Made to Order Babies

Imagine sitting down at a table and being handed a menu, but this is no ordinary menu to order food off of. No, this menu is at a medical clinic and it’s the menu to your new customized â€Å"designer baby†. Technology has advanced so much in the past couple years that this situation could happen very soon. If not in your lifetime, then in that of your children’s. What is a â€Å"designer baby†? It’s exactly as the words imply; a baby genetically modified to what the parents call â€Å"the perfect baby†. Today, the sex of the baby, the hair color, and the eye color can all be modified to the choice of the parent. And soon other things will be possible, such as modifying genetic defects in a baby. All of this would probably sound very appealing to someone that is just being introduced to the topic, but what about the side effects? Are there any? Is there any possibility that the baby will come out harmed or with some other defect that was caused by a â€Å"modification†? There are no answers for these questions, because even scientists and doctors do not know. So, should society take the risk of harming innocent babies to try and create â€Å"the perfect baby†? No, we should not. The â€Å"designer baby† is immoral and should be illegal. Nobody knows the side effects of modifying a baby, not even the scientists who conduct the research. Not only physical side effects, but also emotional and societal side effects. We do not know how society would perceive a genetically modified human. Procedures that are done to modify a baby include terminating some embryos. There are a lot of people who would see this action as immoral. If there are riots outside of clinics because they think of abortion as being immoral, those same people would most likely riot in protest to â€Å"designer babies†. There is also the question as to what will happen once everyone is â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"perfectly modified†. What will these â€Å"perfect† people think of those who already have genetic defects? They may think of them as inferior, and look down on them. That could lead to a new type of â€Å"genetic† discrimination (Baird 12-16). If laws were made against being able to design babies, then we would not have to worry about these problems. In 2009 an article titled Designing Rules for Designer Babies was published in the Scientific American magazine. The article says: In the U. S. , no binding rules deter a private clinic from offering a menu of traits or from implanting a woman with a collection of embryos. Physicians who may receive more than $10,000 for a procedure serve as the sole arbiters of a series of thorny ethical, safety and social welfare questions (29). With no binding laws or rules to this, some doctors will do the procedures just to get the money. It would definitely bring up questions about the doctors morals and if he/she really cares about their patients. Take, for example, Nadya Suleman, whom was implanted with genetically altered embryos. The doctor implanted her with a collection of six embryos. Two of those embryos split, making her pregnant with eight children. It does make everyone question her, but also the doctor. Did he take into account that she already had six children? Did he consider her financial status? (Designing Rules 29) Another question to ask is; how far do we go in â€Å"designing† our babies? The same article from Scientific American gives a perfect example of a situation that could happen: We could get carried away â€Å"correcting† perfectly healthy babies. Once we start down the slippery slope of eliminating embryos because they are diseased, what is to stop us from picking babies for their physical or psychological traits? What if this does happen? We could create a whole new generation based on what traits are the best for someone, or how knowledgeable everyone should be. In doing this, are we not doing the same thing Hitler tried to do; create the perfect humans? It didn’t get him very far, and won’t get society anywhere today. Some might say that designing a baby would be a great thing. That we could cure diseases and disorders before the baby is even born. But when a baby is â€Å"designed to get â€Å"rid† of disease and disorders, there are embryos that are killed in order to find â€Å"the perfect baby†. It could be considered the same thing as abortion. Our technological advances in the past couple years have greatly enhanced ociety. There are also technologies that will harm society. The â€Å"designer baby† is one of those technologies. It sounds very appealing to be able to create the child that you have always wanted, but we have always said that we were created the way we are for a reason, and we should keep saying that. No one knows the side effects of creating our babies, they could come out monsters f or all we know. If laws were put into effect against the â€Å"designer baby†, then we would be safe from these â€Å"monsters†.

The Bielski Brothers: a Story of Survival

There are many forms of survival. There is living every day, surviving quietly with the rest of the world. There is personal survival, fighting in a way only you know how. And then there is survival in the face of the greatest adversity, survival against all odds. Survival as a group, when an even larger power is doing everything it can to keep you from surviving. This is the survival experienced by the troop of Jews detailed in The Bielski Brothers, the true story of how three brothers saved thousands by living in the forest.With this book, Peter Duffy tells the story of one of the greatest triumphs of Jews during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied lands. The Bielski brothers’ group survived through a brutal genocide, even thrived in their forest camps, and were able to take a stand against their oppressors, fighting for their right to live. During this time in history, it was easy for most people to focus on themselves and their own personal survival. For most, it was every man for himself, but not for the Bielskis. They worked as hard as they could to save as many lives as possible.Saving Jews was their number one priority, even above killing Nazis and destroying supplies. For them, saving these Jews was an even more powerful way to get back at the Germans. Even when it was hard, when the winter was harsh and food supplies were low, the Bielskis never turned anyone away. Tuvia Bielski, the eldest brother, is quoted as saying, â€Å"I would rather save one old Jewish woman†¦ than kill ten German soldiers† (Duffy, P. x). The Bielski Brothers shows that one of the keys to survival is having a strong leader. In the effort to save Jews from ghettos, heroes were found in unlikely places.The success of the Bielskis themselves was itself unprecedented, but they would not have saved so many without the help of others. One important hero to the Bielski Jews was Konstantin Koslovsky. Despite being a Gentile, he was dedicated to helping the escaping Jews in any way he could, offering shelter, food, and passage into the puscha. Unlikely leaders also formed among groups in ghettoes, planning elaborate escape and survival methods. The biggest leader of the forest groups was Tuvia Bielski, whose commanding presence and dedication were an inspiration to the Jewish people.He orchestrated the entire forest party, leading rescue missions and raids against Nazis and cooperators. Asael and Zus Bielski were also leaders of their own partisan fighting groups, and Asael was a liaison with the Soviets. The Bielski Jews not only survived in the forest, they thrived there. Instead of seeing the puscha as a prison trapping them in, it became a haven full of freedom and life. They turned their situation around and flourished in industry and the arts. Shops were set up to manufacture goods like weapons, shoes, foodstuffs, and furniture.The forest camp even had a school and a theater group. The group performed songs, skits, and dances, entertaining bot h the Jews in the camp and visiting partisans and Soviets. This was a huge insult to the Nazis—that they had not only failed to eliminate all Jews, but there were even some that felt freedom and success during this time of oppression. Everything the Bielskis did was in defiance of the Nazis, and in protection of their fellow Jews. They gave their group of refugees a sense of security, and hope for the war’s end.Although the Bielski brothers’ greatest triumph was saving thousands of Jews by living in a forest, they also triumphed against the Germans in other ways. One of the first things the Bielskis did was set up fighting groups among the escapees, who planned attacks on Nazis, the police, and German cooperators. Most people of this time followed a submit-to-survive mentality, never rising against their tormentors in the hopes that they would stay alive by keeping their head down. The Bielski Jews, however, while still focused on survival, took a completely dif ferent approach to it.They knew that the Nazis would never let them live, no matter how much they cooperated with them. So, in order to survive, they went against the Germans and fought back. The Bielskis and their fighters were extremely aggressive in their actions against their enemy. They stopped at nothing to take down as many Nazis, cooperators, and supplies as possible. They set mines and watched the roads for approaching Nazi convoys, then, using weapons made in the forest camps, shot the drivers and guards, took as much food, weapons, and other goods as they could, and destroyed the rest of the equipment.When they got word of incoming train shipments, they lay in wait near the tracks and took down the train, taking valuable equipment from the Nazis and using it for themselves. When peasants cooperated with the Germans by feeding them, turning in hidden Jews, and offering intelligence on the Bielski partisans, the fighting groups would visit the peasants’ homes, take t heir food, and kill everyone living there, without hesitation. This merciless stance protected the camp from not only outside enemies, but also from dissent within the group. When IsraelKessler challenged the leadership of the Bielski brothers, Asael Bielski did not hesitate to execute him. Even on their last day in the puscha, when a man defied Tuvia’s orders to only take personal belongings from the camp, Tuvia shot him immediately. The Bielskis made it clear that they had complete control, and opposition would not be tolerated. During the Holocaust, the one thing everyone was striving toward was survival. The Bielski brothers were some of the most successful at this goal, surviving in a series of forests in Belarus against all odds.They saved 1,200 Jews from ghettoes, with the help of Gentiles and Jews alike. Even under the extreme duress of World War II, with a fierce enemy constantly out to get them, they were able to thrive in their forest community and feel a taste of freedom in the middle of a great prison. They fought aggressively against both the Nazis and the ideal that they must suffer quietly in order to survive. The Bielski brothers and their allies were an inspiration to many ghetto Jews, and they continue to inspire people with their courage and strength.

Homophobia in Schools

Homophobia is a problem in many public and private school systems, denying homosexual students a safe learning environment. Everyday a student is discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. Gay, lesbian and bisexual students are being verbally, physically, and academically abused. Homophobia is taking hard working students and creating a negative and damaging learning environment for them. It’s time for a change. Words like â€Å"faggot, queer, homo, fairy and dyke† have become common â€Å"insults† in today’s school systems.These words are unacceptable, yet time and time again I observe teachers doing nothing when they hear said words being used. If however I were to use a racial slur such as â€Å"nigger† I would be immediately reprimanded and possibly disciplined. Discriminating against someone because of who they love is inexcusable. Schools NEED to do something to combat this growing problem, Girard may have an anti-bullying progra m instituted but what does it really do to combat it? Nothing. They preach equality, but do they enforce it?No. Instead of instituting programs to teach equality, punishments must be given out. Instead of being passive, schools should be aggressive in defending the victims of all forms of bullying. Students who identify themselves as â€Å"gay† are up to five times more likely to miss school due to feeling unsafe, 28% of them are forced to drop out. And yet school administrations do nothing about it. In fact 85% of teachers actually oppose integrating lesbian, gay and bisexual themes in their curricula.Frighteningly A 2007 survey found that four out of five young lesbian and gay people have no access to any information about LGBT issues at school. There are many different ways in which LGBT people experience homophobia, including malicious gossip, name-calling, intimidating looks, internet bullying, vandalism and theft of property, discrimination at work, isolation and reject ion, sexual assault, or even being sentenced to death. All forms of homophobia are destructive, not just for people living openly as LGBT, but for society as a whole.Living in a homophobic environment forces many LGBT people to conceal their sexuality, for fear of the negative reactions and consequences of coming out. For people who have been brought up to believe that homosexuality is wrong, the realization that they might be gay can cause feelings of shame and self-loathing, leading to low self-esteem. Suppressing homosexuality involves denying an important part of a person's identity, and can have a serious impact upon their life and relationships. Furthermore, the dilemma of whether to ‘come out’ or not can cause a great deal of personal distress.

The concept of management change in regards to Larsen and Toubro Essay

The concept of management change in regards to Larsen and Toubro - Essay Example The paper tells that with changes in consumer needs and perceptions the demands for the goods and services of the organisation also counter a paradigm shift. Thus because of such changes in the organisation’s external climate the management team of the organisation tends to bring about a lot of alterations in the technological and operational processes in the organisation. These changes are reflected as the organisational changes inside the concern. Focusing on the above discussion the organisational changes brought about in Larsen and Toubro can be further analysed. The Chairman of the concern envisaged that the need for organisational change within the concern arose from the need of value creation. Value creation was envisaged through bettering up the position of both the internal and external stakeholders of the concern. The internal people or the employees’ position was developed through the induction of the rating system which would rate the employees based on thei r performance rather than seniority. On the external side, the process of value creation focused on enhancing the value of the shareholders through augmentation of the value of the projects carried out by the several departments. The Chairman of the concern took these steps so as to help in the increase of motivation of the employees and shareholders of the concern. Taking the above organisational change processes were further envisaged to help in the augmentation of the share value of the concern in the stock market which was quite low previously. (McKinsey & Company, 2010, pp.28-29). Justifications for the Organizational Change Forces of Change The forces or needs for organisational change arise out of large amount of dissatisfaction emerging out of people belonging to different organisational hierarchies. The organisational people demand a change from the existing situation for which changes or alterations needs to be brought about in the organisational structure. Failing to such demands of the people leads to several problems which in turn spreads employee unrest. On the other hand the change in organisational leadership also leads to bring about forces of change in the concern. The new organisational leader inherent with new vision and organisational philosophy endeavours to bring about changes in the existing business process and technological interventions. This force of organisational change is sometimes not welcomed by the internal people leading to strong protests and events like strikes and

Are you are an agonistic democrat Why or Why not Essay

Are you are an agonistic democrat Why or Why not - Essay Example Agonists might, in some cases, be seen as troublemakers—depending upon one’s viewpoint. Agonist ideals differ more than that of the views of regular Democrats because they insist upon arguing as a means to an end, not for other reasons. Here it will be attempted to explore: whether or not I am an agonistic Democrat; why or why not; and how a consideration of my own political life, my goals, and my experiences as an active citizen might shed light on the larger attractiveness and the applicability of an agonistic approach to democratic politics. II. Am I An Agonistic Democrat? (400 words) Although many times terms can be unclear, I do not consider myself an agonistic Democrat. After all, â€Å"One seldom finds a clear definition of the political.†1 I don’t exactly consider myself a deliberative Democrat either by any means. â€Å"Liberal democracy†¦is a specific form of organizing politically human coexistence which results from the articulation betwe en two different traditions: on one side, political liberalism†¦and, on the other side, the democratic tradition of popular sovereignty.†2 Usually, deliberative Democrats and agonistic Democrats are antagonistic to each other anyway. ... I strongly believe that exhausting all diplomatic means in order to reach an agreement is the best solution to any type of conflict. Physical disputes are not only barbaric but dated. Honestly, I don’t feel that verbal arguments necessarily solve many problems either. Instead, politicians should focus upon trying not to argue—but, rather, in developing a consistent dialogue that focuses upon the real problems that are plaguing their constituents. Instead of arguing over petty trivialities, politicians—especially Democrats—should be trying to shy away from political theater and the creation of drama for drama’s sake. It’s nice to give news organizations sound bytes—but when it comes down to brass tacks, words are just empty words until actions are aligned with those words. Democrats can argue until they are blue in the face—but until they ensure that positive actions are in line with what they are saying, the Democrats—ago nists alike—will not be taken seriously as a political party that can be trusted with the future of the country. Agonists in particular should abandon the notion that they must fight in order to prove their point. In order to effect real change, the American people require genuine diplomats. III. Why or Why Not? (300 words) I think the reason why I do not consider myself agonistic is because I find arguing pedantic and puerile. Agonistic Democrats seem like they are only interested in petty arguments—instead of arguing for the sake of producing true change. Aristotle claimed that â€Å"†¦the intimacy of ethical [alliances] limit†¦the number of our [alliance]s.†3 Agonistic Democrats are exactly what this country doesn’t need. People who are out just to create drama

Environment and corporate culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environment and corporate culture - Essay Example Proactive thinking and adaptive strategy buildings is core concepts which can help organizations implement a culture within an organization to cope up with the fast moving developments. Organization facing a turbulent environment must have an adaptive culture in order to keep pace with the changing conditions of market. It is essential for every organization to trace the changing condition and come up with back strategies if they wish to survive in the industry. There are number of products and services available in market, the one who comes up with innovative and adaptive strategies can survive the competition. Nowadays, there are number of consulting agencies, which are providing their services to organization. These agencies help organization in developing appropriate strategies and culture of themselves. Some of them include Toffler Associates, Bloom Institute Inc etc. Toffler Associates have prepared a benchmark criterion for companies so that they can initiate Adaptive Culture in their organization. This criterion emphasize primarily on five major areas. In order to make an organization adaptive, an organization needs to make changes in the following five areas: i. People ii. Process iii. Strategy iv. Structure v. Technology Any organization can tap these five areas in order to pursue the Adaptive Culture. The status at which a company needs to stand in order portray as an Adaptive Cultured organization has been clearly mentioned in the reports of Toffler Associates. In order to meet the global challenges of 21st century, every company has to possess some degree of adaption. In this paper, that company is going to be discussed which has now become very prominent due to its technological innovation and instant adaption. The name of this company is â€Å"Apple Inc.† Apple Inc has surpassed almost all the major technological oriented company when it comes to adaption and innovation. A detailed description of the adaption of Apple Inc has been mentione d in the subsequent sections of this paper. Adaptive Culture at Apple Inc Corporate culture defines the particular set of norms and values shared by people and groups of every organization. Every organization defines the goals that are to be achieved as well as the standards of behavior for accomplishing these goals. It is the responsibility of the management to define and communicate these goals organization-wide. By taking an example of Apple Inc, it can be stated that despite of number of changes in the chief executive level of the company, Apple Inc has maintained its corporate culture, which had been introduced when the company was founded in 1970s. By looking at the historical performance of the company, it can be said that the company has managed to keep a mix of two of the most important cultures: i. Innovative Culture ii. Adaptive Culture At the beginning, to certain extent, the culture of the company was Individualistic, which means that it put emphasis on the personal emp owerment and creativity of individuals. Concerning to the challenges and situations of 21st century, the top management of the company has revised their strategies. Therefore, the initial rebellious, riotous and individualistic culture has been converted into emerging, innovative and adaptive culture. However, the core values of the company have stayed

Justice in the distribution of marketing service (Walmart) for the Research Paper

Justice in the distribution of marketing service (Walmart) for the population density in Arkansas state in 2000 and 2010 - Research Paper Example The average life expectancy in Arkansas is 76.0 years. This period is shorter than the U.S life expectancy of 78.0 years approximately all of the 75 counties in Arkansas apart from three have life expectancies shorter than the total average nationally. Benton County in the north-west Arkansas has the longest life expectancy, which is 79.8 years. Phillips County located in eastern Arkansas has the shortest life expectancy, which was 69.8 years. This period has a difference of 10 years in life expectancy. There are averagely 17 counties with life expectancies that are six to ten years shorter than Benton County. Arkansas borders Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Arkansas 10 biggest cities and towns are Little Rock, Springdale, North Little Rock, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Pine Bluff, Rogers, and Conway (Rice 13). This work discusses how justice is not done equally in the distribution of marketing provision (Walmart) for the population compactness in Arkansas State in 2000 and 2010. Tourism is one of the Benton County’s leading productions, generating $6.66 billion in transactions yearly. Arkansas State Metroparks subsidies to this commerce. Almost 12 percent of tourists to Benton County emanate for the perseverance of visiting the outside, such as parks, trails, and seashores. These tourists devote $743 million per annum in the native economy and create $50.6 million in government and confined sales taxes. -Inhabitants also appreciate Arkansas State Metroparks trails and botanical gardens. Each year occupants of Benton County collects a subsidy of $40.5 million for the straight use of these park amenities (Rice 19). Autonomous investigation shows that park use transforms into an enlarged physical bustle, resulting in medical fee savings. Roughly 143,000 adult occupants of Benton County participate in physical commotion at a level adequate to produce computable health benefits,

The management challenges posed by the emergence of e-commerce Essay

The management challenges posed by the emergence of e-commerce - Essay Example Some of the most common examples are as follows: online buying, selling or investing; share business; electronic marketplaces like www.amazon.com or online auctions like www.ebay.com; e-bookstores and e-grocers; web-based reservation systems and ticket purchasing; electronic data interchange or marketing email and message postings on web-logs; music and video downloads; online discussion boards and learning facilities; open source projects; online banking or the electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, etc. Today, as each one of us knows technology is breaking through geographical barriers and distance, integrating the whole world into an interconnected village. The term global village is a commonly used metaphor to describe the mass media particularly the Internet and World Wide Web. This is only possible because of the inter-connectivity which is brought about by e-commerce. The Internet globalises communication by providing opportunity to people from around the world to connect with each other. Likewise, web-connected computers enable people to link their web sites together (Answers.com, 2008). An innovative medium of Internet has connected the whole world very closely. A person in America writes a mail and in less than a minute it reaches to someone in China. Similarly chats and web cam has made it possible to see people on the other side of the world and talk as if you were sitting next to each other (Sanchania, 2005). It took only a few years for these technological innovations spread across the world. Anyone having access to internet can communicate, shop, and even use internet banking system. The new world of internet provides information on anything to anyone who has access to a computer and a telephone. People can see each other, chat and talk as if they are physically present. As far as communication and the dissemination of information is

Occupy Wall Street Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Occupy Wall Street - Essay Example The movement instigated on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park of New York City's Wall Street financial district. The chief architect of the protest was Canadian activist group Adbusters, and has escorted to connect protests and actions across the planet (Intellectual Roots of Wall St. Protest Lie in Academe: Movement's principles arise from scholarship on anarchy). Occupy Wall Street emphasizes direct action and they have their slogan "We are the 99%". Indicating that the authorities are supporting 1% of the population, proportion attributed to the privileged and prosperous population. Highlighting the fact that income is unequally distributed between the affluent class which is 1% and the enduring 99% of the population (Intellectual Roots of Wall St. Protest Lie in Academe: Movement's principles arise from scholarship on anarchy). History Tracing the history of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS), it could be established that the roots lie in the 2010, British student protests together w ith the anti-austerity protest of Greece and Spain as well as Arab Spring protest (Reuters). In June 2011, an electronic conversation took place between Lasen and White. Lasen was the founder of Canadian-based Adbusters Media Foundation while, White was the senior editor of Adbuster (Pre-occupied). Later a website called OccupyWallStreet.org was registered by Lasen in June 2011. The subscribers of Adbusters were sent an electronic message with the note "America needs it own Tahrir". The message busted like a wild fire and people showed spontaneity. Adbusters suggested September, 17 as the date for the initiation of the protest as it corresponds with the America's Constitution Day (Fleming, 2011). The idea spread like a conflagration and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs played the pivotal role in generating the awareness and inciting individuals to understand their rights as "leaderless resistance movement" (Fleming, 2011). The movement was joined and pulle d by various independent activists who possess their systematized websites, to convey messages for meetings. The protest gathered a huge crowd and therefore was intervened by the police which provided Occupy Wall Street new wings to spread the message. Video clips and footage played a crucial role in generating public awareness. A NYPD officers video highlighting the arrest of protesters spread like a pandemic on Internet especially the one displaying officers shooting pepper spray on the faces of people especially women. The movement emerged as a people's democracy movement. Every effort to clear out the non-violent protest has further popularized the movement and people are participating to a greater extent with more zeal and enthusiasm. With every huge gatherings things tend to change and further strengthen the movement, highlighting the fact that the 99% of the population is really suffering a lot due to the prevailing corruption and greed for money in every sector of human exis tence (Fleming, 2011). People are now aware of the fact that Occupy Wall Street is people's voice and one must promote it, strengthen it and have to contribute for the betterment of the their rights and to eliminate disparity and

Personal statement, identify your filed of interest Essay

Personal statement, identify your filed of interest - Essay Example One can become civil engineer, however it’s connected with many challenges. All constructions grown by people exist only due to the painstaking labor and the most accurate calculations. It requires strong understanding of one fact that even slight mistake can bring many problems or even casualties, every day, thousands of people use structures constructed by civil engineers and they should serve them good. There is no place to mistakes, misconducts or half-precise calculations. It’s the greatest challenge I will have working in civil engineering. People can make mistakes and there is, of course, human factor, to avoid this I should understand my responsibility and ask for help if I am not sure about something. Working in the big team, all members should work like single body. It requires strong communicative skills and ability to team work. Failing to make good relationships with team can result in bad blueprints, or even passed mistakes, It is unacceptable and I should adapt to the needs and characters of other people to work with them in cohesive team. Project implementation also requires great skills, because structure on blueprints can be stable and good developed, however since construction is started I, as civil engineer, should control the construction during each stage to ensure that plan is carrying out

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay When a person voluntarily and intentionally helps another person to take away his life, by act or omission, this is referred to as assisted suicide. All parties, in clear cases, convey their intentions unambiguously and each individual who is involved make voluntary, informed and competent choice. The person assisting in suicide does not directly kill the person but rather he helps the person to kill himself or herself. The means of assistance adopts various forms which may include providing the means or removing the obstacles. Kopelman, 2007) Physician assisted suicide on the other hand is when a physician assists a patient in taking away his or her life. This kind of suicide has been marked with great controversies with various factions holding viewing it an immoral act while others view it as moral. This paper argues that under various restricted circumstances, physician assisted suicide should be permitted. The act of suicide is not contrary to societal norms as had been argued by many moralists. This can be historically supported. What is known about the ancient Greek society support the idea that suicide was largely acceptable. According to Plato, suicide becomes a justifiable and rational act if life became immoderate. In his view, intolerable constraints and painful disease were a justification enough for one to take away his or her life. Within a period of one hundred years after his death, his followers embraced suicide as a desirable way out. This attitude towards suicide extended to the Roman Empire. The Romans considered suicide with neither revulsion nor fear. To them, it was a deliberately chosen validation of the principles of life. (Weir, 1997) During the time of Justinian, a private citizens suicide was not punishable if the cause was sickness, weariness of life, impatience of pain or lunacy. Since this encompassed all rational causes, all that remained was irrational suicide which had no cause and hence punishable. However, suicide was frowned upon by the Pythagorean School of philosophy which was then a minority view. Nevertheless, there did not exist throughout classical antiquity the prohibition of suicide. Christians later adopted to prohibit suicide even though they found it increasingly difficult to support this view based on the scriptures. There are no verses in the scripture which directly condemn suicide. Christianitys change of attitude toward suicide was largely motivated by practicalities even though the concept of sanctity of life is theologically rooted. The cult of martyrdom could have rapidly led to actual suicide in the name of religion thereby leading to a decrease in the number of faithful who at that time was badly needed by the Church. As such, the Church viewed suicide as a threat to its survival since faithfuls were dying in worrying numbers. With regard to assisted suicide, it becomes very difficult to decide what is right especially when the permission to deliberately take away human life is involved. Under such extreme circumstances, normal moral rules are often stretched to the point of breaking down. There are various circumstances which test the moral wisdom of men such as the intentional suicide by a spy who is preventing torture for the disclosure of important military information. Many people would agree that under such circumstances, ending life would be legitimate. As such, it largely depends on the circumstances. This dependence on circumstances brings us to the issue of physician assisted suicide. My argument is that only under carefully limited circumstances should a physician be permitted to assist an individual to end unnecessary suffering. This may include directly administering drugs which will facilitate the end of the patients life or any means through which the patient can use to take away his or her life. Under certain circumstances, the patients choice may take priority above other considerations. For instance, when a person suffers from an incurable disease such that life to him has become series after series of pain and suffering, losing meaning and a sense of purpose, desiring nothing but death, then assisted suicide may be considered. After all considerations have been made, his choice to end his life should finally be honored. The physicians role is to act in the best interest of the patient, and under some extreme situations, this may include assisting the patient to end his life hastily upon his request. However, many doctors hold that their role is to enhance and preserve life and not to deliberately end it. Lhier, 2008) If the physician’s role is restricted to healing, this automatically disqualifies his role of assisting a patient to end his or her life. However, this fails to address the scope and limit of the proper functions of the physician. The challenge for the physician is finding the best way of assisting the patient to come from a state of extreme pain to a state of wellness. If this cannot be achieved, then the physician may assist the patient in ending this miserable life that is causing so much suffering for the soul. This will be a magnification of the role of the physician and not a contradiction. At times, it becomes preferable to end suffering than extending life and hence suffering. The troubling factor in assisted death is that it involves a conflict in values. As we are bound to comprehend life, it is a wonderful adventure which promises love, pleasure, happiness and joy. However, circumstances alter it into a hopeless burden full of pain, despair and suffering. Every human individual desiring well being but finds himself locked within a body which brings nothing but pain has a right to decide and end his life. Under such circumstances, death may be preferred. If an individual arrives at the conclusion that life brings more pain and suffering and hence desires to take it away, our duty is to grant such individuals their wish. However, we are forbidden to kill by moral imperative. Morality and religion dictates that it is wrong to kill. On the other hand, they both encourage mercy. Every effort should be invested at guarding against abuse even though at a patients request, it would be helpful and merciful to end his unendurable suffering. Legalization of assisted death for the sake of the victims and their loved ones is demanded of by compassion and benevolence. The families of those individuals who have witnessed their loved ones under extreme pain provide a powerful argument in support of physician assisted death. When death has not yet brought relief for the afflicted and medical science has stretched its capability to the limit to no vain, a sense of powerlessness and despair is experienced by the members of his family as they watch in horror as a loved one is tormented by suffering. Thus, opting for death under such intolerable situations would be advantageous not only for the victim but also for the family members. Assisted suicide is just an extension of individual autonomy which individuals seek to enact throughout their lives. (Battin et al, 2002) Every individual, in response to the many convictions which purportedly makes life worth living, act in such a way as to shape these convictions which are also held for how death should be experienced. Medical establishments only penetrate bodily ills without regarding various personal views. Assisted suicide is thus a way of bringing back the sense of control to individuals who are approaching the end of their lives. It is an extension of the freedom to pursue life as one desires as long as it does not harm others. For the patient, assisted suicide becomes a way of customizing death. Assisted suicide apart from honoring peoples right of self determination is also a prudent policy. It is with this regard that physicians are needed as counselors to ensure that a patient makes a competent, unforced and rational choice. Holding high regard for the moral and legal heritage, I contend that physician assisted suicide should be looked upon with much reflection. There are times which call for a rethought of our principles, traditions and codes so as to bring to the fore real life experiences. Those ideals which were designed with good intentions sometimes tend to degrade life, being a source of unfathomable suffering. Prohibiting physician assisted suicide may be one such thing. Individuals with extreme and rare cases can be provided with an opportunity to manage their death without jeopardizing our reverence for life. As such, a way of being merciful to the dying without labeling those who assist them as criminals can be provided.

Print versus Online Journalism Essay Example for Free

Print versus Online Journalism Essay In almost any part of the world, the journalists are the people who deliver to us the daily news, significant events, updates, celebrity scoops, and other bits of information. Traditionally, journalists obtain their news through extensive research, interviews, and leg work among others. After hours, days, or even weeks of research, journalists then write and craft their pieces which eventually land on the front page of the newspapers. This sequence of actions is called print journalism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, due to the rise of technology, people are now able to publish stories and articles on the Internet. Life stories, opinions, and other information can be aired and accessed by people through websites such as blog sites and social networking sites, among others. This new form of posting information resulted in what is now known as online journalism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Print and online journalism are both similar and different from each other in a lot of ways. There basic point of similarity is that they both contain information that is accessible by the public. This information may include daily news stories, sports updates, business news, health news.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the main difference between the two is that in print journalism, these stories are published in broadsheet newspapers, magazines, and tabloids, among others, while in online journalism, the news and other information is basically published solely in websites. Usually, the information given by both forms of journalism may be accessed through subscriptions. However, certain newspapers, such as the New York Times, can be accessed online for free.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, compared to print journalism, online information is easily accessed. People simply have to connect to the Internet and view the web page that contains their desired information. On the other hand, printed information in the newspapers and magazines are bought in stores and magazine stands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, possibly the most important difference between the two is how journalism is practiced. The practice of conventional journalism, without a doubt, requires critical analysis, logical thinking, mastery or knowledge of grammar, and most of all, commitment to the truth. This is usually the case with people who are involved in print journalism, most especially, the ones writing for established and highly credible newspapers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, in online journalism, except perhaps for the websites of major dailies, most websites are not edited and proofread properly which results in erroneous or inaccurate information and grammatically incorrect sentences or phrases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In short, the most important and most notable difference between the two is that online journalism lacks that true essence journalism per se as compared to print journalism where people know and have possibly mastered the fundamentals such as grammar, style, and logical construction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, a majority of people involved in online journalism are not actually journalists by profession. These so-called â€Å"online journalists† may not have undergone proper training so technically they do not have the authority and capability that print journalists have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over-all, it can be said that online journalism is not journalism at all and is only a term that spawned from the boom of technology as compared to print journalism which follows traditional practices of   journalism.

Theories of Satellite Imagery and Fractal Concepts

Theories of Satellite Imagery and Fractal Concepts Introduction Many applications based on using satellite imagery in a quantitative fashion require classification of image regions into a number of relevant categories or distinguishable classes. Classification is a means of complementing retrieval. Satellite image classification is a clustering method based on image features, the classification results are represented by visualization techniques [Ant05]. Fractal geometry provides a suitable textural image classification framework by studying the nature irregularity shapes in the image, since it allows to easily describing such fractal images. The fractal geometry can recognize small image segment that characterized by its spectral uniformity, this necessitate first to segment the image before the classification. The main characteristics of fractal images are that they are continuous but not differentiable that allows showing the fine details at any arbitrarily small scale [Iod95]. This chapter presents an introduction to the fundamentals of satellite imagery and fractal concepts: Satellite imagery includes a brief description to the satellite imagery technology that useful to understand the main characteristics of satellite images. Whereas, the fractal concepts are mentioned to explain some regards when considering the fractal geometry techniques in digital image processing. Fractal characterizations are discussed to show the fractal features may found in satellite images. Also, some interested fractal measurements are mentioned to be applied on satellite images for purpose of classification. Later, the interested techniques of image segmentation and classification are given. Satellite Imagery Satellites are greatly used in remote sensing imagery, they have several unique characteristics enable to remote sense the Earths surface [Pan96]. The satellite senses electromagnetic energy at different wavelengths reflected by objects to produce the satellite images as shown in Figure (2.1). Visible satellite images are made of satellite signals received by visible channels that senses reflected solar radiation. Visible imagery is available only during daylight since it produced by reflected sunlight. The major advantage of using the visible imagery is due to it can gives higher resolution images than other imagery bands, so smaller features can be distinguished with visible imagery. The problem faces visible imagery is that clouds are shown white, while land and water surfaces are shaded. Clouds are Earths atmosphere, which absorb and reflect incoming solar radiation and leads to hide the fine details of the Earth surface under consideration [San04]. The two primary sensor types in the satellite are the optical and radar. Optical sensors are concerned with the imaging by visible and infrared radiation. While the radar sensors use microwaves to create an image, which enable the sensor to see through clouds and in night. In addition, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral and multi-polarization sensors are operated at different bands to improve the detection of objects under the sea or ground. Table (2.1) presents characteristics of the most popular optical satellites [ERD13]. Table (1.1) The most Popular optical satellites [ERD13] Satellite Mission life Spatial resolution (m) Panchromatic Multispectral Hyperspectral IRS 1988 / 03 0.80 73.00 Landsat 7 1999 / 07 15.00 30.00 60.00 IKONOS 1999 / 09 1.00 4.00 RapidEye 1999 / 12 5.00 ASTER 1999 / 12 15.00 30.00 – 90.00 MODIS 1999 / 12 250.00 500 1000 EROS 2000 / 12 0.50 – 0.90 QuickBird 2001 / 10 0.61 2.40 SPOT 5 2002 / 02 2.50 – 5.00 10.00 OrbView-3 2003 / 09 1.00 4.00 ALOS 2006 / 06 10.00 WorldView-1 2007 / 09 0.40 GeoEye-1 2008 / 09 0.41 1.65 WorldView-2 2009 / 06 0.41 1.80 Pleiades 2011 / 07 0.50 1.00 Many satellite imagery platforms are designed to follow an orbit determined by the direction from north to the south of the Earth, which is conjunct to the Earths rotation (from the west to east of the Earth). This setting of satellites allows them to cover most of the Earths surface (The coverage is called swath) over a certain period of time. More details about the satellite orbit and swath are given in the following subsections [Asr89]: Satellite Orbit Orbit is the path followed by a satellite. Satellite orbits are determined according to the capability and objective of carried sensors. The selection of orbit is depending on altitude, orientation, and rotation of the satellite relative to the Earth. Geostationary satellites revolve at speeds are matching the rotation of the Earth at altitudes of approximately 36000 km as Figure (2.2-a) shows. This makes the satellites to observe and collect information continuously over the considered areas. The common types of such orbits are found in weather and communications satellites. Whereas, most of satellite imagery are set to be used the near polar orbits, which indicates that the satellite moves northward along one side of Earth and then toward the southern pole on the second half of its orbit as Figure (2.2-b) shows. This trajectory is called ascending and descending passes, which are clearly shown in Figure (2.2-c). Moreover, there are sun-synchronous satellite orbits that cover each a rea on the Earths surface at a constant local time of day called local sun time. The ascending pass of sun-synchronous satellite is almost covers the shadowed side of the Earth while the descending pass is covering the sunlit side. This motion credits same illumination conditions when imaging specific area in periodic seasons over successive years [Pan96]. Swath Swath is imaged area on the surface of the Earth when the satellite around revolves, as Figure (2.3) shows. Swath covers an area is varying between tens and hundreds of kilometers wide. When the satellite rotates about the Earth from pole to pole, it seems to be shifted westward due to the rotation of the Earth (from west to east). This motion enables the satellite swath to cover a new area at each successive pass. The satellites orbit and Earths rotation work together to make complete coverage of the Earths surface when completing one orbital cycle. In near polar orbits, areas at high latitudes will be imaged more frequently than that ling at equatorial zone, this is due to the overlapping occurred in adjacent swaths when the orbit paths come closer together near the poles [Cam02]. If the satellites orbit start with any randomly selected pass, then the orbit cycle will be completed at the time when the satellite retraces its path, this is happen when the same point on the Earths surface become directly below the satellite (such point is called the nadir point) for a second time. The exact time period of the orbital cycle will vary at each satellite. Such that, the time interval required for the satellite to complete its orbital cycle is not the same as the revisit period [Sab97]. Satellite Image Scanning The satellite scanning produces digital images using detectors to measure the brightness of reflected electromagnetic energy. The scanner employs a detector with a narrow field of view which sweeps across the terrain, the parallel scan lines are combined together to produce an image as Figure (2.4) shows [Add10]. The most widely type used scanners is across-track (such as a Whiskbroom used in Quick Bird satellite), which uses rotating mirrors to scan the Earths surface from side to side perpendicular to the direction of the sensor platform. The function of rotating mirrors is redirecting the reflected light to be focused at the sensor detector(s). In such case, the moving mirrors create spatial distortions that can be corrected by processing the received data before delivering the image data into the user. The most significant advantage of whiskbroom scanner is the fewer sensor detectors that keeping data calibration. Another type of scanner is the along-track scanner (such as the pu sh broom scanner used in Spot satellite) that does not use rotating mirrors, it uses a sensor detectors are arranged in a rows called a linear array. Instead of scanning from side to side as the sensor system moves forward, the one dimensional sensor array captures the scanned line at once. Furthermore, some recent scanners are step stare based scanners, they contain two-dimensional arrays in rows and columns for each band. It is important to mention that the push broom scanner is smaller, lighter, and less complex due to fewer moving parts than whiskbroom scanner. Also push broom scanner gives better radiometric and spatial resolution. A major disadvantage of push broom scanner is the calibration that required due to a large number of detectors found in the sensor system [Bui93]. A multi-spectral scanner is a space borne remote sensing system that simultaneously acquires images of the same scene at different wavelengths. The sensors of a multi-spectral scanner are normally working in specific parts of the spectral range from 0.35ÃŽ ¼m up to 14ÃŽ ¼m. These specific parts of the spectrum in which remote sensing observation are made, are called bands or channels. The number of bands or channels varies largely from system to another [Add10]. Two important advantages of multi-spectral scanning are [Lil04]: Objects at the surface of the earth have varying reflection behavior through the optical spectrum; they can be recognized and/or identified more easily using several spectral bands than using just one band. A large number of objects do not reflect radiation very well in the visible part of the spectrum. Remote sensing observations outside the visible wavelengths or in combination with observations in the visible spectrum produce a much more contrasting image, which is helpful to identify objects or to determine their condition. Satellite Image Resolution Image resolution is the capability of sensor to observe the smallest object clearly with distinct boundaries. Resolution is often referred to count pixels in digital image. Usually, the pixel resolution is described by set of two positive integer numbers, where the first number is the width of the image (i.e. number of pixel columns) and the second is the height of the image (i.e. number of pixel rows). Whereas, the cite resolution is the total count of pixels in the image, which typically given in megapixels, and can be calculated by multiplying width by height of the image and then dividing by one million as Figure (2.5) shows [Zho10]. In satellite imagery, ground resolution indicates the Ground Sample Distance (GSD) that refers to the size of ground area covered by one pixel. For an image of 0.6m ground resolution, each pixel records an average reflected color of area 0.6m by 0.6m. The fewer meter per pixel, the higher the resolution of the image. The particular ground resolution is an important parameter when taking vertical aerial images. Satellites of various ground resolutions are listed in Table (2.2) [ERD13]. In addition to GSD, there are four types of resolution when discussing satellite imagery, they are: spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal. More details about each one are given in the following subsections [Ren99]: Table (2.2) Most interest satellite features [ERD13] Feature QuickBird Landsat -7 GeoEye -1 IKONOS WorldView -2 Pleiades GSD 0.61m 15m 0.41m 1m 0.5m 0.5m Swath width 16.5 km 185km 15km 13km 16.4km 20km Multispectral Yes yes yes yes yes yes Revisit time 3-4 days 16 days 2-3 days 1-3 days 2-3 days 2-3 days Spatial Resolution The discrimination of image details is depending on the spatial resolution of the sensor, which refers to the ability of detecting the smallest possible feature in the image. Spatial resolution of sensors depends primarily on their Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV).The IFOV is related to the angular cone of visibility of the sensor that determines the ground are seen from a given altitude at one particular moment in time. The size of the viewed area is determined by multiplying the IFOV by the distance from the sensor to ground. This ground area is called the cell resolution and determines the maximum spatial resolution of the sensor [Sab97]. Spectral Resolution Many remote sensing systems use several separate wavelength ranges at various spectral resolutions when imaging the ground areas. These are referred to as multi-spectral sensors. Advanced multi-spectral sensors called hyperspectral sensors, which detect hundreds of very narrow spectral bands in the visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The use of spectral resolution improve the informatic store of specific ground area since there are very high spectral resolution facilitates leads to fine discrimination between different targets based on their spectral response when using each narrow bands [Lil04]. Radiometric Resolution The radiometric characteristics describe the actual information of image contents. Radiometric resolution is the sensitivity of the sensor to the magnitude of the electromagnetic energy that describes its ability to discriminate little differences in the energy. The finer radiometric resolution of sensors the more sensitive for detecting small differences in reflected or emitted energy [Bui93]. Digitally, radiometric resolution is the number of bits comprising each pixel in the image, which indicates the brightness level of current pixel. Brightness levels are digitally represented by a positive numbers varies from 0 to a selected power of 2. The available maximum brightness level depends on the number of bits used to represent the recorded energy. Thus, if the sensor uses 8bits for data recording, then there are 28=256 digital values are available within the range from 0 to 255 [San04]. Temporal Resolution Temporal resolution is related to the revisit period of a satellite sensor. The temporal resolution is the period of a remote sensing system that images the same area appeared at the same viewing angle for second time. The actual temporal resolution is typically measured by days, it depends on three factors: satellite capabilities, swath overlapping, and latitude. The ability of image collection in same area at different periods is an important element for applying remote sensing data. Spectral characteristics of given areas may change over the time and these changes can be detected by collecting and comparing multi-temporal images. When imaging on a continuing basis at different times, change on the Earth surface whether they are naturally occurring or induced by humans can be monitored [Lev99]. Fractal Theory In the 1970s, Benoit B. Mandelbrot introduced his discovery as a new field of mathematics named as fractal geometry (from Latin fractus, i.e. irregular fragmented). He claimed that the fractal geometry would provide a useful tool to explain a variety of naturally occurring phenomena [Man83]. A fundamental characteristic of fractal objects is that their measured metric properties such as length or area are a function of the scale of measurement [Sun06]. Mandelbrots fractal geometry is the best approximation and the most widely used successful mathematical model [Man88]. Fractal objects can be found everywhere in nature such as coastlines, fern trees, snowflakes, clouds and mountains. Self-similarity is one of the most important properties of fractals, invariant scale, and non-integer dimension [Man83]. Fractal geometry is not concerned with the explicit shape of objects. Instead, fractal geometry identifies the value that quantifies the shape of the objects surface by the fractal dimension DF. For example, a line is commonly thought of as 1D object, a plane as a 2D object, and a prism as a 3D object. All these dimensions have integer values. However, the surfaces of many natural objects cannot be described with an integer value, such objects are said to have a fractional dimension. According to Mandelbrot, the fractal can be defined as â€Å"A rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each is (at least approximately) a reduced size copy of the whole†. In term of Mathematics, fractal can be defined as â€Å"A set of points whose fractal dimension exceeds its topological dimension† [Man83]. Fractal geometry uses the fractal features to describe the irregular or fragmented shapes of natural features as well as other complex objects that the tra ditional Euclidean geometry fails to analyze [Ana11].

How to Win Friends and Influence People - A Personal Analysis Essay

How to Win Friends and Influence People - A Personal Analysis â€Å"The more you get out of this book, the more you’ll get out of life.† This is the claim that Dale Carnegie makes in reference to his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Carnegie proposes that there are four main ideas that one should use when dealing with people: 1) Know how to handle people, 2) Make people like you, 3) Win people to their way of thinking, and 4) Be a leader. These skills are essential not only in being a good manager, but also in dealing with people in day to day life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1) Fundamental Techniques in Handling People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first thing one must know when handling people is â€Å"don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.† When you criticize someone, you put yourself at a level above them. Even if you get your point across, the only thing that will come of the situation is that the other person will have a feeling of remorse and you will have bruised their self-esteem. Often times I’ve been involved in group projects in school where I have been paired up with people who have a very different method of doing things. I tend to think that my way of doing things is the most efficient; however I don’t shoot down the ideas of others. Rather, I try to understand where they were coming from and find a way work together. This is exactly the point that Carnegie is trying to get across.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next tip is â€Å"give honest and sincere appreciation.† A recurring theme in this book, is that people want to feel like they are important. There is a driver forcing you to do everything in life. For example, as a chairperson of the Business Week publicity committee, I am working hard to promote the Business Week activities and increase attendance using creative tactics. When people show up to events because of a promotion I created, it makes me feel important and gives me a sense of fulfillment. Such is the case when dealing with others. If they know they are appreciated, they will feel important and will continue doing a good job in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And finally, â€Å"arouse in the other person an eager want.† Find what it is that gives a person their sense of importance. And utilize that knowledge to drive them to want to do their job to the best of their ability. When I in high school, I used to baby-sit children. Often the most difficult part of the evening was getting the kids to... ...l work harder, take pride in their task, and in turn they will do a better job. â€Å"Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.† As a waitress, customers would sometimes complain about the speed of the service. Although this was often times the fault of the cooks, it reflected poorly on me to the customers. I couldn’t find a tactful way to tell the cooks to hurry up, so I took a different approach. One day, there was a new waitress on duty and I noticed a cook made an order especially fast. I made the comment both to the cook and the new waitress at what a great job this cook does and how you can always count on him to get orders out fast. From then on he took pride in being the â€Å"fast cook,† even though that had not always been the case before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I learned a lot about myself from this book. I realized that I already incorporate a number of the principles that Carnegie preaches. I also picked up some valuable information that I know I will be able to use in the future. I feel that this book is a great learning tool and helps to cover things that students don’t necessarily learn in the classroom. In fact, I have already recommended it to a number of my friends.

TEMPEST Essay -- essays research papers

The Other in the Tempest In order to understand the characters in a play, we have to be able to distinguish what exactly makes them different. In the case of The Tempest, Caliban, the sub-human slave is governed largely by his senses, making him the animal that he is portrayed to be and Prospero is governed by sound mind, making him human. Caliban responds to nature as his instinct is to follow it. Prospero, on the other hand, follows the art of justifiable rule. Even though it is easy to start assessing The Tempest in view of a colonialist gaze, I have chosen instead to concentrate on viewing Caliban as the monster he is portrayed to be, due to other characters that are not human, but are treated in a more humane fashion than Caliban. Before we meet Caliban, we meet Ariel, Prospero’s trusting spirit. Even though Ariel is not human either, he is treated kindly and lovingly by his master who calls him â€Å"my quaint Ariel.† Caliban, on the other hand, is called a â€Å"tortoise† and a â €Å"poisonous slave† by Prospero. As Caliban enters in Act 1 Scene 2, we realise his fury at both Prospero and Miranda. He is rude and insulting and Prospero replies with threats of torture. Prospero justifies his punishment of Caliban by his anger at the attempted rape of his daughter, something Caliban shows no remorse for. Miranda distinguishes herself from Caliban by calling him â€Å"a thing most brutish† and inadvertently, a thing that has only bad natures. She calls his speech â€Å"gabble,† but doesn’t stop to wonder whether it was she that didn’t understand him because she didn’t know how to speak his language. Surely Caliban communicated verbally with his mother for the twelve years before Prospero killed her? It seems that Prospero and Miranda expect Caliban to be grateful for the knowledge of their language, but Caliban has just learned â€Å"how to curse† and justifies his anger by claiming rights to the island. Even thou gh they obviously detest each other, Prospero needs him, as he tells Miranda: â€Å"We cannot miss him: he does make our fire/Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices/That profit us†¦,† Caliban stays on because he is afraid of Prospero’s â€Å"art†¦of such power,† making Prospero the feared conqueror ad dictator. Prospero is the â€Å"right duke of Milan† and Caliban is the â€Å"savage and deformed slave.† They represent two different extremes on the social spectrum: that of the natural ruler,... ...e will let Stephano rule- showing himself to be naturally ruled, not ruler. At the end of the play, when he recognises that his choice of Stephano as ruler was foolish, it is not mental reasoning that has led him to this conclusion, but the evidence of his senses and experience. Caliban had mid enough to function as part of society, but training him to become part of that society cannot be abstract, like Prospero’s failed attempt at educating him with Miranda – Caliban’s education must be practical and hammered home with his own senses. If the senses represent something natural and the mind represents an art like knowledge or in Prospero’s case, magic, then we can say that Caliban represents Nature and Prospero Art. While the need for control over nature is asserted continually, the ending suggests that art must ultimately come to terms with nature (hence Prospero’s â€Å"this thing of darkness I/Acknowledge mine†); for while Caliban†™s limitations are apparent, his wish to improve himself is promising, and his new relationship with Prospero seems to be more stable and more reassuring than the resentment-filled and extremely uneasy jailer-prisoner/master-slave relationship shown earlier

Sojourn to Singapore Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

Sojourn to Singapore "Eat the durians...eat it!" Although a jumbled cacophony of encouraging voices seemed to levitate the humid night air, all hesitancy was not dispersed as I carefully probed the pulpy tropical fruit with an expectant tongue. Proudly, (and much to the glee of my Asian companions who enjoyed the various facial contortions), I swallowed the remainder, washed down with three full bottles of water. Before the initial incision into the durian, I was engulfed by the painfully distinctive odor that only three days and half a bottle of Listerine could remedy. With my experiences in Singapore as a United States representative to the Asian-Pacific Youth Science Festival, however, I also was engulfed by the myriad of Asian cultures, whose unique facets of language, tradition, and daily life broadened my spectrum of global understanding. All delegates from each of the fourteen economies were combined into groups and assigned a topic of concern facing the scientific community-diseases, genetic engineering, globalization, and global warming. Although my fellow group members resided in China, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia, we all share... ...and possibly the world. We composed papers, visually presented our conclusions, and became brothers and sisters in striving to accomplish our task. Of course, our interaction provided inestimable amounts of enjoyment for everyone-the Asian delegates were thrilled by my 'American humor.' On the final night, Group 24 assembled under a shelter and everyone exchanged teary-eyed good-byes with low voices. Little did I expect the torrent of ice and freezing water that crashed over my head and shoulders merely seconds later, wrecking the silent awkwardness. We laughed, and then we were friends again.

American shipbuilding World War II

World war II was a global military conflict fought in every one of the five continents and involving combatants from every continental region. Fought in two phases, the first phase involved Asia in 1937 and also known as Sino Japenese war. The second phase began in Eupore in 1939 with Germany voilating the treaties and by being aggressive, without any previous declaration invaded poland. The globe was divided into two military alliance: the allies and the Axis powers. Allies primarily were formed by the union of United Kingdom and France, whereas the Germany, Japan and Italy dominted axis powers.World War II involved over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of total war, erasing the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete exhaustion of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes. Tension cretaed due to great depression that swept t he world in early 1930s sharpened national rivalries, increased fear and distrust and made masses susceptible to the promises of demagogues.Also the condition created by post world war I settlement, led to the this global military conflict of world war II. After world war I, defeated germany and ambitious Japan and Italy anxious to increase their power, eventually adopted forms of dictaorship. In Gemany the National socialist Adolf Hitler began a rearming campaign on a massive scale and in mid 1937 and following a marco Bridge incident Japan invaded China. Some tolerance was shown to these invasions as they were of anti communist nature but soon entering of Soviet to aid China marked the division of the global scenario.America in world war II Through the global turmoil for the power and series of conqest,United states chose to be a isolationist and passed neutrality act in August 1933, a dyanamic impulse to stay aloof from all Europeon politics . But in November 1939, the American n eutrality act was amended to allow cash and carry, to support Allies. United stated, to protect and aid china, implemented a series of embargos, including oil, iron, steel and mechanical parts, against Japan.The Tripartite pact between the Axis powers served as a warning to United States of the consequences resulting in war if it continued extending help to the allied power. But regardless of the pact, the United States continued to support Britain and China, further, by introducing the lend-lease policy and creating a security zone spanning roughly half of the Atlantic Ocean, where the United States navy protected British Convoys. Though attacks on America were rare by the Axis power, but ultimately, it was attack on pearl harbour in 1941 that drew United States into direct war .In later years of 1942 Japan repeatedly attacked America in wars of Aleutian Islands and fort Stevens attack. America- Japan relations Attack on china, led Japan into series of trouble when the move prompte d America embargo on oil exports to Japan, which in turn caused the Japanese to plan the takeover of oil supplies of Dutch east India. The attack on the Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack of Japan against the United States naval base on December 7; 1941, also called â€Å"a day of infamy† by President Roosevelt .The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, dramatically heralded the new age of naval combat, divided into two phases, the first attack wave targets airfields and battleships. The second wave targets other ships and shipyard facilities. It was intended as a preventive action to remove US pacific fleet that was involved in protection of British Convoys and Dutch East India, and also to wage war against United States. Both the U. S. and Japan had long-standing contingency plans for war in the Pacific, continuously updated as tension between the two countries steadily increased during the 1930s.Though numerous sanctions were imposed on Japan as a result of steadily growing ten sion, and America under the export control act halted the shipments of machine tools, high octane gasoline to japan, but the oil export was continued to japan in early pre war years to resist undue provocation. Assets were to be frozen till Indochina was declared as neutral. The Japanese high command was certain, though mistakenly so that an attack on the United Kingdom’s colonies would bring the U. S. into the war. So a preventive strike appeared to be the only way to avoid US interference in the Pacific.. With the Pacific cleansed of American ships, Japan would have an unchallenged defensive perimeter, stretching from the North Pacific through mid-ocean to the South Pacific. The attack wrecked two US Navy battleships, destroyed several aircrafts, and US suffered huge personnel losses though the, Vital fuel storage, shipyard, maintenance, were not raided. The japanese suffered minimal losses in artiliary and personnels. While it accomplished the intended objective, the attac k was pointless. US Navy The new Navy 1890-1909 A crucial date in the reconstitution of U.S. naval shipyards is 1890 . From about 1850, American shipping and shipbuilding rose from a position of superiority to near international significance. Until the late 1880s the United States possessed no modern warships, and the technological gap widened, where European progress was rapid with the assembly of armor plate, guns, torpedoes, high-speed propulsion systems, and steel hulls. By 1890 American shipyards lagged far behind their European counterparts in techniques and in speed of construction. Progress started in year 1885 with the funding of â€Å"new navy†.Warships of the new American navy built between 1890 and 1909 were steel hulled, purpose-built for steam power, and substantially more complicated than their predecessors. In its first thirty years, armored ships dominated new American naval construction. Between 1910 and 1929 a much wider range of warships was built. Battles hips still dominated tonnage figures, and the pace for construction of new ships steadily increased. Both the number and the size of these ships amplified, in the competition to build better warfare compared to European powers, also called â€Å"dreadnoughts fever†.Shipbuilding in World War II World War II saw the U. S. Navy emerge as the world’s largest naval force, a commanding role that would be maintained for the next fifty years. Hallmarks of the two decades included an intensified effort of existing private shipbuilders, massive new construction at government navy yards, and the development of new private shipyards, in new locations, to produce large numbers of small- or medium-sized warships. At a time of near-total national commitment, almost 1. 5 million workers built American warships in dozens of locations.Destroyers were numerically were the most important warships built during the period. More than 550 full-sized destroyers were eventually launched, becaus e of the German submarine threat, these ships held a very high priority. Pacific produced majority of warships, and some of the mass produced warships were â€Å"escort aircraft carrier† at Todd- pacific, and at Kaiser Yards, Vancouver. Also, pacific were specialized war- damaged ships. Submarines were built at a number of yards, but majorly at two locations, Portsmouth Navy Yard, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Electric Boat, at Groton, Connecticut.Another in land production included the fabrication of almost 1,051 large landing ships, most of them tank-landing ships out of which, more than 60 percent were constructed along inland waters by five major steel-fabricating firms. World War II encompassed a massive national effort for production of massive warships. Pacific fleet A Pacific Fleet was created in 1907 and was marked as the largest naval construction effort ever undertaken by any nation.. Building warships for the U. S navy was a major sector of the American defe nce industry over a hundred year period during which the growth of the US navy was substantial.It was also the chief activity of most large American shipyards and had a sizable influence on regional economy and identity. Until May of 1940, this unit was stationed on the west coast of the United States . During the summer of that year, as part of the U. S. response to japanese expansionism and prevent its intrusion into Phillipines, it was instructed to take an â€Å"advanced† position at Pearl Harbor,Hawaii. During the time of attack the pearl harbor strength consisted of, nine battleships, three aircrafts, eight light crusiers, 50 destroyers, 33 submarines and 100 patrol bombers.American battleships can be roughly divided into four groups, pre-dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts, standards and World War II ships Japanese Imperial Navy Japanese imperial navy was one of the most powerful and world third largest navies. Initially, it was built overseas in England but soon Japanese yards built ships on English designs. The advancement in the concept resulted in Ships that were at par or better than any ship afloat. Early years of the war were dominated by the Imperial navy, however in later years it succumbed to the pressure of huge opponent power.Its naval aviation corps, consisting of 10 aircraft carriers and 1500 topnotch aviators, was the most highly trained and proficient force of its kind. Victory of American Navy over Japanese Imperial Navy America had a period of economic depression prior to commencement of the War, though Japan was also â€Å"economically disadvantaged† in waging a war against allies but, its misplaced sense of superiority in economic and military areas, against the allies, led to its ultimate downfall.While, America in the midst of seemingly interminable economic crisis, still had almost seven times more coal production, five times more steel production, eighty times the automobile production compared to the production of Japan. Th ere is no doubt, however, of the abundance of American resources even though in the depth of depression, it had much more capability for war production compared to any other nation. Also US had nearly twice the population of Japan and hence, the manpower was never a setback.Around one million people had engaged in war production in America and furthermore, it was ever willing to utilize its women population in the war effort counting work of 6. 5 million women as a tremendous advantage, a concept not acknowledged till later years by the Axis powers. Also, America had some hidden advantages that didn't show up directly in production figures. First, the U. S. factories were, on average, more modern and automated than those in Europe or in Japan. A rapid boom to the industrialization and technological advantage worked significantly in favor of the US navy.Additionally, American managerial practice at that time was the best in the world. Together taken, the per capita productivity of th e American worker was the highest in the world. The average income of America was seventeen times more compared to that of Japan. By mid-1942, even before U. S. force of arms was being accepted as a most powerful force globally, American factories were nevertheless beginning to make a material effect in the war's progress. The U. S. churned out seemingly endless quantities of equipment and provision, which were then funneled to forces and provided an endless support.By 1944, most of the other powers in the war, though still producing furiously, noticed a decline in the economic front and also the production was steadily decreasing from destruction of industrial bases and constriction of resource pools. But the enormous productive apparatus of the U. S. economy was pouring out war munitions in overwhelming volume Especially in Japan, the oils supplies had cut down to a trickle owing to decisive battle of the US against the Japanese imperial navy. And unless Japan could ward off obvio us enemy retaliatory blows designed to capitalize on her greatest weakness, vulnerability to blockade,seizure of the southern areas would be just a hollow and ephemeral event, improving but little the basic weakness of Japan's economy. The American submarines had specially targeted the oil carriers of Japan, and its only source left was from the Dutch East Indies behind a screen of islands that ran from the Philippines through Formosa and the Ryukyus. . After that the Japanese economy, with the possible exception of oil, was based on the continent and upon Japan proper. Resources proved much less than the expansionist propaganda had previously anticipated. . Inadequate rail facilities made it difficult to bring resources to the coast.And from mid-1944, due to the attack on shipping, only a small percentage of the material that reached the coast could be transported to Japan proper further leading to commotion. Owing to its large resources backup and abundant manpower, America suffer ed none of these problems and as a consequence its economy grew at an annual rate of 15% throughout the war years. It is perhaps not surprising that in 1945, the U. S. accounted for over 50% of total global GNP. Battle of Midway. Midway is often cited as the ‘Turning Point in the Pacific', the ‘Battle that Doomed Japan,' and a string of other stirring epithets.And there's no question that it broke the offensive capability of the Japanese Navy and led to major crisis. The United States built more merchant shipping in the first four and a half months of 1943 than Japan put in the water in seven years and there was really no noticeable increase in Japanese merchant vessel building until 1943, by which time Japan was deeply involved in war with US and was not able to do much. Just as with their escort building programs, the Japanese were operating under a tragically flawed national strategy that dictated that the war with the United States would be a short one.Again, the Uni ted States had to devote a lot of the merchant shipping it built to replace the losses inflicted by the German U-Boats. But the battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history markedly changed the prevalent condition and favored US more than the axis powers. Underlying the Six naval forces, four Japanese and two American, were converging on, a titanic clash spread over three days and 100,000 square miles of sea, engaging 282 ships and 200,000 sailors. In the condition of loss of massive number of war ships and the inability to produce adequately, the Japanese war front was further deteriorated..Japan's own ability to produce basic materials was completely inadequate to support a war against a major in ¬dustrial power. In retrospect, it is difficult to comprehend how Japan's leadership managed to rationalize their way around the economic facts when they contemplated making war on the US. The war ended with Japanese Imperial Navy defeated in shortage of material and person nel resources, while the resources of US were just warming up and could continue for years to come. , Bibliography Keegan John; Who’s who in World War II; routledge; 2002World War II; Article; The Columbia Encyclopedia; sixth edition 2007 Rohtermund Dietman; Global impact of great depression 1929-1939; routledge; 1996 Heinrichs Waldo; threshold of war: Franklin Roosevelt and American entry into World War II; New York; Oxford university press; 1988 Cull John Nicholas; selling war: the British propaganda campaign against American â€Å"neutrality† in World War II; New York; Oxford University press; 1995 Kimball warren F; the most unsordid act: lend-lease, 1939-1941; Baltimore; Johns Hopkins press; 1969Gregory Urwin; the siege of Wake Island; University of Nebraska press; 1997 Gailey A Harry; The war in the pacific: from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay; Presidio press; 1995 Sluimers Laszlo; Japanese military and Indonesian independence; Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian studi es; Vol 27; 1996 Walters. D. William; American naval shipbuilding 1890-1989; Journal article; the geographical review; Vol 90; 200 Hector C. Bywater; sea power in the pacific: a study of America-Japanese naval problem; Houghton muffin company; 1921Lindberg Michael; Anglo-American shipbuilding in World War II: A geographical perspective; 2004; Daniel Todd Praeger Padfield peter; the great naval race: The Anglo-German naval rivalry 1900-1914; Birlinn; 2005 George Q Flynn; the mess in Washington: manpower mobilization in World War II; greenwood press; 1979 Kennedy M David; Victory at sea; magazine article; Atlantic monthly; vol 283; March 1999 Barrett Judy, Smith C. David,; US women on the home front in world war II; Journal article; The historian; Vol 57,1994

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald relies heavily on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people

People’s feelings and emotions are often changed or affected by the weather. There are also many stereotypes that go along with the weather. For example on rainy days people often feel sad or on very hot days people often have short tempers and can become angry easily. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald relies heavily on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people. This is clearly seen during the days of Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy, Gatsby’s funeral, and the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom. One of the more important times that F. Scott Fitzgerald relies on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people in The Great Gatsby is the day of Gatsby’s reunion with her. This day is very important to Gatsby as he has been counting the days since he last saw Daisy. Gatsby has asked Nick to invite daisy over to Nick’s place for tea so that Gatsby could come over and be reunited with her. â€Å"The day agreed upon was pouring rain† (Fitzgerald 81). While they wait For Daisy, Gatsby is uncharacteristically nervous. He is so nervous that he tells Nick that he is going to go home because he doesn’t think that Daisy will show up. The rain helps to emphasise the how nervous and worried Gatsby is. At first, when Daisy shows up, Gatsby is awkward and his fingers are even â€Å"trembling† (Fitzgerald 84) but after Nick leaves him alone for half an hour, he comes back to find Gatsby back to his confident self. When Nick walks back in the room he informs Gatsby, as well as the reader, that â€Å"it’s stopped raining† (Fitzgerald 86) and at this news Gatsby smiles â€Å"like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light† (Fitzgerald 86). The fact that it has stopped raining helps to emphasise that Gatsby has gained back his sureness and has his usual self confidence. Another time that is significant in The Great Gatsby where F. Scott Fitzgerald relies on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people is on the day of Gatsby’s funeral. On the day of the funeral the rain creates a sad mood. When Nick goes to New York to see Meyer Wolfshiem and he says he can not attend the funeral we first learn that it is raining out. â€Å"When I left his office the sky turned dark and I got back to West egg in drizzle† (Fitzgerald 163). This sets the mood for a sad, gloomy day. Although during all of Gatsby’s very large and expansive parties he is surrounded by people, his funeral is quite the opposite with only Nick, Mr. Gatz, Owl-eyes and a few of Gatsby’s servants attending the funeral, â€Å"our procession of three cars reached the ceremony† (Fitzgerald 165). The weather stays this way all day and Gatsby’s funeral ends up being a very sad and miserable event. This is very unlike the funeral earlier in the book where people are celebrating the life of their friend and remembering all the good times they spent together as they pass Nick and Gatsby in â€Å"cheerful carriages† (Fitzgerald 67). F. Scott Fitzgerald again relies on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people in The Great Gatsby on the day of the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom. When Tom, Nick Gatsby, Jordan and Daisy all go to New York they decide to get a suite at the Plaza Hotel. It is here on the hottest day of the summer that Tom and Gatsby have their big fight. The â€Å"broiling† (Fitzgerald 109) weather causes everyone’s tempers to be short and helps to establish the hateful, fierce mood of the confrontation. In the end, Tom wins the dispute and everyone, except Gatsby, can see that Daisy is going to stay with Tom. The next day, now that the reader understands that Daisy is going to remain with Tom, the weather cools down and it is chilly outside â€Å"The night had made a sharp difference in the weather and there was an autumn flavour in the air† (Fitzgerald 146). Just as Gatsby refuses to accept the fact that he can not go back in time and that Daisy really did and still does love Tom, in this instance he refuses to accept that it is no longer summer. When the gardener tells Gatsby that he wants to drain the pool to stop leaves from clogging the pipes, Gatsby tells him that he can not do this today and that Gatsby has not swam all year and plans to do so today. Gatsby believes that he can go back in time and make it warm, just like he believes ha can go back in time and make Daisy love him. In conclusion people’s emotions and feelings are often affected or can be changed by the weather. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald relies heavily on the weather and the environment to emphasize events and people. F. Scott Fitzgerald really uses this during the days of Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy, Gatsby’s funeral, and the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom. Like many great writers such as William Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses pathetic fallacy to help the reader to better understand what is happening, create suspense, and put emphasise on different incidents throughout the novel.

Organisational Citizenship Behaviour and Counterproductive Work Behaviour Essay

Organisational behaviour is the study of human behaviour in the workplace, the interaction between people and the organisation, and organisation itself (Dubrin 2002, p. 2). In most of the organisational behaviour literature review, the following five types of behaviours are often highlighted- task performance, organisational citizenship, counterproductive work behaviours, joining and staying with the organisation and work attendance (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2009). These individual-level dependent variables are present in most OB research which has a significant impact on the effectiveness of organisations. In my following essay, I will be highlighting on two of the above factors-mainly Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behaviour (CWB). I will be discussing on how various authors agree that different personalities and positive affectivity levels contributes to the emergence of OCB and that how different authors view the stand of considering all OCB as voluntary acts based on own accord. In addition, I will also be discussing the issue in which a consensus has been reached by most authors that job dissatisfaction is one contributing factor of CWB and that CWB, being defined as harmful in nature, has been challenged by some authors to be a justifiable act. OCB Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) has been defined as individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization (Organ, cited in Vigoda-Gadot, 2006, p. 3) or as individual behavior that promotes the goals of the organization by contributing to its social and psychological environment (Organ; Rotundo & Sackett, cited in Vigoda-Gadot, 2006, p. 3). Personality and Positive Affectivity Personality refers to the enduring, inner characteristics of individuals that organise their behaviour (Derlega et al, cited in Rothmann & Cooper, 2008, p. 24) and personality traits predict what a person will do as opposed to what he or she can do (Rothmann & Cooper 2008, p. 24). As such, it is agreed that citizenship performance is well predicted by personality variables (Penner, Allen, & Motowidlo, 2001; Hurtz & Donovan, cited in Barrick & Ryan 2003). It is also stated that differences in citizenship performance by the employees are clearly tied to the differences in their personalities and attitudes (Landy & Conte 2004) and feelings about their work, also known as affects (Lee & Allen 2002). I came across this survey done by (Bierhoff, Klein & Kramp, ed. Murphy 1996) in which ‘first aiders’ who rushed to the aid of the accident victims almost immediately scored lower on a measure of egocentrism- the absorption with one self’s lives and family. They also scored higher on a measure of empathy in which they expressed a greater level of concern for others (ed. Murphy 1996). From the above results, I feel that various personality factors do influence the tendency of one to render help to others thereby performing citizenship performance which benefits the organisation as a whole. In addition to the above, I have learnt that the higher the level of positive affect, the higher the level of willingness to help is in individuals (ed. Murphy 1996). Besides the helping behaviour, I have also learnt that maintaining a positive mood in the course of our work may also inadvertently lead us to performing extra role behaviours (e.g.: protecting the organisation and developing oneself in terms of upgrading one’s skills to the benefit of the organisation) (George and Brief, cited in Lee & Allen, 2002). To my surprise, I found that positive affect is not just influenced on a personal level but also due to external environmental factors. These include the differences in shades of lightings at our workplaces (Baron et al, cited in ed. Murphy 1996) and even presence of pleasant smelling artificial fragrances in our workplaces (Baron & Bronfen 1994, cited in ed. Murphy 1996). Performed based on free will? Most of the recent studies and researches on OCB have pointed out that it is based on voluntary helping behaviours. However, (Vigoda-Gadot E 2006, p. 1 ) pointed out on focusing on the exploitative and abusive tendency of supervisors and managements to impose so-called ‘‘voluntary’’ or ‘‘extra-role† activities via compulsory mechanisms in the workplace, thereby refuting the conventional definition of OCB being performed based on ‘good will’ and free choice. In fact, some of these behaviours categorised under OCB may well be categorised under Compulsory Citizenship Behavior (CCB) (Vigoda-Gadot 2006, p. 1). By reviewing the Expectancy Theory (Griffin & Ebert 2005, p. 246) in which people are motivated to work towards rewards that they want and that they believe they have a reasonable chance or expectancy of obtaining it in mind, I have actually agreed with the view that there is much possibility that OCB can also arise from other motives, some of them less voluntary or less self-initiated. Among these motivations are the abusive and exploitative behavior of immediate supervisors and the pressure by management or peers to become involved in activities in which the employee would otherwise not involve himself (Tepper, cited in Vigoda-Gadot 2006, p. 3). CWB Counterproductive Work Behaviours (CWB) is defined as voluntary behaviours that have the potential to directly or indirectly harm the organisation (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione T, 2009, p. 18). Job Dissatisfaction Job dissatisfaction is defined as a set of unfavourable feelings and emotions with which employees view their work (Newstrom & Davis 1997, p. 255). It seems that authors have a consensus on job dissatisfaction contributing to the emergence and high levels of CWB. It is stated that dissatisfied employees may engage in psychological withdrawal (e.g.: daydreaming during job), physical withdrawal (eg: unauthorized absence, early departures, extended breaks, work slowdowns) or even overt acts of aggression and retaliation for presumed wrong. There are many factors influencing job dissatisfaction which includes organisational factors like pay and promotion opportunities and the working condition itself. Group factors like the role of supervisor and co-workers; personal factors like needs and aspiration and how are these met, and how individuals views he instrumental benefits of the job also contributes to job dissatisfaction( Rothmann & Cooper 2008, p. 24). Though I am in agreement that job dissatisfaction is a strong contributor to the performance of CWB, I feel that CWB may also be induced by other factors like accumulated work stress leading to the emergence of violence which is one form of CWB. Similarly, theft cases in the company, which is another form of CWB, may just be a personal justification of the employees due to a perception of lost equity in the course of their work (Newstrom & Davis 1997). Justifiable Act Various authors held on to their individual stands regarding the topic on CWB. In most of my readings, authors agreed that CWB are actually harmful acts towards either individuals or towards the organisation itself. However, (Fox 2002) had presented a different point of view discussing the view that CWB may could well be a justifiable act which is clearly challenging the most conventional definition of CWB which is being negative in nature. (Fox 2002, p. 2) expanded the definition of CWB to include unintentional harm, as long as the act itself is volitional- an act which is motivated by other reasons to cause harm. Hence with this expanded definition, it raises the possibility of constructive CWB. In their article, they have considered on 3 categories of arguments which are moral issues, role conflicts and productivity arguments. I personally feel strongly for the argument on role conflicts. Many of the withdrawal behaviours may be seen as counterproductive in the perspective of managers or even organisations. However, these behaviours shown may be required to be fulfilled by the employees in the perspectives of their family and even the community. Putting in simpler terms, employees may be expected by the society to perform these behaviours so as to be able to strike a work-life balance. Hence, I feel that CWB should not be seen as just a negative behaviour which is purely deviant from an organisation’s objectives as I strongly feel for the presence of positive CWB. Key Findings In this modern age, to adapt and survive in a workplace, other than equipping oneself with the generic skill of problem solving, it is also vital to place great importance on understanding fellow colleagues as this will lead to self knowledge and self insight (Dubrin 2002, p. 4). By understanding what motivates others to perform OCB through the study of organisational behaviour, it will also in turn allow employees to gain an understanding on what motivates them to have similar behaviours. Inadvertently, this may bring them to a greater level of job satisfaction which also leads to greater organisational effectiveness as a whole. In addition, studying organisational behaviours enhances a professional or manager’s effectiveness relating to their interpersonal skills. Hence, if solid interpersonal skills are added on to one’s professional or managerial knowledge, it will certainly be a bonus towards an organisation’s overall service and productivity. Hence, information about organisational behaviours is vital to be known to the employees in organisations. Reflection If I were given a chance to assume the role of manager in an organisation, the notion of having OCB being induced by compulsion as mentioned earlier on will certainly be omitted by me as I feel that though it is an important goal of managers everywhere to make employees aware of the benefits of OCB and ideally, encourage it, it is far more important to conduct it through a legitimate way and not by other means such as abusive or exploitative activities. In this way, I believe conventional OCB will indeed be truly promoted as the employees will be serving and going the extra mile for the organisation in the most genuine way as I agree with the view that a person who engages in OCB might receive appreciation and recognition that induce positive moods and there will be a greater likelihood of repeating the OCB (Miles et al, cited in Zirgham 2009, p. 85) which will greatly benefit the organisation. A discrepancy often exists among managers and employees about the definition of certain work tasks being â€Å"in-role† or â€Å"extra-role†. Each behaviour may be different for different people as every employee in an organization perceives job requirements differently (e.g.: for service sectors), helping others may be a routine, but some may see it as beyond their job scope. By acknowledging this in the position of an employee, I will be able to anticipate this possible occurrence of conflict between managers and employees and thus, expand the boundaries for the definition of my job scope. In this way, I believe that my chances of managerial exploitation and workplace abuse by supervisors to perform compulsive OCB will be reduced to the minimum. Conclusion OCB is a stable behaviour emerging in workplaces and it will always act as a value adding criterion in one’s performance. However, it will only act as a value adding criterion only when it is performed through the free choice of employees and not by coercion means and negative external pressures. Thus, we have to be aware and alert so as to preserve the original positive results of OCB being performed, leading to a more successful and healthy establishment of an organisation. CWB is always seen as a conduct having an adverse relationship with OCB. However, as the saying goes- there are always two sides to the same coin; we should probably broaden our perspectives in our view towards CWB and accept the notion that CWB may not be necessary all detrimental in nature.