well in the market. Targeting: Finding the most appropriate segment and finding the factors which will satisfy these individuals most must be assessed. On the basis of this all the price and the product related strategies are formed. By targeting different segments in a different way, the company can get better results. Positioning: In this segment the appropriate industry is

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions in Relation to Organic Foods Essay Example for Free

Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions in Relation to Organic Foods Essay Abstract The aim of this study is to find out the three (3) significant variables forming the positive attitude towards the buying the organic food in Peninsula Malaysia, which eventually lead to the ultimate intention in buying the organically-produced food. The different variables are focused on demographic characteristics on household income, product attributes and lastly the perceived value to the customers. This study shows that the household income is seemingly appeared to be an important predictor among the targeted segmentation in consuming organic food. Organic food attributes such as pricing, availability and environmentally friendliness of such organic food may influence consumer buying decision. Lastly, the perceived value from the customers towards organic food on its health effects, sensory appeal, nutrition-worth and belief of perceived benefits, often play an important role in cultivating the intention towards buying organic food. Introduction and Background of the Study Over the last two decades, there has been a remarkable increase in demand for organic-produced food or products. Organic food is often seen and marketed as health-conscious food which contains fewer contaminants, more nutrients and most importantly having a positive effect on the environment. It is known that some of these attributes are difficult to quantify, with the contrary that some of researcher has proved that they may cause such potential harm during the organic production. The organic market back in 80’s, while remaining a niche sector, has grown to be able to grab a share from the total spending on food in some countries in the recent years. Organic fruit and vegetables are amongst the products which have been expanding in the rapid production. The demand for organically-produced meat and dairy products has undergone the same rapid progress, with a corresponding increase in the need for organically grown forage and feed crops. This has led to a fast growth in consumer demand whereby the organic food sales have managed to gain a significant market share in the conventional food industry. The market for organically produced crops and commodities has become more structured, looking at the increased number of countries which have adopted uniform standards for organic food production. The standardization has also applied in the organic certification and labelling. While both the production and the marketing of the organic cultivation of temperate crops have developed, there is a trend to be seen whereby the developing country’s farmers are actively involved in the organic farming. Problem Statement and Importance of the Research Organic agriculture industry, no doubt, has offers most of the developing countries a wide range of economic, environment, social and cultural benefits. Certifies organic products have now been growing fast and in the mist of entering the global market. Malaysia, on the other hand, is still in the starting spark-point in adapting the organic-food consumption while the developed countries such as North America and Europe have already gained the biggest market share in this newest industry. Due to expanding markets and attractive price premiums, Malaysia should invent and invest in organically-produced food, taking into consideration of various significant variables which may form the consumer behaviour towards organic food. We would like to highlight that the ultimate goal of this study is to understand consumer’s motivations behind organic food products purchases in order to enable organic producers to develop a more effective strategic marketing plan. The results could be used for the marketing planning of organic food products to enable proper marketing strategies, a proper sales channel and promotion to be targeted to these groups of consumers. Research Questions The present study aims to answer the following questions: †¢ What are demographic characteristics of organic food buyers? †¢ How do demographic characteristics affect consumer attitudes towards organic foods? †¢ How product attributes effect consumer attitudes towards organic foods? †¢ How consumer perceived values influence consumer attitudes towards organic foods? †¢ What is the relationship between consumers’ attitudes towards organic foods and their intentions to purchase? †¢ How can results of the study be applied by managers and marketers? Research Objectives. Regarding to the significance of the growing market of organic foods in the world, and to the previous studies on consumer attitudes towards organic foods and its effects on purchase intentions in several countries (e. g. Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Denmark) we intend to carry out such similar studies in Peninsula Malaysia with objectives as the following: †¢ To report the descriptive analysis on the organic buyers’ demographic characteristics †¢ To identify the effects of demographic characteristics (specifically level of households income) on consumer attitudes towards organic foods. †¢ To determine effects of product attributes on consumer attitudes towards organic foods †¢ To investigate the relation of consumer perceived values to consumer attitudes towards organic foods †¢ To determine the relationship between consumers’ attitudes towards organic foods and their intentions to purchase †¢ To clarify implications for managers and marketers Literature Review Demographics Based on findings from previous research, demographic characteristics were evaluated as one of the major predictors in gaining intention to purchase the organic food in Peninsula Malaysia. According to Robinson R. and Smith C. (2002), the demographic of consumers consist of various characteristics namely the gender, age, household income and education level. Each element has been contributed in forming the valued attitudes towards buying the organic products. Hence, the demographic characteristics, especially on household income is seemingly significant and being the focus in this research. This will eventually lead to the desired intention in buying such products for daily consumption. Level of Household Income. Whilst referring to the studies done in the US, it is seemingly apparent that the demographic variables which herby refer as the income distribution, is significant predictors (Bartels Reinders, 2009). The research on this particular subject has proven that income positively influenced buying behaviour which in turn may cause the perceived buying behaviour towards the organic food. A same result has shown in Germany as well (Bartels Reinders, 2009). In Germany, demographic variables such as household income distribution have played an important role in developing significant effect on organic buying behaviour. However, the overall inevitability of the demographic characteristics was relatively different, taking into consideration of research carried in various Western countries. These findings verify the results of earlier studies by Clark Goldsmith (2006) and Im et al. (2003) proven that the intellectual practice on using the demographic characteristics such as household income distribution and domain specific innovativeness will be seen as strategic tools for market segmentation. In the Western countries, research has identified that the demand and willingness in expenditure on organic goods often affiliated closely with various socioeconomic and demographic variables (Wier et al. , 2008). In addition, Menghi (1997) found that the majority households with middle and higher income levels showed a greater tendency in purchase and consuming organic foods. However, it is shown that almost all of these studies are based upon hypothesized future behaviour rather than observed behaviour in both Denmark and UK. Hence, studies have been carried out by researchers to further invent on the influences of demographic characteristics especially in household income in guiding the intention of buying the organic goods. Through the research it is revealed that higher disposable household income (approximated by total food expenditure) will lead to higher positive intention in purchasing the organic food. Consumers with a lower household income alongside with lower level of education are found to be least likely to have heard of organic agriculture (Roitner-Schobesberger et al. , 2008). On a contrary, those who have a higher income and hold an academic degree are more likely to be the target segmentation in purchasing organic products (Roitner-Schobesberger et al. , 2008). It is also mentioned that the correlation between the household income level is very much linked to the level of education as well. As mentioned by Robinson R. and Smith C. (2002), intended purchases of sustainably produced foods did not differ for demographic characteristics such as household annual income educational attainment. Through the research carried out by Ross NJ.et al. (2000), they have suggested that consumers with a higher earning incomes were more likely to have purchased locally produced food, mainly focus on the organic consumption by various segmentations. Their research and findings were supported earlier by Govindasamy R. and Italia J. (1998) whereby the same results applied. Groups with a higher household income tend to have purchased foods produced with reduced pesticides. In UK particularly, social group is employed as an indicator of income brackets (Wier et al. , 2008). Research has revealed that the tendency in purchase the organic goods seem to increase in accordance to the given social status. However, the highest organic budget shares are observed for middle class households whilst shares in the upper middle class being in fact lower. Quite captivatingly, a similar phenomenon is observed to be happened in Denmark as well. Organic Food Attributes Organic food attributes influence consumer buying decision. Several empirical studies have been performed on customer perceptions of organic food attributes and how they formed the consumer attitudes towards food. In the present research, among different product attributes, we have selected: price of organic food, environmentally friendliness of organic food and organic food availability. Price of Organic Food Organic foods are often of a price premium above conventional products. According to Roitner-Schobesberger et. al (2008) in Thailand the price difference between organic and non-labeled conventional vegetables in Bangkok varied between 50 percent and 170 percent and in some cases even 400 percent. However, in some countries such as Finland there were not significant premium prices for organic foods (Tarkiainen and Sundqvist, 2005). As Roitner-Schobesberger et. al (2008) pointed out that despite the price difference of organic and non-organic food, nearly 60% of the ‘organic buyers’ said that the price of organic products was not a problem. In addition, ‘non-organic buyers’ ranked some other items as a reason of not purchasing organic food rather than higher prices. Chryssohoidis Krystallis (2005) claimed that while 100 percent of people would prefer organic to conventional products with the assumption of similar price, this percentages dropped by only 20 percent when the same question was posed regardless the higher price of organic food. In other words, higher price is an important obstacle for a limited percentage of consumers. Roitner-Schobesberger et. al (2008) found out that in Bangkok men were more likely to purchase organic foods than women and concluded that it might be due to the reason of men being willing to pay a higher price premium for organic products than women. Similarly, a study in Klang Valey, Malaysia showed that women werre more likely than men to agree that they would purchase more organic foods if they were less expensive (Ahmed, 2010). Additionally, heavy users were on average stage whereby they are willing to pay higher price premiums than medium and light users (Wier et. al, 2008). Environmentally friendliness of organic food Consumers are getting more conscious and concerned with the consumption of chemical substance used in farming and preserving environment is becoming a strong attitude among consumers. According to Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), subjective norms’ effect on attitudes has been mainly found in behaviors, that involved some kind of ethical decision, and also buying organic food can be seen as ethical decision reflecting environmental concern. In addition, perceived quality is associated with environmentally friendly practices (Ness et. al, 2009). The perception of organic food products as environmentally friendly was a common intuition and has been examined in several studies (Ahmed, 2010; Honkanen et. al, 2006). It is believed that when the consumers have more concern about their health and environmental protection, they will be more likely to have a positive attitude to organic foods (Ness et. al, 2010). Honkanen et. al (2006) found that ecologically oriented consumers were more likely to form intentions to purchase and consume organic food. In other words, the more people are concerned about environment, the more positive attitude they have towards organic food. Organic Food Availability Lack of organic food availability and variety in store is considered as one of the barriers to consumer purchase. Fresh vegetables (which include fresh herbs) were considered the most widely available organic product group rather than other organic foods (Roitner-Schobesberger et. al, 2008). Chryssohoidis Krystallis (2005) stated that limited availability was the main factor that hinders organic purchasing. Although according to Roitner-Schobesberger et. al (2008), in Thailand, majority of organic buyers were satisfied with availability of organic products. Most of them reported that they would like to buy more organic products, especially a wider range of vegetables. Value to the Customer. In every product that consumer purchased and used, they in turn are expecting value from it. Value can be defined as a benefit that consumer is receiving by using a product. Benefits here mean sensory appeal of the product, taste, fun, freshness, quality and healthiness of the products. These are some main reasons that encouraged consumer to purchase the organic food. The value may vary from one consumer to another; however there will definitely be one value that effect the buying attitude which motivate the buying intention of consumers. Health Effect of Organic Food Several perceptions contributed to health attribute include the reason of being good for health, good for children, not containing pesticides, high in fiber, natural and nutritious and safer to eat (Roitner-Schobesberger, et. al, 2008; Saher et. al 2006; Lockie et. al, 2002; Ness et. al, 2009). The perceived potential hazards of modern agricultural practices such as the use of pesticides and their residues in food were perceived to be associated with long term and unknown effects on health (Miles and Frewer, 2001;Wilkins Hillers, 1994; Williams Hammit, 2001). Saher et. al (2006) revealed that there is very little scientific support for the common beliefs that organic food would be more healthy or nutritious than regular foods, but the belief that they have these properties remains quite strong in consumer’s mindset. The claim is debatable whether marketers can use the health claim for marketing purposes because most of the research concluded that there was no evidence that organic food was healthier or more nutritious than conventional food (Honkanen et. al, 2006). However, most studies in this area suggested that consumer’s perception of organic food as a healthy nutrition is one the most significant motives for buyers. Lockie et al. (2002) pointed out that health was the one aspect consumers are least willing to compromise. Roitner-Schobesberger et. al (2008) in Bangkok, Thailand, examined the motives behind organic food purchase and pointed out that the most important motive was the expected positive health effects. Similarly in Malaysia, organic buyers believed that organic food was healthier compared to conventional grown food (Ahmed, 2010). In Thailand, the health aspect was closely associated with the residues from synthetic chemicals used in agriculture (Roitner-Schobesberger et. al, 2008). In fact, organic products often have a lower level of pesticide residues (Baker et al. , 2002). Lockie et. al (2002) revealed that although price was an important factor, organic consumers consider health has appeared as a more significant factor for purchasing organic food in Australia. These organic food consumers also believed that industrial methods of food processing constitute a threat to customer’s health. Another research by Schifferstein Oude Ophuis (1997) illustrated that well-being was rated among all other motives by organic food buyers. On the other hand, Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) by examining specific organic products (bread and flour) claimed that health consciousness did not explained the general attitudes towards organic food, although they believed this results might be different by examining different organic products. Sensory Appeals Sensory appeals of organic food are part of the factors that provides value to customer. Sensory appeals include the taste, odor and also the texture of the organic product (Prescott et. al, 2002). Sometimes sensory appeals of the organic food need to be combined with the non-sensory factors such as organic food related expectations to create a value to customer which will affect their attitude towards buying organic food (Prescott et. al, 2002). Sensory factors are also influenced by cultures and background of consumers. For example, consumers from Western countries eat less spicy food compared to those from Asia. Spicy organic food might produce high value to consumers in Asian countries compared to Western. Intrinsic cues or sensory appeal that are associated with physical characteristics of the product such as taste, size, color, appearance, smell, feel and flavor were commonly used as indicators of quality on the organic food (Schifferstein et. al,1997). Quality is also value that consumers experiencing by consuming an organic food. Better sensory appeal of organic food will portray a better quality which will influence the attitude of purchasing an organic food and later increase the intention of buying the organic food. One of the most prominent sensory appeals that yield more value to consumer is taste. According to Roitner-Schobesbergeris et. al (2008), taste was the third important motives that consumers purchase organic food (Roitner-Schobesbergeris et. al, 2008). Others studies also emphasized that many organic food buyers believed that organic food products taste better than conventional food even if sensory evaluations have yielded inconsistent results (Fillion and Arazi,2002; McEachern and McClean,2002; Zhao et al. ,2007). Perceived Value. One of the studies conducted in eight countries concluded that individual attitudes towards buying organic food are primarily based on the belief about the benefits (Thogersen, 2000). Benefits or value to consumers such as healthy, taste better and environment friendly supersede all the other factors such as belief about the cost. The same proven in one of the study conducted in Klang Valley. Most of the respondents reported that they choose to buy organic food products because they perceived organic food as very healthy, fresher and natural (Bayaah Ahmad et.all, 2010). As such, value of organic food towards customers’ effect their attitudes towards buying which will motivates their intention of purchasing the organic product. Consumers also value organic food as nutritional food since it is produced using traditional method whereby the original nutrition from the food is preserved. Nutrition belief was one of the reasons that made people appeared to have different food styles and often express themselves as having food adventurousness or pickiness (Chen, 2007). Organic food adds value to consumers who has such belief and it will influence their intention of consuming it by affecting the buying behavior. Besides, Chen (2007) points out that an individual’s personal interests or traits act a part in establishing personal food choice criteria through the values held by the individual. These values comprise nutrition beliefs, weight control concerns, and so on. For instance, people seem to have different food-styles and often express themselves as having food adventurousness or pickiness. Another important motive to purchase organic food as reported by Roitner-Schobesbergeris et. al (2008) is the consumer’s search for new, trendy and attractive food products. Attitudes towards Organic food and Intention to purchase Basically, consumer attitudes are found to be the most important predictor of intention to buy (Honkanen et. al, 2006). Several studies have found that higher perceived product quality leads to more positive re-purchase intentions (Bou-Llusar et. al, 2001; Hult, Kandemir 2004; Tarkiainen Sundqvist, 2005). Chen (7007) highlighted that if the consumer’s attitude towards organic foods is positive, the consumer’s attitude to purchase organic food will be more likely to be positive. This is also consistent with another study performed by Honkanen et. al (2006) indicating that relation between attitude and intention is positive and quite strong, indicating that consumers with positive attitudes towards consumption of organic food are more likely to form intentions to consume such food, therefore converting positive attitudes to intentions. Methodology Theoretical Research Framework [pic] Figure1. Theoretical Research Framework Hypothesis Development: Hypothesis 1: There is a relationship between demographic characteristics of consumers and their attitudes towards organic foods. Hypothesis 2: There is a relationship between organic food attributes and consumer’s attitudes towards the organic food. Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between values of organic food to customer with attitudes towards buying organic foods. Hypothesis 4: When the consumer’s attitude towards organic foods is positive, the consumer’s intentions to purchase organic foods will be more likely to be positive. Research Design. The questionnaires are only designed in English; since the respondents are assumed to be relatively high educated they will be able to answer the questions without any difficulties. Furthermore it will help to keep the original meaning and understanding that respondents perceived to have towards the questions. Types of questions in questionnaires are mostly closed ended question and only two open ended question. This will only consume little time for the respondent to complete the questionnaire which will encourage them to participate in this study. There are three main categories in the prepared questionnaires. The questions in the first category are more towards understanding demographic details of the respondent such as on the age, income level, ethnicity, religion and educational level. This is useful to confirm the background of the organic food consumers. There are also questions on the product attributes which the respondents are asked to identify what are the main attributes that attract the purchase and also to determine whether this factor have a positive effect towards consumer attitude on organic food. Last part in the questionnaires is designed to understand the value of organic food to customers. All these questions are to test four hypotheses of this study. Data Collection The target population consists of organic food buyers in Peninsula Malaysia. In order to carry out the sampling Peninsula Malaysia is divided in to 3 major regions namely Northern, Central and Southern region. Northern region will be represented by Penang, Central region will be Klang Valley and Southern region of Peninsula Malaysia is represented by Johor Bahru. These three areas are chosen based on the economic development and availability of the organic products. From each region shopping complexes and supermarkets that provide organic products are identified. By using random sampling, three shopping complexes and supermarkets in urban areas are selected. Since target respondent with higher educational level and purchasing power are scattered around these urban areas, these will be perfect places to conduct this research. Those three supermarkets and shopping complexes are ensured to be far from each other so that the collected samples will be more accurate in representing the population in each region. Total sample size comprises of 540 individual respondents is collected using convenience sampling and respondents will be approached randomly. Since this study is conducted in large scale, convenient sampling will be more cost effective compared to other types of sampling. Furthermore conducting other types of sampling will be time consuming and the accuracy of the collected samples to represent the actual population will be questionable. In order to collect the data, 60 self-administered consumer questionnaire surveys are distributed in each shopping complexes which will result in 180 questionnaires from each region. Considering the validity of the data, we are expecting a total of about 500 questionnaires to be usable in the later part of data analysis. Although there is no way of knowing if those included are representative of the overall population, the survey is still expected to give a first overview of relevant issues and to allow to derive insights into the perception of organic food buyers in Peninsula Malaysia. Data Analysis After data is collected, data will be edited and coded. Editing data is very essential part of data analysis especially when researches involve open ended questions. Editing is done immediately after data is collected so that the respondent can be contacted if any clarification needed. The edited data are identified through usage of different fond and colors. Coding is done before data processing is conducted. Since most of the data collected involve ordinal scale, coding becomes prudent. By doing this data accurately keyed in and avoid wrong interpretation of data. Base on the three sections in the questionnaire, data is also coded in three main groups. Data processing is done using a software program called SPSS version 17. First of all the edited and coded data is checked and scanned through. Wrongly entered and coded data will be identified using the software through methods like identification of the maximum value. Values like variance, standard deviation, mean and range are used to understand the effectiveness of the questions asked in the questionnaire and how respondents reacted to the questions. The reliability and validity test is done to check the credibility of the data. The reliability test also conducted to test the relationship of the variables through the reliability coefficient. Validity test is done to assess all three factorial validity, convergent validity and also discriminant validity. References Ahmed, S. N. B. , 2010, Organic Food: A Study on Demographic Characteristics and Factors Influencing Purchase Intentions among Consumers in Klang Valley, Malaysia, International Journal of Business and Management 5, No. 2, Baker, B. , Benbrook, C. , Groth, E. , Benbrook, K. , 2002, Pesticide residues in conventional, integrated pest management (IPM)-grown and organic foods: insights from three US data sets. Food Additives and Contaminants 19, 427–446. Bartels J. and Reinders M. J. (2009). Social identification, social representations, and consumer innovativeness in an organic food context: A cross-national comparison, Food and Quality Preferences,1-6, Elsevier Ltd. Bou-Llusar, J. C. , Camison-Zornoza, C. , Escrig-Tena, A. B. , 2001, Measuring the relationship between firm perceived quality and customer satisfaction and its influence on purchase intentions, Total Quality Management, 12, 719–734. Chen, M. F, 2007, Consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic foods in Taiwan: Moderating effects of food-related personality traits, Food Quality and Preference 18, 1008–1021. Chryssohoidis, G. M. , Krystallis, A. , 2005, Organic consumers_ personal values research: Testing and validating the list of values (LOV) scale and implementing a value-based segmentation task, Food Quality and Preference 16, 585–599. Clark, R. A. , Goldsmith, R. E. (2006). Interpersonal influence and consumer innovativeness. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30(1), 34–43. Govindasamy R, Italia J. (1998). A willingness to purchase comparison of integrated pest management and conventional produce. Agribusiness. 14:403-414. Honkanen, P. , Verplanken, B. Olsen, S. O., 2006, Ethical values and motives driving organic food choice, Journal of Consumer Behaviour 5, 420–430. Fillion,L. ,Arazi,S. ,2002. Does organic food taste better? A claim substantiation approach. Nutrition and Food Science 32, 153-157. Im, S. , Bayus, B. L. , Mason, C. H. (2003). An empirical study of innate consumer innovativeness, personal characteristics, and new-product adoption behavior. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(1), 61–73. Keillor, B. D. , Hult, G. T. M. , Kandemir, D. (2004). A study of the service encounter in eight countries. Journal of International Marketing, 12, 9–35. Lockie, S., Lyons, K. , Lawrence, G. , Mummery, K. , 2002. Eating ‘green’: Motivations behind organic food consumption in Australia. Sociologia Ruralis 42, 23–40. McEachern,M. ,McClean,P. ,2002. Organic purchasing motivations and attitudes: are they ethical? International Journal of consumer studies 26, 85-92. Menghi, A. (1997). Consumer Response to Ecological Milk in Sweden. Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala. Miles,S. , Frewer, L. J,2001. Investigating specific concerns about different food hazards. Food Quality Preference, 12, 47-61. Ness, M. R. , Ness, M. , Brennan, M. , Oughton, E. , Ritson, C. , Ruto, E., 2009, Modeling consumer behavioral intentions towards food with implications for marketing quality low-input and organic food, Food Quality and Preference 21, 100–111. Prescott, J. , Young, O. , O’Neill, L. , Yau, N. J. N. , 2002, Motives for food choice: a comparison of consumers from Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand. Food Quality and Preference 13, 489 495. Robinson R. and Smith C. (2002). Psychosocial and Demographic Variables Associated with Consumer Intention to Purchase Sustainably Produced Foods as Defined by the Midwest Food Alliance, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 34 (6), 316-325. Roitner-Schobesberger ,B. , Darnhofer, I. , Somsook, S. , Vogl, C. R. , 2008, Consumer perceptions of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand, Food Policy 33, 112–121. Ross NJ, Anderson MD, Goldberg JP, Rogers BL. (2000). Increasing purchases of locally grown produce through worksite sales: an ecological model. J Nutr Educ. 32:304-313. Saher, M. , Lindeman, M. , Koivisto Hursti, U. , 2006, Attitudes towards genetically modified and organic foods, Appetite 46, 324–331. Schifferstein, H. N. J Oude Ophuist, P. M.A, 1997, Health-Relatede Determinants of organic food Consumption in the Netherlands, Food Quality and Preference 9, 119-133. Tarkiainen, A. Sundqvist, S. , 2005, Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food, British Food Journal 107, No. 11, 808-822 Thogersan. J, 2000, predicting consumer choices of organic food: Results from the CONDOR Project, Wier, M. , Jensen, K. , Andersen, L. M. , Millock, K. , 2008, The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared, Food Policy 33, 406–421. Wilkins, J. L. , Hillers, V. N, 1994. Influences of pesticide residue and environmental concerns on organic foods preference among food cooperative members and non-members in Washington State. Journal of Nutrition Education, 26, 26-33. Williams, P. RD. , Hammit, J. K, 2001. Perceived risks of conventional and organic produce: Pesticides, pathogens, and natural toxins. Risk Analysis, 21, 319-330. Zhao,X. ,Chambers,E. ,Matta,Z. ,Loughin,T. ,Carey,E. ,2007, Consumer sensory analysis of organically and conventionally grown vegetables, Journal of Food Science 72, 87-91.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Dead Man Walking Essay Example for Free

Dead Man Walking Essay â€Å"Dead man walking† is an expression often used by a police officer when accompanying a criminal walking towards his death. How can a dead man walk? This is a contradicting sentence that makes no sense. It dehumanizes the person walking and lets the person know that is going to die for the infraction committed. This is one of the last sentences Matthew Poncelot in the movie â€Å"Dead Man Walking† heard. Ironically, the last sentence Matthew said was â€Å"I love you†. How was he able to express love in such a â€Å"culture of death†, surrounded by people that hated him and wanted him to die? This was part of Sister Helen’s job, to build a culture of life in Matthew and use restorative justice instead of retributive justice to make him grow as a person before his death. For Matthew being fully alive meant having what he wanted and doing what he wanted, even if his actions affected someone else. He was racists and thought that black people were less worthy of living; this is a perfect example of a â€Å"culture of death†. But he was taught a lesson, after he killed two people and was sentenced to the death row; he met the person that would bring a â€Å"culture of life† to his life before his death. A â€Å"culture of life† is reflecting the image of God within us by imitating the perfect image of Jesus Christ, in loving God and one another. Sister Helen brought this culture and love to Matthew by loving him when everyone hated him. She applied retributive justice which focuses on restoring the good that has been harmed by criminal activity for the victims, the community, and the offender too, when he was been judged by the government with restorative justice which is the approach to criminal justice, in which the emphasis is on hurting the offender. At the end, her work paid off because Matthew apologized to Mr. Delacroix, the father of the person he killed and reconciliation was eventually reached. The concept culture of life and death makes me think a lot and I have realized that the world, in general, lives constantly in a culture of death. The media and society tells us that we will be happy when we have what we want. It implies that people that look in a certain way will be happier. It makes me feel frustrated and sad because it is very shallow to think that money can buy happiness. In my opinion happiness is a combination of love, hope, gratefulness and patience. I also realized that culture of death is linked  with restorative justice; it brings death to the offender who is viewed as less worthy of life because of the mistakes he/she made. In the same way, culture of life is linked to retributive justice; the point of this approach to justice is not to harm anyone so it does not bring a culture of death to anyone, inste ad it uses the love of forgiveness and conciliation to help the offender and the victim. By studying the concepts of culture of death and life, retributive and restorative justice, I have discovered another way to bring culture of life to my life and everyone surrounding me: to use retributive justice whenever someone hurts me. Using restorative justice will only bring more hatred to me and the people that surround me and revenge is not the point of justice, the point of justice is to construct a healthy society, this can only be reached with retributive justice. I also learned that money cannot buy happiness and being fully alive does not mean to have what I want, but to love everyone, knowing this is very helpful in my life because I am surrounded by advertisements and media that tell me that I will be happy when I look in a certain way or have certain things. Now, I know that is not true and that I will be truly happy if I follow Jesus’ example of love. Matthew lived in a culture of death, he thought that in order to live fully he had to have and do what he wanted. He did not care if his actions affected someone else, until he killed someone and got caught. He then was judge by the government with restorative justice and since he had killed someone, his life had to be taken away too. In this process he met Sister Helen, she brought culture of life to him, she used retributive justice so that the father of the victim and Matthew healed, he stopped being racist and finally admitted he had made a mistake. In conclusion, restorative justice brings culture of death to the victim, offender and society and retributive justice brings culture of life.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Analysis Of The Lord Of The Flies

Analysis Of The Lord Of The Flies Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, various views and motifs are portrayed. Of these views and motifs, the main message which is illustrated is one that questions society. It is clear from the very beginning that is a message conveyed in this novel. On the whole, Golding is portraying a good versus evil which are represented by Jack and Ralph. In Lord of the Flies a variety of ideas can be extracted on what the message Golding is trying to show. Golding wrote this novel in order to show the basic contrast of good and evil in society and how things can get out of hand if your primal urges are left uncontrolled. Throughout this novel, a great deal of contrasts are portrayed, one major one being good versus evil. To fully understand why Golding chose to write this book based on a good and bad motif, we have to look at the time period it was written in. During the time period this book was written in, the cold war was a major concern in everyday life. Golding, just as many other writers chose to write about the wrongs of communism in a subtle way, using children as a vehicle. In Lord of the Flies Golding uses Ralph, the leader of the tribe, to portray good and society (and probably democracy with the conch, everyone had an opinion), Jack on the other hand represents evil and what can happen if let uncontrolled (and perhaps in a way communism). All through the novel, Jack and Ralph quarrel to see who gets control of the tribe. Eventually of course, evil wins. In Lord of the Flies, there are many characters, but the most noticeable ones are of course Ralph and Jack, along with a handful of others I will describe the role they play in the book and how they all show either good or evil. Ralph Ralph is definitely the novels main character. He is elected as leader of the group mainly because he is in possession of the conch shell. He shows the good that there can be on the world. He is committed to keeping to society and following the example which was set by the elders. Jack Jack is the character that co-exists with the main character. He is not elected as the leader of the tribe. This leaves him in a jealous rage which continues throughout the book. He illustrates the evil that exists in society and how people can get dragged into it, sometimes against their own will. Jack continually makes life difficult for Ralph and does not follow the right example. Piggy Piggy is the wise intellectual boy in the novel. He is introduced very early on along with Ralph. Piggy represents societys brains and his cries for order go unheard, just like they do in real life. He is good in the way he does nothing wrong, but too weak of word to do anything just. Simon Simon is perhaps the only really good person in the novel. By the way Golding describes his character, there seem to be no flaws in it. He represents the natural goodness in people, but he is to weak to do anything about the evil. There are a significant amount of props, or scenery used in the Book Lord of the Flies, many of them with a meaning. At the very start of the book we are introduced to a very important one which also has a sociological meaning to it. The Conch shell is used to summon the boys at the beginning and impresses many of them making them think of him as a natural leader. Seeing there is nothing left of the plane wreckage the conch shell is one of the only things they have which is linked to society and therefore becomes a powerful symbol of civilization. It is used throughout the book effectively by Ralph but when it is flattened it symbolizes the complete downfall of civilization and the loss of control. Another important symbol in the novel is the beast. It stands for the fear which all of the boys have and the savagery they all have. All of the boys, especially the littleuns are afraid of the beast but only Simon recognizes that the fear is within the boys themselves. Because the beast l ies within the boys, more savage they act, the more apparent the beast is. The loss of power is one very remarkable problem Ralph seems to have from the very start. As soon as Jack comes into the scene, there is a sense of rebellion. Jack protests in some of the very first chapters that he should be leader instead, but it led to nothing. Ralph seems to be on top of things on the whole, but as soon as Jack started trying Ralphs leadership, things went on a downhill slope. In Lord of the Flies, something called Id and Superego are subconsciously integrated, forming a contrasted point of view. Id and Superego are a ideas of Sigmund Freud, a professor of psychology. Id is the primal urges you have, while your Superego is where you respond to what you think society expects of you. In the novel, these two types of personalities are both applied, leaving a very contrasted set of characters. The Superego in Lord of the Flies is definitely Piggy. He is the one who is always questioning whatever he or someone else is doing is right. He compares all of his experiences to what his auntie says. Someone with a Superego usually is concerned with what society thinks of them, just like Piggy is afraid of other people judging him. The Id on the other hand is nearly the complete opposite of the Superego. In this book, Jack and his tribe exhibit the Id in every human being. His tribe follows what they like doing, or in other words their primal urges. This can mean hunti ng, feasting, killing etc. It is possible that Golding chose to show these two very different types of personalities on purpose, but without an answer, we are not quite sure. In the above I have explored just one of the dozens of arguments there are to make about Lord of the Flies. Good versus evil are both very clearly portrayed in this novel making it easy to distinguish which one is which. In the book, political views are subtly illustrated in the form of children, one Jack, one Ralph. In a mà Ã‚ ¹lange with other characters, Golding created a modern day society on a small scale where good an evil exist simultaneously and in which the Id is let loose.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Mariam: A Legitimate End to a Life of Illegitimate Belongings Essay

â€Å"Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. You remember that, Mariam† (Hosseini 11). Mariam, a child born out of wedlock, grew up lacking the genuine love she yearned for. Despite everything, her mother told her, she believed that her father, Jalil, meant the best for her. That was until she made the shocking discovery on her own; he actually wanted to get rid of her. Pressured by his many wives, Jalil forces Mariam to marry an abusive shoemaker. As the last tear rolls down her cheek, she starts to understand the hardships that her mother went through. Emotionally neglected, they left her alone to live in a two-story house in Kabul; this becomes a life changing experience. On her journey through life, a quiet girl transforms into a potent female persona that eventually gives her life for a justifiable cause. Mariam overcomes the obstacles and hardships of her inferiority to the male gender through her courageousness an d endurance. To start off, Mariam plays a powerful role by enduring the countless strikes and lashes of her husband, Ras...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Catherines Inner Self in Henry Jamess Washington Square :: Henry James Washington Square

Catherine's Inner Self in Henry James's Washington Square Much is said of the internal reality of the characters in Henry James's novel Washington Square. It is seen as a "psychological novel" where most of the action takes place in the minds of the characters. In an essay titled, "Washington Square: A Study in the Growth of an Inner Self," James W. Gargano addresses the internal reality of the character Catherine Sloper. Within the essay, Gargano argues that "James anatomizes the process by which Catherine's active, secret existence transforms her into an imaginative woman" (129). Although a few of his premises seem far-fetched, I agree with the major arguments of his critique. Most of his examples support his thesis well. Early in the essay Gargano states that, "in James's fiction, naivete may wear the look of an empty mind, but it is often the ideal preparation for receiving life fully and impressionably" (130). Gargano then tells us that Catherine will feel more intensely because she has not known strong emotions before. According to him, "her ingenuousness is the key to her genuineness and her sense of seeing, feeling, and judging life for the first time" (130). I feel this is a key element in understanding Catherine. Gargano also brings out how well James "traces [Catherine's] developing insight" (131) into her own nature. He refers to the part in the novel where James writes, "She watched herself as she would have watched another person, and wondered what she would do" (qtd. in Gargano 131). Then Gargano adds, "it is hard to write off as dull a young woman with such a vivid 'contact' with her own development" and Gargano also felt that "James intended the dullness to be ascribed to the bright people around her who never even glimpse her hidden abysses" (131). This is an interesting viewpoint, which, when applied to the novel, adds a deeper perception of the characters. Some of Gargano's other premises were not as insightful for me. For example, I had trouble with what Gargano called Catherine's "transcendentalizing imagination" that causes her to create "beautiful figments" of Townsend that possess her and become the "paramount value of her life, and other attachments, no matter how strong, must somehow accommodate themselves to it." (132). This contention tends to belittle Catherine's intelligence as well as her grasp of reality. I also disagreed with one of Gargano's conclusions that, "loss is the real goal for which James's central characters are secretly striving, that they engage life only to see that it falls below their lofty expectations and that mastery and transcendence are gained by renunciation" (135).

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Welfare: A Government Program in the US

In the United States, the word â€Å"welfare† is familiar to everyone. People usually consider welfare as government programs that distribute public assistance to the poor and low income people. However, some people, who are able to work, take advantage of or depend too much on welfare, and they consider welfare as their main source of income. To stop their dependence on welfare, the government should put those who are on welfare into the labor area and keep them there. Besides, the government should change their way of thinking about welfare and make recipients realize the goal of work and self-sufficiency. In order to accomplish this change, the government should replace the existing welfare by education and training programs. Some welfare recipients depend too much and take advantage of welfare. The sponsors of immigrants must be responsible for taking care of their family. However, they refuse to take their responsibility, and they consider that welfare must help them. For example, one sponsor in Orange County, California placed her parents on welfare even though she owned a $450,000 home and easily could afford to provide for their well-being. However, she notified the welfare agency that her elderly parents either would have to start paying rent or move out (Smith 31). Besides, welfare pays substantially more than recipients could earn from entry-level job (Tanner et al. 22). That is the reason why welfare recipients do not likely to look for job. As a result, if people can earn the same income by either working or not working, most people will choose not to work. In contrast, other people such as elders, retarded or disabled individuals, and single parent deserve to receive government assistance; however, they do not get as much as they need because the government provides welfare to both deserving and undeserving people. This will create an unbalancing gap between people. Those who really need welfare can not get enough; meanwhile, others receive more than what they need. Therefore, the government should provide welfare to deserving people who really need assistance and jobs to those who are able to work. In the article â€Å"Welfare Pays Better, So Why Work? † of USA Today Magazine, the authors state â€Å"Nearly everyone agrees that a major goal should be to encourage recipients to leave the welfare rolls and enter the workforce† (Tanner et al. 22). In order to encourage recipients to enter the workforce, the government should limit welfare because welfare is a source of income which recipients do not have to work to earn, so why do they have to work? Besides, welfare recipients must realize that welfare only helps them in short period of time. After that they have to be on their own because there is no one else can help them forever. If there is less welfare, working becomes the only source of income which they can depend on. Indeed, limiting welfare is parallel with seeking job. Once welfare is limited, labor force is the only place where they can get help. In order to encourage recipients to work, the government should create employment programs which assist recipients to look for job, to train and to gain skills. Although the employment programs might cost the nation more money in short term, they will be worth it in the long term. First, the government should persuade private employers to create more job opportunities for welfare recipients, and also welfare recipients should be required to participate in education and training programs. Besides, more employment services and job search assistance should be establish to help welfare recipients to have an easier time finding jobs. In addition, welfare money should be used to subsidize for education and training programs because these programs can provide skills and train them in order to meet the new demands of the labor market and meet the employer's specific needs. Furthermore, unemployment offices would no longer distinguish between those who were recently laid off and those who have been on welfare. Each person would be evaluated on the basis of what services she or he needs in order to obtain employment. Hence, everyone all has same opportunity to enter the workforce. Instead of improving the welfare programs, the government should look at them as an opportunity to create a more comprehensive employment programs that would replace the old welfare and public assistance programs. For this to occur, the government should create education and training programs to provide skills and train people in order to ensure all those who want to work are able to do so. Besides, more employment services should be established to assist people to look for job easier, and private employment creates more jobs to encourage people to work. Also, equal opportunity should be applied to everyone. As a result, all these programs should be shared a single goal: to enable people to work.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Life of Hitler Essay

The book, written by Alan Bullock deals with the whole life of Hitler, from his unknown early stages through his progress to supreme absolute power and then his final weakening and suicide in the bunker as Russian shells fell around him. The author divides the story into three main sections. The first covers with Hitler’s early life, his rise to party leader in the years following the First World War, and his gaining of the Chancellorship in 1933. The second part deals how he consolidated his position and extended his power once he was in office. The third and final part is regarding his actions in the Second World War. Hitler settled in the army, speaking his mind in opposition to the Jews and Communists greatly to the consent of his seniors. In 1919 Hitler was invited to a meeting of the Deutsche Arbeiter Partei or DAP, the German Workers Party which really embraced of only a few dozen constituents. During this meeting, a spokesperson called for the unification of Austria and Germany. Right away, Hitler shouted, refusing the very thought of a union with the non-Germanic areas of Austria but echoed the words of his educator: that all Germans everywhere should merge to form a single nation. He received an invitation to join the party the next day. Hitler was not excited about this offer; he had sought to organize his own party and not join one as â€Å"incompetent† as the DAP. However he was still fascinated to the faction and after a couple of days of careful discussion he accepted. Number 555, a number which sounded remarkable unless you knew that the party’s numbering system started with 500, this was the number of Adolf Hitler as a DAP member. This undersized group of malcontents- rapidly to be known as the Nazis-had established its head, the nonconformist and former tramp that would lead them to supreme power and their country to ultimate destruction. Even though there is a surprising disparity between the darkness of Hitler’s origins and the unquestionable power he later on acquired, it is noteworthy how accurately his later thoughts and behavior were predicted in his early years. Certainly, as he himself mentioned, his examinations barely distorted at all from those he set forth in Mein Kampf. More than once he expressed quite openly what he projected to do as soon as he acquired power; the error his generations made was not to take him sincerely. The German politicians thought that they could make use of Hitler to broaden their own ends, but it was the other way around, it was Hitler who used them. It is complicated to stay away from a feeling of grudging respect for the skill with which he deceived and controlled them. Although Hitler was absolutely deceitful, trusting no one and willing to mislead, betray, eliminate, and do anything else that was desirable to achieve his ends, it is notable how cautious he was to circumvent open irregularity. When it appeared at one point likely that the Nazi party would be started of its aims, a number of his associates sought to stage a coup, but Hitler declined to do so. And in reality he did eventually become Chancellor legitimately, although, as soon as in power, he rapidly maneuvered himself into a position where he could do whatever he wanted without any kind of constitutional limitation. The total lack of hesitation that characterized Hitler’s advance to power continued to be apparent once he became Chancellor. His conduct on the world stage was basically a larger version of his earlier pretense, deception, and eagerness to use violence when it appeared likely to give. He had an insightful idea of the failing of others, playing on Joseph Chamberlain’s wish to avoid confrontation with the same skill he had used to deceive his opponents on his way to power. And, at least primarily, he sustained to examine the forms of legality in international relationships; his takeover of Austria was, in appearance, by invitation rather than by invasion. One of the most significant data about Hitler is the capacity he evidently obsessed to govern people. His appearance was unremarkable and his mind ordinary and vulgar, still he was capable to enforce his will on almost everyone around him, that is, the main exception seems to have been the Russian foreign minister Molotov. Bullock makes a comment on this power but was not able to explain it except by stating that Hitler’s gaze had a strange hypnotic character. This, nonetheless, would only have been successful at close quarters; his dominance of large public meetings must have been by reason of something else. Hitler himself explained what this depended on: not logical argument but feeling, emotion. â€Å"It is not objectivity, which is a feckless attitude, but a determined will, back up by power where necessary. † The author is good on the supporting cast list. Hermann Goering, the readers would probably think of as a fat figure of fun, and definitely this is what he became in his later years, but in earlier times he was powerful and played an essential part in the rise of the Nazis. Mussolini, however, appears as relatively unimpressive. The Italians appears to be always hesitant and frequently unenthusiastic allies, considered enormously as second-class by the Germans, nevertheless Hitler seems to have had an indisputable fondness for Mussolini himself. There are good descriptions of Himmler, Goebbels, and the arrogant and unbearable Ribbentrop. Reasonably there is not much humor in this manuscript, but it does consist of an entertaining account of an insulting disagreement between Goering and Ribbentrop. Another touch of humor comes from Hitler’s symbolic demand to quote, â€Å"When in my entire life did I ever tell a lie? † The conflict with Britain was involuntary and Hitler by no means completely understood why the British declared war on him. He had not projected a general war in 1939. Once in progress, nevertheless, the early successes rapidly led to him to the view that he was perfect, and in future, he frequently rejected the suggestions and recommendations of his generals, taking the supervision of the war into his own hands and giving out the most comprehensive commands. When things began to be unsuccessful he turns down to allow retreat in any circumstances and therefore wasted his resources, not to mention the lives of his troops, in hopeless last-minute stands. One of the many qualities of this fascinating account is its justification of Hitler’s apparently confusing pronouncement to attack Russia, a pronouncement that was ultimately the major reason of his defeat. The author makes clear, it was always Hitler’s objective to battle the Russians; his purpose from the start was to spread out towards the East, not the West. And the Russian movement possibly would have ended differently had Hitler been agreeable to listen to the advice of his generals to concentrate on taking Moscow rather than pursuing subsidiary aims. Bullock is categorical about the guilt of Hitler in the Final Solution. Even though it was Himmler who carried out the rule of extermination, â€Å"the man in whose mind so grotesque a plan had been conceived was Hitler. Without Hitler’s authority, Himmler, a man solely of subordinate virtues, would never have dared to act on his own. † Hitler and Himmler had secret meetings at which nobody else was permitted to be there, except seldom Bormann, and no record of these subsists. In the last part of his life Hitler’s understanding of reality had become shaky, his physical and mental corrosion being probably go faster by the quack remedies directed to him by his personal doctor. Even so, his political insight had not abandoned him. He predicted that, after the war, there would be only two Great Powers, USA and the Russia, who would engage in a trial of strength, either military or in the fields of economics and ideology. These two would rule the world between them until the nationalisms Asian, African, and perhaps South American should arise. The author uses many first-hand sources, like Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi leaders’ record, dialogues, articles and depositions in trials such as Nuremberg, for instance, Goebbels’, Otto Dietrich’s, Roehm’s, Gisevius’s, Rosenberg’s, etc. , and other significant actors’ of the period, such as Mussolini, Ciano, Schuschnigg, Ludendorff, Churchill, and Weizacker. His bibliography seems quite comprehensive and as complete as could likely be for the period, and is separated into time periods and subjects. One of the first items observed here is certainly the almost overwhelming amount of information pertaining to the psychological makeup of the dictator and the many reiterations of certain mindsets such as Hitler’s being a sufferer of his own propaganda. This information also tries to give details everything from Hitler’s detestation of the Jews to his consistent mindset, and his motivation to lie and run roughshod over anything in his direction. Some examples can be found all through the book, but the author also makes an effort a more or less complete physical and mental outline of the Fuehrer in chapter 7, â€Å"The Dictator†. The representation of Hitler given here may also seem a fragment simple and tied down to only a few aforesaid characteristics. Several statements in the book seem unnecessary or self-obvious: Hitler is referred to as having an â€Å"almost inexhaustible fund of resentment†: actually, a completely inexhaustible fund of resentment would be closer to the point, as he is still full of that particular emotion in his political testament, especially towards the Jews. Moreover, phrases like â€Å"the fat, bald party treasurer† have no precise value in this biography, and could have easily been left out. All in all, the book may be considered as a biography and historical recital, except during the final â€Å"War-Lord† section, where it seems to get caught up in military details. It might also be considered a difficult read because of the killings described and the general feeling of dissatisfaction that the subject suggests in the reader. Readers can only question, from the self-evident descriptions, terms and speeches evoked by the author, how come the German people, in addition to the other concerned countries’ people and leaders of that era, didn’t see the coming adversities as obviously as the author puts down them out for us to see. Reference: Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. New York: Bantam, 1961.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Problems Of Modern Youth Essay

It has been rightly said that we spend the first half of our lives trying to understand the older generation, and the second half trying understand the younger generation. This is nothing peculiar to the modern age. It has always been so. Every age has its own problem Youth has always felt somewhat exasperated with age, and age In always been suspicious of youth. With their natural ebullience a impatience, a majority of young people is keen to act and learn on the own rather than be guided by the experience of their elders. The ok people, being more at home with words rather than with action, oft make noises about the problems of youth. In every generation, old men are found shaking their hoary heads and waxing nostalgic about I good old days when young people knew better and showed due reverence to age and tradition. In all ages, whenever they have pondered over ways of youth, they have foreseen nothing but ruination staring the world in its face. And yet the world goes on. Every generation passes from spontaneity and exuberance of youth to the caution and prudence of old age, and then yields place to the next. Some of the charges brought against modern youth are that they represent a rudderless generation without any ideals to live by, or cause to live for. Without the redeeming influence of faith, they are afflicted with a compulsive reverence which manifests itself in increasing defiance of parental authority and revolt against established social, moral and behavioral norms. On the slightest pretext they take to the streets, indulging in violence and destruction. They want to attract attention to themselves through unconventional behaviour and clothes. A majority of them have fallen victims to self-pity, mister med as alienation. They are becoming a generation of drug addicts and have developed an aversion to honest, hard work, ever on the lookout to have something for nothing. It is no longer anxious youth going forth into a hostile world. Now, it is hostile youth going forth into an anxious world, which is not sure, what to expect from it. This is a formidable list of charges and it will require an army of psychologists to ascertain the truth of the allegations made and to analyze the erratic behaviour patterns referred to. But even from the layman’s point of view, the indictment appears to be patently one-sided. It betrays a lack of sympathetic understanding and realistic appreciation of the dilemma in which the younger generation finds itself today. If we come to think of it,  it is not that only the younger generation is feeling restless. As a matter of fact, human society itself is in a state of flux. And that is not a recent development. A profound change has been coming over it for the last quarter of a century. It started with those who had fought in the Second world War. They had been brought up in an atmosphere impregnated by conformism. But after they had borne the brunt of fighting for seven long y ears, their outlook was radically changed. They came to acquire a rather equivocal attitude towards established authority as also towards long-accepted social mores and codes of conduct. They had seen the death and destruction wrought by the war. It diminished their respect for the wisdom of old age because it was the old men—their fathers—who had started the war. The catastrophes of death and destruction, which had visited the world twice in thirty years eloquently, showed that the old had bungled, and that their claims to matur wisdom were false. Then the general erosion of law and order, which is natural in times of war, wrought a profound change in the spirit of the age. An attitude of dissent and irreverence came to replace spontaneous faith and quiet acceptance of the status quo. Thus, it was the old people themselves who sowed the seeds of that arrogance of which they complain so bitterly while discussing modern youth. A fast-growing populations has increased to complexities of life in our times and the fantastic technological progress triggered off by the Second World War. These two factors combined have brought about great socio-political changes during the last three decades, both in the industrialized countries of the west and in the underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa. Growing affluence in the developed societies of the West has generated among the people there a restlessness, which pines for instant rewards. Pursuing the mirage, parents have little time to devote to their children and to properly direct and supervise their activities. The children have all the money they need, and seldom face the need to work for a living. The result is that they try to attract attention in other ways and seek excitement in drugs and permissiveness. In the underdeveloped countries also, young people are feeling disgruntled because their visions of a happy future are being obliterated either by interna l strife or by political opportunism. Very few among such countries are enjoying political stability and even in them, more often than not, it is a particular class which is cornering most of the  rewards of technological progress. This provokes the young to protest against rampant corruption in society and the denial of social justice. In the circumstances, is it to be wondered at if all talk of dedication to ideals, renewed moral vigour, basic virtues etc. leaves the young cold and unconvinced? They are no longer prepared to blindly accept whatever their elders choose to ram down their throats. They are prone to subject to critical review all the social and political values they are called upon to accept. When they see high-sounding principles invariably being ignored for expediency, political leaders deliberately hoodwinking the masses, vested interests being allowed to frustrate the state at every step, corruption common in high places and other gaping differences between promise and performance, they naturally bec ome cynical and clamour for change. Students form a very important group among the youth of all nations. Like the others in the same age group, they too have ample reason to be dissatisfied with the state of affairs in our educational institutions. Their biggest and most legitimate grievance is that what they learn after putting in so much time, effort and money has very little relevance to the realities of life with which they come face to face after leaving the university. Rather than equipping them to make a honourable living, education appears to be rendering them unemployable. Therefore, it is but natural that they should want to have a say in determining what should be taught so that it has some relevance to their future life and its needs. They would no longer tolerate politickers masquerading as teachers. They are not prepared to concede that the educational authorities have also to act as the guardians of their morals. They consider themselves quite capable of looking after themselves. If we look at the problems of youth today in the light of foregoing, it will be apparent that it is not the young alone who are to blame for the state of mind in which we find them. They may well be charged with being ignorant of what they want. But they surely know what they do not want. Theirs is a movement of protest against hypocrisy and lack of integrity in their elders, an expression of moral revulsion against corruption in society. Students are up in arms against displays of hollow pedantry and alienated erudition in educational institutions, the lack of living contact between students and teachers, and the unresponsiveness of the whole educational system to the need for change. The young are protesting against the difference between the  myth and reality of the society in which they are growing. Evidently, this concern for the future and this anxiety to rescue life from hypocrisy is very laudable indeed. But it cannot be said that the young are all the time guided by such high purpose, or that their choice of methods is always happy. Dissent is necessary—in fact obligatory, when things go wrong. But when it descends from the verbal level to the physical, it invites tragedy. Violence comes natural to youth. The young, supremely sure that the authority against which they are up in arms is unjust and oppressive, and feeling certain of the correctness of their own stand, react emotionally. The intensity of their feelings is such that it fills them with hatred and they turn to violence. Those who advocate taking to the streets to give vent to feelings of grievance plead that no one pays attention to words any longer. But this way of thinking is dangerous. Violence is an expression of intolerance. As the President of the Yale University said some time ago, the ugliness of the radical is no different from the ugliness of the reactionary. Both share the sin of arrogance, which is the enemy of freedom. In a general unleashing of violence, dissent is the first casualty. On the whole, the younger generation today is much misunderstood and more maligned than it deserves. The world, which it is going to inherit, will be immensely more exciting than the world of its predecessors ever was or could be. At the same time, life will present to it a much bigger and far more complex challenge. It would not do to condemn it and find fault with it that is easy enough. What is really important is that it is treated with understanding so that it can develop its faculties to reshape the world it is going to inherit in accordance with its noblest vision.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Auditing Chapter Two

(TCO 4) To succeed in an action against the auditor, the client must be able to show that: Student Answer: the auditor was fraudulent. the auditor was grossly negligent. there was a written contract. there is a close causal connection between the auditor's behavior and the damages suffered by the client. Instructor Explanation: Page 121 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 2. Question : (TCO 4) The principal issue to be resolved in cases involving alleged negligence is usually: Student Answer: the amount of the damages suffered by plaintiff. whether to impose punitive damages on defendant. he level of care exercised by the CPA. whether defendant was involved in fraud. Instructor Explanation: Page 119 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 3. Question : (TCO 4) A third-party beneficiary is one which: Student Answer: has failed to establish legal standing before the court does not have privity of contract and is unknown to the contracting parties. does not have privity of contract, but is know n to the contracting parties and intended to benefit under the contract. may establish legal standing before the court after a contract has been consummated. Instructor Explanation: Page 121 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 4. Question : (TCO 4) The objective of the ordinary audit of financial statements is the expression of an opinion on: Student Answer: the fairness of the financial statements. the accuracy of the financial statements. the accuracy of the annual report. the accuracy of the annual report. Instructor Explanation: Page 142 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 5. Question : (TCO 4) The responsibility for adopting sound accounting policies and maintaining adequate internal control rests with the: Student Answer: board of directors. company management. financial statement auditor. company’s internal audit department Instructor Explanation: Page 143 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 6. Question : (TCO 3) Which of the following statements is most correct regarding errors and fraud? Student Answer: An error is unintentional, whereas fraud is intentional. Frauds occur more often than errors in financial statements. Errors are always fraud and frauds are always errors. Auditors have more responsibility for finding fraud than errors. Instructor Explanation: Page 145 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 7. Question : (TCO 3) Which of the following is not one of the conditions for fraud described in SAS No. 99? Student Answer: Attitudes/rationalization. Opportunities. Incentives/pressures. Each of the above is a condition for fraud. Instructor Explanation: Page 337 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 8. Question : (TCO 3) Fraudulent financial reporting may be accomplished through the manipulation of: Student Answer: assets. liabilities. revenues. all of the above. Instructor Explanation: Page 336 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 9. Question : (TCO 3) Which of the following is a factor that relates to incentives to misappropriate assets? Student Answer: Significant accounting estimates involving subjective judgments. Significant personal financial obligations. Management's practice of making overly aggressive forecasts. High turnover of accounting, internal audit and information technology staff. Instructor Explanation: Page 339 Points Received: 2 of 2 Comments: 10. Question : (TCO 3) Auditors may identify conclusions during fieldwork that change or support a judgment about the initial assessment of fraud risk. Which of the following conditions should alert an auditor about the initial assessment? Student Answer: Missing or conflicting evidence. Discrepancies in the accounting records. Unusual relationships between the auditor and management. All of the above.

A brief analysis of Robert frosts poem the Gift Outright

A brief analysis of Robert frost's poem the Gift Outright The Gift Outright: Analysis of Robert Frost’s Poem Robert Frost’s poem The Gift Outright renders its readers with many interpretive options as to what analogies he is hiding behind his words. I think in Frost’s The Gift Outright, he is trying to emphasize that triumph, surrender, and sacrifice are what led to the outright gift that is America. For years, what is now America was a colony under the reign of the British; American’s identities were not solely in themselves but partially based in the British traditions that had been heavily emphasized- because of this many struggled to become one with the land. Colonials slowly fought for independence in each of the states; Frost uses this to exemplify when the Americans began to triumph over England’s rule and make the land thine own: â€Å"†¦She was ours/ In Massachusetts, in Virginia, / But we were England’s† (3-5). The author uses these lines to show that they do have small victories towards the progression of their own nation/land. But they are still England’s and are failing to be apart of the change that will shape and solidify their nation state; they posses the land, but the land does not posses them- they took over the land without taking over the responsibilities she came with. Triumph can only come if there is once a trial, and at times humanity surrenders to the trials they face. The gift of land came at a personal expense, a sacrifice; because they would not receive without first giving: â€Å"Such as we were we gave ourselves outright†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Such as she was, such as she will bec ome.† (12,16). In these lines Frost is demonstrating that the imperfect citizens gave themselves to the imperfect land to build something much greater; the dedication of the people will help America to achieve its full potential by enhancing her with art and stories. Surrendering parts of themselves to the development of America is not the only sacrifice Frost exemplifies in his poem. The decolonization of America and the personalization of her land was the cause for the passing of many lives. The sacrifice and demise of many souls was subtly mentioned by Frost: â€Å"(The deed of the gift was many deeds of war)† (13). I think Frost is trying to prove that although the gift was outright, it was merely the opposite. The land was not entirely the peoples; it was fought for- a lot of conflict and oppression was ensued to create a free nation. Frost adopts the use of brackets; this allows for war to be mentioned indirectly but insists that the wages of war that resulted in victory, not be forgotten. Frost’s poem captivates the readers, making them feel the responsibilities and duties of the land that the Americans once felt as their own. Such allowed construal as the poem progressed and the meaning behind The Outright Gift became increasingly complex, and intimate. Frost depicted the American’s identity in an uncontemporary way through the triumph, surrender, and sacrifice that had been endured.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Philosophy and the Next Generation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy and the Next Generation - Term Paper Example This is not a perfect situation for them to have faith in something or to follow the philosophies of religions. We have seen that when things are related to religions there is a big clash of opinions. The next generation will have a very promising life if they atheists. They can live in harmony even without religions. Religions hold a certain group of people together not everyone. This will avoid a lot of problems. Atheism will force the next generation to love people irrespective of religion. Religion is a very emotional thing. Religions were created for the purpose of keeping people united. For example a Christian might say, "I know Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. By following his teachings, I will live in heaven when I die." This is the same thing a Muslim would say. But the teachings in both the religions are almost the same. Both the religions ask people to live in love, harmony and peace. So why should the next generation be guided in terms of religions even after knowing t he basic motive of the religions. They have the support of technology, knowledge, education everything to live their life in a very effective way. Religions are here a big cause for fights and troubles. I personally believe that there is no need of a religion to do good things. Anyone can do it. Especially, when a person is not locked by religious beliefs his potential to do good things is really high. I want my children to grow up without being blinded by religions. Nobody will ever say, that a person was a good Christian or a good Muslim, they always say he or she was a good human being. So what is the significance of religion here. And also a lot of people are killing each other in the name of religions. They were created to educate people about living in harmony and peace. When that itself is creating a big problem, what is the use of being religious. Nobody will judge you on the basis of religion you belong to but they will definitely judge you on what you are and how you are w ith your life. Absolute truth is one main philosophy, which has been talked a lot about. An absolute truth, sometimes called a universal truth, is an unalterable and permanent fact. The concept of absolute truths - what they are and whether they exist - has been debated among many different groups of people. Philosophers have waded in the muck of defining absolute truth for millennia. For example, Plato believed that absolute truth existed, but that truth on earth was merely a shadow of great forms of absolute truth existing in the universe. Alternatively, many believe in relative truths, where facts may vary depending on the circumstances. People often look to science to determine whether something constitutes an absolute truth, but science tends to avoid absolutism. Even when scientists reasonably believe an explanation, it is often couched as theory or proofs. However, as we advance in science, we often find ourselves disproving proofs. Yet a great deal of proof on a subject makes it more likely , but does not make it absolute truth. Many religions contain absolute truths. This is something which is very subjective. There are lots of arguments about it. For example, to the Christian the absolute truth is Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior. Imposing this statement, which is an absolute truth according the Christians, will pave way for a big argument because Jesus Christ is not everyone's lord. When a person's absolute truth is