Dot.Com Bubble

R&D, Advertising and the Market Value of Internet Firms By: Damir Tokic Outline: 1. Introduction 2. Article Summary 3. Discussion 4. Conclusion Introduction During the Dot-com â€Å"bubble†, internet firms were highly valued compared to â€Å"old economy† firms. Internet firms’ stock prices were unrealistically high. Most of those firms were operating under loses and no tangible assets to warrant those prices. Analysts justified those prices and recommended buy ratings but later a crash followed. Article SummaryThis article explains the relationship between intangible assets (advertising and R&D) expenditures and internet firms’ market value during 1996-2000. The author presents two opinions in regard to internet stock’s valuation. The first theory is based on DCF methodology and asserts that due to poor earnings and low earnings visibility, internet stocks were irrationally overvalued in 1999. Secondly, based on the option pricing theory, it can be justified that the prices were warranted due to growth of those firms and volatility as primary value drivers.The article details five literature reviews on valuation – (1) Investment opportunity approach to valuation and more especially growth firms, (2) The life cycle theory, (3) The effects of intangible assets (R&D and advertisement) to market value, and (4) Valuation of internet firms using real options. Based on the life cycle theory, as the firm grows and matures, managers have a tendency to pursue growth rather than stockholders’ welfare. Those with comparative advantage over the competition tend to invest more in the growth stage to expand their operations.Under this theory, the value of the firm is divided into: (1) option value of growth opportunity, (2) present value of cash flows from asset-in-place. This model is based on the idea that the firm’s life cycle determines its expected returns. Expected return attributable to each component of value la rgely depends on the growth stage of the firm. Like in â€Å"old economy† firms, mature firms have all of their value in the present value of cash flows from the asset-in-place component while growth firms, their value is concentrated in the growth component.The author argues that intangible assets (i. e. advertising and R&D) greatly add value and since their benefits are mainly realized in the future, they should be capitalized rather than expensed. They positively impact the value of the market as they give some signals of future profitability. Therefore, increase in these assets has consistent effects on profits. The author points out that the market reacts more favorably to high-tech firms when R&D expenditures are announced than to low-tech firms.This is based on the hypothesis High-tech firms have promising growth opportunities whereby investments in R&D positively affect the market value. On the other hand, Investments in low-tech firms negatively affect the value due to no or negative growth opportunities. The author also points out that the efficient market does not capture advertising and R&D in the firm’s stock price because these investments are expensed rather than capitalized and therefore reduce the profits making the financial statements to be misstated.It may be possible that R&D intensive firms may be underpriced because investors focus on accounting information failing to see the future benefits of the R&D investments. On the other hand, especially for those firms with negative earnings, overconfidence investors will overestimate the future benefits from R&D investments thus causing overvaluation. Maintaining R&D and advertising intensity provides the positive signal that management are overconfident in future prospects and the market tend to overlook those signals making it possible to realize abnormal returns.The author also explains the real option valuation model which he blames on the high valuation of internet stocks duri ng the bubble period derived from the Black and Scholes option pricing theory. This theory suggests that it is possible to undertake initially unattractive projects which the traditional DCF model will reject. It may pay off to undertake R&D investments in a project with negative value if the early investments provide sufficient information about the future benefits of a project. The value of an internet firm is largely dependent on (1) firm’s ability to adapt to enormous ncertainty, (2) competitive landscape paced with technology innovations,(3) changing market conditions and (4) costs of searching for a profitable business model. Valuations can be extremely high if the initial growth rates are high and if there is enough volatility in this growth over time, The author’s argument is that high valuation of internet stocks is attributed to the investment opportunities approach. This approach suggests that the presence of growth opportunities to invest new capital result s to projects with a promising rate of rate return higher than normal.The investment opportunities approach states that value of a growth firm is equal to the PV of cash flows from assets in place and the present value of â€Å"growth† opportunity (Vj = V1 + V2). It suggests that investors should pay a premium for earnings of a growth firms relative to mature firms due to the presence of profitability multiplier in growth firms. The author proposes a modified investment opportunities approach which incorporates advertising and R&D into the equation when valuing growth firms; V = E/k m + RD+A/k (m-1).This is because total investments of growth firms is a combination of retained earnings and investments in intangible assets (advertising and R&D), thereby directly adding value to the firm. Discussion Valuation is the key to the survival of a firm. Bad valuation can lead to overvaluation or undervaluation. In the case the dot-com â€Å"bubble† it is apparent that those fir ms were overvalued partly because of the valuation models used and the market reaction. I think there was high excitement of the new economy which led to high speculations.Investors were very overconfident that those firms will make profits in the future due to growth opportunities readily available. A combination of increasing stock prices, market overconfidence, individual speculation in stocks, and widely available venture capital created an environment in which many investors were willing to overlook traditional metrics such as P/E ratio in favor of overconfidence in technological advancements. The author explains how intangible assets like R&D and advertising of growth firms have positive effect on market value due to future profitability.It therefore means that growth firms will invest more in R&D and advertising in order to maximize the growth opportunities. The life cycle theory suggests that at a maturity, increasing R&D and advertising have diminishing utility and managers have a tendency to pursue growth during the growth stage rather than stockholders welfare. During the bubble, it is clear that firms were chasing growth with high intensity in R&D and the market reacted positively to it. Financial analysts based their valuations solely on the growth and expectations of future earnings.This is why behavioral finance plays a role in trying to explain efficient market. In an efficient market, stock prices fully incorporate the value of intangible investments and therefore there should be no association between R&D intensity and future stock returns. But as the author suggests, firms with a high proportion of intangible assets are highly volatile because their future success is tied to the success of R&D projects. Another problem is that R&D and advertising are expensed under US GAAP significantly reducing the profits and misstating the accounting book value.If these expenses were capitalized, probably those growth firms would have seen some profits an d may be that is why investors did not care about their losses. Louis, chan & Theodore (2001) also advocate that companies with high R&D and advertising earn large excess returns and R&D intensity is positively associated with volatility. I tend to believe that in some cases, investors overestimate the benefits from R&D investments, especially for firms with negative profitability, which causes the overvaluation.The markets underreact to managers’ overconfidence to keep heavy investments in R&D at the expense of current profitability. In my opinion, I don’t think investors should overreact positively to heavy investments in R&D. In an efficient market, this intangible asset will fully be incorporated in stock prices. The author mentions that financial analysts justified the high valuations of internet stocks using the models derived from Blank and Scholes option pricing theory. During the â€Å"bubble† real option value was integrated in valuation of those firms .I agree with the author that real option itself has value if a firm undertakes initially negative NPV just to position itself in a growing industry. This real options is what made analysts overconfidence that the negative profitability or negative NPV will turn positive in the advanced stage of development. But there is a high uncertainty when using this model which translates to high value. As the author suggests, if the initial growth rates are sufficiently high and there is high volatility in this growth over time, valuations can be unrealistically high.Analysts believed that there were many options at the disposal of those firms and the negative profitability did not shake their high valuations Investment opportunities approach to valuation of internet stocks is seen as the cause of the â€Å"bubble† too. Under this approach analysts believed that the internet firms have many opportunities to invest new capital in projects promising rate of return higher than normal. The refore, in addition to present value of cash flows from assets in place, those firms also had another value from growth opportunities. The present value from growth opportunities is what gave those firms high values.The investment opportunities approach was even modified by the authors to include R&D and advertising which even made those values extremely high. Conclusion I believe that in a well-functioning system, with the incentives of intermediaries fully aligned in accordance with their fiduciary responsibility, public markets will correctly value companies such that investors earn a normal required rate of return. Financial analysts should incorporate the value of earnings in their valuation targets that were previously based solely on the growth and expectation of future earnings.This will help reduce the value of firms that lack profitability and prevent another bubble. References Chan, L. K. C, Lakonishok, J. , & Sougiannis, T. , (2001). The Stock Market Valuation of Researc h and Development Expenditures. The Journal of Finance. 56(6), 2431-2456. doi 10. 1111/0022-1082. 00411. Palepu, K. G. , Healy, P. M. , (2008). Business Analysis & Valuation. Mason, Oh: South-Western Cengage Learning. Tokic, D. , (2004). R&D Advertising and the Market Value of Internet Firms: Part 1. Journal of Internet Commerce. 3(2), 21-79

Four aspects in leadership Essay

Leadership: Leadership is defined as senior executives who support the creation of processes (Hammer, 2007). There are four aspects in leadership including awareness, alignment, behavior, and style. According to Hammer’s PEMM and the analysis of evidence in this case, four perspectives including awareness, alignment, behavior, and style are scored from E-1 to E-4. Awareness: Leadership awareness is defined as the recognition of business process and understanding the value of the process-oriented enterprise for senior management. Bharat Dave, who is vice president of industry sales in Siemens ROLM Communication Incorporation, recognizes that they need a restructuring program to improve profitability and market share in their four disparate companies (P1). Also, ROLM senior management understands that they need to reengineer new processes and guarantee the execution of those new processes based on appropriate information technology (P4). Moreover, ROLM senior management seeks for global strategies through integrating ROLM into Siemens Private Communication Systems (P4). Finally, ROLM senior management seeks to create one company spirit, identity, and culture by establishing and reengineering processes and a new attitude that accepts innovation and continuous improvement (P4). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, leadership awareness at Siemens ROLM Communication incorporation is at the E-4 level where â€Å"the senior executive team sees its own work in process terms and perceives process management not as a project but as a way of managing the business†. In conclusion, this program involves in one company spirit, identity, culture, and management as a total company plan to establish and sustain world-class performance as recognized by customers, not only as a project. Alignment: The alignment of leadership concerns the coordination between management and  employees in the company. A â€Å"project office† was established to manage ROLM 1 in January 1992 and was made up three senior executives and led by Dave who was vice president of logistics form ROLM (P5). It means that the senior executives are responsible for this project. Also, 60% of the field offices have accepted the new process and tools (P2). Dave reflects that 80% of approximately 6,000 person work force has been impacted by ROLM 1 in the company (P1). However, senior management still has three concerns for this project. Firstly, whether the new processes and tools cannot be refrozen but continue to implement further changes (P2). Secondly, whether senior management continues to measure specified processes or emphasizes more traditional revenue and cost performance measures (P2). Thirdly, senior management should be how to motivate those field offices that is laggards to accept the new process (P2). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, the alignment of leadership is at the E-3 level where â€Å"there is strong alignment in the senior executive team regarding the process program. There is also a network of people throughout the enterprise helping to promote process efforts†. In conclusion, there is a good alignment in this project between management and employees. Behavior: Leadership behavior is whether management performs their own work as processes and strategies in order to achieve their goals. Karl Geng, who was chief operating officer at ROLM, said that the project had enjoyed relentless support from president and the president fully trusted us (P12). It means that senior management endorses in operational improvement and insures removing roadblocks in order to achieve goals including 30%-50% improvement in cost, quality, and cycle time (P6). Moreover, ten managers from field offices across United States were comprised the ILCPR design team into headquarters (P6). These managers involved in various areas in the company, including sales, service, order administration, pricing, manufacturing and distribution, installation, MIS, and business administration (P6). These managers were brought to focus on three areas in  this project: order fulfillment, inventory, and IS systems (P6). These leadership behaviors from senior management primarily assure that the project can achieve a high performance to improve profitability and market share. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, leadership behavior is at the E-3 level where â€Å"senior executives operate as a team, manage the enterprise through its processes, and are actively engaged in the process program†. In conclusion, senior management attaches great importance on this reengineering project. Style: Leadership style is a style for leader or senior management. This case does not provide much evident of leadership style for the project at ROLM Communication incorporation. In fact, senior management makes an open and free environment for communication in company, such as making frequent presentations to various audiences including training classes and meetings (P11). In addition, small group interactions also impact employees’ efforts for enterprise innovation (P11). Geng said â€Å"middle management does a lot of filtering that can only be remedied via more communication† (P12). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, leadership style is at the E-2 level where â€Å"the senior executive team leading the process program is passionate about the need to change and about process as the key tool for change†. In conclusion, the senior management provides a good communication to make more employees to accept the new process. In conclusion, as analyzed each of perspective evidence above, awareness is at E-4 level, alignment is at E-3 level, behavior is at E-3 level, and style is at E-2 level. Consequently, total score of leadership is E-3 level. Culture: According to Hammer (2007), enterprise’s organizational culture must  focus on the teamwork, customer, responsibility and attitude toward change. According to Hammer’s PEMM and the analysis of evidence in this case, four perspectives including teamwork, customer, responsibility, and attitude toward change are scored from E-1 to E-4. Teamwork: ROLM 1 is a project as functional, cross-functional, and field impact projects (P6). There are ten managers brought to establish a professional team to manage three areas for this project into headquarters, including order fulfillment, inventory, and IS systems (P6). This project emphasizes on the customer and install what customers want, when customers want, and no matter what the cost (P7). It shows that ROLM’s employees and customers have an optimal relationship as teamwork. Moreover, Dave and three senior executives established a â€Å"project office† to manage ROLM 1 in January 1992 (P5). As evident showed above, teamwork is commonplace among senior management, field manager, employee, and customer. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, teamwork is at E-3 level where â€Å"teamwork is the norm among process performers and is commonplace among managers†. In conclusion, the enterprise has a optimal teamwork to focus on the project. Customer Focus: Customer focus is a customer-oriented strategy for a company. Karl Geng said that â€Å" our strength has always been our customer focus† and â€Å" it is easy to implement the project because customer is focused from start to end† (P2). Also, Dataquest and Datapro ranked ROLM as the number one PBX vendor for customer satisfaction (P1). ROLM allows customer a great deal of flexibility for making the installation happen, no matter what the cost (P7). As the case said, the goal of ROLM is to install what the customer wants, when the customer wants, and no matter what the cost (P7). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, customer focus is at E-3  level where â€Å"employees understand that customers demand uniform excellence and a seamless experience†. In conclusion, the employees of ROLM understand the importance of customer. Responsibility: Responsibility is a duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task. In this case, Dave and three senior executives establish a â€Å"project office† to be responsible for the process in three ways: to coordinate the various ROLM 1 activities, to help projects overcome barriers, and to identify cross-functional and cross project opportunities (P5). Senior management has three responsibilities to manage the project. Also, the project office organizes meeting every 4-6 weeks for deciding whether to start a project, to review project status, to redirect priorities and resources, or to create policy decisions by the design team (P5). Moreover, 60% of the field offices have accepted the new processes and tools and most offices and customers agree that this project creates a much better way of doing business (P2). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, responsibility is at E-3 level where â€Å"employees feel accountable for enterprise results†. In conclusion, the responsibility of senior management makes accountability for employees and customers. Attitude Toward Change: Attitude toward change means that employees are willing to accept the development of project in a company. 60% of the field offices have accepted the new processes and tools (P2). Also, installation personnel feel that design-early is an outstanding innovation and makes easier for them to complete a quality â€Å"on time† installation, as like â€Å"a breath of fresh air† (P8). However, some employees are growing tired of change because they are required to accomplish their goals (P2). Moreover, one key difference for employees’ attitude toward change is whether they see the change to help them to attain a world-class status in the eyes of their customers (P2). According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, attitude toward change is at E-2 level where â€Å"employees are prepared for significant change in how work is performed†. In conclusion, attitude toward change has a huge impact on whether the project succeeds or not for the company. In conclusion, according to the analysis of teamwork, customer focus, responsibility, and attitude toward change from culture, teamwork is at E-3 level, customer focus is at E-3 level, responsibility is at E-3 level, and attitude toward change is at E-2 level. Consequently, the total score of culture is E-3 level. Expertise: Expertise consists of the skill and methodology to redesign the process. People and methodology are the subcategories of expertise (Hammer, 2007). According to Hammer’s PEMM and the analysis of evidence in this case, two aspects including people and methodology are scored from E-1 to E-4. People: Dave, who is vice president of industry sales in ROLM Communication Incorporation, understands that ROLM 1 can improve profitability and market share for company (P1). Ten managers with different skills are brought from field offices across the United States to establish the ILCPR design team (P6). These managers involve in diverse areas of the company, including sales, service, order administration, pricing, manufacturing and distribution, installation, MIS, and business administration (P6). They have their own skills to make a large-scale change and enterprise transformation for the company. Furthermore, Dave and three senior executives create a â€Å"project office† to manage the program (P5). They also have their own skills to make an impact on the process. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, people is at E-3 level where â€Å"a cadre of experts has skills in large-scale change management and  enterprise transformation†. In conclusion, people with skills are significant for the reengineering process. Methodology: Methodology is the use of one or more methodologies for company to solve problem and improve process. In this case, ROLM implements a new parts distribution methodology that allows the company to cut the field parts inventory by over 60% (P10). Moreover, the senior management of ROLM uses 80/20 rule, as showed in this case â€Å" if a package existed for 80% of the requirements, we would buy it and ROLM would change to make the remaining 20% work† (P10). These two methodologies provide assistance for the company to solve execution problems and improve the fluency of the process. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, methodology is at E-1 level where â€Å"the enterprise uses one or more methodologies for solving execution problems and making incremental process improvement†. In conclusion, the part of methodology is required to get better for the program. In conclusion, expertise includes two aspects: people and methodology. As analyzed two aspects evidence above, people is at E-3 level and methodology is E-1 level. Consequently, the total of expertise is E-2 level. Governance: According to Hammer (2007), governance is a mechanism that manages complex projects and changes plans. According to Hammer’s PEMM and the analysis of evidence in this case, three aspects including process model, accountability, and integration are scored from E-1 to E-4. Process Model: Process model is process of the same nature that is classified together into a model. Ten managers were brought from field offices across the United  State, then they implement three process models: order fulfillment, inventory, IS systems (P6). The order fulfillment includes two projects: design-early and standard design, both of them result in significant cost savings (P6). Inventory model can reduce inventory at manufacturing locations and in the field (P10). IS system can decrease costs and simplify business processes (P10). These process models have been accepted to implement in the reengineering program and have made business value for the company. However, these process models are not connected to enterprise-level technologies and data architecture and are not extended to customers and suppliers for the company. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, process model is at E-2 level where â€Å"the enterprise has developed a complete enterprise process model, and the senior executive team has accepted it†. In conclusion, although senior executives accept these process models, it is not linked to enterprise-level technologies or data architectures. E-2 is the best on the evaluation of process model. Accountability: Accountability is the responsibility of performers for enterprise performance. In this case, the reengineering team members as steering committee members set up many presentations for training classes and meeting at headquarters and field offices (P11). These presentations share accountability for the enterprise’s performance. Geng said middle management makes more communication with employees to share accountability during the reengineering time of the program (P12). Geng also said he spent 1/3 of each day on listening and talking (P12). The accountability of senior executives reflects the company emphasizes on this program. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, accountability is at E-2 level where â€Å"process owners have accountability for individual processes, and a steering committee is responsible for the enterprise’s overall progress with processes†. In conclusion, E-2 level is best at accountability because the company has not established steering committees with customers  and suppliers to drive enterprise process change. Integration: Dave, who is the vice president of logistics, established a â€Å"project office† with three senior executives to manage ROLM 1 (P5). This is a formal program management office to administer the reengineering process. Moreover, ten managers are brought into headquarters from different field offices and they are responsible for three areas: order fulfillment, inventory, and IS systems (P6). These managers allocate most processes improvement techniques and tools and coordinate and integrate all process projects. According to Hammer’s PEMM and case evidence above, integration is at E-3 level because the vice president of logistics establishes a formal program management office and the project office endorses and supports the operational improvement techniques for the enterprise. The company uses an integrated manner to improve all processes techniques. In conclusion, governance is involved in process model, accountability, and integration. As analyzed these three perspectives above, process model is at E-2, accountability is at E-2 level, and integration is at E-3 level. Consequently, the total score of governance is E-2 level.

Analysis Of Connel’s Theory Of Hegemonic Masculinity

Analysis Of Connel’s Theory Of Hegemonic Masculinity In today’s society it takes a lot to grasp the change in how masculinity is â€Å"supposed† to be. To be able to truly understand the sort of expectations that men are held to by society there must be a detailed look into what R.W. Connell refers to as â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity† (Connell), it justifies men’s position in society as head of society and puts women second, saying women are supposed to submit to men. The impact it has on men in today’s society is, more than less, changing, but still has a significant place in male masculinity and in a lot of the â€Å"norms† we have, such as the man has to be the â€Å"breadwinner† of the household, and the women should only take care of the house. We often deamn these beliefs to be true by nature, as soon as a boy becomes a â€Å"man† he must go out and become the head of something or show that he is a man by gaining power (Being the head of his household, owning a business, getti ng wealthy, ect.). In the text Connell states that Hegemonic masculinity is â€Å"a social ascendency achieved in a play of social forces that extends beyond contests of brute power into the organisation of private life and cultural processes.† The one thing that will always be prevalent in the relationship of men and women all over the world is that fact that men will always dominate women. This structural belief that men are over females is the foundation for the term â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity†. â€Å"Masculinity is only hegemonic amongst men: no femininity is hegemonic†. This does not mean any kind of violence, it means hegemony in every part of life, Mainly talking about religious practices. For example, wedding vows, they mostly talk about how men will take care of their newly wed wives as if the are too incompetent to take care of themselves because they are women. â€Å"The man takes control as the breadwinner and the person in charge of a heterosexual relationship.† (Connell). Hegemonic Masculinity is publicized at lot in society, mostly in the media, you may see advertisements showing muscular men as the goal of what a man should look like. It tells him that if his mindset isn’t to want to look like that then he isn’t a man, the proceeds to give him the instructions he needs to become the muscular guy on the television. â€Å"How a man throws a ball is different to how a woman throws a ball. I didn’t want to throw a ball in front of my dad because i knew it wouldn’t look right, it wouldn’t be like the way a good, strong boy should throw it.† Here Connell tries to interpret the boy’s fear of disappointing his father and the combined sense that his body is unsuitable for a man as a learned social experience. The boy is young but is already fully aware that he isn’t what a man should be, he falls short of his father’s expectations in his head. Because of this, Connell is aware that hegemonic masc ulinity is a learned behavior. In movies, another form of media, you see the superheroes, mostly men, as big strong manly guys who saves the world from appending doom, giving the message that men are supposed to imitate these big strong macho men and get through the harsh realities of life unscathed, when in reality life will get to them and that okay, you don’t have to be like these men on the big screens. â€Å"Masculinities in Western societies are typically defined by by a specific body reflexive practice: sport, violence, heterosexual performance, and bodybuilding† (Connell pg. 86). One of the biggest societal issues is that fact that women want to be paid the same as men and that simply is not the case in today’s society. â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity can also be seen in our wage structures where men earn more than women and traditionally men achieve the top positions as managers or leaders.† (Connell). Women try tirelessly to get equal pay, in today’s society, but a lot of the big taxation and welfare policies are still advocates of the belief that males are more important and should get compensated more than women. â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity is evident in all aspects of life, even in housing, where men have designed the house that women clean and traditionally spend much more more time in than men.† (Connell). According to Connell, most of the men in today’s society often benefit from women submitting to them and the home. Taking care of the home is no worry for the man because his wife is the only one that must tend to the house, homely duties like for example, Ironing, cooking and washing clothes, these duties have an unwritten gender rule to them and separates the men and women when it comes to marriage. It is noticeable that the role of men is slowly but surely changing, that actions of men are very different form how men acted 30 years ago, a lot of thin gs that males in the past where doing would not be tolerated in today’s society. â€Å"Traditionally, the man of the family was seen as the breadwinner and the female looked after the children and all duties associated with the household.† (Connell). Because of the many financial challenges in today’s society, the concept of Masculinity has flopped as women are now taking on higher paid jobs and are taking care of themselves rather than in the past that wasn’t accepted. Some men today even have problems trying to find employment and stay home because of it. Women are more educated than men in today’s society as well and that is a big influence on this phenomena. To conclude, the topic of Hegemonic masculinity has yet to be stable and has a lot more research to go before it is concrete. There are many different aspects to masculinity, gender roles and the simple fact that if women weren’t around we wouldn’t even be studying masculinity. According to Connell, a lot of different masculinities are in existence, even though hegemonic masculinity is the most prevalent one. Hegemonic masculinity affects the behavioral aspects of men in today’s society and still has most men trying to maintain their rein on society. The result of this is the fact that men still must prove to the world and other men that they are just as manly. The way that men cope with the changes in the world is something that a lot of future sociologists will be studying. In today’s society it takes a lot to grasp the change in how masculinity is â€Å"supposed† to be. To be able to truly understand the sort of expectations that men are held to by society there must be a detailed look into what R.W. Connell refers to as â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity† (Connell), it justifies men’s position in society as head of society and puts women second, saying women are supposed to submit to men. The impact it has on men in today’s society is, more than less, changing, but still has a significant place in male masculinity and in a lot of the â€Å"norms† we have, such as the man has to be the â€Å"breadwinner† of the household, and the women should only take care of the house. We often deamn these beliefs to be true by nature, as soon as a boy becomes a â€Å"man† he must go out and become the head of something or show that he is a man by gaining power (Being the head of his household, owning a business, getti ng wealthy, ect.). In the text Connell states that Hegemonic masculinity is â€Å"a social ascendency achieved in a play of social forces that extends beyond contests of brute power into the organisation of private life and cultural processes.† The one thing that will always be prevalent in the relationship of men and women all over the world is that fact that men will always dominate women. This structural belief that men are over females is the foundation for the term â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity†. â€Å"Masculinity is only hegemonic amongst men: no femininity is hegemonic†. This does not mean any kind of violence, it means hegemony in every part of life, Mainly talking about religious practices. For example, wedding vows, they mostly talk about how men will take care of their newly wed wives as if the are too incompetent to take care of themselves because they are women. â€Å"The man takes control as the breadwinner and the person in charge of a heterosexual relationship.† (Connell). Hegemonic Masculinity is publicized at lot in society, mostly in the media, you may see advertisements showing muscular men as the goal of what a man should look like. It tells him that if his mindset isn’t to want to look like that then he isn’t a man, the proceeds to give him the instructions he needs to become the muscular guy on the television. â€Å"How a man throws a ball is different to how a woman throws a ball. I didn’t want to throw a ball in front of my dad because i knew it wouldn’t look right, it wouldn’t be like the way a good, strong boy should throw it.† Here Connell tries to interpret the boy’s fear of disappointing his father and the combined sense that his body is unsuitable for a man as a learned social experience. The boy is young but is already fully aware that he isn’t what a man should be, he falls short of his father’s expectations in his head. Because of this, Connell is aware that hegemonic masc ulinity is a learned behavior. In movies, another form of media, you see the superheroes, mostly men, as big strong manly guys who saves the world from appending doom, giving the message that men are supposed to imitate these big strong macho men and get through the harsh realities of life unscathed, when in reality life will get to them and that okay, you don’t have to be like these men on the big screens. â€Å"Masculinities in Western societies are typically defined by by a specific body reflexive practice: sport, violence, heterosexual performance, and bodybuilding† (Connell pg. 86). One of the biggest societal issues is that fact that women want to be paid the same as men and that simply is not the case in today’s society. â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity can also be seen in our wage structures where men earn more than women and traditionally men achieve the top positions as managers or leaders.† (Connell). Women try tirelessly to get equal pay, in today’s society, but a lot of the big taxation and welfare policies are still advocates of the belief that males are more important and should get compensated more than women. â€Å"Hegemonic Masculinity is evident in all aspects of life, even in housing, where men have designed the house that women clean and traditionally spend much more more time in than men.† (Connell). According to Connell, most of the men in today’s society often benefit from women submitting to them and the home. Taking care of the home is no worry for the man because his wife is the only one that must tend to the house, homely duties like for example, Ironing, cooking and washing clothes, these duties have an unwritten gender rule to them and separates the men and women when it comes to marriage. It is noticeable that the role of men is slowly but surely changing, that actions of men are very different form how men acted 30 years ago, a lot of thin gs that males in the past where doing would not be tolerated in today’s society. â€Å"Traditionally, the man of the family was seen as the breadwinner and the female looked after the children and all duties associated with the household.† (Connell). Because of the many financial challenges in today’s society, the concept of Masculinity has flopped as women are now taking on higher paid jobs and are taking care of themselves rather than in the past that wasn’t accepted. Some men today even have problems trying to find employment and stay home because of it. Women are more educated than men in today’s society as well and that is a big influence on this phenomena. To conclude, the topic of Hegemonic masculinity has yet to be stable and has a lot more research to go before it is concrete. There are many different aspects to masculinity, gender roles and the simple fact that if women weren’t around we wouldn’t even be studying masculinity. According to Connell, a lot of different masculinities are in existence, even though hegemonic masculinity is the most prevalent one. Hegemonic masculinity affects the behavioral aspects of men in today’s society and still has most men trying to maintain their rein on society. The result of this is the fact that men still must prove to the world and other men that they are just as manly. The way that men cope with the changes in the world is something that a lot of future sociologists will be studying.

Bio-Terrorism preparedness and response Module 3 case MHE 507 Essay

Bio-Terrorism preparedness and response Module 3 case MHE 507 - Essay Example However the operation is plagued by the lack of qualified and motivated staff members. This paper will seek to study and analyze the LRN. The Laboratory Response Network was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a means of responding to biological terrorism. The CDC established the organization with its partners, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Association of Public Health Laboratories (McGovern, 311). The overall aim was to create an efficient mechanism that would upgrade the American public health infrastructure to respond to bioterrorism. The LRN uses a coordinated effort by government, military, health, and private laboratories to fight against possible bioterrorist threats. It helps to enhance the ability of the country to respond to biological and chemical terrorism. The Laboratory Response Network operates using a multi-tier organizational structure. Each level helps to create a multilayered security mechanism against potential bioterrorist acts. Sentinel laboratories are the first line of defense since they are concerned with identifying and assessing bioterrorism threat agents. They have the responsibility of treating samples in a safe manner (Roffey & Tegnell, 450). Reference laboratories typically have advanced equipment that is used to test and monitor the presence of specific biological threat agents. Finally national laboratories are present in military and government facilities for the purpose of identifying specialized biological agents (Treadwell & Koo, 92). The LRN represents a unique effort to fight bioterrorism because it integrates state, federal, military, veterinary, and international laboratories. Adequate funding has supplemented the efforts by providing the necessary equipment, instruments, and supplies to the network of laboratories. However a major shortcoming is the lack of qualified and talented staff (Inglesby, 1735). This was because qualified scientists and researchers

Business plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Business plan - Essay Example Asian countries are also witnessing growth in the household sector, it is estimated that consumption will continue to grow at a moderate rate through out the year 2006/07. (Source?) Yellow lupins(YL) have been analysed and proven to be a better product for fish feed than soy in studies conducted by Brett Glencross. The large volume of soy and the intermittent supply of YL has led to SSOM cutting out contracts that were originally in place with WestEx in favour of cheaper continually available soy beans. A market for yellow lupins has therefore not been able to be continually established at this point. The export of wheat is definitely the best market for WestEx in the short to middle term. If some of the profits from the supply of wheat were able to be channelled into lupin R+D there may be potential for the product. Yellow lupin supply has also been affected by the current drought. (King & Gilmour, 2007). Research will need to be conducted into areas including those outlined in the R+D section if a Yellow lupin market is to be established. The new 3 monthly contracts starting in November 2007 between Westex and SSOM for an increasing supply of wheat will go some way to cement the relationship between the two companies. The supply of wheat may be able to be considered a â€Å"cash cow† for WestEx to enable them to further R+D and market development into other products to establish further differentiation of products. SoonSoon Oil has requested a supply of APW from WestEx on a sliding scale starting at 500tpm and increasing by 500tpm to 12000tpm. The wheat is used by SoonSoon to mill into flour for on sale to their clients. The flour market in Malaysia is a significant one. WestEx as explained above focuses on wheat. The particular product seems to have an increasing demand within the Malaysian market. In accordance with a series of statistics published in 2007, the consumption of wheat in Malaysia presents an increasing trend

A paper about a short story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A paper about a short story - Essay Example the story where he points out that Matman happens to be a voodoo practitioner, he then described some of the rituals that she sometimes performs that cause her to sometimes fall down to the ground and commence rolling about under the glowing moon (DeSanto 2013). After conducting these bizarre ritual, Matman would then proceed to walk back to the house to eat. An analysis of this incidence seems to suggest to the reader that to Matman and her family, that the occurrence of such an event is a normal everyday event, this is despite of the fact that such actions would generally be regarded by the larger society as being quite bizarre. DeSanto also undertakes to try and normalize some gruesome incidents in the story and describes how after Lord Invader had attacked and mauled the ear of one of the neighborhood boys while he was busy playing a game of basketball, Dà ©dà © had proceeded to beat him out there in the street before leading the dog home. When the boy’s father had turned up at the house, he had insisted on having the dog killed and on his threatening the Dà ©dà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s family, Dà ©dà © had agreed to kill the dog. Dà ©dà © had then slit the dog’s throat during a brief ceremony that had commenced with Matman whispering a Haitian death song that quickly turned into howls. After slitting the dog’s throat Dà ©dà © had proceeded to give it a brief eulogy by whispering â€Å"Lawd Invadar. I lahved you† (DeSanto 2012). By the delivery of the somewhat ordinary eulogy after Dà ©dà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s character had conducted a bizarre ceremony in which he killed his dog, DeSanto is seen to engage in an attempt where he tries to normalize a gruesome event in which a dog is butchered in a bizarre ceremony. The normalization of the bizarre is also seen to be employed by DeSanto in his narration of how John took off all his clothes and ran around the neighborhood while only wearing a bone necklace and then proceeded to dig up the remain of Lord Invader in the rain (DeSanto 2012). The humming of

Business Law Ethics - Utilitarianism, Kantian and Virtue Ethics Case Study

Business Law Ethics - Utilitarianism, Kantian and Virtue Ethics - Case Study Example The waiters are university students who need to pay their university bills; Mike the chef is the sole breadwinner of his family who fends for his young family. (Hoffman, Frederick & Schwartz, 2014). If the business is closed due to its bad hygiene, the customers may shun from the restaurant even after being reopened. The loyal customers might feel cheated and disappointed due to the unhygienic food they have frequently been served (Hoffman, Frederick & Schwartz, 2014). The closure of the business will affect the surrounding community due to its bad reputation. The community provides the business with labour and other social values like goodwill, which when broken would be so hard to replace (Hoffman, Frederick & Schwartz, 2014). By the restaurant being closed, the local government may lose its periodical levies due to lack of operation of the restaurant. The government depends on fiscal policies like taxes to implement its strategic and short-term objectives (Hoffman, Frederick & Schwartz, 2014). Ted should remit the $500 bribe in order to maintain the happiness of his key stakeholders to avoid future problems. The stakeholders would greatly suffer socially and financially in case Ted refuses to part with the amount. (Hoffman, Frederick & Schwartz, 2014). In Kant theory, actions should be governed by the accepted principles of Maxims. Universal acceptability will not conform to Ted’s issuance of the bribe due to its negative perception globally. In terms of respect, Ted respects the well being of his employees and that’s he should pay to safeguard their future (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010). When formulating a maxim against bribery and later testing it against the categorical imperative, two results are realized. The first maxim fails in Universal acceptability because bribery is an economic crime worldwide. The second maxim against respect conforms to the categorical imperative; this is due to Ted’s respect to his key stakeholders.  Ã‚  

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

Spider - Essay Example To date, 40,000 species of spiders have been recorded. It has been said that there might be thousands more which have yet to be discovered. These types have been found in all parts of the world except for Antarctica. According to Carl Alexander, author of’ Spiders, volume 8 (1929)’, the kingdom of spiders is Animalia, the phylum is Arthropoda, the class is Arachnida, and the order is Araneae. (8) According to James H. Emerton, author of ‘The common spiders of United States (1961)’, the most interesting types are mouse spider and black widow spider. Mouse spider is discovered first in Australia, is not harmful to human, and its bite is dry. The black widow spider is found around the world, has a large body, and excretes poison secretion that is harmful to human nerve (25). The scientific name given to the black widow spider is ‘Latrodectus Hesperuses’. This spider is mostly found in the United States, mainly, North America. The spider got its na me from the fact that the female spiders usually eat the male spiders after mating. This characteristic of the female black widow spider makes a male spider to approach the female carefully and gradually. In order to mate, the male spider would vibrate the female spider’s web in a certain way so that the female recognizes it and allows it to mate with her. The male spiders are not as venomous as the females as their main purpose is to mate; hence, they spend their entire lifetime searching for mates and even stop feeding. The female black widow spider have been known to be quite venomous, however, it is not life threatening as it secretes only a small amount of poison when bites. The body structure of a female black widow spider and a male are very different. The females have a shiny black body which is relatively longer. Moreover, there is a red marking just below the abdomen. The females are poisonous than the males. The males, however, are almost half the size of females. They have longer and leaner legs and most of them have red and yellow marks at the back. Both males and females body is parted in two. Their jaws are strong which support poisonous fangs. They have a hard, long exoskeleton. According to Donald M. Tuttle and Edward W. Baker, authors of ‘Spider mites of the United States’, spiders have about six holes underneath their abdomen called eyes. The silk goes out from these holes to expose to the air, then, it converts to thread. Spider’s female form its web from an extremely thin elastic silky thread. They use the glands that are in the lower part of their abdomen to form the web (34). According to Maggie Daley, author of ‘Illinois insects and spiders’, spiders have eight legs, eight eyes, and they do not have wings or chewing organs. Moreover, their bodies consist of two parts, the chest and the external part. The chest part is consists of the head with the brain and eyes, the stomach, legs and the mouth. T he external part consists of lungs, heart, liver, reproductive organs and the glands that play important role in producing the silk. (14) The black widow spider is further categorized into three main types, the Northern Black widow Spider, the Western Black Widow Spider and the Southern black Widow Spider. The Northern black widow is mostly found in the north east parts of USA and south east Canada. The Western Black Widow is mainly found in the western parts of USA, Canada and some parts of Mexico. Furthermore, the

Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Starbucks - Essay Example Each company faces problems and obstacles, even successful ones like Starbucks. One of the main challenges that Starbucks is facing is dealing with competitors. Coffee retailers are scattered all over the world in huge numbers. By involving thousands of shops operating in the coffee field, and as the competition increases, it makes the task more difficult for Starbucks to maintain its place. Also, the most obvious challenge that Starbucks is dealing with is the current financial crisis in America. Compared to other cafes prices, Starbucks is one of the most expensive cafà © shops in the world, and a number of consumers find the prices are exaggerated (Fellner 2010). A recent research made by a team of mystery coffee researchers shows that, the rates in Starbucks compared to Costa Cafà © and Cafà © Nero is the highest (Burks 2009). As seen on the graph above, Starbucks has experienced fluctuations in profit, starting from 2005 with a steady increase in the net income, and then it dropped down in 2008, decreasing the net profit from more than $600 million to less than $400 million. On the other hand, sales grew in 2010 getting the highest net income over the earlier 5 years. In 2010, Starbucks turned about 11% of its revenue into free cash flow (FCF). The company earned more than  £600 million cash on net income (Nadine 2008). Also, there has been a surprising increase in the company’s net income in the last year. In the third quarter of 2011, the income rose up to 33%, earning more than $880 million net income. Howard Shultz stated on July 11, 2006, "First and foremost I want to thank you for making Starbucks the $6.4 billion global company it is today, with more than 90,000 employees, 9,700 stores, and 33 million weekly customers." Taking the 33,000,000 weekly customers and dividing it by 7 you will get 4.7 million customers per day. Since that time Starbucks has added many, many new stores so

Socialist Critique of Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Socialist Critique of Capitalism - Essay Example Furthermore, socialism argues for the collective ownership of the means of production as this prioritizes the common good against individualistic advantage (A Brief Introduction to Socialism from a Non-Marxist, Democratic Libertarian Perspective, n.d.). One can easily recognize that the socialist argument subordinates individual advantage to collective good as this, it is assumed, will overshadow the inherent selfishness of man. Marx was triumphant in his critique against capitalism (Manifesto of the Communist Party, 1847) which was strongly manifested after the 1950s; nations of the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and Eastern Europe were aptly persuaded to overthrow their existing mode of production and replace it with Marx's communism/socialism that promises a classless society which was rather Utopian at the time and until now. Marx fittingly made use of theories of human nature to cogently deliver his denigration against capitalism. However, Marx did not directly use the term "human nature" but instead applied another concept which was "species-being" or "species-essence". This conception of Marx in relation to human nature was borrowed from the philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach which submits to both specific human nature and the entire humanity. Marx translated this philosophy as a treatise that declares humans as conscious actors in the unfolding of history and nature itself. In the year 1845, Marx inscribed to the world his belief that the human essence cannot be found in a particular individual but in his association with the larger social relations which he belongs. Logically, this statement points to the insight that the human essence is a fluid concept which is hardwired on the total structure of social relations borne out from a society. He then goes on to assert that the fundamental essence of humans as individuals enmeshed in a particular mode of production is their labor. One of the primary arguments of Marx was that humans are distinguished through their behavior toward production and that this economic activity is their soul. Yet, he did not entirely described "labor" as a perfectly embedded human essence but one that is also the source of oppression, alienation, and private property. He ardently argued that in communism "labor" is an unnecessary human activity and an abhorrent fraction of the material state of societies; whereas in capitalism labor represents the material ex igencies of the few owners of production and the workers themselves were merely caricatures of torment, suffering, and hard work. Moreover, Marx alleged that productive activities which are vital to human nature are only gratifying if executed freely. Under the pretext of capitalism, labor is nothing but a tool of dehumanization and isolation for the providers of the valuable labor. Furthermore, labor performed in capitalism invariably produces alienation of the workers from their own produce. Marx (1932), in his article on historical materialism, used the allegory of a carpenter working on a chair. A carpenter who successfully accomplished an entire chair is more self-fulfilled than the carpenter who only took fractions of work to complete an entire chair. Marx related labor with self-identity thus claiming that in capitalism which is characterized by

Importance of Events in Popular Music Essay Example for Free

Importance of Events in Popular Music Essay ‘How do we determine the importance of historical events in popular music?’ Why should we determine the importance of historical events in popular music? Whats important to one fan of an artist is completely different to the views from a fan of another artist. Its not just what makes the papers , magazines and tv that matters to fans. News about artists is broadcasted in many a way in todays world, mostly because ‘stars’ and their ‘goings on’ are more important to the general public than they have ever been before. people like to look up to artists or in most cases now look down on their drug abuse or outrageous behavior and bring back the reality that we are all the same and can all go through the same tough times. Music is the most favoured thing in alot of peoples lives today. Ipods and mp3 players are something that a vast majority of people carry around with them religiously and would feel empty without. Its only human that people are interested in what their favorite artist looks like, where they come from and their general background. This however has lead to artists lives being intruded and covered across various news feeds and social networks more than ever before. General public forget that there are infact 2 sides to an artist. The side that we see when we they are on tour and their natural human side. When they are on stage they are a musician. when they are not on stage they are classed as a celebrity whether they like it or not. Quote taken straight from the second line of wikipedia when the well known name ‘Amy Winehouse’ is searched ‘Winehouse is best known for her powerful contralto vocals, substance abuse and mental health issues’ On a website such as Wikipedia its their job to write a biography on famous people. They have to include stories from each persona. The person they are writing about is a celebrity and they are a celebrity for a reason. It’s wikipedia’s job to tell everyone who they are and how they got there. After reading the article on Amy it would seem that in some instances the fact that she has been caught smoking crack and been wandering round high in public in just her bra outweigh the better points about her career. Having then come across a ‘Talk’ page that gets raised if people aren’t happy with the way something is written it would seem my points were correct about this article ‘This article covers Winehouse being photographed bloody and bruised, high, wandering in public in a bra, drug overdoses, being recorded smoking crack; it covers her health issues, her brushes with the law, in fact, every thing that has occurred over last year and a half. That the article doesnt denigrate or make judgments or pronouncements about her attests to its neutrality, not a bias.’ Straight away in this article the writer makes reference to Amy’s ‘downfalls’ making this a more noticeable point to begin with. If someone had heard a song by Amy on the radio and decided they wanted to know more about her as an artist they would be immediately switched off by the statement ‘ best known for substance abuse and mental health issues’ this leaving an even bigger dent in a ruined fan base when the fact she had drug issues could have been kept as a minor point and concluded with the fact that that piece of news happened quite a while ago and she’s doing alot better and back in the studio recording her third album. But there’s also the argument that people need to know everything about her with it being a biography about a famous person. It would be bias of wikipedia to not mention the troubled aspects of her life aswell as her achievements in the music industry. There’s more news about artists going downhill than the fact their album may have been at number one for a matter of weeks because its what the public are eager to hear about. Writers are always looking for negative points to make about musicians as it gains kudos for them, the public love to gossip about others that are in a bad way and going through hell rather than gossiping about the fact someones been at number 1 for 10 consecutive weeks. It’s like some peoples lives depend on wether Winehouse has had another drug outrage and been forced into rehab again. We only knew Miss Winehouse for a short period of time before she was swept off the our headlines to rehab. This thought pattern lead me to thinking of an artist that had been round for a longer period of time that had gone through a rough patch before their career crumbled. If we look back to a piece of musical news I found online from the 60’s the way the articles are worded sound like the writer is writing the article with respect to the artist. Talking about what is happening to the artist at the time of course but in a way that is respectful and shows that the writer appreciates the problems that the artist in question is going through and has an appreciation for the music they make. â€Å"These two cats seem to add that final dimension that was missing before in Hendrixs live music. On the Are You Experienced album, he taped over his own rhythm guitar, so as to have some sort of melody to fall back on. Larry Lee now keeps it present all the time.† The writer makes reference to the good things that have happened. Things that have changed the way the certain musicians music is written and how it has come to benefit future material. The article in question is talking about Hendrix’s gigs and his backing band and does mention the drugs he was taking at the time. The writer consistently praises Jimi and his band and only makes reference to the drugs right at the end of the article of which consists of one line. ‘The drugs were found directly on top of clothes inside his luggage. Now who puts their stash right on top? Especially well-travelled freaks like Mr. Jimi, through border crossings. When he re ­ported to the Toronto medical exam ­ining board, his body was found clean and pure. Aint a trace a shit in Jimi; but the word-of-mouth-and-press was not so clean.’ Even when making reference to the drugs the writer details the happenings in a jokey way as if to say ‘Silly ‘Ol Jimi!’ like the writer was close to Jimi or really admired him. When relating this back to todays news about stars you can tell alot has changed in the way we really appreciate musicians. The public go through years of enjoyment from an artist and their music, relating songs to their personal experiences but as soon as the star does something even as minute as forgetting to put knickers on they are slated and the writer jumps to obsurd conclusions such as the star must have forgotten to put knickers on because they had been taking drugs or drinking copious amounts of alcohol. There’s no appreciation for the artist and no respect for the way the artist feels. Jimi Hendrix died of an apparent drug overdose on the 18th September 1970. It was the death of someone who had created the backbone of RB and rock music that musicians still use today. He created so many different techniques on the electric guitar that musicians class as basics or must haves today. The drug overdose that killed him is what has urged me to talk about Jimi. I was intrigued to see how writers spoke about him once he had gone and how people still remember him today. I wanted to see wether people remembered his celebrity side more or actually did remember him for the musical legend that he was and still is today. Drugs in the psychedelic 1960’s were used by many people for recreational reasons. LSD was the drug of the century, lots of other musicians used it and fans used it to enjoy music to its full potential. That was a regular occurrence in the 1960’s but after Jimi died of a drug overdose it becomes that little bit more concerning and people wanted to s tart digging for reasons as to why he’d want to kill himself. I dont want to be a clown anymore. I dont want to be a rock and roll star, Jimi says, emphatically. The forces of contention are never addressed but their pervasiveness has taken its toll on Jimis stamina and peace of mind. Trying to remain a growing artist when a business empire has nuzzled you to its bosom takes a toughness, a shrewdness† Note the fact Jimi states â€Å"star† when he speaks. He had had enough of the stardom that being a good musician brings. His story relates to Kurt Cobains story in the way that them being celebrities and their lives being invaded all the time got far too much for them. The clown part of the quote could link to the fact that clowns are a form of entertainment and people watch their every move when they are around. Jimi Enjoyed being a musician but was sick of people consistently following him around and he wasn’t able to get time to himself. â€Å"Lest anyone forget, Lea ­cock Pennebakers Monterey Pop has immortalized his pyromaniacal affair with the guitar. Rock media bedroom talk makes him King Stud of the groupies. Stories circulate that he is rude to audi ­ences, stands up writers, hangs up photographers, that he doesnt talk.† The way the writer speaks about this problem is in a respectable way, saying pop has ruined his relationship with his guitar. They don’t slate him for wanting to just be one side of the coin. Today musicians have two personas because it seems right to be that way. Music to them is work and its a shame that they have to be followed when they’re not doing their work. When anybody else finishes work they leave and become themselves again. There’s no rules when you’re yourself. You can drink where you like, say what you want, do whatever you like, wear what you want but being a musician has its limits. The public eye is always on you, you have to be wearing the right clothes whenever you leave the house and you have to look good when you leave the house. Today you can’t just be a musician, you’re a celebrity aswell and once the celebrity lifestyle has a hold of you there’s no turning back. Looking at other articles from the 1960’s it seems that alot more was accepted at the time. Drugs such as LSD, heroin, amphetamines and cannabis were widely used in the fan world and in the musical world. In todays world drugs are much less tolerated and forces crack down alot more on them. People have generally grown up knowing that drugs are bad and not acceptable and that you should never go near them. Back in the 1960’s people were persuading others to use recreational drugs to have a good time with them. With the case being that drugs were alot more accepted in the 1960’s writers at the time had less to write about musicians lives and more about the way they perform and the way their music is put together. Jimi Hendrix’s death was a turning point for popular music. A massive gap had to be filled and for years other artists have pioneered to become the new Jimi Hendrix, a true guitar hero. His death was so shocking that people still write about him and his achievements today. The music in the 60’s was so much more important than the stardom that people seek today which is why we remember Jimi Hendrix for his Music and Not his Drug abuse like Amy Winehouse.

Jaydens Rescue Alternative Ending Essay Example for Free

Jaydens Rescue Alternative Ending Essay â€Å"Well, AFGOI it’ll have to be,† said Alex. â€Å"That’s all we have. I just hope it’ll put Rechner away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Next time we will see him we will all say AFGOI at once,† suggested Vanessa. They waited patiently to see the evil Rechner again so they could use the magic word to free Jayden. Several days went by and the time was passing very quickly at camp. Every day was full of activities. At the end of the week Sam, Vanessa, and Alex all decided to go sailing because of the water skiing accident. Alex did not want to water ski again. Neither did Vanessa after what happened to Alex last time. They kept wondering when Rechner would appear again. After spending time on the lake, it began to rain cats and dogs. They ran for shelter under a pavilion and were glad that they were off of the sailboat. Sam said, â€Å"Why don’t we head towards our cabin and call it a night.† Alex and Vanessa agreed. They began their long trek to reach the cabin. The ground was very soggy and muddy and they all got their shoes extremely dirty. They were all happy to hit the hay for a good night’s sleep. Their counselor stayed up to watch them to make sure they didn’t leave again. In the morning their counselor was exhausted so he let the campers sleep longer than usual. When they awoke, they all were starving and their entire cabin headed to go eat. After breakfast Alex, Vanessa, and Sam went back to the cabin to brush their teeth and that is when the evil Rechner finally appeared. All three of them said AFGOI at once and Rechner said, â€Å"Okay I give up and you win. Jayden gets to go back to her palace.† Alex, Vanessa, and Sam couldn’t believe what they just heard. Everyone that lived in Idyllia was so happy to have the Emerald Queen back. They pushed nine hundred dollars out of the book. Alex, Vanessa, and Sam were so excited because Jayden was now safe and they each had three hundred dollars. They were finally done with Rechner once and for all! Jayden’s Rescue Written By: Vladimir Tumanov Project by: Schmo went through 2 green lights. Mane went through 1 red light. Torch went through 3 yellow lights. This is 6 lights in all (2+1+3). Then they repeated the same path so 6+6= 12 lights passed. Torch went through 3 yellow lights twice so 3+3 = 6. Each ticket was $300 so 6 lights times $300 is $1,800. He only had $100 bills so you need to divide $1,800 by $100 and you get 18. Torch passed 4 ponds which each had a duck. These 4 ducks bit his hand each one time and each bite caused 4 red bumps. So 4 bites times 4 red bumps each is 4 x 4 which equals 16 red bumps.

Methods Of Evaluation Of Vehicle Aerodynamics

Methods Of Evaluation Of Vehicle Aerodynamics Part a) Different methods of evaluation of vehicle aerodynamics: In recent years aerodynamics of vehicle has gained a lots of attention because of the major use of negative lift (down force) principle which improves the performance of vehicles. Thus evaluating vehicle aerodynamics has become an important part of car engineering and it is no longer only limited to vehicles initial designing. Several method and tools are used in this process such as wind tunnel testing, computational fluid aerodynamics or track testing. Each of these tools has their special need for e.g.:- at initial design stage wind tunnel can be used and after car is built it can be tested on the track. In the following paragraphs i discuss three mostly used methods i.e. wind tunnel testing, CFD software and track testing. http://www.atzonline.com/cms/images/sh05-09-20.jpg Wind tunnel testing: In 1870s first wind tunnel was designed but until 1960s it was just meant to use for aeronautical purposes but once this method brought to use for automotive purposes, within no time it became an essential part of car developments and provided good environment for aerodynamic evaluation. In the wind tunnel testing method a geometrical shapes or models is mounted in the test section of wind tunnel and air is blown over or sucked through a duct by a fan or number of fans. To make measurements more accurate closely spaces vertical and horizontal air vane are used which smoothes the turbulent flow before it reaches the model. Usually, measurements are taken from a balance on which model is mounted and various visualisation techniques such as smoke and tufts are used to understand the affect of some geometric features on aerodynamic performance. Wind tunnel helps to acquire lots of data such as: Aerodynamic forces drag, lift, side force Variation of these forces and movements with yaw Vehicle cooling drag Affect of aero features Surface pressure distribution There are different types of wind tunnels which are as follows: LOW SPEED WIND TUNNEL also named as SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL are of open return type or return flow in which air is moved with a propulsion system made up of a huge axial fan which helps in increasing dynamic pressure and thus helps to overcome viscous loss. In this type mach number is kept very low and speed is maintained up to 400 km/h http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsonic_and_transonic_wind_tunnel#Subsonic_tun)Staffordshire University logo HIGH SPEED OR TRANSONIC WIND TUNNEL is designed to reach the speed close to the speed of sound. Mach and Reynolds number both are important here due to viscous or in viscid interactions. As compared to subsonic wind tunnel, much large scale facilities and pressurized wind tunnels are used. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsonic_and_transonic_wind_tunnel#Subsonic_tunnel) SUPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL generates supersonic speed. In supersonic wind tunnel, high pressure ratio is required and to avoid occurrence of liquefaction or condensation drying or pre heating facility is required. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Supersonic-en.svg/400px-Supersonic-en.svg.png (http://reference.findtarget.com/search/supersonic%20wind%20tunnel/) HYPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL produces hypersonic flow field in test section. It runs with very high pressure ratio and like supersonic; hypersonic also requires pre heating facility. As compared to other types of wind tunnels, hypersonic wind tunnel has more challenges in its designing. Staffordshire University logo (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langley_hypersonic_wind_tunnels.jpg) WIND TUNNEL SCALE: Model scale wind tunnel testing (MWT) plays an important role in aerodynamic development of motorsport vehicles, training and research though now it has been outmoded by CFD. wind_tunnel1 Figure: http://www.insightman.com/mag_photos/wind_tunnel1.jpg It is an ideal way to determine the affects of various features and body styles on aerodynamics of vehicles. In model scale testing, model lie between 30%,60%nand they can be be produced by various techniques such as fibre glass, stylist clay models, milled foam and rapid prototype models or a combination of all of these. Model scale testing doesnt needs high running cost as sophisticated test methods such as fitting a moving ground plane doesnt need high expense. In all, if styling method can be utilized than this testing method is a cheaper method to develop vehicle aerodynamics.Staffordshire University logo In spite of all, model scale testing has its own limitation such as: Ensuring geometric similarity: some special features can be difficult to model at small model scale. Reynolds number effects: Reynolds number (Re) of the flow around vehicles reduces with the reduction in scale which then requires an appropriate increase in the airflow. FULL SCALE WIND TUNNEL TESTING (FSWT):- FSWT has totally taken over MWT as it many problems faced during MWT are overcome by using full scale testing: It eliminates the effect caused due to Reynolds number. It totally avoids the cost of production of models. It helps to determine the influence of small geometric changes. Aerodynamics: Radical LMP2 in MIRAs Full Scale Wind Tunnel (http://www.mira.co.uk/Services/AerodynamicsMainPage.htm) COMPUTATIONAL FLUID AERODYNAMICS (CFD): It is a phenomenon or software used to improve the car aerodynamics. The software provides benefits from number crunching capability of computers used to solve the problems of fluid flow, heat transfer and related processes like chemical reactions with the use of simulations of fluid flow. The fluid here refers to a lot of substances as well which behave like fluids depending on the circumstances they are in, for example, winds blowing around buildings, cooling air flows in a laptop, drugs in asthma inhalers etc. It mainly focuses on affects made by pressure, temperature, density and the velocity of the fluids. It is powerful technique software with a wide range of applications. It is very commonly used software in automotive industry (the method has an ability to calculate the air flows around a vehicle or car), especially in motorsports because of the massive competition. It first came in light in 1990s.The software is now owned by Bar Honda Formula 1 team. The software has always been updated at times as the as the new computer technologies come in. since the software runs of a computer, the speed of the computer processor also plays an important role in improving the performance, in other words, more powerful the supercomputer, more accurate result of CFD process. As the time passes it has become cheaper and advanced.Staffordshire University logo Streamlines under a stock car (http://strangeholiday.com/oops/stuff/annurev.fluid.38.050304.092016.pdf) Working process of computational software is divided into phases: First of all, it divides the geometric structure of the object into a set of elements or cell which named as a mesh. The accuracy of the result of CFD totally depends upon the number of cells as higher their number is, more accurate result will be. Secondly, mesh representing volume occupied by the fluid is created. Now, when fluid flow comes into contact with the object, it gets separated into as many cells as possible. Then, computer starts finding out the problem it faced during the second phase. Besides this, it also set up a clear image of interaction of object and fluid flow. Finally, simulation is started and result obtained is analyzed. Staffordshire University logo INSTRUMENTED ROAD OR TRACK TESTING: This testing method has earned lots of popularity in short time as it a very cost effective testing method as all we need to perform this is good weather and cost of renting a track and instrumenting. Aerodynamic drag plays an important role to improve the performance (fuel consumption, speed) of car. These tracks are constructed especially for the vehicles which are new or are under research. The tracks are made under such circumstances that when testing a car it gives the most relevant or most accurate results. DSC_05442 Figure:http://www.speedsportlife.com/wp-content/2009/11/DSC_05442.JPG These tests are used to identify the different properties or aspects in different conditions such as traffic flow, weather (raining, dusty, snowing or at different wind flows) and time of day. The car is made run on the track at different and constant speeds to check the flow ratios with the help of the sensors fixed on both sides of the track. The sensors track the dynamic path of the car which give information about the flows and performance of the cars. The aerodynamic behaviour of the vehicle is then analyzed and the car is again made run on the track with improved or modified aerodynamic properties. Part 2Staffordshire University logo Computational Fluid Aerodynamics (CFD) The science that tries to verify a numerical solution to the equations that govern the fluid flow is called CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). In the recent years, CFD methods have been utilized as an important tool of design analysis within research organisation and industry with the help of supercomputers. In fact, science is now trying for the theoretical-experimental treatment so that results which are obtained in wind tunnel testing can be used to standardize and prove the numerical models. As everything have its dual aspects, so as CFD. It has its own lots of advantages and some disadvantages too which are discussed as follows: MERITS:- A large number of CFD simulations can be performed rapidly and of course it is way cheaper than making a real model and running it in a wind tunnel or an instrumented track. With CFD there is always a greater probability of getting design right first time before manufacturing the actual vehicle because overall concept and shape can be tested. CFD enables the designer to analyze and visualize the flow around the vehicle. It can be done a number of times to facilitate the design optimization. It is much cheaper than to perform a wind tunnel test. Auto optimization is the advanced form of CFD and is considered to be more accurate. In it computational methods that accesses mathematically the obtained results and makes changes to the configuration and the shape of the vehicle. It automatically selects the most suitable design. Automatic mesh deformation is one of the advancement in auto optimization. Performing computational optimization method and automatic mesh together, it is possible to explore geometry changes and the software alters the mesh along with the geometry. CFD technology helps to improve the aerodynamic performance of vehicles and also helps in reducing co2 emmision.Thus, this testing method not only serve a duty for automotive purposes but also helps in keeping environment pollution free. Staffordshire University logo Demerits: No doubt CFD is a best tool among all other ways of determining vehicle aerodynamics but scaling issues can create some limitations to it such as reduicton of transition from laminar to turbulent flows (e.g. boundary layers) or the calculation of separated flow and unsteady wakes.) CFD can make millions of calculations to achieve an accurate result but the final result can only be appropriate for some reasons like: non accurate or less accurate data, scientific knowledge base or reduction in number of calculations by supercomputer. So, there are more chances of making numerical errors since everything relays on computers. Besides this, approximation of result can cause Truncation errors and round off errors are also possible due to the word size available on a particular computer The bottom line is that solutions find by CFD rely upon user-defined elements like: grid generation and turbulence modelling, which will be soon an obstacle facing code developers. It is not yet possible to create full flow field model economically as in mostly vehicles the large scale flow regimes depends on inevitability of transition and turbulence. PART 3 25mph Pressure image:E:25MPH25mph Pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-21.71446) on upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image:E:25MPH25mph Velocity.gif The velocity is very low (1.854647)on front tip of wing and it is high (6.536719) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really low (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) 45mph Pressure image: The pressure is very low (-16.66089) on middle upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (38.92842)on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. E:45MPH45mph pressure.gif Velocity image: The velocity is very low (2.634993)on front tip of wing and it is high (8.097410) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:45MPH45mph velocity.gif 65mph Pressure image:E:65MPH65mph pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-1.500165) on upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 18.71413) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image: The velocity is high (6.536719)on upper and lower front surface of wing. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:65MPH65mph velocity.gif 85mph Pressure image:E:85MPH85mph pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-16.66089) on upper surface and also low on lower surface(-11.60731) of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image: The velocity is high (8.097410) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:85MPH85mph velocity.gif Part 4: Conclusion: Staffordshire University logo As the technology improves day by day the things (automobiles) get cheaper, smaller (size) and advanced. Since there are a lot of ways of aerodynamic testing, but the CFD software is the best way of evaluating the aerodynamic performance of the car. There are a lot of thing which make CFD the best. Like we can also evaluate the aerodynamic performance of the car using methods like wind tunnels but using wind tunnels it becomes far more expensive (making arrangements for the sample model), whereas in CFD we just need a CAD model and everything is done more quickly than any other method. Also if the model needs any changes or modifications it is very easy as compared to making new models for wind tunnels.CFD is more affordable and there is no maintenance required whereas wind tunnels and instrumented tracks needs a lot of maintenance at the time of operation or when free. There are very less or no chances of any errors in CFD (since everything is done with the help of computer) only a human error could affect the results, whereas in the case of track testing and wind tunnels the probability of making errors is more as big machinery or equipments are used which are analyzed by humans (no doubt computers are more reliable). There are lots of models (heavy) which are dangerous to test in wind tunnels in full scale, whereas in CFD the simulation can be performed without worrying about anything. Using the mesh deformation makes the calculations more clear, one can focus on each and every single part the vehicle or model tested as compared to an overall result obtained from track testing or wind tunnels. It takes very less time to carry out the results. So CFD is the best method for testing the aerodynamic performance and it will become better and cheaper as the computers get more powerful and cheaper. Staffordshire University logo

Nonverbal Communication Essay -- Communication Language Communicating

Nonverbal Communication Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis. Every communication interaction involves two parts: the verbal and the nonverbal. Furthermore, every person is always communicating even when they are not saying a word, thus, it is possible to send an exclusively nonverbal message but it is not possible to send an exclusively verbal message. Nonverbal cues in the interaction are always more powerful indicators of what a speaker means and what the speaker feels. Consider a very simple example: a mother tells her two-year old to stop running around the house but as she makes her direction, she is smiling. The toddler gets two messages: verbally to stop running; nonverbally the smile means mom is pleased with what he is doing. Which direction will the child follow; probably, the second one - mom is pleased regardless of her words so he will continue doing what he was doing. These sorts of communication interpretation conflicts occur numerous times in every day. Here is another example from the poll questions. The manager has said she is available if you have a problem and need to talk with her. You make an appointment, go in, and within a few minutes she receives a phone call which she answers and spends five minutes talking with the caller. Are you likely to believe she is interested in what you are saying? No, in fact, you are likely to feel that you are not very important; you may feel embarrassed and try to make your excuses to just leave. Nonverbal cues involve everything but the spoken word which includes: body posture and facial expressions, gestures, eyebrows, eyes, tone of voice, speed of delivery, inflections, volume, and proximity. Even one's attire sends messages to others. Each area of the nonverbal has the power to send a message; combined they tell the listener what is meant and what is felt. The power of the nonverbal cannot be over-rated; it will almost always ... ...viduals are perceived according to their facial expressions more so than the words they speak is supported by the literature. Nonverbal cues of all kinds have a direct impact on how a person is perceived; facial expressions are extremely crucial in that impression. Bibliography Burgoon, J. K. Buller, D. B. and Woodall W. G. (1989). Nonverbal Communication: The Unspoken Dialogue. New York: Harper & Row. Cherney, Marcia and Tynan, Susan. (1989). Communicoding. NY: Dorset. Chevrier, Donna. (1994, July). Let's Face It. CMA Magazine, Vol. 68, pp. 26 - 27. Elgin, Suzette Haden. (1980). The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. NY: Prentice-Hall. Hickson, M. I. and Stacks, D. W. (1989). Nonverbal Communication: Studies and Applications. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1989. Jackson, Daryl. (1993). "The Nonverbal Cues." Communication Briefings, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 1-2. Knapp, M. L. (1992). Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Leathers, Dale G. (1986). Successful Nonverbal Communication: Principles and Applications. NY: Macmillan Publishing Company. Nolen, William E. (1995, April). Reading people. Internal Auditor, Vol. 52, pp. 48 - 52.

What Are Ethics? Essay -- Ethics in Decision Making

The word â€Å"ethics† is connected intrinsically with questions of correct conduct within society. The word â€Å"ethics† comes from the Greek â€Å"ethos† meaning â€Å"character† which indicates a concern for virtuous people, reliable character and proper conduct. The term â€Å"morality† is derived from â€Å"mores† or custom — the rules of conduct of a group or society. An initial definition of ethics, then, is the analysis, evaluation, and promotion of correct conduct and/or good character, according to the best available standards. Ethics asks what we should do in some circumstance, or what we should do as participants in some form of activity or profession. Ethics is not limited to the acts of a single person. Ethics is also interested in the correct practices of governments, corporations, professionals and many other groups. To these issues, ethics seeks a reasoned, principled, position. An appeal to existing practice or the command of a powerful leader is not sufficient. To answer such questions in a consistent, reasoned manner may take us far a-field. Some ethical questions will require reflection o...

The Lady of Shallot :: Lady of Shalott Essays

The Lady of Shallot Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was known for his pictorial poetry, characterizes as "painterly," "picturesque" with visual detail and images that represent mood, situation and carry emotion" (ENG 103 Lecture on Victorian Age and Literature). The imagery of emotion is especially evident in the poet's depiction of nature, in the form of melancholy. In examining "The Lady of Shallot," the sense of eminent gloom of destiny is illustrated. Through the personification of nature, a vivid glimpse into a lady doomed by her fate. A picture is illuminated in the description 0f where the lady dwells. The reader gets a feel for the separation of the lady and her threatening destiny, in the imagery of her natural surroundings. This can be seen with "Willows whiten, aspens whiten, aspens quiver, /little breezes dusk and shiver" (The Longman Anthology Of British Literature, p.1913, LL. 10-11). The fear brought on by "quiver" and "Shiver", suggests the nature elements know what lies ahead, which is Camelot. The fearful destiny of the lady can be visualized with the description of her isolation on an island, in which the river is "flowing down to Camelot." The melancholy brought about by the personification of nature is echoed in the constant imagery of death. The picture of the bringer of death preparing for funeral projects the melancholy associated with death. Nobody can see the lady, yet a few can her song. The few include a foreshadowing of a funeral attendant, a "Willow-veil and nature's influence with "by the moon the reaper weary" (19,33). Emotions develop through imagery of the changing weather. As the lady sees Lancelot, the sky is "All in the blue unclouded weather" (91). This may depict a happy attraction of the lady sees him likened by nature with "His broad clear brow in sunlight glow" (100). However the weather shifts with emotion after the lady discoveries her curse is a melancholic death, when she decides to leave Shallot in pursuit of Lancelot. The imagery, mournful of her destined death with heaven waiting in "The pale yellow woods were waning, /The broad streaming his banks complaining, /Heavily the low sky raining.

Downtown Beirut, Response on Mohsen’s Article Essay

Downtown Beirut: a spot pour les bourgeois In his article Downtown Beirut: A City of Ghosts? , published in the Alakhbar English journal on Saturday, January 7 2012, Ahmed Mohsen describes the heart of Beirut as an empty, fake, artificial hanging spot for the elite, so distant and alienated from the culture and the civilization of the good old Beirut known for its diversity among different social classes. Mohsen considers rebuilding the capital after the traumatizing war have indeed its true identity and covered its alleys with fake architecture that destroyed the historical beauty of what once was known as â€Å"the Paris of the Middle East†. For many, what’s known today as † Solidere â€Å", projects the new post war era, the era of a flourishing economy and an original society. In fact, the new buildings are indeed nothing more than an overpriced imitation of other countries’ architecture leaving the old Beirut and its rich Middle Eastern history nothing more than a memory along with its social traditions. Mohsen pointed out in his article that after rebuilding the center of the capital, the original citizens in Wadi Abu Jamil and its surroundings are no longer there. According to the author’s article â€Å"Wadi Abu Jamil’s original residents and owners have vanished. † (Page #120) I personally believe that the old Beirut with its old, wrecked buildings and crowded dirty alleys is a unique haven of coexistence between the various religious sects and the different social classes unlike the new â€Å"Down Town† or â€Å"DT† with its new original buildings inhabited by only one social class. The â€Å"High† class. The reconstruction of Beirut put money and artificial beauty over the unity of the classes and the unity of the different peoples that lived for centuries in Lebanon and their reunification after the devastating war. In his article, the author criticized the fact that only rich people can shop or hang out in the â€Å"DT† saying â€Å"For those who can afford it, the place to shop in downtown is â€Å"Beirut souks†. â€Å"(Page # 119). In fact, all the shops present in downtown are indeed expensive for the average citizen. But the problem is that even the most basic things in a small shop are much more expensive than any other place in the country. Buying a simple cone of ice cream will cost you something around 2000 L. L in Lebanon, but buying it from downtown will cost you about 7000 L. L. All the artificial beauty that is supposed to encourage the Lebanese around the world to go back to their country is in fact, a repulsive, ugly place reserved for the elite and rich tourists from neighboring Arabic countries.

Assess Whether Religious Experience Demonstrates the Existence of God Essay

ghostlike engage got house be dissected into different varieties. Alvin Plantinga contendd that usual checks such as the sun procession should constitute as a phantasmal aim as the sun rise is so inspi sharp-witted and conjures up apparitional dogma out of awe. Some would wall that miracles or extra unexceptional occurrences argon substantiation of graven images founding. If bingle was to regard a bit turning water system into wine peerless would befool it as spectacular and likely cause ghostly belief. some(prenominal) miracles and eitherday occurrences be universal dumbfounds as they ground bailiwick be witnessed by whatsoever(prenominal) cardinal stock-still in that location are to a greater extent private/somebodyal unearthly run intos. Dreams and pots, such as St. Paul on the track to Damascus (where he heard the piece of Jesus), only apply to the person visualising them. These are in like creationner employ as ghostly experiences if you heard the voice of Jesus it would only if be conside fierce a sacred withalt. in that location is also the ongoing seeing that matinee idol is around you, he is guiding you through life, and this again is indescribable scarcely rational vindication for the theist as it connects to the subject of idols omnipresence. at last at that place are also mystical experience as William James explained them these are unpronounceable ( mass non be tramp into words) transient ( actually acuate experience save non readfully a long experience, the effects however can last a lifetime) unresisting (can non be controlled by the recipient role) experiences that are exclusively indescribable. Rudolf Otto described mystical experiences as numinous this is the feeling of awe and wonder when confronted with the deity that is immortal numinous experiences are single of terrifying and compelling mystery. Should ghostlike experiences be the initiation of idols cosmea or a re they solely erroneous events that are centerless.David Hume and A.J. Ayer are well cognise empiricists. They would argue that unless closething trial-and-errorly verified it should not be deemed intendingful so if I was to experience beau ideal that should be keep in linen as meaningful as it is existenti all(a) in ally verified. If I were to see a cat pass across a street I would think to myself that is a cat, no uncertainty would enter my chief I would patently establish that a cat was walking across a street. When one sees/experiences matinee idol why the equivalent sort of logic should not be applied is ridiculous. If I were to see graven image I would think that is graven image no questions asked. Visions of divinity fudge and miracles are falsifiablely confirmable spiritual experiences, Hume and Ayer cannot dismiss these as that would be contradictory to their well established beliefs, hence empirically verified ghostly experiences can be utiliz e a fit ac greetledgment for divinity fudges organism. The sceptics generate to this melodic line is how can we conceive our empirical methods of plea.One could be hallucinating, the only causal agent St. Paul saw perfection was because he was deprived of water and had social pressures from the go up Christian religion. A.J. Ayer celebrated that a at once stick appears bent in water, if our senses can deceive us once they forget deceive us again, we cannot trust empirical evidence wherefore it cannot be utilise as justification for a ghostly experience and definitely cannot be employ to justify matinee idols universe of discourse. to a fault what if the subject of work outd unearthly experience has taken some sort of mind altering dose surely because empirical evidence cannot be used to justify any sort of vision. Finally the sceptic would note that a religious experience is not an ordinary experience, one sees trees everyday unless experiencing God is qui te different. As philosophers we essential view these extraordinary experiences differently and be more analytical into the causes (such as facial expression at the recipient of the experience).In Brian Davies contain An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion he highlights that to reject empirical evidence without any major reason to dis cerebrate is simply absurd. He verbalizes that if one is of sound mind, has nice eyesight and is of reasonable intelligence unless and then in that location isnt really any reason to doubt yourself, we use empirical evidence to make everyday assertions whence it should be no different when beholding God, He also highlights that if it is possible to hallucinate it is also possible to see correctly, although this sounds very basic it does reject the wrinkle from illusion (used by most sceptics to doubt sense data).Sure we can see things that arent really there notwithstanding most of the time we are not hallucinating. Brian Davies also uses the instance of a worldly concern called Fred. He states that Fred is as sickish as a hatter and as rummy as a Lord Fred also regularly hallucinates and because of this not many pot listen to what he has to say. Despite Fred utter(a) delusions it is not aright to say that everything he says is wrong, sometimes he could be sex act the fair play. Davies shut downs that the fact that some deal are prone to get things wrong is not a able reason for another(prenominal)s to suppose that they unendingly get things wrong discern the Lord our God has shown us his rain cloud and greatness, and we devote his voice we take away this day seen God speak with man and man unsounded live This was taken from the antiquated Testaments book of Deuteronomy. ghostlike experience is not a contemporaneous miracle only if one of great age, we all gestate in gravity until now this has only been apparent for 300 years, save something that has been around for millenniums is still questioned. These sightings of God fool been continuous since early Christianity and Judaism before that. This is not an program line about the verifiability of religious experience further simply highlights the possibility of experiencing God and also its importance in justifying the existence of God. This is the argument of John Baillie he argued that religious experience is not just justification for Gods existence but the ultimate justification. Sceptics would reply how do you drive in it is God? How do you admit you did not simply see and old man with a beard?Unless you have seen God before you do not recognise what he/she looks like. Some would argue that you need an agreed method of identifying God, if no such method has been agreed then you cannot sincerely yours say you have seen God. Also if God is transcendent of humans and surpasses them in every way then surely we cannot come to to him/her. We dont even know if God is a physical entity to be seen. Brian Davies response to the sceptics argument is despite not having an identification method that is inconsequential, something may be the case even though it does not conform to the examination method, someone can still be intelligent despite getting a U in all their exams.A religious experience can still be justification for Gods existence despite not world satisfying any a priori test method. John Hick presented the argument that our interpretations of events all differ. This dismisses the sceptics claim that there should be some sort of testing method about justifying religious experience. A person may claim to have seen God where as other might argue they have seen the devil, as both(prenominal) are basing this experience on a own(prenominal) a priori perception of God/Devil it pith that if these predetermined perceptions are different they are unmistakablely going to disagree. William James argued that religious experience is extremely personal therefore it fashion different thi ngs to different people.Richard Swinburne and William Alston put forward the argument from credulity. Swinburne argued that if one has seen God one has sufficient justification to look at in God. Unless there is something manipulating this experience there is no reason to doubt a religious experience. Until your religious experience is dis turn upn (through hesitation of evidence such as one was on drugs) then it can and should be used as justification for Gods existence. William Alston proclaimed a alike(p) argument to Swinburnes arguments from credulity. He say people sometimes do get the picture God and thereby acquire justify beliefs about God. He besides believed that religious experience can be used a justification for Gods existence.He said justification about God is prima facie this means one is justified in supposing unless there are strong enough reasons to the contrary. Both argued the religious experience should be frank until parentn guilty. A sceptics retort to Alston and Swinburne would be one should eternally doubt. Like mentioned earlier one could be subject to hallucination, we could be comprehend God when he/she is not really there, you could be of total sound mind however you have a random hallucination due to water deprivation meaning you see God. How can we truly know that our subconscious is not malicious concocting mad religious visions? This is why the sceptic would al ways argue that we should always be indefinite they argue that religious experiences are not indubitable.Richard Swinburne not only proposed arguments from credulity but also arguments from tribute. Swinburne stated that unless you have sufficient reasons to doubt someone claim of religious experience you should consider it true, if a person states they have seen God you have and you have no reason not to believe them you should consider their experience as true. Brian Davies gives the example of a conclave of venturers who see a cat in the Amazon rainforest they go home and tell their explorer buddies they saw a cat in the Amazon rainforest. If a second group of explorers go to the Amazon rainforest and do not see a cat, does that mean the scratch line group were wrong?Of fly the coop not Swinburne would argue you should believe the first group of explorers are there is no reason to doubt their word. The sceptics reply would be why trust the explorers? There could be social/ lord pressures meaning they lied about seeing a cat because they thought it would be beneficial or because they felt pressurised by the group around them, also there could be irregularities with their testimony, maybe all cats in the world are extinct so seeing a cat is very unlikely, or what if one of the explorers said they saw a black cat and another thought they saw a powdered ginger cat.Brain Davies responds to this by noting that people interpret things in different ways (an argument used by the sceptics), two people may see a red Ferrari one may argue th at it is an piteous car where as the other could argue it is a beautiful piece of machinery, they have both seen a car nonetheless have different views/interpretations of what they have seen. So two people may both have seen God however one may think it was God the other might think it was the Devil. Therefore to say there are problems with a testimony because of different interpretations is absurd because the fact is God was there. One can perceive God in as many ways as they want it does not social occasion the only thing that affaires is God was there.Religious experience can be used for religious conversion and religious belief but not necessarily for the existence of God. If one believes they have seen God and as a result of this vision they believe in the existence of God that is fine, but that doesnt necessarily mean God exists from a philosophic perspective. As the sceptic would regularly point out there are many other factors that may have influenced the subject who vi ewed God (such a water deprivation or drug consumption) however on an ordinary basis I feel that a vision of God or some potpourri of numinous experience is sufficient justification for the existence of God and religious belief. On an ordinary level religious experience can justify the existence of God but on a philosophical level it cannot, one cannot claim religious experience to be an objective truth in school of thought, but in ordinary life it is a personal matter and provides justification for Gods existence on a personal level.This is resembling to what William James said in his work Varieties of Religious Experience he believed that religious experience was a very personal matter and is impossible to verbalise but can be used as self justification for Gods existence. He also stated that philosophy is useless in trying to prove a religion true but can show up obvious errors. One must also note that Swinburne, Alston and Davies arguments are not really proving the credibil ity of religious experience but simply defending it against sceptics attack. personally I feel this is fine, why should the recipient of a religious experiences have to prove themselves, however I do feel some of Swinburnes and Davies arguments to defend religious experience are not sufficient. To conclude I feel the sceptics are right in dismissing religious experience on a philosophical level, but as many previous philosophers have highlighted (such as G.E.Moore) scepticism cannot be applied to ordinary life.