Saturday, December 28, 2019

Climate Change and Weather - 2261 Words

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WOMEN Introduction Definition of basic terms What is Weather? The term weather describes the state of the air at a particular place and time – whether it is warm or cold, wet or dry, and how cloudy or windy it is, for example. It affects many of the things that we do, from the clothes we wear and the food we eat, to where we live and how we travel. As a result, the weather is of great interest to people everywhere, from meteorologists, the scientists who study it in great depth, to you and I in our everyday lives. In fact, one of the main topics of conversation is often what the weather will do next the .Weather is very changeable and unpredictable. What is Climate? The normal pattern of weather experienced†¦show more content†¦However, the build-up of greenhouse gases can change Earths climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare and to ecosystems. There other elements of people’s homes that contribute to climate change indirectly. Everything, from furniture to computers, from clothes to carpets, all use energy when it is produced and transported – and this causes carbon emissions to be released. The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put in the atmosphere in the near future and for years to come. Women as the face of Climate change Women make up a shocking 70 percent of people living in poverty around the world. The gender imbalance of climate change is about more than just numbers, though. During natural disasters and extreme storms — of which many are increasingly linked to our carbon-loaded atmosphere — women often lack the physical strength needed to pull themselves to high ground or to run for safe cover. If this physical barrier isn’t enough, women are usually responsible for children and relatives and in extreme conditions; they have the added burden of moving everyone out of harm’s way. Furthermore, they face social, economic and political barriers that limit their coping capacity. Women and men in rural areas in developing countries are especially vulnerable when they are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. Those charged with theShow MoreRelatedClimate Change And Weather Change1567 Words   |  7 PagesRecently, climate change has been a majo r topic of discussion. As the world decides what actions should be taken to help with the changing climate, severe weather has increased over the past few years. Several factors has created a change in climate but there have been countless effects to Earth because of climate change and severe weather is one of those effects. â€Å"In fact, the first decade of this century (2001–2010) was the hottest decade recorded since reliable records began in the late 1800s†Read MoreWeather Patterns And Climate Change1857 Words   |  8 Pagesbe used to analyze weather patterns or climate change in regions. Weather patterns have been analyzed for a long time by meteorologists and using remote sensing for analyzing weather patterns is becoming more popular. Climate change is a big topic in today society and has been gaining a lot of attention of the past few years. If climate change continues to be an impending issue there should be a spike in the amount of data collected from remote sensing to analyze climate change and its consequencesRead MoreModule 6 : Weather And Climate Changes1179 Words   |  5 PagesModule 6: Weather and Climate Changes Students are to understand the four major greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and perform two experiments to address the hydrologic, or water, cycle. One experiment requires 20 ml of 60  °C put into a sealed canning jar with a petri dish filled with ice on top; this experiment is used to visualize the water cycle. Then, for the second experiment, students are to construct two identical plastic bags, each filled with 200 ml of room temperature sand and 200 mlRead MoreClimate Change Is A Change Of Weather Patterns That Lasts For A Long Duration Essay1372 Words   |  6 PagesClimate Change is a change of weather patterns that lasts for a long duration. Climate change can be caused by the ‘greenhouse effect’. Humans create greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, electricity production and more. These gases trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere and increase the earth’s overall temperature. This process is also called Global Warming which can cause more natural disasters like floods and droughts. Climate change is an existent global issue that started since 1880 whenRead MoreLinkage Between Weather Extremes And Climate Change2453 Words   |  10 PagesLinkage between Weather extremes and Climate change Britain experienced extensive flooding in autumn 2000. Various scientific and technical reports (e.g., Hulme and Jenkins, 1998; McKenzie et al., 2000) of high public profile had predicted increased flooding for the U.K. as a result of climate change. When that event occurred, various influential individuals and institutions linked the floods with climate change, even though such heavy precipitation could simply be due to natural climate variabilityRead MoreWeather Related Disasters Due to Climate Change Essay751 Words   |  4 PagesJust recently the Philippines were hit with the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record. With climate change causing increasingly chaotic weather patterns, natural disasters are becoming more common across the world. A natural disaster is anything ranging from an earthquake to a tropical storm. Regardless of whether the natural disaster was indirectly caused by mankind, like those caused as a result of global warming, it has a huge impact on society. The impact on society, devastation, and economicRead MoreAlgae and Climate Change: The Complex and Integral Relationship between Biology and Weather1564 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Algae and Climate Change: The Complex and Integral Relationship Between Biology and Weather Introduction Climate scientists around the world overwhelmingly agree that mankind is responsible for a warming trend and for other changes to the global climate as a result of greenhouse gas emission form the burning of fossil fuels. This is far from a simple cause-and-effect system, however, given the global scale of the issue there are necessarily many factors that interact in complex manners to changesRead MoreClimate Change : Future Bay Area Weather Will Be More Like San Diego1647 Words   |  7 PagesTopic #11: Climate Change Title: Interactive Map of San Francisco Shows Potential Health Impacts of Climate Change AND Climate change: Future Bay Area weather will be more like San Diego’s Citation: Kaye, L. (2016, May 04). Interactive Map Shows Potential Health Impacts of Climate Change. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/05/interactive-map-san-francisco-shows-potential-health-impacts-climate-change/ Krieger, L. M. (2015, August 07). Climate change: Future BayRead MoreClimate vs. Weather850 Words   |  4 PagesClimate vs Weather Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere in a region, and its short-term (minutes to weeks) variation whereas Climate is defined as statistical weather information that describes the variation of weather at a given place for a specified interval. They are both used interchangeably sometimes but differ in their measure of time, and trends that affect them. Weather is the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind. In popularRead MoreClimate Change : Global Air Temperatures1607 Words   |  7 PagesOur world’s climate is rapidly changing, and those changes will have an enormous impact on our planet’s people, ecosystems, cities, and energy use. Average global air temperatures are already roughly 1.5 degrees higher than they were at the start of the 20th century, and â€Å"have risen about 1 degree over just the last 30 years,† According to the New England aquarium. Climate change can best be described as the long-term change in average weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation and

Friday, December 20, 2019

The Punishment And Rehabilitation For Centuries - 1284 Words

The intent of incarcerating criminals has fluctuated between punishment and rehabilitation for centuries. According to Thomas Cahill, Pennsylvania Quakers founded the first prison in America in 1790. The intent of the prison was to provide the offender â€Å"a peaceful (if compulsory) sanctum where offenders could study the scriptures, repent, and reenter society as rescued, reformed, and pious citizens†. Since that first â€Å"penitentiary†, public opinion and policies regarding incarceration have waivered. It appears that as the crime rate went up, greater emphasis was placed on punishment. As crime rates subsided, rehabilitation became more prevalent. (Cahill, 2007) According to Professor Joan Petersilia’s 2011 paper, published by the National Institute of Justice, the United States now has the highest incarceration rate of any free nation. As a proportion of its population, the United States incarcerates five times more people than Britain, nine times more than Germany, and 12 times more than Japan. Starting in the 1970s through the 2000s, the number of Unites States citizens serving prison terms was on the rise. This was likely a result of stiffer penalties implemented by lawmakers due to the increased crime rates in the 1960s. (Lopez, 2016) This trend of more and longer incarcerations continued through the 2000s even though the crime rate began to drop in the 1990s. The United States is now turning from longer prison terms to rehabilitation as a means of crimeShow MoreRelatedPunishment Research Paper1317 Words   |  6 PagesPunishment Research Paper Megan Marie Kayser University of Phoenix June 12, 2011 Patrice Jackson SOC/120 Punishment Research Paper There have been four types of justification for punishment throughout the years of society. From older punishments such as retribution to more modern punishments like societal protection, all have been put in place to protect society and to punish individuals for their deviant acts. To find out which type of justification for punishment is most effective, oneRead MoreThe On The Juvenile Justice System Essay1236 Words   |  5 Pagesthe purposes clause would go against the primary purpose of the juvenile justice system, rehabilitation and treatment as opposed to punishment. During the 19th century, the American legal system tended to treat juveniles who violated the criminal law much as it did adult offenders. Consequently, if courts found children criminally responsible, they would then impose the same sentences, e.g. capital punishment, and committed these youths to the same penal facilities as they did adult criminals. DespiteRead MoreCriminal Punishment And The Criminal Justic e System1193 Words   |  5 Pageshave an extensive range of sentencing options. These options range from fines, restitution, and probation to incarceration in jail or prison. For much of the 20th century, criminal sentencing practices remained largely unchanged in the United States. Over the past few decades, we have witnessed a practical revolution in criminal punishment processes. A number of different sentencing reforms have been recently expanded, resulting in a mix of different legal approaches to sentencing in the United StatesRead MoreThe Between Right And Wrong Essay1740 Words   |  7 Pagesresults in them going to prison. â€Å"Prisons became popular in the 18th century and by the late 19th century prisons were going through the ‘reformatory’ movement† (Prison History, 2016). This movement attempted to reform inmates into model citizens by providing education, work, and counseling. The goal was to give inmates a chance to better their behavior before they get out of the prison. They wanted prison to be a form of rehabilitation in a way. Unfortunately, because early penitentiaries had nationalRead MoreChanges Within The Criminal Justice System821 Words   |  4 Pagesyet significant, changes within the last century. In fact, current research reflects the progressive movement from one of rehabilitation to that of punishment and retribution. Such transition reflects issues pertaining to the management and supervision and treatment of offenders. This study will, therefore, consider and evaluate dilemmas within the Criminal Justice System, as well as, issues that have transpired while trying to reduce crime through punishment. Furthermore, the Criminal Justice SystemRead MoreWhy Do People Commit Crime?1300 Words   |  6 PagesDiscuss the role of rehabilitation in the justice system (using three theories of crime to back up) The Oxford Dictionary defines a crime as an action or omission, which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law . Criminological studies look into why individuals commit crime and why they behave the way they do in certain situations. By understanding this, one is able to develop theories and develop ways to control crime or rehabilitate the individual. The aim of rehabilitation is to preventRead MoreThe Justifications Of Prison And Punishment975 Words   |  4 Pagesdissertation will be focusing on is the justifications of prison and punishment, and looking at whether these objectives are being achieved today in the current prisonsystem, with a thorough analysis of short sentences. In order to analyse this, short sentences will be looked at to discover whether the prison system is working. Throughout history, punishment has always had to be justified. For example, pre-19th century, punishment, which included being sent to the gallows or being placed in the stocksRead MorePunishment Versus Rehabiliation1445 Words   |  6 PagesPunishment Versus Rehabilitation Isabel Nevarez University of Phoenix AJS/504 Nicholas Russo August 17, 2015 This paper, I will discuss the issues of punishment versus rehabilitation. I will point out issues on how punishment and rehabilitation affects deterrence of crime, how it affects victims and their family. I will also discuss how it affects offenders, the impact it has on society, and the fiscal impact upon society. Punishment and rehabilitation helps the inmate in different ways.Read MoreTwo Types of Criminal Deterrence Essay869 Words   |  4 Pagesby death. As a free society there are obvious limitations on the use of capital punishment that the law must still protect. However capital punishment in itself is a deterrent. If the death penalty were the mandatory sentencing for any murder, the murder rates in our society would surely lessen. Deterrence is a very effective method in achieving the goals of criminal sentencing. If society knows its punishment for a crime, this may be the entire deterrent necessary to prevent a crime from happeningRead MoreProbation And Parole And Juvenile Offenders Essay1384 Words   |  6 Pages Probation and parole were unknown concepts until the early 19th century. Just over one-hundred years old, the emphasis has moved from the offender to concern for the welfare of the community, altogether public safety. Probation and parole accommodates the offender by allowing them to reenter or remain in society, while they serve their sentences. Today, the probation and parole agencies in the United States handle millions and only sixty percent of probationers complete their obligations successfully

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Competitive Advantage for Strategic Management - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCompetitive Advantage for Strategic Management Journal. Answer: Organizational Strategy: An organizational strategy can be defined as the computation of actions of an organization intending in taking to attain goals of lo0ng-term. Mutually, these actions have been making up the strategic plan of a company. Strategic plans of an organization take a year to comprehend, needing participation from all the levels of the company. This is the first question that the company tries to answer is identifying the size of the market and the areas for focus, indicating the required scale and investment timing (Schneider and Spieth 2013). It is significant for the company in differentiating the obtainable and addressable markets. Addressable market can be defined as the opportunity for overall revenue for the product and service. The available market is referred to as the segment of the addressable market for which one can compete in realistic fashion. Organizations have this intent in competing on the basis of the core proficiencies instead of the aspects that differentiates in the ey es of the customer. It is important to build a core competency in areas like the training of employees and manufacturing distinction and improvement within the management control (Cummings and Worley 2014). The resources that are required by the organizations to compete are financial resources, human capital and intellectual property. Companies need to have ample revenue in supporting the improvement of fresh products and revenue streams along with the workforce being skilled and loyal to the customer. Companies should look for cost-effective ways in manufacturing better products that would enhance its brand recognition (De Medeiros, Ribeiro and Cortimiglia 2014.). Value creation needs to be the primary focus for companies as generating value for customers would help the company in selling its products and services. In the present scenario, reprocessing and preserving energy have been the standard practices that generate positive public relations (PR) for shaping positive public opi nion. Coca Cola and strategies: The company makes use of the segmented revenue enlargement strategies across the business in ways of differentiated market sort. In the emerging markets, the company focuses on augmenting the volume, keeping the beverages reasonable and strengthening the establishment of the future accomplishment. In the developing markets, a balance is being maintained between pricing and volume. In developed economies, the company relies on price factor and developing the profitability factor through provision of more small parcels like aluminum bottles and glasses. The core competencies of the firm takes into account the process, product and administrative competencies. The company is able to manufacture products that taste better and is being liked by people. The company boasts of a well organized configuration that gives it administrative proficiency, ensuring the company performs well. It also takes in franchise system, controls of cost, network of distribution and administrative power. At Coca Cola, the main focus has always been on innovation that creates value in economic sense, building equity in the brands and shaping the repute of the business (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The marketing investments are being planned to improve the awareness of consumers and increasing their preference for the brands, producing long-term growth. Sustainability and corporate responsibility is essential for Coca colas culture. It helps in guiding their decisions and investments of long term ensuring they transport lasting value. The sustainability approach of the company is promotion of wellness and health, minimizing the environmental impact and giving something back to community. Coca Cola is a huge brand existing all across the globe with their refreshing strategies and innovative thinking. Business Model Innovation: Business model innovation can be defined as the improvement of fresh, unique thought that supports the financial feasibility of the company taking its mission and the procedure for bringing in the concepts to completion. The fundamental goal of the model of business innovation is realizing sources of new revenue through development the value of products and the ways products are being delivered to customers. The 4Is of the business model innovation are initiation, ideation, integration and implementation. Initiation takes in the present business model getting answers for targeting customers, value-propositions and contributions along with revenue (Casadesus?Masanell and Zhu 2013). Ideation is more about confrontation of what is and the improvement of fresh models. Integration is involving the verification of the consistency of the model of business like the targeted customers, its offerings and the revenue factor. Implementation is crucial in designing models, building and testing pi lot, returning to the drawing board and gaining quantitative and qualitative data for verifying the assumptions. The main steps involve implementing one business model at one single time, communicating clearly the new models of business and require to alter, getting the commitment of management. The 55 companies that have been identified has given the world 55 patterns of business models like flat rate, super market, experience selling or the e-commerce among few (Christensen, Bartman and Van Bever 2016). It is about learning from different industries and identifying the right model for a particular business. Companies have been learning from other industries, checking the consistency of the business model before implementing the same. There are certain rules that need to be kept in mind for the companies for reinventing the business model, applying the 55 different models, keeping in mind the benefits and the pitfalls. Finfrock Business Model Innovation: The construction market in all probability would slow down in the coming year, with Finfrock wanting to win it big through manufacturing of engineered precast prestressed solid components. During a meeting it was discussed the ways Finfrock could make millions out of a developers project they were dealing with through shaping in precast instead of the solution of the project as proposed by project architect (Kastalli and Van Looy 2013). The developer was happy with less time required and less cost meaning higher return on investments. However, things turned a bit ugly two weeks later when the contractors bid documents arrived at the mailbox of Finfrock of the drawing the company shared during the meeting. The CEO was livid as through that drawing the developer would make millions and nothing for Finfrock. The company decided on reinventing its business model. The business model of Finfrock was not like its competitors, selling off its components to the generalized contractors. The se lection of Finfrock was based on the least risk factor at competitive outlay. The main profit of Finfrock was from the stronger markets demanding outstripped supply. The CEO decided that keeping a broken business model is more risky. The company improved its vertical selling process to the owners and developers with initiation of faster completions, less plan risk and leftover of more money for features related to designs (Schneider and Spieth 2013). They changed their ways of dealing with subcontractors whose work has been mainly interdependent on structure. This new model implementation made competitors hard to copy the model with this have closer alignments of the sales executives, engineers, precast generating leaders and project managers pulling time and risk of schedules. Reference: Casadesus?Masanell, R. and Zhu, F., 2013. Business model innovation and competitive imitation: The case of sponsor?based business models.Strategic management journal,34(4), pp.464-482. Christensen, C.M., Bartman, T. and Van Bever, D., 2016. The hard truth about business model innovation.MIT Sloan Management Review,58(1), p.31. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014.Organization development and change. Cengage learning. De Medeiros, J.F., Ribeiro, J.L.D. and Cortimiglia, M.N., 2014. Success factors for environmentally sustainable product innovation: a systematic literature review.Journal of Cleaner Production,65, pp.76-86. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Kastalli, I.V. and Van Looy, B., 2013. Servitization: Disentangling the impact of service business model innovation on manufacturing firm performance.Journal of Operations Management,31(4), pp.169-180. Schneider, S. and Spieth, P., 2013. Business model innovation: Towards an integrated future research agenda.International Journal of Innovation Management,17(01), p.1340001.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Management And Leadership In General Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Management And Leadership In General. Answer: Introduction Management and leadership are considered to be as overlapping concepts. They are practically related to each other. Peter Drucker stated that a leader is someone who has followers(Hao Yazdanifard, 2015). Gaining followers requires a lot of influence and it should not include lack of integrity in achieving the followers. Some people also say that leadership is what social influence is. While leadership is defined as having followers,management is defined about managing people in an organization. It is a process which is used to achieve goals in any organization. A key factor through which an organization can grow is to have great leaders and world class managers(Algahtani, 2014). Management is the process of coping up with the complexities and establishing the predictability while the leadership is the process of coping up with adaptability. Managers will always plan and develop procedures but the leaders will always provide the feedback. The democratic leader entertains the responsi bility(Cox, 2016).Management is good if it always provides services to community in an efficient and sustainable manner. All this can be achieved only if the resources are brought together for service provision including the human resources and finances. This report focuses on themanagement and leadership in general, their differences, commonalities, concepts and evaluation. Key differences between Leadership and Management There are some similarities in leaders and managers but there are some key differences too. The differences are written below. Vision: Both the leaders and the managers should have vision to achieve the goals and what they want to become. Leaders will always help their followers to shape up a vision which they have in mind. Managers will take it further from where leaders left. They will always follow that vision. They will divide that vision into simple small goals and aims to achieve with the given recourses in the given time. Path: People need to carve a way on which they can move ahead in life. Similarly, organization is a place where people make visions and follow them to move ahead in life. The managers and leaders both know that employees should have and follow a single path. When the path is already chosen by the followers, leaders makes it a responsibility for making people remain in the right direction and follow the right path. Managers on the other hand, make use of that progress and make sure that the path is being achieved in the efficient manner or not(Popovici, 2012). People: Both the domains leadership and management complies in an organization. People who work in the organization will always be different. Leaders see the people as the reason for which the vision is being aimed while for a manager, people make the way to achieve the certain goal. Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance is the gap which exists between the reality and vision. Leaders will always use this gap to help an individual to make the path from reality to the vision and the managers will use cognitive dissonance for guiding people to take particular actions or path(Lunenburg, 2011). Higher purpose: When the mission is similar for people, the avoidance of reality is transcended, this helps in achieving the vision. Both leaders and managers make use of higher purpose as for both the purpose is to finally aim at the vision and achieve it. Leaders will always bring out the best in their subordinates and motivate them always but managers will touch into the higher purpose of the people and transform them into selfless sense of perseverance and endurance(Lopez, 2014). However, a leader can be a person who is always motivating other people and his title might not be attached with anything specific or a particular position. At the other hand, manager can only be a person who is responsible for handling a position in management. Practical Examples: In every organization, a manager is always responsible for performing these functions: organizing, planning, leading, coordinating and controlling. In case if a manager also works as a leader, the statement that he gives will always be accurate but all managers are not leaders until they perform similar functions which are being performed by the leader such as motivating, influencing and inspiring people(Finance, 2017). Lets take an example of an organization where there are managers who work as a leader as well. Organization is responsible for completing the task in a given time. This will require many people to work in team and complete the task. Now, the duty of managers would be to assign tasks within the subordinates and get the work done. Leaders are responsible for motivating and influencing every subordinate for working hard and to complete the task within time. Leaders will also make sure that the subordinates give their best in whatever they do and if they are unable to do so, leaders will influence them to take out the desired results from them. They will not be bothered about the process for completing the task but they will just expect the results to be the best(S., 2014). Concept of Leaders as Effective Managers An organization works for giving out results by keeping the stakeholders happy, satisfied and by having good leaders and managers in the company. Both leaders and managers are important for the organizations to achieve its goal and vision. While leaders and managers have many differences, they have some similarities too. The quality of a manager and leader can work together in one person. The major role of a leader is to develop goals and vision and also the direction on which everyone should push them to reach the end goal. Role of the manager is finalizing the way for the resources where they want to reach(Chuang, 2013). Einstein stated that everything should be made simple as possible but no simpler. All this depends on the capacity of thinking of an individual who thinks that leaders are made to be leading people and followers are made for following them(Sharma Jain, 2013). Leadership and management are a part of the same role because of the continual adjustment of the direction which is controlling resources and leadership to achieve the particular direction i.e. management. Challenges for a leader to become effective manager Both manager and leader do different tasks which take the people to the end result and that result is always the same. Some organizations want to have leaders who can become effective managers too. In becoming an efficient manager, a leader can face few challenges. Creativity: Separations of competence from excellence is what creativity does. This quality is very much necessary in a manager as it captures peoples attention. A leader if wants to be a manager, he should be able to be creative which is very different from the part he plays in the organization. Structure: The structure on which the organization works is very different and it has some guidelines and limitations to work upon. A manager is always skilled as to how he will work according to the structure(Zakaria et al., 2015). Leader, in order to become an efficient manager, should be as skilled as the manager would be. Knowledge: Knowledge is linked with the structure only. It is necessary to have proper knowledge to become an efficient manager. A leader would have to take that knowledge before becoming a manager. Human Nature: Employees always value leaders who are human and those who do not hide themselves behind authorities. At the same time, becoming a good manager needs to be more human with the employees(Gentry et al., 2016). A leader in order to become an efficient manager needs to be stricter which would be a challenge for a leader. Versatile: Flexibility is the quality that every manager possesses. Leaders are more prone to working in a non-flexible atmosphere in order to influence people for the desired outcome. Becoming flexible would be a challenge for them(Projectsmart, 2018). All the above qualities mentioned, if possessed by all the leaders, will make the organization more efficient and cost efficient as both the tasks of being a leader and a manager would then be done by single person in the organization. Balancing between the demands of Leadership and Management Leadership is the quality which is helpful in influencing minds of people. Because of that influence, people follow that leader. Management on the other hand is related to making people work in a better way for producing high output. Both these terms work hand in hand and sometimes it becomes difficult to find out the difference between them. Yet, both the responsibilities are different and play different roles. For understanding more, both these terms should have a proper balance in between them. The demands of leadership are as follows: Visioning: Visioning is one of the demands. The leaders who are successful are able to look beyond the organization. They work as being the visual language in which they paint the picture of the future. The result of that would be that they will attain bigger aims as they will create the mindset that gives a push to people to make their vision as reality. Values: With the help of visioning the leaders also recognize that they will be able to showcase their core values and beliefs(Henry, 2017). Leader can easily showcase what is important in their life by working with the core values they believe in. Hence, this is an important demand. Challenging Experiences: With clear vision and values, the leaders will easily be able to challenge the team in order to achieve their work goals. Mentor: Great leaders are not always highly driven. They understand the significance of personal relationships. There is always someone from the outside of the organization who acts as a mentor. These relationships are not always from the mentoring and training programs of the organizations as they are not always helpful for the employees. Yet successful mentoring relations take in account every need of leaders. Building a constituency: By going above the relationships, leaders also make a rapport at much higher levels of their organization and even beyond that. They just know the benefits of building a constituency(Summers, 2015). Use of experience: Leaders always enlighten others as they have the sense of experience with them. They have learnt from their mistakes. Know oneself: The leaders have quite a sense of who they actually are. They never try to be all things with people. Personalities of the leaders vary when they are at home and at work. They act differently. They act genuinely. Leadership demands are discussed and let us now discuss the demands of the management. Work of the manager should be detailed oriented Managers should always do tactical planning of the activities. Managers always focus on the work that its done efficiently. Managers do work on the goals, projects and tasks that are to be accomplished. Responsible are those managers who follow the vision and work to attain them on the right time(Botha, 2004). They involve themselves in linear thinking always. They work with the tunnel vision. Now all these traits of the managers and the demand in leadership are to have a strike between themselves so that an organization is always trouble free from the situations which cant be managed if they come suddenly. To strike a better balance between leadership and management, here are some tactics which can be used. A manager should develop his own people so that they are able to take more responsibility. The delegations skills should be improved for taking some work off their back. The decision-making skills should be developed for focusing on the bigger issues. By going against leadership needs, manager should prioritize positively. For removing daily issues, manager should instigate problem solving methods. For problems to stop occurring frequently, preventive measures should be taken. Improvement activities should be driven across organization(Croxton et al., 2002). The problem occurs in balancing because people are usually reluctant for stepping into the change and the discomfort that one experiences in the middle of ambiguity. Organization is actually the struggle which prevails in that ambiguity and brings issues back to the state of equilibrium. Management is an attempt for creating the balance between order and constancy in complex situation. Hence, the balancing will involve giving reports, developing policies, problems solving, having meetings and bringing things where efficiency prevails and the ambiguity is dispelled and employees are back to being comfortable again(McNamara, 2010). Rather than cursing leadership and management balancing, organizations should start taking it as a positive thing. It should not be leadership vs. management but leadership and management as both are important for the organizations success. For rebalancing an organization again, managers must start practicing leadership and start changing themselves. If managers change themselves, they would also be able to change others or influence others to change(Valenzuela, 2010). A very good example of good leadership and management is of the company Apple Inc. When Steve Jobs was working initially to make better computers, he wanted to do something different from the unusual. He wanted to keep innovating. Many people did not agree with that. There was a situation where he needed a good profit for his company as well as give his customers something they would love(Toma Marinescu, 2013). Yet, there was seen no passion to go out of the comfort zone from anyone and do something nice and out of the blue. He had a vision in mind but no one understood it. His values were of no use until he could have built something that he had in his vision. He had to take a decision to recruit new people for the company who are passionate enough to work with him and to build something which has never been made before. From a manager, he became a leader and gave leadership lessons to new recruited people about perseverance and innovation etc. He also made them learn that an innov ator will not see the competition around but will just see as to how they are going to do things differently. Its not always to create something you need to but its always about creating something that you care about(Kutsar et al., 2014). Ultimately, he shared his vision with the people and made them understand the core values of becoming a leader and a manager at the same time. This is one of the best examples to be shared. Second best example of leadership and management balancing is of Napoleon. He knew the project management skills very finely. Also, he effectively led the big projects as a manager. There are lessons on how Napoleon became a great manager by leading his team with adequate planning and effective solution but also acted a leader when his army wanted motivation. Just like the organizations need a person who can balance the act between being a manager and a leader, Napoleon lived up to this act of balancing. From being a manager who knew the effective techniques and the solutions to the problems to being a leader by gaining lots of followers for himself and motivating his team whenever needed, Napoleons example is taken and well known everywhere. If a company maintains balance between both of these terms, the employees will stay motivated every time they step into the organization and this will have a huge impact in the working way too. Efficiency will definitely increase and the organization will earn profits as well as a good name in the market. Conclusion Being a change leader, I understood one thing that leadership plays a very important part in influencing people and making people understand the importance of the efficient output that is needed for any organization. Forceful impacts and strictness can help sometimes to some extent but motivation and creating passion in employees or followers goes the long way. For achieving the objectives empowering the employees with the right skill set and knowledge is very necessary. Effective strategies should be innovated so that they can help the leaders to develop core change skills in leadership. For becoming successful with the followers and get the organizations moving in the right direction, leaders and managers do need to learn and tap on their emotional intelligence(Dike et al., 2015). The effective development of core changes that can be done in leadership skills should be: Initiate: The change leaders initiate with the creation of the case in which they seek change in. This includes monitoring of the business context, to develop a clear vision, clarity of the desired output, to understand the purpose of change and to identify the goal that is common. Build Strategy: Leaders who are successful and experienced, always develop the strategy with the clarity of action plan which includes timeline, resources and tasks. Execution: Execution after the translation of the strategy is one of the very important tasks that a leader can do. Experienced leaders break tasks into small parts for getting early victories and to build the momentum too(Ccl, 2018). Building the Trust: If the level of trust is inbuilt very nicely in people, the speed of the change would be very good. If the change is reflected in the managers priorities, the trust of the resources will also have built easily in them. To manager other persons uncertainly: If there is resistance in the change then there will always be resistance to the uncertainty. Moreover, a few are the uncertainties which always prevail in the system. Best are those leaders who explain as to why uncertainties are important and the actions that can be taken to solve them when they occur(Chamberlain, 2010). An organization should give equal importance to leadership and management both for creating an even better version of itself. References Algahtani, A., 2014. Are Leadership and Management Different? A Review. Journal of Management Policies and Practices, 2(3). Botha, R.J., 2004. Excellence in leadership: demands on the professional school principal. South African Journal of Education, 24(3), pp.239-43. Ccl, 2018. ccl.org. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/successful-change-leader/ [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Chamberlain, L., 2010. personneltoday.com. [Online] Available at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/eight-key-skills-for-effective-change-management-for-line-managers/ [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Chuang, S.-F., 2013. ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS IN DIVERSE. Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development, 6(1). Cox, J.A., 2016. Leadership and Management. AORN Journal, 104(2). Croxton, K.L., Lambert, D.M., Garca-Dastugue, S.J. Rogers, D.S., 2002. The Demand Management Process. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 13(2). Dike, V.E., Odiwe, K. Ehujor, D.M., 2015. Leadership and Management in the 21st Century Organizations. World Journal of Social Science Research, 2(2). Finance, E.., 2017. Economy Finance. [Online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/parkeressaysupport/management-and-operations-79411007 [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Gentry, W.A., Eckert, R.H., Stawiski, S.A. Zhao, S., 2016. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ChallengesLeadersFace.pdf [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Hao, M.J. Yazdanifard, R., 2015. How Effective Leadership can Facilitate Change in. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 15(9). Henry, J., 2017. hrexchangenetwork.com. [Online] Available at: https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-management/articles/leadership-and-management-a-balancing-act [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Kutsar, V., Ghose, N. Kutsar, Y., 2014. Leadership Analysis Using Management Tools: Steve Jobs. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(2). Lopez, R., 2014. The Relationship between Leadership and Management: Instructional. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(1). Lunenburg, F.C., 2011. Leadership versus Management. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION, 14(1). McNamara, C., 2010. managementhelp.org. [Online] Available at: https://managementhelp.org/blogs/leadership/2010/10/24/maintaining-the-delicate-balance-between-leadership-and-management/ [Accessed 20 February 2018]. Popovici, V., 2012. [Online] Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f5b7/23431b15cfcc69bef630298775476e360c9a.pdf [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Projectsmart, 2018. projectsmart.co.uk. [Online] Available at: https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-10-qualities-of-an-excellent-manager.php [Accessed 20 February 2018]. S., S., 2014. keydifferences.com. [Online] Available at: https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-leader-and-manager.html [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Sharma, M.K. Jain, S., 2013. Leadership Management: Principles, Models and Theories. Global Journal of Management and Business Studies., 3(3). Summers, B., 2015. taskandpurpose.com. [Online] Available at: https://taskandpurpose.com/mission-command-balancing-act-leadership-management/ [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Toma, S.G. Marinescu, P., 2013. Steve Jobs And Modern leadership. Change and Leadership, 17. Valenzuela, R., 2010. academia.edu. [Online] Available at: https://www.academia.edu/456903/The_Balancing_Act_Management_and_Leadership [Accessed 21 February 2018]. Zakaria, I.B.b., Mohamed, M.R.B., Ahzahar, N.b. Hashim, S.Z.b., 2015. A Study on Leadership Skills of Project Manager. International Academic ResearchJournal of Social Science 1, 1(2).

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Perception of Time Essay Example

Perception of Time Essay We often brag about the technological and scientific developments of todays modern society and how we benefit from these advancements. The barriers that were once created because of the diversity in culture were brought down by the modern trend of globalization. Culture is societys main foundation that is deeply rooted in our native land. Culture is a broad term encompassing tradition, ways, and means of leaving, traits and values. Every individual belongs to a certain culture to which he has to fit his activity, values, and attributes. Everyone is raised within the confinements of his or her own culture and brought up by beliefs, traditions, values, and traits which conform to the standards set by the culture that has long been intact in our society. The line of conflict between humans with regards to their culture starts when what is culturally acceptable to us may not be acceptable to others. Even science that we used to think is universal and adheres to generally accepted human principles is predominated with the culture of the people from the western hemisphere (Bartholomew 36). Some behaviors that do not comply with the standards of a certain culture are often remarked as an abnormality or deviance. Thus, even though science applies universal scientific principles, it is never neutral in determining what is deviant or abnormal and what is not (Bartholomew 36). It can never really explain why some cultures do certain practices that are not culturally accepted in other countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Perception of Time specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Perception of Time specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Perception of Time specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We used to separate behaviors and label them as normal, moral and legal. Other traits, practices and rituals that do not fit in what is accepted in our culture are recognized as otherwise. These activities reflect a persons prevailing norms, values, and beliefs that he adheres to at a particular time and place (Bartholomew 36). The psychological aspect that is responsible for the discrepancies in peoples culture and how it affects our perception is cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is a theory of knowledge that is responsible for the persons judgment on what is deemed as acceptable. This judgment is anchored to his or her beliefs, values, and attitudes that are shaped by the culture he or she was accustomed to (Bartholomew 37). Hence, the culture of individuals influences their perception on things around them. They view things according to their existing beliefs and values. Time is also perceived differently in many cultures. Individuals see time differently today than the people in the past used to ages ago. Through the invention of time devices, the people of modern times are able to track time by the hour, by the minute, by the second, and even by the millisecond. Thus, the people’s perception of time molds them and their minds. The ancient people were only aware of the fundamental time—the night and day. They used to determine time by making interpretation of the celestial and heavenly bodies. Through the use of these methods, humans also acquired an understanding of the future. They perceived the future in terms of contingencies of cause and effect relationship. People were able to utilize their environment to develop a perception of time. Their ancient clocks and calendars were the daily motion of the sun and moon, as well as the season changes (Falk n.p). In 1895, H.G. Wells book, The Time Machine, was made available for the public. Wells fiction novel opens to people the possibility of traveling through time. The idea seemed impossible, but well-known Albert Einstein explained that attaining the ability or means to travel to the future or to the past is not improbable (Gott 8). Einstein proposed his theory special relativity in 1905, describing the possibility of time travel based on the description of how time is measured differently by moving and still observers. It is further strengthened by his mathematics professor Hermann Minowski, looking at time mathematically as the fourth dimension (Gott 8). With all the psychological differences explained by cultural relativism, the different perception of time in each culture and society, and the possibility to travel through time, a clear, if not precise, definition of perception of time can be attained. 2.0 Sources Edwin A. Abbot in Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions provides an overview of a two-dimensional world and guides his readers through some of the implications of life in two dimensions. Meanwhile, Robert Bartholomew, in his article â€Å"Borderlands: Deviance, Psychiatry and Cultural Relativism,† explores the problem with cultural relativism, basically defined as the principle in which the belief of an individual is analyzed and interpreted in relation to the individuals own culture. Ray Bradbury in â€Å"A Sound of Thunder† warns us that traveling to the past can be dangerous. Antonio Damasio, in his article â€Å"Remembering When† explains the concept of mind time. Dan Falks â€Å"Past, Present, Future PERCEPTIONS OF TIME THROUGH THE AGES† presents differences in perceiving time through different ages. Richard J. Gott, in his book Time Travel in Einsteins Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time, discusses applications of time machine, wherein time travel is possible and how time travel can be explained in terms of physics and quantum mechanics. Dorinne K. Kondo in her article â€Å"On Being a Conceptual Anomaly† presents her experiences as a Japanese American woman. Robert Levine in A Geography of Time: The Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist analyzes what it means to live beyond time or by time event. Richard E. Nisbett in his book The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differentlyand Why confronts conjectures of well-known philosophers with a different take on human thought influenced by cultural ideologies and principles. The videotaped program Only Human presents few experiments which were created to learn various aspects of human behavior. The book How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore Schick, Jr. and Lewis Vaughn provides strange assertions and ideas abound in culture to illustrate the rational assessment of any claim. Finally, the videotaped program Time Travel shows that space is curved, time is relative, and time travel is theoretically possible. 3.0 Results People live by the underlying rules and principles in the society where they belong. They adhere to the maxims and dogmas that have long been in existence. They pattern their everyday life according to these unwritten rules that governing the society. To conform to the traditional beliefs and values is to live harmoniously with the other people. People coexist in a society that must adapt and do what is culturally accepted to avoid being ostracized by the general public. 3.1 Perception As mentioned earlier, cultural relativism explains the peoples differences in perception. People’s judgment differs from one another because they pattern things according to their cultural preferences. If something fits their criteria as prescribed by their culture, then it is acceptable for them. Standards set by culture create cultural diversity in the world. According to Richard Nisbett, Westerners and East Asians looked at things differently resulting in dissimilarities in understanding. This is due to the difference in environment, social structures, philosophies, and educational background. In addition, it was discovered that Asian thought is holistic or a functional relationship of parts and the whole. They do not much rely on formal logic or categories. In comparison to the Westerners, people from the west mostly rely on formal logic to understand their behavior. In Dorinne Kondo’s article, â€Å"On Being a Conceptual Anomaly†, she relays her experiences upon conducting a research in Japan. She was raised as an American so she had a difficult time adjusting herself on the ways of living in Japan. This is because the Japanese perceive White people as different and offensive (Kondo 524). During the course of her stay in Japan, she had to learn their traditions, values, and most of all, their practices to be able to cope up with the new environment she was in. There came a point when she saw herself differently, not as the observer on the immersion she was doing but as part of the participants in her research. There is an existing dilemma brought by cultural relativism especially in the field of mental health. Psychiatry is a branch of psychological science that deals with human behavior. Through psychiatry, we are able to find out if we have acquired any psychological disorders. Basis on the diagnoses on such behavioral disorders is human behavior only without in-depth consideration of the underlying social, cultural, and political circumstances that brought up such behavior (Bartholomew 38). Examining closely the behavior of peoples conformity to a group is discovering the power and influence of the majority in a certain society (Only Human n.p) Psychiatry can be considered as the most debatable branch of medicine. There is a necessary clarification on the term mental illness. â€Å"Illness† denotes an impairment or injury on any bodys part. People who were diagnosed with mental illness do not have any injury, but only suffering living difficulties (Bartholomew 38). Based from the ideas discussed by Nisbett and Kondo, an American may experience difficulty adapting to an environment different from his usual environment and therefore may be tagged as mentally ill by the Japanese, or it could be the other way around. This just shows that there is an existing conflict brought about by cultural relativism. Due to the diversity of culture, there is no strong fundamental basis on what is a behavioral disorder. 3.2 Time In a world where time is considered as a necessity while many of us try to squeeze in the tasks that we have to accomplish with the little time that we have, it is fascinating, and at the same time important, to learn how time was viewed and used through the course of human civilization. Across the centuries, humans have looked and treated time differently the way their ancestors used to perceive time. At present, there is an international standard of telling time and it is universal, for every nation adheres to that standard. Due to the rotation of the earth, people experience differences in time—when it is day in the east, it is nighttime in the west. Humans have developed a biological clock or circadian rhythm based on the daily activities and lifestyle of a person. This clock is located in the hypothalamus of ones brain. This is responsible for how a person’s body perceives time. For instance, it is nighttime in his or her biological clock if he or she feels tired and sleepy (Damasio 36). When the region of the brain that is highly important for learning and recalling new information is damaged, a major disturbance occurs in a person’s innate ability to place events in a chronological sequence. This is what happens to amnesiacs or people suffering from amnesia. They lose the ability to estimate the passage of time in different scales (Damasio 36). Amnesia is a permanent damage on the brains hippocampus, a part of the brain essential to memory, and the temporal lobe, a region of the brain that serves as a two-way communication with the rest of the cerebral cortex. Damage in the hippocampus hinders the creation of new memories. Patients with an impaired hippocampus are known to have anterograde amnesia. They are unable to hold factual memories for longer than one minute. On the other hand, the amnesiacs that are unable to retrieve long-term memories are diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, which is characterized by an impaired in temporal lobe (Damasio 36). Amnesiacs do not have awareness of the correct time, which makes it difficult for them to place events in the right chronological order and store new factual memories. This deficiency greatly affects their way of living and their social interaction. The idea of time travel has not escape the imaginative minds of people. In 1895, H.G. Wells published the book The Time Machine, which opened the idea of time travel to the public. The proposition seemed so impossible but the physicist Einstein attempted to explain the possibility of such phenomenon through physics (Gott 8). In 1905, Einstein developed his theory of special relativity and explained how time is measured differently by still and moving objects. Einsteins mathematics professor Hermann Minowski expanded his theory and told that time could be treated mathematically as the universes fourth dimension (Gott 8). If their proposition is correct, their theory would allow humans to travel back in time or go forth to the future. However, Ray Bradbury stated the dangers of time travel to the past and the possible effects to the present once the course of history is altered. Hence, the events that happened in the past cannot be touched for it will greatly affect the current circumstances. 3.3 Perception of Time Time is treated also differently in every culture. The differences in perception of things could be attributed to the cultural relativism aforementioned. Awareness of time is very important to humans. Today, we are paid by the hour and our daily routines are based on time. Our early ancestors utilized everything that can be found in their environment to be able to tell time. They used the daily motions of the moon and sun. Assuming an unconventional movement of the celestial bodies resulted in certain phenomena, they were able to perceive the future through a cause-and-effect relationship (Falk n.p). For example, the Babylonians had their way of foretelling events by means of hepatoscopy, which involves sacrificing a liver. They believed that through this ritual, the gods allow them to foresee the future (Schick and Vaughn 97). Different cultures developed various methods and devices to determine time. For instance, the Romans developed the calendar, which was by Pope Gregory XIII. The perception of time could also be considered necessary in ones cultural requirements. This is evident in the empires established in Latin America. These empires dictated how to regulate time in order to fix civil, agricultural, and religious dates. On the other hand, Muslims, maintain strict daily routine of timely prayers to keep track of time (Falk n.p). Today, we treat time as inanimate, passing in a constant rate. We are all considered as slaves of time. We can never hasten up or slow down the passage of time. However, this was not the case for the Maya, as time is organic for them. According to the Mayas, time can be stretched, shrunk, or even overpowered by human activity. In fact, many cultures perceived time as organic in nature. In these cultures, time was told through human activities and not through the constraints of a clock or a calendar (Falk n.p). 4.0 Discussion In light of the findings provided by the sources, the existence of various traditions, beliefs, and values anchored to their culture has created a disparity in people’s perception. People act in accordance to their culture and society where they live. Behavior and action against the prevailing norms will be perceived by other people as a deviation or as a mental illness. This disparity in perception of right and wrong could be attributed to cultural relativism, or the difference in cultural beliefs and values. Throughout history, people have developed their perception of time. Our ancestors used conventional tools and devices to be able to tell time. Through the use of astrological components, they were able to acquire an understanding of the future events through cause-and-effect relationship by connecting a certain lunar or solar manifestation that resulted in certain events. Perception of time greatly depends on the brain’s functioning. An impairment of certain regions of the brain responsible for holding and storing memories and sequencing events in a chronological order deeply affects an individual’s perception of time. An example of this brain disorder is amnesia. Amnesiacs have an incorrect perception of time due to their ailment. The idea of time travel that seems unworkable was made theoretically possible by Einstein. In his theory of special relativity, he explained that the treating time as the universes fourth dimension can make time travel possible. Still, there are dangers in traveling back to the past because it may alter the course of events and the present situations. There is no universal perception of time. Time is perceived differently in various cultures. Some culture perceive it as inanimate, others treat it as organic that can be controlled by human activity.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Requirements to Become a Supreme Court Justice

Requirements to Become a Supreme Court Justice There are no explicit requirements in the U.S. Constitution for a person to be nominated to become a Supreme Court justice. No age, education, job experience, or citizenship rules exist. In fact, according to the Constitution, a Supreme Court justice does not need to even have a law degree. What Does the Constitution Say? The Supreme Court was established as a body in Article Three of the Constitution, signed in convention in 1787. Section I describes the roles of the Supreme and Lower Courts; the other two sections are for the kind of cases that should be examined by the Supreme Court (Section 2, since amended by the 11th Amendment); and a definition of treason.   The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Article 3, U.S. Constitution However, since the Senate confirms justices, experience and background have become important factors in the confirmations, and conventions have been developed and largely followed since the first selection of the court during the first presidents term of office. George Washingtons Requirements The first U.S. President George Washington (1789–1797) had, of course, the most number of nominees to the Supreme Court- 14, although only 11 made it to the court. Washington also named 28 lower court positions, and had several personal criteria that he used to pick a justice: Support and advocacy of the U.S. ConstitutionDistinguished service in the American RevolutionActive participation in the political life of a particular state or the nation as a wholePrior judicial experience on lower tribunalsEither a favorable reputation with his fellows or personally known to Washington himselfGeographic suitability- the original Supreme Court were circuit ridersLove of the country Scholars say his first criterion was the most important to Washington, that the individual had to have a strong voice in protecting the Constitution. The most any other president has been able to nominate is nine, during the four terms of office of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1932–1945), followed by six nominated by William Howard Taft in his single term from 1909 to 1913. Qualities That Make a Good Judge Several political scientists and others have attempted to assemble a list of criteria that make a good federal judge, more as an exercise of looking at the past history of the court. American scholar Sheldon Goldmans list of eight criteria includes: Neutrality as to parties in litigation  Fair-mindedness  Being well-versed in the lawThe ability to think and write logically and lucidly  Personal integrityGood physical and mental health  Judicial temperament  Able to handle judicial power sensibly Selection Criteria Based on the 200 year history of selection criteria actually used by United States presidents, there are four which most presidents use in varying combinations: Objective meritPersonal friendshipBalancing representation or representativeness on the court (by region, race, gender, religion)Political and ideological compatibility   Sources Abraham, Henry Julian. Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Clinton. Lanham, Maryland: Roman Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999. Print.Goldman, Sheldon. Judicial Selection and the Qualities That Make a Good Judge. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 462.1 (1982): 112-24. Print.Hulbary, William E., and Thomas G. Walker. The Supreme Court Selection Process: Presidential Motivations and Judicial Performance. The Western Political Quarterly 33.2 (1980): 185-96. Print.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Film School Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Film School - Personal Statement Example Therefore, I believe people can examine their own society through the movies and as an aspiring film-maker, I hope to someday touch lives by creating films that examine this society Movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "The Departed," gave me inspiration. After I graduated from high school my parents suggested that I take time off to find myself, it was difficult not being a student nor working and giving to the community. However, through watching films, I realized that no matter what kind of movie it was, every movie provided great insight and a message about life. I found myself researching why certain filmmakers decided to tackle a theme or what the inspiration was that launched their idea. For example, Martin Scorsese, the Producer and Director of, "Gangs of New York" had a personal interest in portraying the historical makings of Gotham City. His curiosity about his own city provoked him to create a piece of work that could be shared with a large audience. The Director, Ang Lee became another inspiration. His ability to cross the cultural, societal and linguistic barriers amazed me. Lee's leap from strictly small Chinese films to worldwide aw ard winners gave me hope that I too could stir the hearts and minds of society. These two directors, and many others compelled me to be a part of the industry that had such an effect on me. My interest in film grew when my friend who was a film maj

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The films Juno and American Beauty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The films Juno and American Beauty - Essay Example The girl Juno here is a 16 year old female, who gets pregnant by her classmate Paulie and both plans to abort the baby. Juno is a girl with carefree attitude and does not care about what other people think about her. Juno in her tender age is ignorant about pregnancy and issue related to it and this quote confirms it. Juno MacGuff: I don't know, I drank like, ten gallons of Sunny D... I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly caviler. Leah: Is this for real? Later by the influence of her friend she changes her mind and plans with Paulie to give the baby for adoption for this she gets the support from her parents. Juno with her friend Leah finds a couple to adopt the baby and the film later shows the Juno’s experience with the pregnancy and the emotional struggle associated with it. Long before the birth of the baby, Juno also confesses her love for Paulie. Also Paulie accepts the love for Juno and soon after she delivers a baby boy. In the meanwhile, the couple who about to adopt the baby faces a marriage breakdown. In the end of the movie, Vanessa (Single mother) who is supposed to adopt the baby accepts the baby and Juno and Paulie are shown to be passionately in love. The Movie American Beauty This movie American beauty explains the life of Lester who is writer in a magazine who dislikes his job. His wife Carolyn is a rude character, and their daughter Jane despises her parents. â€Å"Carolyn Burnham: Are you trying to look unattractive? Jane Burnham: Yes. Carolyn Burnham: Well, congratulations. You've succeeded admirably†. These dialoged shows the hostile relationship held by the mother and the daughter. Lester has a neighbor who is a colonel accompanied by his less social wife and a drug addicted son Ricky. The Lester’s daughter Jane is in love with Ricky and wants to extend her relation with him. Lester on the other hand is deep down inside depressed and wants a person to share his feelings. Meanwhile he gets in touch with Jane’s friend Angela and gets infatuated with her. Lester begins to experience sexual fantasies about Angela wherein red roses are surrounded by Him. On the other side, Carolyn his having an affair with her business counterpart Buddy. Later Lester finds out about his wife’s extra -marital affair but reacts indifferently. Jane in the later part of the movie gets involved with Ricky and Lester too gets friendly with Angela. In between all this Lester gets marijuana from Ricky and uses it and tries to sexually encounter Angela and finds that she is virgin and backs out. The father of Ricky accidently sees Lester nudely exercising and his son watching it, and concludes they r gay mates. Colonel rushes to Lester home and shoot him to death. Comparison between Juno and American Beauty The movie Juno and American beauty is both centered on teenagers and their romantic life and sexual activities. The movie is basically about the culture of teenagers in American and how th ey lead an unorganized and indisciplined life as this quoted depicts it. â€Å"Angela Hayes: Jane, he's a freak! Jane Burnham: Then so am I! And we'll always be freaks and we'll never be like other people and you'll never be a freak because you're just too... perfect! â€Å"Both these movies show to the viewers that the sexual life of American teenagers is active at an early stage. The movies also display the marriage failure happening in American society and how fragile relationship is. According to (Sarris) â€Å"In American Beauty ,Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on†Both the movies also show the emotional struggle undergone by teenage and adults of America. The movie Juno has an anti –

Monday, November 18, 2019

Arabic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Arabic - Essay Example Further, the contents of the media are substantially determined, by the culture; culture informs the beliefs and knowledge stock of people. Therefore, the media should consider issues that are relevant to the culture that the media represent. Cultural beliefs and cultural norms influence the structure and operations,  and the composition of the media. The social, religious and political issues inherent in the Arabic nations and the Arabic culture take precedence in the media while the rest of the issues from other cultures are squeezed in the rest of the space and time. In the 1990s, the governments in the Arab World owned most televisions channels. Satellite televisions are sprouting rapidly. This is not due to freedom of speech and money but due to political influence on their growth. The West has also influenced the growth of Arabian media through the Arab soap operas (Hammond 26). In 2003, Star Academy began when Reality television had entered the Arabic public discourse. That was when women fought for their political rights in Kuwait; election results were contested in Egypt and there erupted escalating violence in Iraq. The political crisis environment framed the current Arab- Western relations. It formed the backdrop that causes controversies surrounding the social and political impact of Reality television that assumes religious, cultural and moral manifestations (Hammond 28). Research in Media has stressed that the moral and social responsibility of news people should not agitate public opinion, but should keep the status quo. It is paramount to preserve national unity by not causing ethnic or religious conflict. Investigative journalism was not allowed in the Arab World due to limited freedom of speech. Personal reputation is a fundamental principle in Arab media; exposure of corruption and weaknesses in policy makers hold the news person in

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Senegalese Peoples Clothes Cultural Studies Essay

The Senegalese Peoples Clothes Cultural Studies Essay Senegal is a unique country with many languages, 36 to be exact. Linguists divide the languages into two different families. These families are Atlantic and Mande. The Atlantic family is generally found in the western part of the country. It includes Wolof, Serer, Fula, and Diola. The Mande languages are found in the eastern part and include Bambara, Malinke, and Soninke. French is the official language, because it was inherited from the colonial era when Senegal was under French rule. The most dominant language is Wolof. Wolof is related to Fula, which is also spoken by a large part of the population. The other languages are Bainouk-Gunyaamolo, Balanta-Ganja, Bayot, Crioulo, Upper Guinea, Badyara, Ejamat, French, Fulah, Gusilay, Jalunga, Jola-Fonyi, Bandial, Jola-Kasa, Karon, Hassaniyya, Kerak, Kuwaataay, Laalaa, Mandinka, Kobiana, Maninkakan, Western, Mankanya, Mlomp, Ndut, Nko, Noon, Oniyan, Palor, Pulaar, Bedik, Saafi, Serer-Sine, Soninke, Wamey, Wolof, Mandjak, Bainouk-Samik, an d Xasonga. There are probably many different languages in Senegal because many other part s of Africa have different languages because they were colonized by different groups and when people come into Senegal, they bring their language with them. Education for the deaf uses American Sign Language. They also have twenty ethnic groups of varying size, a very high amount for such a small country. One ethnic group is called the Mandà © people. These people have been primarily Muslim since the 13th century. Many of the Mandà © people believe in initiation groups such as Chiwara and Dwo and they believe in the power of Juju. The Mandà © peoples arts are primarily carvings and jewelry. The Mandà © produce beautifully woven fabrics, which are very popular in Western Africa. They also make necklaces out of silver and gold, bracelets, armlets, and earrings. The bells that are seen on the necklaces are meant, spiritually, to be a way of contacting spirits, ringing in both worlds so their nonliving ancestors could hear them. Mandà © hunters wear a single bell, so that it can be silenced when stealth is vital. Women wear multiple bells, giving a sense of community, because of their harmonious ring. Much of the music of the Mandà © people is played on a kora, a stringed instrument wit h at least 21 strings. It is performed by families of musicians. The Mandà © languages are Mandika, Soninke,  Bambara,  Dioula, Bozo,  Mende,  Susu, and  Vai.   Another Senegalese ethnic group is the Wolof. Wolof is the most dominant group, with 43.3% of the population. They are also mostly Muslim. Next is the Fula, the second most populous ethnic group with 23.8% of the population. They speak the Fula language and were Islamized long ago. A slightly smaller group, the Serer, encompass 14.7% of the Senegalese population. They speak the Cangin languages. The other ethnic groups are minor, representing less than 5% of the population. Europeans  and  descendants of Lebanese migrants are also present in Senegal. They are around 50,000 in number. The ethnic groups share many commonalities, including, while not the exact same languages, some language similarities. A lot of the words in each language are cognates from a different language. Also, they have no cultural boundaries. For example, it is common for a member of one ethnic group to marry someone from a different ethnic group. As mentioned earlier, Muslim is one religion found in Senegal. Muslims make up 92% of the population. 2% of the population is Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) and the other 6% are indigenous beliefs. The Islamization of Senegal dates back all the way to the eleventh century. The Christian part of Senegal is fairly recent. Women have high rates of illiteracy. They are responsible for cooking, cleaning, and watching the children. They are also in charge of agricultural work, like weeding and harvesting crops like rice, most commonly. In recent times, cultural change has led women to become office clerks, retail clerks, and unskilled workers in tuna canning factories and textile mills. There is a large range of housing types in Senegal. Most of the houses in Dakar, the capital city, are European-style. Outside of Dakar, circular mud huts are common in the villages. Professional builders build the houses out of brick and industrial cement. Along the coast of Senegal, there is an interesting mix of European and African architectures, such as in the island of Goree, which is famous for it. Normally, the men build the houses and the women decorate and maintain them. The Office of Moderate-Rent Housing is trying to implement low cost housing in Dakar. There is an average of 4.9 people in each household. Most Senegalese families have about ten people. Polygamy is common in Senegal. It has caused an extra woman living in a household and more children. Technology in Senegal has come a long way. Now, the African Regional Center for Technology, which has over 30 member states, is located in Dakar. Most research centers in Senegal are focused on agricultural issues. Dakar also has a center for mining and medical research and an institution directed toward African food and nutrition problems. Most of the Senegalese peoples clothes are made of local cotton. Clothes that are dyed or hand woven are reserved for special occasions. Dying is a special skill that is traditionally passed down from mother to daughter. They use vegetal chemicals, particularly indigo. While dying is passed down through the female side of the family, weaving is transmitted between the males of the family. Just like in the U.S., the fashion varies depending on the occasion. For women, they wear a Muslim gown called a bubu after work. They also have a head tie selected to match the color and design of the bubu. They like radiant colors. After work, men wear a shirt over short trousers. Hair dressing is another thing that is important to them. Girls often have their hair braided with beads and boys have their head shaved according to their familys style. For special occasions, they wear gold, silver, iron, and copper jewelry. For the Senegalese, breakfast normally consists of porridge or grits with milk. A traditional lunch is cooked rice with fish and vegetables served in a tomato sauce. For dinner, they can expect meat or fried fish. After they eat, they drink water to quench their thirst, but if they have visitors, they will offer them mango juice, or industrially made pop drinks. For almost all of Senegal, an important tradition is lively baby naming festivals. When the baby is about one week old, the older members of the village they are in assemble in the morning and name the baby while killing a goat, sheep chicken, or cow, dependent upon the familys wealth. After that part of the ceremony, the rest of the village joins and the party continues until late at night. There is a lot of dancing and singing for the baby. Tabaski is a two day celebration where Muslims slay a ram to honor when, from history, Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God. Celebrated around the world, including Senegal, by Muslims is Ramadan. It is a 30 day festival for spiritual reflection and prayers where all of the Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. They have to abstain from food, drink, gum, and any tobacco. They are not even supposed to swallow their own saliva. This is also for sympathy for the less fortunate. One popular form of Senegalese music is drumming. The tama is a single faced drum that has strips of leather attached to the outside and the base. The drum is held under one arm and beat with the other. The arm holding it is squeezed to adjust the pitch and tone. The other popular form of music is folk music. This music is played with the kora. The final type of music is singing where many voices come together to produce a song. There are also traditional Senegal dances. The most popular of which is the sabar dance. It is performed at weddings, parties, and other celebrations. The dance is unique and also competitive. During the dance, people gather in a large circle, and individuals or pairs go in the center and show off their best moves. The dancers show stomping footwork, outstretched arms, and jumps. Senegal is a unique country with a diverse culture. They have many ethnic groups, many similar languages, dominantly Muslim religion (with some others), long, decorative dresses, delicious food, beautiful art, interesting festivals and Muslim traditions, and energetic music and dances. They have medium sized families with a few people per household and some unique combinations of architecture.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Leper Lepelliers Functions As A Minor Character :: essays research papers

Upon returning to his school fifteen years after graduating, Gene Forrester, recalled his days at the Devon School in a surreal sense. In his own words, â€Å"In the deep, tacit way in which feeling becomes stronger than thought, I had always felt that the Devon School came into existence the day I entered it, was vibrantly real while I was a student there, and then blinked out like a candle the day I left.† Helping embellish this reality were his friends, including Leper Lepellier, who appeared in only five scenes in A Separate Peace. Elwin â€Å"Leper† Lepellier’s role as a minor character was vital to the story, although not nearly as visible as Gene’s or Finny’s. His appearances stole the attention of the reader, altered each character’s own perceptions of the war, and forced the main character to act and think in ways he would not have otherwise. Chapter Ten’s journey to Leper’s Christmas location is a trip away from Devon both physically and emotionally. Leper steals the scene by inviting Gene to his home, proceeding to unsettle the reader to the extent that he cannot concentrate on the other characters. Quiet and subdued, Leper spent much of his time outdoors, sketching snails and trees, photographing beaver dams. He was what Brinker so scornfully called a naturalist. This gentle hobby extracted virtually no interest from the reader, besides a knowledge of Leper’s eccentric and lonely personality. Because he predictably behaved this way, reading the few tortured pages of his hallucinations in the army elicits strong emotion and reader interest; Finny and the Devon group of friends were insignificant compared to the horrific images Leper conjured in the reader’s mind. Gene felt the same emotions as the reader: â€Å"Don’t tell me who’s got me and who hasn’t got me. Who do you think you’re talking to? Stick to your snails, Lepellier.† Shocked at what his friend has become, Gene mentions his naturalistic manner, hoping to straighten him out. At this point, the reader is as helpless as Gene, wondering why Leper has changed, what the hallucinations mean, and most importantly, what will happen to between them in the pages to come. Leper also directs the reader back to Finny’s accident, pointing a guilty finger at Gene when he says he and everyone he knew were all â€Å"savages underneath.† When Gene finally runs out of Vermont and away from Leper’s insanity, the reader now has another view on Finny’s accident.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Zizek on Ideology and the Relationship Between Ideology and “The Real”

Zizek on Ideology and the Relationship Between Ideology and â€Å"The Real† ` CMNS 410 Professor Rick Gruneau December 13, 2011 Zizek on Ideology and the Relationship Between Ideology and â€Å"The Real† Slavoj Zizek is one of the leading theorists on ideology since the 1990’s and his conceptions of the real versus the symbolic versus the imagined are of particular importance when dissecting the question ‘what is ideology? Zizek’s critique of ideology and attempt to unpack it’s inner workings is fascinating, he is a powerful intellectual who aims to expose the †fake† workings of society. In this paper I will outline Zizek’s definition and approach to the study of ideology, paying particular attention to the relationships he draws between ideology and â€Å"the real,† as opposed to â€Å"the imagined† and â€Å"the symbolic†. Zizek opens the book Mapping Ideology (1994) with the introduction â€Å"The Sp ectre of Ideology†, where he defines and openly criticizes the idea of ideology and its illusory personality. First he presents us with the idea that ideology is a sort of matrix, â€Å"a generative matrix that regulates the relationship between visible and non-visible, imaginable and non-imaginable, as well as changes in that relationship† (italics mine, p. 1). He further explains not everything that seems to be ideological, necessarily is, claiming that unless there is a link to power relations in the social realm he does not consider something to be ideological. He points out that sometimes what we consider to be ideological in fact is not; but also how at other times, things which we may not perceive to be ideological, actually maintain a very strong ideological orientation. He states that the â€Å"starting point of the critique of ideology has to be the full acknowledgment of the fact that it is easily possible to lie in the guise of truth† – ideology that is – and this is an important realization for it ispels a common misconception we have of ideology, especially here in the west that, ideology is about lying or misleading others and society. Instead Zizek posits the idea that the content of a message is not what makes it ideological, but instead it is the â€Å"the way this content is related to the subjective position implied by its own process of enunciation† that makes it so (Zizek 1994, p. 8). In other words, regardless of whether the content (of a message or object or interaction) is true or false, it becomes ideological the moment that content functions to achieve â€Å"some relation of social domination† and even more importantly, he adds â€Å"in an inherently non-transparent way†, reiterating that often times ideology is in fact of a misleading nature but not necessarily in content (italics mine, p. 8); it is from this standpoint that we can begin to understand and critique the concept of ideology. It is important to note here, although Zizek stresses the importance of recognizing dynamics of power relations (rather than content) which constitutes ideology, he warns this can also be disadvantageous if it reduces â€Å"the cognitive value of the term ‘ideology’ and makes it into a mere expression of social circumstances† (p. 9). Considering this, as Gerofsky (2010) explains, Zizek takes on Hegel’s theory of the triad as a heuristic for further developing the theory of ideology, which is something I will address later in this paper, after we go a little bit deeper in defining ideology. According to Zezik then, a necessary condition for something to be ideological is that there must be a relation or motivation to power in some way, and it must be done so in a way which is not apparent to the addressees (Zizek, 1994). However this is a rather general and overarching consideration when defining the term ideology and it is important to deconstruct the term even further before we proceed in analyzing its inner workings and effect on society. Zizek states â€Å"ideology is a systematically distorted communication: a text in which under the influence of unavowed social interests (of domination, etc. a gap separates its ‘official,’ public meaning from its actual intention – that is to say, â€Å"we are dealing with an unreflected tension between the explicit enunciated content of the text and its pragmatic presuppositions† (Zizek, 1994, p. 10). Ideology is a system, he argues, of principles, views, theories â€Å"destined to convince us of its ‘truth’, yet actually serving some unavowed particular power interest† (p. 10). An example Zizek presents to illustrate this point is the way media portrayed the conflict and cause of the Bosnian war. News coverage consisted of innumerable accounts of the histories of not only Yugoslavia but â€Å"the entire history of the Balkan’s from medieval times† (p. 5). This incredible amount of information, of the struggles and relations between Bosnia and other countries over decades, if not centuries, gives audiences the impression that they must know and understand all the background information of this issue if they are to have an opinion on it or take sides, again presenting countless hours of information and debate on the issue. Zizek explains that although this is a sort of inversion of what we normally constitute as ideological messaging, and it is unlike the misrepresentation and incessant demonization of Saddam Hussein which was circulated to give justice to entering into the Iraq war, the Bosnian war ideological messaging that took place is in fact â€Å"more cunning,† the over exaggerated and false demonization of Saddam Hussein. ecause â€Å"to put it somewhat crudely, the ‘evocation of the complexity of circumstances’ serves to [defer] us from the responsibility to act† (p. 5). He explains that instead of withholding information (as the media most often does), or misrepresenting information (Saddam Hussein), in the case of the Bosnian war the media over saturates audiences with information to the point of immobilizing them to make a decision or take action against the fact that this war is spurred by political, economic and monetary power interests. Zizek explains the purpose of going into war was portrayed as a need to improve unacceptable human rights conditions in the country, and although human rights conditions may very well be unacceptable in that country, and then improve as a result of the invasion, the true motivations for that war (power, domination, money) were kept hidden. This also illustrates the point made earlier about ideology not necessarily needing to be false in its information, but rather hidden in motive, for the information they presented was by no means false or limited, it was excessive, which proves to be just as debilitating a strategy on the general public. Zizek’s examples and definitions of ideology discussed above demonstrate the division of ideology from Marx’s false consciousness theory (Gerofsky, 2010), but perhaps one of the most important classifications Zizek makes in the realm of ideology, is its connection to dislocation (dislocating truth from falsity) and how this relates to the idea of â€Å"the Real† (Stavrakakis,1997). Coming from the Lacanian theoretical background, the concept of Real versus Symbolic versus Imaginary is an integral part of Zizek’s theory, one which sets him apart from traditional conceptions of ideology. The question of the Real also cannot be separated from the dislocation and presentation of the truth, so these two must be considered together in asserting the concept of ideology. Zizek’s Real draws attention to a fascinating idea, that there is a difference between what is actually real in our world and what is simply a created real by our social structure and by society (Stavrakakis, 1997). The Real, the true real, is â€Å"the part of our world as revealed in our experience, which escapes our attempts to symbolize and represent it in a final way† (1997, p. ). The real is the raw and unstructured experience of what is not yet symbolized or imaged by our social structure, by language, by symbols, and it in fact cannot be symbolized in such a way. Unlike the social reality, the true Real is impossible to represent, explains Stavrakaki of Zizek’s theory, impossible to master or symbolize, whereas the social reality is nothing but symbolism and our desire to categ orize any part of our experience into a definition or material conception of some sort. The real is not only opposed to what is â€Å"socially constructed† as real, the symbolic, but also it is even farther removed from the imaginary, which falls farthest away on the spectrum, from true reality. The symbolic comes closer to the Real but there is still a gap and something will always be missing from the symbolic real for language can never be a full representation of the real, the true Real however is always in its place. The symbolic real, however is still of importance to Zizek, for it plays the largest role in our society and is perhaps the integral component to ideology in the most general sense. The symbolic, although generally in the dimension of lauguage, Lacan (who’s theories Zizek has based his own theories of ideology on) does not describe the symbolic as solely equal to language, because linguistiscs are also present in the realm of the imaginary sphere (Lucaites & Biesecker, 1998). The symbolic rather, is about the relationship to the â€Å"Other†, it is about difference and the signifiers which create a symbolic order. For Lacan the symbolic is characterized by the absence of any fixed relations between signifier and signified† (Lucaites & Biesecker, 1998). Lastly there is the realm of the imaginary, when Lacan discusses this stage he refers to the formation of the ego. Identification is an important part of the imaginary, for â€Å"the ego is formed by identifying with the counterpart or specular image† (Lucaites & Biesecker, 1998). The ego, fundamentally narcissistic, is centered on identification with alienation and this alienation is another feature of the imaginary. The imaginary is most fundamentally, however, a constitution of surface appearances, ones which are formed in deception as part of the social order. Going back to Zizek’s theory on ideology, he suggests that one of the most problematic areas of the concept, is that we as theorists, try to escape from the grip of ideology in order to observe the world from an objective position, however the moment we feel we have managed to take up a position of truth, from which we can condemn the lie of an ideology, we instantly fall back into the grip of ideology again because our understanding of the concept is structured on a binary arrangement, which is constantly playing on this relationship between reality and ideology. It is such the issue of ideology, that the moment we feel we are in the realm of truth, at last, we are in fact instantly back into the ideological exchange, without recognizing it (Stavrakakis, 1997). Zezik does not offer a solution to this, however he offers a way to counter the problem, and this is where the concept of the Real (vs Symbolic vs Imaginary) comes into play, to help us recognize and step outside the atmosphere of ideology that surrounds us. Instead of the binary relationship between reality and ideology, now there is a three way relationship. Zizek favours the Real over the other two constructs because he argues, the symbolic, although it is representing â€Å"reality† it is in fact where â€Å"fiction assumes the guise of truth† (Stavrakakis, p. 3), and the imaginary construct, is of course even farther away from that reality, therefore the Real should be the focus of our understanding. The Real is the â€Å"only non-ideological position available,† and although Zizek does not claim to offer access to the â€Å"objective truth of things†, he explains we must begin with assuming the existence of ideology in every aspect of our society, and to take up an actively critical attitude towards it. This Stavrakakis argues is the main goal of Zizek’s theory, to expose the need for constant critique of the ideological realm, especially in a time where our society has proclaimed that ideology is a thing of the past and no longer relevant in today’s world. Zizek’s theory of ideology is a contemporary one which moves beyond traditional definitions of this concept and is not concerned with the way ideological practices worked in the past and in history, instead he is intrigued with the here and now and argues strongly that the concept of ideology is far from extinct in today’s society – contrary to what many would like to believe. And he explains that rather than discarding the notion completely, what we need to do to understand today’s politics in a completely new way of looking at it and defining what it means to be in ideological space and time. Those who believe we are past the concept of ideology, he argues, are in an â€Å"archeological fantasy† and this is only a sign of the greater ability of ideology to ingrain itself without our recognition. In some of his famous presentations Zizek talks about the ideological meaning ingrained even in the simplest of human object and appliances, ones we don’t even recognize contain an ideological message. His famous example, and one he self critically acknowledges to be some sort of anal fixation which he needs to address, is the example of toilets and how they are constructed in different ideological environments. In France he explains, toilets are constructed with the hole at the back, so that when used, the excrement falls directly in the hole and disappears; he equates this with France’s extremely liberal ideology – out of sight out of mind. In Germany, the toilets are constructed with the hole at the front, in a way that holds the excrement on a shelf (not in water or instantly disappearing) but rather in a way for the individual to see and observe the specimen for worms and any other diseases; he explains this is indicative of the strongly onservative ideology of Germany, where everything is business and completed as necessary. In the Anglo-Saxon world, specifically in America, he explains toilets are somewhere in between, when used the excrement falls in the water but still remains, it is not completely hidden but also not completely displayed; this shows the median position the Anglo-Saxon society usually takes on, not too extreme in either respect (Zizek presentation, You tube. com). This rather disgusting but nonetheless interesting observation does an excellent job of portraying his theory on ideology. First, ideology is very much still at play in our society and should be actively observed and considered (in order to minimize any negative and violent effects it may pertain), and secondly, in order to even be able to recognize the workings of ideology in our everyday lives, we have step outside of our customary reality to which we are so well accustomed to, for this symbolic reality is not the Real, and in taking ourselves out of the imaginary and symbolic which appears to be truth and reality, we can then perhaps attempt to get a true glimpse of what he calls the Real. References Gerofsky, S. (2010). The impossibility of ‘real-life' word problems (according to Bakhtin, Lacan, Zizek and Baudrillard). Discourse: Studies In The Cultural Politics Of Education, 31(1), 61-73. doi:10. 1080/01596300903465427 Lucaites, J. , & Biesecker, B. A. (1998). Rhetorical Studies and the ‘New Psychoanalysis: What's the Real Problem? Or Framing the Problem of the Real. Quarterly Journal Of Speech, 84(2), 222. Stavrakakis, Y. (1997). Ambiguous ideology and the Lacanian twist. Journal of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research, 8, 117-30. Zizek, S. (1994a). The spectre of ideology. In S. Zizek (Ed. ), Mapping ideology (pp. 1-33). London & New York: Verso.