Business Research Methods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Research Methods - Assignment Example To capitalize on the consumer demands, the companies and business organizations focus on the process of launching products which help in increasing the value of the brand image developed in the minds of the consumers all over the world. In this case, the focus is on identifying whether new Samsung Note 3 improves the image of the company Samsung Electronics. Three Research Questions and Three Research Objectives In regards to the underlying theme, it has to be stated that the focus is to understand the impact of the new product launched by the company Samsung Electronics has a positive impact on the image of the company, which has a strong brand value and brand identity in the market. The first research questions can be whether the Samsung Note 3 has succeeded in meeting customer expectations. The associated research objective is that this particular research question will help in understanding the success of the products in the global markets. The second research question will be to identify whether the product has provide value for money to the customers all over the world. The underlying research objective is that the value for money concept will help in gathering the information in connection to need as well as desire fulfilment of the global consumers for the newly launched product of Samsung Electronics. The third research question will be whether the consumers of the globe think that the Samsung Note 3 has enhanced the image of the company. The research objective in connection to this is to determine the viewpoints of the global consumers in regards to whether Samsung Note 3 has been successful in adding to the image reputation of the company. Research Philosophy In discussing about research philosophy, light has to be given on positivism, interpretivism, realism and pragmatism. It needs to be stated that positivism has its origins in natural science and forces the belief that the social reality is objective and singular and are not impacted by the inves tigation of the society. Positivism focuses on explaining and measuring the social phenomena while interpretivism has emerged while concentrating on exploring the complex societal needs for developing an interpretive understanding. Subjectivism stresses on the factor of understanding the subjective meaning of the actions of the masses of the society. It is interesting to state that pragmatism is based on the combining of the positivism and interpretivism philosophies and focuses on cancelling out the mutual weaknesses (Piepenburg, 2011, p. 46). Research Approach Research approach can be either deductive or inductive. The deductive research is implemented when the assumption has been an outcome of a deduction from a theoretical base and has been tested in a rigorous fashion with the data collected. Inductive research approach begins with a specific data, which helps in inducing a general theory to connect with the data. The inductive research approach helps to a great extent in disco vering new patterns in the

GBST300 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

GBST300 - Essay Example s relevant nuclear technology in manufacturing atomic energy and fundamental information to states that are not known as Nuclear Weapon countries by the conformity on the Reduction of Nuclear Weapons, is one of the major ways in which non-nuclear powers and terrorists build nuclear weapons. The upkeep of global stability and security is an essential part of the United Nations’ mission. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological weapons that can bring harm to large figures of people and infrastructure have been at the forefront of worldwide security concerns since the advent of the UN. The production of viable nuclear weapons means of delivery, threatens incalculable consequences for global stability and prosperity especially from countries, which part of the NPT possess important unsafeguarded nuclear activities. Countries such as India, Israel and Pakistan are normally categorize as states that are not part of the NPT. The growth of international terrorism has added a new dimension to an old problem, as global and regional tensions rise, technology improves, and security falters in critical areas, giving rise to an international black market for WMD.Dr. Khan, a metallurgist and the architect of Pakistan bomb is considered the mastermind of the largest illicit nuclear proliferation network in history who had begun selling nuclear technology to Iran in the late 1980’s. This signaled the opening of business for an enterprise that eventually spread to North Korea, Libya and beyond to

Communication Differences in Gender

Communication Differences in Gender Communication is an important part of any genders, with verbal and nonverbal communication styles used on a frequent basis. Both types of communications can be independent or used together, and it can be confusing for both men and women if not used correctly so it is important to make sure miscommunication do not by learning. We will be discussing different communication styles in verbal and nonverbal communication used by men and women, and looking at miscommunication that may occurs between genders. To help and explain this and personal experience will be used, and show various strategies to avoid miscommunication, and find possible solution to miscommunication and keep them to a minimal. Communication Styles Communication will be different when it comes to genders and these differences do not relate to any specific personal experience of a gender, and research as shown men will typically be direct, succinct, personal and instrumental in their communication, while women will try to relate to things, use emotions, and gain understanding in a personal way. This research fact shows how men will engage in a conversation using information, while women will try to build a relationship. With this in mind it has led perception of gender communication whether it is verbal or nonverbal communication. General terms and a use of a function standpoint are typical of male’s verbal communication. A functional standpoint is all about exchanging information and reinforcing relationship. With males being more dominant in communication, women until more recently were stereotyped as being submissive in conversation, but differences in language the gender uses are common and communication in relationship with both genders show a contrast in written and verbal communication not related to anyone gender specially. Verbally both gender show differences in communication, with males in some cases using adjectives that may seem judgmental, and women intensive adverbs. Though many also forget that pitch is common communication difference even if the pitch is not gender specific, it can related to one gender more than the other. Typically speaking women are stereotyped to have higher pitch, while men will have lower pitch sound, even though we know that pitch is not related specifically to a gender. Both gender have specific stereotypes on pitches, like when male uses a higher pitch to not sound feminine, and women using lower pitch when want sound more dominant and credible. Vocabulary use is a noticeable between genders, and seen easily when women are speaking as they will use more diverse vocabulary, while men may not have diversity in vocabulary they will use numbers. Women using communication will commonly divulge information with emotions, attitude, and beliefs, but men will avoid this when po ssible. According to GenderSpeak â€Å"An overabundance of tentative forms of expression in one’s communication can be interpreted as a sign of uncertainty and insecurity. But tentative language may also indicate politeness (Watts, 2003) and may have positive, facilitative uses; these kinds of expressions need not be identified with one sex or the other† (Ivy Backland, Ch. 4, p. 174). Both gender will have similarities and differences in their verbal communication, but so will their nonverbal communications. Women are much better at catching nonverbal cues in compared to men, and interpreting cues. Women will commonly use more person nonverbal cue including leaning forward, excellent eye contact to whom they speaking too, while showing more emotional expressions. Men will try change conversation to something with an angle when possible while using less eye contact that shows women will be better at nonverbal communication and staying attuned to them. Miscommunications and Causes Miscommunication experience between both genders may vary, but both gender will have their shares of miscommunications. Males will be more direct when it comes to looking for answers and communications, and they typically will avoid feedback, and not looking multiple option when possible. Females like to using expression, relationships, emotions, and feelings when communication will not have solution, with typical closeness in their communication. Women also do not want advice even if they look like they look like they may need it. It quiet common for males to use conversation to find social order, and try to show their dominance to other in a conversation, but female do not engage in dominance instead they use conversation to be more intimate. Men and women use conversation different and it is important to understand that women tend to have close relationships in their conversation, and will typically seek though, feelings and beliefs, and men want to dominate and find solution in conversation. These differences in communication between the two gender is one of the main causes of miscommunications, as both gender forget to realize that other gender may not communicate in same styles as their gender. With men using communication to dominate socially and get results when communicating, while women will typical use relationships communication, it leads to both gender needing to realize the difference in communication between them so that miscommunications are left to a minimal. Personal Experiences Miscommunication is common occurrence and happen to everyone at some point between men and women, and is also seen quiet often in our societies. IN my personal life I have experience miscommunication and many occasion, and one that would help better understand miscommunication is an argument over a trip needing planning with my girlfriend. Trip planning is an interesting thing as requires a place to go, cost, duration, and other things that will be needed before a trip can be made. With a male and female planning a trip miscommunication is common thing as both may have different ideas, thought, and communication styles to give their ideas. Though stereotypes for genders can be applied in this type a situation, it is not a factor in this situation that will be discussed. In planning a trip with my girlfriend there were miscommunication involved, as both wanted to have control of the conversation, and I would be direct about what I wanted, my girlfriend was not direct and try to bring emotions and relationships into the conversation to convey her points. In the process of deciding on location to go, I was more about going towards a natural and exciting place, while she was wanting a romantic quiet place to go, and we would start arguing over this as we were miscommunicating why we wanted to go to these style of places. With this argument we both had different viewpoints and used different communication styles which we were not understanding, and while I would be direct, she always tried use emotion and relationship in the communicating. This went on for a while until we both realized that neither of us were listening to each other and we need a way to communicate that we both could follow and understand. With us having communication issues we decided to take a breather and try to look at the other person point of view before starting discussion again. In this process I realized she was trying convey her emotion in her communication and bring in relationship, and I may not looked at communicating in this fashion causing miscommunication. After realizing this issue I determine I most try to look at emotional parts of communications, while she realized that try to be more direct would also help and miscommunication were limited on restart of the trip planning discussion. While I was usually more dominate and taking control of discussion in first try, this time around both us try to be equal and my girlfriend took a more dominate role, while I learnt to listen for subtle cues on why she wanted go to a romantic quiet place. In the example above we both realized that we had issues in communication and how we were trying to get our point across, and adjust our communication to come up with solution and clear communication that would work for both of us. Though we still had some miscommunication that were not uncommon in most cross gender relationships it was excellent learning experience. With the change in communication and understanding our communication were not in sync it help us better understand the other and also be more comfortable without worries of hurting other feeling, while adjusting our communication styles so the other could understand and avoid miscommunication. As stated by GenderSpeak â€Å" In expanding their repertoire of communication behaviors, the sexes can learn from each other’s listening tendencies and unlearn some habits and sex-typed conditioning. While listening to support a speaker is an admirable approach, women can expand their listening ability to more thoroughly t rack facts and comprehend information, rather than reading into a conversation more than the facts or trying to â€Å"take the emotional temperature† of the other person (Beebe, Beebe, Ivy, 2007, p. 120)† (Ivy Backland, Ch. 5, p. 203). Effective Strategies With any communication misunderstanding will happen and it not bad idea to have strategies should be available to use to solve these miscommunication. From the personal experience above taking break or pause can be excellent way analyze why communication is not working and work on ways to avoid miscommunications, while helping making a communication move forward so future miscommunication can be avoided before they happen. A pause or break is good way to reflect back on the communication see how you will try re-communicate a thought or idea, though this not the only effective strategies. The pause and break method is great strategy as it does give both side the opportunity to reflect on previous communications and while they failed and how they should proceed to communicate so miscommunication can be avoided. This type strategy also make us all realize that both men and women may have different ways to communicate, whether it is verbally or non-verbally, and look for similarities tha t may be used to help in communicating. It is important in this type strategy to understand that our genders will communicate differently and how we can communicate in the future so less miscommunication will occur. As stated â€Å"A limited amount of information about the sexes and listening behavior exists, but a few key sources agree on a major difference in how men and women listen. It’s not that members of one sex don’t listen as well as the other, but the sexes tend to listen for different purposes.† (Ivy Backland, 2008, Ch.5) The effective strategy above is not the only strategy that is available, to use when having issues in effective communication between genders. Other good ways to effectively communicate include more contact, relationship negations, social support and assistance, increased rewards, and directional definitional. Each strategy can help keep in keeping miscommunication to a minimal, but it should be realized sometimes it not going to work. Even with many different effective strategies to become more effective at communicating, they’re no set strategy that will work best with any communication and situation, and the strategy required can vary to allow for more effective communication. It not uncommon to look at the best solution to answer and with communication the same rule does apply, but it may not work in a communication situation. Conclusion Each gender will communicate differently and it is important that we do understand that sometimes the way we communicate from gender stereotypes and it may not work with the opposite gender. With the many communication styles used by both men and women, and with many of them being similar and different in non-verbal or verbal communication. With women typically using relationships, and men using a more direct approach, both men and women will have miscommunications as they are not realizing the differences in their communication styles. Throughout this paper it has pointed out the various communication styles used by genders and help explain why miscommunication occur who we may avoid them in the future by using various strategies, and learn how each gender may communicate. With many strategies to help with avoid miscommunication it is important to realize that their no guarantee the strategies discussed will avoid the miscommunication completely as sometimes our subconscious may cau se the miscommunication which we will not realize. References Sapiro, V (2002). Women in American Society. An Introduction to Women’s Studies (5th ed.). Manhattan, NY: McGraw-Hill. Ivy, D.K. Backlund, P. (2008). Gender Speak: Personal effectiveness in gender communications (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson: Allyn Bacon Rawluszko, M. (2009). Communication in the conditions of diversity. Kobieta, Biznes, (1-4),53-56. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/230449979?accountid=458 Gore, J. S. (2009). The interaction of sex, verbal, and nonverbal cues in same-sex first encounters. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33(4), 279-299. doi:10.1007/s10919-009-00741

Einstein :: Biography, Science

Einstein’s Brain â€Å"Markedly different† from norm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article that I have read is about how Albert Einstein’s gray matter in his brain has differences than the average persons. They are not sure though if it has any links between his great intelligence though. Dr. Dahlia W. Zaidel of UCLA was the researcher on this project.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She started out by investigating to see if the brain of a genius might show special features. She then examined two slides made from Einstein’s brain after his death in 1955. The slides contained samples of his hippocampus. She then compared Einstein’s brain with tissue from ten individuals of ordinary intelligence from the ages of 22 to 84 qt their time of death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein’s neurons on the left side of the brain were consistently larger then those on the right side. Dr. Zaidel noted that these marking were much different from those seen in the other brain of people with normal intelligence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She noted, that the neurons in the left hippocampus imply that Einstein’s brain may have had stronger nerve cell connections between the hippocampus and the neocortex than his right. She noted that â€Å"The neocortex is where detailed, logical, analytical and innovated thinking takes place.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the difference in the size of the neurons are unknown, whether they occurred at birth during development or as an abnormality. She said also that she didn’t know if this asymmetry is related to his genius or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end it said that normal brain tissue is usually available for study but there is no brain bank for geniuses.

Elcano vs. Hill case

NATUREAppeal from an order of the CFI Quezon CityFACTSReginald Hill, a minor yet married at the time of occurrence, was criminally prosecuted for the killing of Agapito Elcano (son of Pedro), and was acquitted for ―lack of intent to kill, coupled with mistake.â€â€" – Pedro Elcano filed a complaint for recovery of damages from Reginald and his father Atty Marvin. CFI dismissed it.ISSUESWON the civil action for damages is barred by the acquittal of Reginald in the criminal case wherein the action for civil liability was not reversed2. WON Article 2180 (2nd and last par) of the CC can be applied against Atty. Hill, notwithstanding the fact that at the time of the occurrence, Reginald, though a minor, living with and getting subsistence from his father, was already legally married.HELD1. NOThe acquittal of Reginal Hill in the criminal case has not extinguished his liability forquasi-delict, hence that acquittal is not a bar to the instant action against him.  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ ‚  Barredo v Garcia  (dual character — civil and criminal—  of fault or negligence as a source of obligation):†The above case is pertinent because it shows that the same act may come under both the Penal Code and the Civil Code. In that case, the action of the agent was unjustified and fraudulent and therefore could have been the subject of a  criminal action. And yet, it was held to be also a proper subject of a civil action under article 1902 of the Civil Code.It is also to be noted that it was the employer and not the employee who was being sued.†Ã¢â‚¬ It will be noticed that the defendant in the above case could have been prosecuted in a criminal case because his negligence causing the death of the child was punishable by the Penal Code.Here is therefore a clear instance of the same act of negligence being aproper subject matter either of a criminal action with its consequent civil liability arising from a crime or of an entirely separate and ind ependent civil action for fault or negligence under article 1402 of the Civil Code. Thus, in this jurisdiction, the separate individuality of a c quasi-delito  or culpa aquiliana under the Civil Code has been fully and clearly recognized, even with regard to a negligent act for which the wrongdoer could have been prosecuted and convicted in a criminal case aria for which, after un a conviction, he could have been sued for this civil liability arising from his crime.Culpa aquiliana  includes acts which are criminal in character or in violation of a penal law, whether voluntary or negligent.-ART 1162: â€Å"Obligations derived from quasi-delicts shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 2, Title XVII of this Book, (on quasi-delicts) and by special laws.† More precisely, Article 2177 of the new code provides:†ART 277. Responsibility for fault or negligence under the preceding article is entirely separate and distinct from the civil liability arising front negligen ce under the Penal Code. But the plaintiff cannot recover damages twice for the same act or omission of the defendant.

Problem 1

20-1. The campus pizzeria sells a single pizza for $12. If you order a second pizza, however, the pizzeria charges a price of only $5 for the additional pizza. Explain how an understanding of marginal utility helps to explain the pizzeria’s pricing strategy. 20-1-A. The pricing method that the pizzeria is using shows they understand how marginal utility works, specifically diminishing marginal utility. After hitting the level of satisfaction from the first pizza, a second pizza will not be quite as rewarding. Getting an additional pizza at a price of only $5 dollars will entice a customer to purchase it because of the lower price.Because the significance of the second pizza is less than the first, a costumer would spend less on it. 20-2. As an individual consumes more units of an item, the person eventually experiences diminishing marginal utility. This means that to increase marginal utility, the person must consume less of an item. Explain the logic of this behavior using th e example in Problem 20-1. 20-2-A. As a consumer eats their first few slices of pizza, the level of satisfaction will eventually hit a maximum where they have thoroughly enjoyed it. After hitting the level of satisfaction, every piece of pizza after that will diminish the pleasure.Therefor, eating less pizza allows the consumer the greatest enjoyment because no pleasure is being added after eating to the point of satisfaction. 20-3. Where possible, complete the missing cells in the table. 20-3-A. 20-4. From the data in Problem 20-3, if the price of a cheeseburger is $2, the price of a bag of French fries is $1, and you have $6 to spend (and you spend all of it), what is the utility-maximizing combination of cheeseburgers and french fries? 20-4-A. The utility-maximizing combination is two cheeseburgers and two orders of french fries. 20-9.Consider the movements that take place from one point to the next (A to B to C and so on) along the total utility curve below as the individual suc cessively increases consumption by one more unit, and answer the questions that follow. a. Which one-unit increase in consumption from one point to the next along the total utility curve generates the highest marginal utility? From point A to point B there is a total utility increase of 5 units, meaning the marginal utility is 5 units as well. Therefor, point A to point B generates the highest marginal utility. b.Which one-unit increase in consumption from one point to the next along the total utility curve generates zero marginal utility? Point E to point F generates no marginal utility, meaning the marginal utility is zero. c. Which one-unit increase in consumption from one point to the next along the total utility curve generates negative marginal utility? Point F to point G decreases total utility from 11 to 10 units meaning marginal utility is negative. 20-10. Draw a marginal utility curve corresponding to the total utility curve depicted in Problem 20-9. 20-12.Refer to the fol lowing table for a different consumer, and assume that each week this consumer buys only hot dogs and tickets to baseball games. The price of a hot dog is $2, and the price of a baseball game is $60. If the consumer’s income is $128 per week, what quantity of each item will he purchase each week at a consumer optimum? 20-12-A. The consumer will purchase 2 baseball game tickets and 4 hot dogs each week at a consumer optimum. Equal marginal utilities per dollar occur at the consumption level of 2 baseball game tickets and 4 hot dogs, with the total income equaling $128. The marginal utility per dollar spent equals 5.

On Quake Marilyn Manson Doom The Matrix and How They Corrupt Americas Youth essays

On Quake Marilyn Manson Doom The Matrix and How They Corrupt Americas Youth essays Disclaimer: I do not promote youth violence, but even if I did, its the parents job to make sure my opinion doesnt affect their children. Do I really have to say anything else? The disclaimer say enough, but to drive my point across, Ill repeat it in several different ways in the next few paragraphs. First of all, I want to say that I am 100% against censorship. It totally goes against a little law called THE 1ST AMENDMENT! And as for pressuring the movie, music, television and video game industries into producing cleaner content goes, we do need some of that. But I must say, ratings arent there because companies put them there for fun. For each of the above mentioned, there are rating and parental advisory systems. If you need a little refreshment on what they are, write me and Ill send you a copy of them. But that really isnt necessary considering that: every single movie youve ever seen has its rating on the box, on the posters, on the ticket, next to it in your TV guide, and sometimes shows it nice and big right before the movie; every single CD or cassette you have bought in the last few years, if it contained what was deemed inappropriate material for people under 18, had a warning label on the packaging; all TV shows now show a rating at the top of your screen at the beginning of the program and after commercials, and ratings are also listed with the title in TV listings; every video game y ouve bought since the second phase of Super Nintendo games has a rating on the packaging and on the game itself. So booya if you say theres no way of knowing if the material is inappropriate for your kid or not! Wise up and pay attention! I know what youre saying, The ratings are there, but who is deciding these ratings and what sort of standards are they using? The people who decide this stuff arent idiots. They judge ...

Integrated strategic human resource management

Integrated strategic human resource management Introduction Recruitment and selection process enacted by an organization determines the profitability and sustainability of the firm. Mainly, recruitment and selection is done to replace an employee, to fill a new position, or to instill change in the corporate culture (Banfield Kay, 2008, p.68). Indeed, recruitment approaches in a firm influence the kind of human resource in a firm. Selection entails matching the workforce and specific jobs; thus, fair and accurate assessment of applicant’s strengths and weaknesses is done in the selection process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Integrated strategic human resource management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Roberts (1997, p.4), â€Å"effective selection processes entails clear and precise specification, effective use of multiple techniques, elimination of redundant processes, measurement and evaluation and continuous improvement.† Aquin as (2005, p. 361) on his part states that, â€Å"recruitment is a process of searching, stimulating and encouraging prospective employees to apply for a specific job in an organization.† Human resource managers can use either external recruitment methods or internal recruitment or both to fill positions in their organizations. Generally, recruitment and selection process is expensive, thus HR managers should ensure they obtain the right candidates for a specific job in order to avoid high turnover. According to Lashley and Lincoln (2003), the recruitment and selection approach varies depending on the type of employee required, organizational strategies, and human resource policies. An organization having a diverse workforce is able to benefit from skills from the diverse group. Additionally, the firms recognize the need of getting workers who can fit in the prevailing organizational culture. Therefore, Human resource Management not only seeks professional competency, but also personality attributes. Notably, selection in Sofinsco is not only based on the applicants’ involvement, training, and skills, but also on their personality and their approval of the firm’s values. Further, HR teams integrate equity and diversity during all stages of recruitment and selection. This paper will analyze the importance of different recruitment and selection approaches, equity, and diversity in relation to Sofinsco. Moreover, the significance of integrated approach to recruitment and selection in attainment of business goals is also discussed. Importance of different approaches to recruitment and selection approaches Internal recruitment method Internal recruitment involves filling positions by recruiting employees within the organization. Moreover, this approach simplifies and hastens the recruitment process especially for high level jobs. This is primarily due to the fact that the HR team is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates.Adverti sing Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Internal recruitment is carried out through direct appointment or promotion by management, a lateral transfer of an employee from one department to another or internal advertising (Nankervis, Compton Morrissey, 2009, p.48). Generally, internal recruitment is cost effective as it eliminates the cost of external advertising and sourcing (Brewster, Mayrhofer Morley, 2005, p.48). Internal recruitment is important as it boosts morale of employees to improve their performance in order to get a promotion. Therefore, internal recruitment acts as a reward system. Moreover, the employees are motivated to enhance their skills and competencies, the result of which is the evolvement in the firm. In this case, Sofinsco mainly focuses on internal labor market after realizing that, internal candidates are familiar with the firm’s corporate cultur e hence they do not require adaption or integration period. Thus, internal recruitment is necessary in replacing supervisor positions in order to minimize instability that can be caused by abrupt changes. Importantly, HR teams that use internal recruitment method have an effective appraisal system to facilitate selection of eligible candidates. Whenever firms recruit internally, only entry-level vacancies are filled by external candidates, thus preventing experimenting high positions with new employees (Grobler Warnich, 2005, p.171). Through lateral transfers, employees are granted skill development opportunities and subsequent promotion. Importantly, internal recruitment helps in employees’ retention since the employee can see a future and advancement opportunity in the organization (Nankervis, Compton Morrissey, 2009, p.48). Besides, it is easier to assess internal candidates compared with external candidates, hence reducing selection or placement errors. Additionally, in ternal recruitment is used in conjunction with firm’s succession plan. However, internal recruitment does not meet the need of a firm’s human resource needs most of the times, hence there need to recruit from outside. Indeed, Sofinsco is compelled to employ two hundred new employees yearly in spite of its focus on internal market. Similarly, internal recruitment can attract unqualified employees since the scope of candidates is limited (Aquinas, 2005, p.363). Additionally, unsuccessful applicants’ morale and work performance can be affected negatively, or discontent can be bred if fair selection is compromised. Further, internal recruitment can cause instability, and increase operational costs due to constant movement of staff, subsequently; it affects the overall firm’s performance (Banfield Kay, 2008, p.73).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Integrated strategic human resource management specifically for you for only $16.05 $1 1/page Learn More External recruitment method External recruitment refers to recruiting employees from outside the organization. Methods used in external recruitment include direct application, employees’ referrals, campus recruiting, and through employment agencies (Grobler Warnich, 2005, p. 175). External recruitment is very significant as it prevents disgruntlement and infighting caused by internal recruitment. Similarly, internal labor market may not provide all needs of human resource, thus necessitating external recruitment. Moreover, this method averts promotion of employees whose level of competence inhibits them from performing effectively. Nevertheless, firms benefit from new perspectives and ideas from new employees, hence promoting the firm’s competitive edge (McNaughton, Carlson Dietz, 1992, p.105). In addition, firms’ productivity is improved due to internal competition created by external recruitment. Besides, external recruitmen t aids management to restructure their firm, as it is a fast method of changing corporate culture. Another benefit is that the quality of the workforce is improved through injection of new talent and skills from new employees (Aquinas, 2005, p.366). Additionally, through external recruitment, firms are able to source highly qualified and experienced employees, therefore eliminating cost of training. Further, the experienced workforce facilitates in improving productivity and performance of an organization. Despite the positive aspects, external recruitment has its own demerits. First, it denies employees career development and advancement hence reduce employees morale and productivity (Aquinas, 2005, p.367). Moreover, selection and recruitment errors occur more frequently since the HR teams do not have adequate time to assess external candidates. Further, there is uncertainty whether new employees will fit in the prevailing corporate culture. Additionally, there is increased transit ion and adjustment period (Grobler Warnich, 2005, p. 170). Equality and diversity in recruitment and selection process It is essential for recruiting teams to maintain equality and diversity principles at all stages of recruitment and selection (Wilson, 2005, p.258). Thus, the guiding factors during selections should be job specifications, suitability, and ability of a candidate to perform the outlined duties.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through upholding equity and diversity in the recruitment and selection process, a firm is able to benefit from increased global competitiveness and productivity. Equality and diversity plays a vital role in driving a firm towards attainment of competitive advantage in spite of tightly contested international market. Moreover, the firm will be able to attract and retain the most qualified employees in the labor market. Equality and diversity are also significant in a company that looks forward to maintain its good record, and in the process attract and retain customers for company’s sustainability. Further, a firm can enhances its corporate reputation and hence profitability. In some instances, an organization can be sued if an applicant has solid grounds of discriminations during selection, in addition to an organization’s reputation being tarnished and loss of money in the lawsuits (Williams, 2005, p.7). Further, by having a diversified workforce, the firm is in a po sition to identify the diverse needs of its customers. Finally, continued development of staff will be vital for improved and efficient performance. Integrated approach of recruitment and selection Primarily, organizational development and growth commences with  an integrated approach to recruitment and selection. Basically, integrated approach to recruitment and selection produces substantially valuable HR decisions. The integrated approach implies a continuous supply chain, i.e. development and training of potential candidates, deployment of employees to specific jobs. Moreover, integrated approach is appropriate in the rapidly changing economic market. By implementing an integrated approach to recruitment and selection, Sofinsco will become the employer of choice. Similarly, procedures for recruitment and selection are more accurate and less susceptible to bias and distortion in integrated approach technique (Jirasinghe Lyons, p.10). Further, the organizations need to incorpor ate training or mentorship programs where new employees are trained by experienced workforce. Additionally, the firm’s recruitment policy should reflect all diverse needs of the organization. Since recruitment is a continuous process in any organization, solid plans should be enacted to facilitate selection and recruitment (Pynes, 2008, p.118). Conclusion The purpose of selection is to match employees to specific jobs which they can do effectively. Banfield and Kay (2008) note that, it is important to make correct recruitment and selection decisions as employment decisions affect quality of the workforce. In addition, the process of correcting hiring mistakes is difficult due to employment rights. It is paramount to get recruitment and selection decision right since wrong decisions can affect a firm’s productivity, and wrong decisions are costly to correct. HR can recruit internally (from within the organization) or externally (from people outside the organization). HR derives benefit from internal recruitment due to motivated personnel who perceive opportunity of career development in the firm. Additionally, internal recruitment reduces the costs of external advertisement and duration of recruitment process. Importantly, there are few chances of recruitment errors since management is familiar with the capabilities of candidates. Further, internal recruitment ensures stability and avoids difficulties associated with transition. On the other hand, external recruitment provides a wide scope of candidates where a qualified and experienced employee can be sourced. Moreover, the method improves productivity of an organization due to improved quality in the workforce. Similarly, external recruitment promotes internal competition among the employees hence the improved bottom line. Equality and diversity is essential in recruitment and selection process since it promotes the firm’s reputation. Thus, a firm is able to attract and retain the top qua lity of personnel who would greatly enhance the firm’s competitiveness. Finally, organizational development and growth commences with  an integrated approach to recruitment and selection since this approach facilitates production of valuable HR decisions. References List Aquinas, P. G., 2005. Principles of Management. New Delhi: Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. Banfield, P. Kay, R., 2008. Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W. Morley, M., 2005. Human resource management in Europe: evidence of convergence? Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Grobler, P. A. Warnich, S., 2005. Human Resource Management in South Africa. SA: Cengage Learning EMEA. Jirasinghe, D. Lyons, G., 1996. The competent head: a job analysis of heads tasks and personality factors. Bristol: Routledge. Lashley, C. Lincoln, G., 2003. Business development in licensed retailing. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. McNaughton, D., Carlson, D. Dietz, C., 199 2. Building strong management and responding to change. Washington: World Bank Publications. Nankervis, A., Compton, R. Morrissey, B., 2009. Effective Recruitment and Selection Practices. Sydney: CCH Australia Limited. Pynes, J., 2008. Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Strategic Approach. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons. Roberts, G., 1997. Recruitment and Selection Process: A Competency Approach. London: CIPD Publishing. William, K., 2005. Positive Recruitment and Retention CMIOLP. Oxford: Elsevier Wilson, J. P., 2005. Human Resource Development: Learning Training for Individuals and Organizations. London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Analysis Of Recruitment Methods At Tata Consultancy Services

Analysis Of Recruitment Methods At Tata Consultancy Services Introduction to Recruitment Indian business industry is experiencing vibrant changes in recent times as never endured in the past. Range of national economy resulted from a steady growth in business industry. This growth finally depends up on potential human resources of the organizations. Customer focus, cost advantageous, agility in the process, quality of products and services, certainty and last but not the least multi-task human resources are appeared to be core competencies of modern age organizations. Human Resource Management can be viewed as an approach to management that considers people as key resources. Human Resource Management is developed from the practice of Personnel Management. Personnel Management assists with the management of people in an organization. Personnel Management is concerned with establishing, maintaining and developing systems that provide the framework of employment. This framework of systems operates through employee’s relationship with the organization starting from recruitment to retirement (Eugene and Nic 2008). Personnel management is traditional and properly related to old model of organization, which is bureaucratic in nature. That means PM is less flexible and has higher degree of centralization. Personnel management is concerned with obtaining, developing and motivating human resources needed by the organization to achieve its objectives. The aim of personnel management is to make an effective contribution to the objectives of the organization and to the fulfillment of its social responsibilities (Armstrong, 2006). In addition, as Armstrong (2006) defines ‘Human Resource Management is a strategic and coherent approach to management of organizations’ most valued assets’. Human Resource Management system as HRM operates through HR system that brings together in a coherent way (Armstrong, 2006). HR philosophies: which describe the value and guiding principles adopted in managing people. HR Strategies defining the direction in which HRM intends to go HR Policies: these are the guidelines defining how these values, principles and strategies should be applied and implemented in specific areas of HRM. HR Processes: consisting of procedures and methods used to put HR strategic plans and policies into effect. HR Practices: comprising of informal approaches used to manage people. HR Programs: which enable HR strategies, policies and practices to be implemented according to plans. The role of HR manger has changed in response to social, economic, political conditions and to changes in technology and it is still developing dynamically. In addition, the relative importance of several activities has changed as external circumstances have affected the needs of organizations and it is still a dynamic area where the roles and ways of organizing the HR function continue to change and develop (Foot and Hook, 2008). the concept of Human Resource Management first appeared in the 1980s and the use of the term grew in the 1990s ( foot and Hook 2008). in HRM, there is a greater emphasis on strategic issues and on the way in which the human resource contributes to the achievement of corporate objectives. Write about SHRM There are ranges of activities that HR managers do on regular basis: recruitment and selection, learning and development, human resource planning, provision of contracts and fair treatment, provision of equal opportunities, managing diversity, motivating workers to achieve improved performance, employee counseling, talent management, payment and rewards, health and safety, dealing with grievances, redundancy, negotiation, adding value, ethics and corporate responsibility, change and knowledge management and so on (Foot and Hook, 2008).

Its the Aggregate Demand, Stupid by Bruce Bartlett Assignment - 1

Its the Aggregate Demand, Stupid by Bruce Bartlett - Assignment Example Moreover, the author articulated that the aggregate demand is the major element with respect to the current economic condition that can create jobs and stimulate economic growth of the US. Throughout the article, Bartlett has critically explored the issue concerning the economic growth and downfall of the current labour market of the US. According to the article, it has been perceived that the lack of focus on aggregate demand along with insufficient investment and immaterialized consumption expenditure have to lead to a major downfall of the economy. The current economic policies of the nation are determined to be insufficient to address the needs of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. However, the only effective measure to attain this goal is perceived to be related to increasing aggregate demand. According to the theoretical context, it is often attributed that the lower growth in the annual consumer spending substantially creates major vulnerabilities in the inflation rates that causes major debacles in the economic growth (Bartlett, â€Å"It’s the Aggregate Demand, Stupid†). In relation to the current policy measures of the Federal Government, the article reveals that Administration is centrally focused on maintaining average growth rather to substantially increase the level of annual consumer spending in the US. However, the mechanism is quite difficult due to the emerging level of unemployment within the states. Therefore, the existing administration is significantly inviting major risk for the nation due to its policy directed towards increasing savings while reducing the consumptions of goods and services by household, business and government. Although the policy of reducing aggregate demand promotes increasing household savings and maximizing the wealth, in long run, the process inadvertently calls for a major financial debacle in the nation.  

Consumer Behaviour in the UK high street clothing sector Essay

Consumer Behaviour in the UK high street clothing sector - Essay Example Particularly, UK and US can be regarded as the innovators of industry trends. Subsequently, the retail industry in these regions is substantially competitive, organized and efficient with the growth rate of 35%. The feature of urbanization has transformed the retail format of these countries with innovative tactics and business strategies. Wal-Mart, Mark & Spencer, Morrison, Tesco and Sainsbury are some of the leading chains of UK retail industry. The introduction of global competitors on board have not only enhanced the competition in retail sector but also have groomed the taste of consumer base resulting in the wide diversity towards brands and trends with an exceptional taste. (Experian, nd). In the year 2,000 the spending of consumer (worldwide) estimated on clothes marked the figure of US$1 trillion. (al., 2006) Current consumer behavior concepts; Consumer Behaviors is the study of people buying patterns, depicting the what, when and why aspects of buying. Effective understandi ng of buyer decision making process with social and economical concerns is necessarily to be evaluated in an attempt to understand people’s want and expectations for successful growth. Consumer buying behavior in retail industry is supported by set of six consecutive actions that include: Need / Want acknowledgment. Information hunt Evaluation of substitutes. Buying decision Buying Post Purchase Evaluation. A Model of influencing factors will illustrate various grounds influencing consumer behavior. (Phillip Kotler, 2003) However, the most influencing factors that underpin the ultimate buying decision of consumer are the psychological factor that is being controlled by features like motivation, perception, believes & attitudes and learning. The role of advertising in controlling the psychological factor to steward the others cannot be under estimated. A commentator on American literature claims that, â€Å"Advertisements are the pervasive part of the American aural and visua l environment. It is impossible to ignore their wider role in providing people a general education in goods, status, values, social roles styles and art†. (Phillips, 1997) (Agnes Nairn) The role of advertising can be regarded as factor to mould consumer towards a specific pattern. The different media outlets used for advertisement includes radio, TV, billboards, internet and even the walls. In the broad spectrum the â€Å"can do† aspects of advertising plays a major role in the growth of consumption. A research conducted to unfold the fact witnessed attitude shifts when â€Å"shame campaign† was jointly launched by department of Environment in Belfast and National road safety council in Dublin in November 2000. Attitude shifts were monitored by researchers among the core target of 17-24 males and massive increase in understanding that even one drink would affect driving were found as below: ("Industry as a partner for sustainable developments") Marketing Research and Strategy; The role of Marketing Strategy in the words of John Scully can be defined as a series of integrated actions leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. Competitive advantage depicts development of features which are not simultaneously implicated or discovered by competitors. On the wide spectrum a successful strategic marketing management draws its objectives from the corporate mission of the organization, driven by organizational values and embedded in company’

E-Logistics2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

E-Logistics2 - Essay Example This report describes the various challenges in global supply chain strategy of VF and provides recommendation to improve the â€Å"Third Way† supply chain system globally. Challenges of â€Å"Third Way† supply chain Strategy of VF VF produces apparel products from its own manufacturing plant as well as acquires apparels from other suppliers. The outsourcing strategy of VF focuses on flexibility. VF possesses strong manufacturing capacity and it can also outsource from suppliers to improve the manufacturing process and thus reduce the cost of production. The suppliers of clothing industry use term contract to produce particular garment in particular quantity. This strategy helped VF to shift production among suppliers in different locations for optimizing cost and respond to the changes in any business conditions such as changes in tariff or exchange rates and other factors related to cost. VF had responded to the market condition and implemented â€Å"Third Way† supply chain strategy to gain advantage of both in house manufacturing and outsourcing as well. VF had two critical elements in the growth strategy which were to expand sales outside the US and expand the ‘direct to consumer’ business. ... For example, Walmart, one of the largest jeans retailers of the US had launched jeans under their own brand. The apparel companies mostly concentrated on design and marketing rather than production. The production was generally a labour intensive method which had several disadvantages. This enabled the garment companies to outsource the production of their design in high competitive terms (Pisano & Adams, 2009). As the supply chain had become globalized, it was a great challenge for VF to find good supplier and develop good relationship in order to coordinate the production flows. The apparel companies do not possess appropriate skill and good bond for efficient outsourcing in Asian region. For this reason, a few Asian manufacturers had started to modify their business to provide fully incorporated supply chain to the apparel companies (Pisano & Adams, 2009). The economic recession of 2008–2009 was also another challenge of VF. Compared to other competitors, VF had managed the global recession much better, though it has also seen decline in sales by 9% in the year 2009. Their income had reduced by 30% in the same year, but the financial condition of VF was strong. It had relatively lower debt, good credit line and comparatively higher cash than their competitors. The biggest fear for VF was the long term impact of the economic crisis on the supply chain. Several garment suppliers were operating on low margin and did not have any financial cushion. When the volume fell because of low demand of garment products, suppliers were forced to shut down their business. The sudden closure of supplier’s business had proved to be troublesome for VF Company. For example, a supplier of VF had informed that it would close down its

Thinking like a mountain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thinking like a mountain - Essay Example All forms of life are interdependent, which means that extinction of one form of life threatens the survival of the rest of the ecosystem either directly or indirectly. Since the impact of extinction is felt after a long period, environmentalists must bring the awareness to humanity, who in most cases does not mind what they cannot feel now. Although effect of pollution takes time, the impacts are often long lasting and disastrous (National Research Council 112). For instance, in some countries, it is legal to kill elephants for their ivory. The rate of reproduction of elephants is quite low, which means that if this human activity is to go on for some time, elephants will be at a risk of extinction. The country will loose the tourism exports associated with the elephants as the ecosystem suffers a disability. David Thoreau would certainly claim that all people are ambassadors and care takers of the world’s resources. When they fail to maintain discipline in nurturing the environment, they are digging their own graves. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all human beings to understand the connection between all species and in return show respect by using world’s resources responsibly and

ERP Story Write Up Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ERP Story Write Up - Case Study Example The operations in HR like vacancy advertisement and subsequent hiring of employees, effective management of the entire supply chain, and providing transparent and timely financial reports may not be possible in such cases due to untimely passage of information. The use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides some solution to these problems. This is achieved if the software is installed correctly (Walgium, 1). However, the success of introducing ERP system into an organization is not obvious. Instead, the use of ERP may be associated with a series of challenges to the management as well as the employees. Some changes may be required in the system of operations of each of the sections (Walgium, 1). There is also need to have hardware and software compatibility for the applications used by different sections to be brought together. Due to such complications, an organization should thoroughly examine its worth as well the available resources before installing an ERP. Otherwise, the new technology may be worse than the traditional approach. This paper focuses on the different issues that arise when a large company decides to integrate ERP into its operations. It provides specific reference to ABS Canada, an insurance company that has three different parent organizations brought together to operate as a single entity. ABS Canada wishes to consolidate its operations in the three sections namely marketing management, human resource management, and finance management. Aux Bons Soins (ABS) has been in the insurance industry in Canada for several decades (Case study). Over the years, various developments have been seen that have significant impacts on its operations. The company has acquired two other subsidiary insurance companies in the last few years. The parent company as well as its subsidiaries has always

To What Extent Does the State Protect the Rights of Children Essay

To What Extent Does the State Protect the Rights of Children - Essay Example For there is no hesitation that since its modern emergence as a social problem, child abuse has been subject to considerable media, public and political interest and discussion. It has been constructed as one of the major social problems of present times and perhaps the major priority for managers and practitioners in the child welfare field. Child protection work, by which we mean protection from the risk of abuse, has become too centred on the occurrence or not of an abusive event and the likelihood of its recurrence. Here one has to consider two scenarios. The first scenario is that in the former, policy and practice would be driven by an emphasis on partnership, participation, prevention, family support and a positive rethink of the purposes and uses of care. The main concern would be on helping parents and children in the community in a supportive way and would keep notions of policing, surveillance and coercive interventions to a minimum. In effect, Part III and Section 17 of the Act would drive policy and practice. The other scenario was that it would be priorities about child protection which would control in effect Part V and Section 47 in particular, and concerns about the threshold for state intervention based on 'significant harm and the likelihood of significant harm'. Not only are the family support aspirations and sections of the Act being implemented partially and not prioritised, but also the child protection system is overloaded and not coping with the increased demands made of it. While child protection is the dominating concern and this is framing child welfare more generally, increasingly it is felt that too many cases are being dragged into the child protection net and that as a consequence the few who might require such interventions are in danger of being missed. (Landsberg, 2001) Concerns about child protection have become all-pervasive to the point where childcare and child welfare policies and priorities have been fundamentally re-ordered and re-fashioned in its guise. What we are currently witnessing is a major debate about whether and how policy and practice can be reframed so that it is consistent with the original intentions of the Children Act 1989.  

ERP Story Write Up Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ERP Story Write Up - Case Study Example The operations in HR like vacancy advertisement and subsequent hiring of employees, effective management of the entire supply chain, and providing transparent and timely financial reports may not be possible in such cases due to untimely passage of information. The use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides some solution to these problems. This is achieved if the software is installed correctly (Walgium, 1). However, the success of introducing ERP system into an organization is not obvious. Instead, the use of ERP may be associated with a series of challenges to the management as well as the employees. Some changes may be required in the system of operations of each of the sections (Walgium, 1). There is also need to have hardware and software compatibility for the applications used by different sections to be brought together. Due to such complications, an organization should thoroughly examine its worth as well the available resources before installing an ERP. Otherwise, the new technology may be worse than the traditional approach. This paper focuses on the different issues that arise when a large company decides to integrate ERP into its operations. It provides specific reference to ABS Canada, an insurance company that has three different parent organizations brought together to operate as a single entity. ABS Canada wishes to consolidate its operations in the three sections namely marketing management, human resource management, and finance management. Aux Bons Soins (ABS) has been in the insurance industry in Canada for several decades (Case study). Over the years, various developments have been seen that have significant impacts on its operations. The company has acquired two other subsidiary insurance companies in the last few years. The parent company as well as its subsidiaries has always

Different Aspects of Pain Essay Example for Free

Different Aspects of Pain Essay Pain is a subject to which all people can relate. There are many different types of pain, and people react to these pains in various ways. Pain is also caused from many different sources. It could be from grief, stress, or a significant event that occurs in one’s life. Pain is defined in the Dictionary as â€Å"mental or emotional suffering or torment.† The poetry of Robert Frost, James Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson all display different aspects of pain. Robert Lee Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California where his father worked as a newspaper editor. This may have been where Robert was first exposed to the aspect of writing. Robert’s first published poem was in a school newspaper at the age of 16 where he wrote a poem on the subject of Cortez in Mexico. Although he attended Dartmouth for seven weeks and spent two years at Harvard, he never finished a college education with a degree. After he had gotten married, he worked as a schoolteacher, and during this period is when he spent time writing the majority of his poetry. After his teaching career, he moved to England to pursue getting his works published since his poetry was not accepted for publishing in America. His first two books of poems, A Boy’s Will and North of Boston, were published in England and then later in America due to the overwhelming popularity of them in England (Greenberg ix-x). Frost’s poem â€Å"Out, Out† tells a story of the tragic death of a boy due to a buzz saw. The title is an allusion to act five William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where the main character, Macbeth, performs a soliloquy regarding the death of his wife: Out, out, brief candle! / Lifes but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing. The allusion to Shakespeare in the title is appropriate to the subject matter because the soliloquy of Macbeth states that life is short, and inevitably will end. That is the message that Robert Frost is trying to convey in this poem. There are two different aspects of pain that appear in â€Å"Out, Out.† The first  one is the aspect of physical pain. This occurs when the buzz saw the boy is using, hits the boy’s hand and injures the hand severely. â€Å"As if to prove saws knew what supper meant, / Leaped out at the boy’s hand, / or seemed to leap (Frost 522)† The boy then begins to feel the pain of what has just happened, the physical pain of his hand being severed by the buzz saw. The next type of pain that can be seen here is the psychological pain, caused by stress. As a result of the boy’s injury, he begins to fall into pieces about the whole matter (clarify this somehow. â€Å"fall into pieces† sounds a little ambiguous as well as clichà ©) . The poem says that the boy â€Å"half in appeal, but as if to keep / the life from spilling. Then the boy saw all (Frost 522).† These two lines of the poem depict that the boy is old enough to understand what is going on with what is happening. His hand is injured beyond what the doctors can repair, and there is a high possibility of death because of what has just happened. The word ‘Life’ in this poem represents the blood that flowing from his hand. One can also see the apathy displayed by the rest of his family. Even though a member of the family has just died due to a tragic accident â€Å"Littlelessnothing!and that ended it (Frost 522)† they show no pain of the loss of a family member. It is depicted in the last two lines of the poem, â€Å"No more to build on there. And they, since they / Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs (Frost 522).† This shows that they had no emotion to the event, and went on to what they were doing as if nothing had happened in the first place. The second piece of poetry presented is one by James Langston Hughes. James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He spent his early life living with his grandmother in Illinois. Hughes began to write poems, and also some short stories, while he was in high school. Hughes mentions that the primary influences to his writing are Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. His first book of poetry, entitled The Weary Blues, was published in 1926, while he was in college. Hughes graduated from Lincoln University three years following the publication of his first book of poetry. The year following his college graduated, Hughes  won the Harmon gold medal for literature for the first novel that he wrote, Not Without Laughter. James Langston Hughes poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† was the first poem of his that was published. This poem was also set to music later on. It is written from the perspective of a man that ties together African and African-American history. Hughes does this by naming different rivers that are in Africa and also those that are in the United States. This is where the wordplay of Langston Hughes can be seen. The type of pain that is displayed in this poem is not very obvious, but it is more implied than directly stated. Seeing that this poems speaks of African and African-American History, the idea of the oppression that these people groups have gone through is something that can be inferred from what the poem says. Both of these people groups have gone through major oppression because of slavery, inequality, and the like. (while it is not obvious I would recommend trying to find a few lines that can possibly show the pain) The final poem presented here is a poem from Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson was born in the year 1830 in a family that was considered to be very wealthy for that time period. Her father ultimately led the family and was a religious man for the family. He read prayers and passages of scripture to all that lived in the household to maintain this. She attended the seminary for a year, but went home after that year due to a significant amount of unpleasant experiences. After Emily left school, she isolated herself from all activities and responsibilities that were outside of the household, and kept to herself most of the time. She spent a significant amount of time reading books. Because of the morals that her father had, there were not many things for her to choose from, as her father thought that most books that were available at the time might shake up her thinking patterns. She then settled to read the Bible, classical myths, and also the works of William Shakespeare. Because of this, a great amount of the poems that she wrote had allusion to her readings contained in them. Although there is very little that people know of Emily Dickinsons outside life, but after reading the  poems that she has written, one can gain some access to the inside life in Emily Dickinson (Madden 1287). Emily Dickinson wrote nearly two thousand different poems in her lifetime (Madden 1288). Only but a few of these poems were intentionally published by her. Although Emily made her brother and sister promise to destroy all of her works following her death, her sister, Lavinia, could not gain the strength to destroy her sister Emily’s poetry. Not too far following her death in 1886, nine volumes of her works that were revised in wording, punctuation, structure, and rhyme were published. Unedited versions that were true to the original manuscript of Emily Dickinson where not published until 1955 (Madden 1288). Most of the poems of Emily Dickinson were her own personal laments that she did not intend for the public to ever see. â€Å"After A Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes† is an example of one of these extremely personal poems. During the time that this poem was written, Dickinson had just lost a very close friend. She was also beginning to dismiss the ideas of a career, starting a family, and making contact with anything or anyone that was outside of her own house. This whole poem directly deals with the pain of emotional loss that comes with the passing away of a person that is extremely close. Death was something that Dickinson never adjusted to, and it is displayed in this poem. She depicts how the feeling sits heavily and does not seem to go away very quickly â€Å"The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs(Dickinson 1291)† (Lundin 95). In the last two lines of the first stanza Dickinson says, â€Å"The stiff Heart questions what it He, that bore, / And Yesterday, or Centuries before? (Dickinson 1291)† Here she is reliving past pains and grief that have occurred in her life before the death of her friend. She also relives past painful moments in her life in the second stanza â€Å"The Feet, mechanical, go round (Dickinson 1291)† (Grabher 217). In the last stanza, Dickinson focuses on the present pain that is in her life. â€Å"This is the Hour of Lead (Dickinson 1291)† refers to the passing of  Dickinson’s close friend. She then goes over the stages of how she moves on from these painful experiences: â€Å"As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow / FirstChillthen Stuporthen the letting go (Dickinson 1291)† The way that she ends this poems makes it appear as though she is trailing off into a land of thought to go dwell on what has just happened, to begin her process of recovery (Lundin 234). As one can see, many different aspects of pain have been discussed. Robert Frost’s â€Å"Out, Out† discussed physical pain due to an injury, and also the pain of stress due to that injury. James Langston Hughes implied the racial oppression of Africans and African-Americans that had gone before him in â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers.† Emily Dickinson goes deep into her personal life and displays emotional pain with â€Å"After A Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes† by reminiscing on past grief and dealing with a new grief due to the death of a friend. As one reads through and analyzes these poems, one can see the way that pain is displayed in the midst of them and how each separate type affects people in different ways.

Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Information Technology Essay

Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Information Technology Essay ICT in personal communication affects many people in the community; they affect a wide range of people including the elderly, young and adults. Everyone use computers as the pin point of their lives; every day they can do: homework, watch TV on demand, listen to music and follow personal interests which may be video editing, composing music and surfing the web, even new jobs are based on ICT, so ICT is becoming a major part of everyday live. Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Social networking sites have been around from the beginning of 1997, the first social networking site was known as SixDegrees.com which lasted from 1997-2001. There are many new social networking sites and many users use them. Social networking sites affect many teenagers lifes because many teenagers spend a lot of time updating their profile everyday. Some teenagers update their profile every 10 minutes while others just update every week. Social networking sites have been named as problems, as fight for nothing occur within them. People believe that fights occur as people dont like other peoples groups or if two people like the same person. So fights would break out. This would be dangerous as many people would jump to conclusion and would just encourage you to fight them even if you might get seriously hurt. Teenagers who are active in social networking sites will go online frequently and check their page to see if they have received any comments or messages. They can then reply to the comments or just leave it like that. Then they can visit their friends pages and check if there is anything new which They then might visit the sites of their best friends to see if anything new is happening on their friends sites, such as new photos, blog postings, or comments posted by others. They are likely to leave a comment on friends profiles as they cruise by. If they are active in any discussion groups, they also will check out any new postings in these groups. They might add some new materials to their own profile or blog. Positives and Negatives Apart from the social benefits, social networking sites can be used to document school research, promote artistic talents and experiment with other forms of content creation. They provide a way to interact with others who share the same interests and to get constructive feedback on ongoing projects. Most social networking sites are open to all, especially MySpace, which means that your teen could be exposed to harassment, bullying. Cyber-bullying and harassment are most often done by other teens and tend to happen to older girls and to teens of either gender who have a strong online presence. It may take several forms: posting threatening messages posting photos that will cause embarrassment Spreading rumours. Elderly People Using Mobile Phones A mobile is a handheld device which can be used to communicate with. It is wireless as it uses radioactive waves. This means when it receives reception, you can call anyone with it as long as you know their number. Mobile phones have been around for 60 odd years. They advanced from being bricks to very small devices. Mobile phones have many uses: You can contact people Use it as a Sat Nav, to see the location Pass time by playing games on it You can check emails while on the move. Elderly people can use their mobile phones when they are lost and dont know their way home, they can contact relatives and tell them where they are and they can be picked up without any trouble. Elderly people can call up their relatives or friends while they are alone and they can meet up to arrange a party or a reunion. For many years there has been a blank market for mobile phones for the elderly but this is changing, new phones are emerging which have been specifically built for the elderly. These phones do not have all the high-tech functions which new phones have. These phones are plain and simple. Some have an emergency button and these phones are targeted for the elderly. A good example of this type of phone is the Clarity of Live C900. This phone is big, simple and sturdy. This phone is a breakthrough for mobiles for the elderly. It is the starting point of simple phones for the elderly. The advantages of having a mobile phone are that elderly people: Can stay in touch effortlessly Not feel alone in an emergency Being able to appreciate the outdoors and still be connected or available to answer your phone Can let others know where you are so that they are not worried or concerned about you. Disadvantages of Mobile Phones Symptoms caused by the radiation of mobile phones are one of the most argued problems. Many scientists believe that the radiation from the mobile phones may cause the users to have different symptoms such as headache, earaches, blurring of vision and even causing cancer. Though, these problems are still under early research, but we still have to consider this. Research says that, the effects of radiation may affect the elderly more than people in their 30s. The elderly person wouldnt be able to pay for the fee of the contract, so his/her relative has to pay the bill which may be expensive or inexpensive. Male Adult Users of the iPhone and Blackberry The iPhone is the next level of smart phones. It is the first cell phone made by Apple and very high expectations were expected from it; but when it was delivered, the expectations were broken as the iPhone was even better than it was thought to be. The iPhone has a multi-touch display, which means no cramped up keyboard is needed. The iPhone can make calls, play music, navigate the Web, edit photos, and play movies and text message, among many other capabilities. Although many of the iPhones functions can be found in other devices, the iPhone appears to be unique in that it seamlessly blends these abilities together, while also throwing a pack of originality into the mix. The iPhone is ideal for male adult users as it has some very brilliant ideas packed into it. Some of the features the iPhone has: The multi-touch display knows what to do You can surf the net on the iPhone iPhone will offer music, streaming video, podcasts, movies, YouTube, and more You can download music from iTunes and listen to them. The Disadvantages: No video camera; normal camera has no flash Battery might run out quick and is hard to replace No java support Sim card will only work if it is activated for the iPhone. BlackBerry A BlackBerry is a handheld PDA device that is engineered from the ground up for email. If email has become a vital part of your business or personal life, then you would no doubt benefit from using a BlackBerry. Most models now come with a built-in mobile phone, making the BlackBerry an obvious choice for users with the need to access their email from somewhere besides the comfort of a desk chair. BlackBerry smart phones allow you to stay in touch with everything that matters to you while youre on the go: Email, phone, maps, organizer, applications, games, the Internet and more. Advantages of BlackBerry: Supports Java Push emails Blackberry uses standardized MicroUSB connector for synchronization/charging. iPhone has a much larger proprietary 30-pin connector. Most Blackberries have keyboards, so you can actually type fast and with no errors. Blackberry can be synchronized to multiple computers simultaneously, if you have multiple computers. Really neither phone is that much better than the other. The Bold is the best BlackBerry up until now, and it is great for business use. The iPhone is a consumer device, and most of the original problems have already been addressed. It all comes down to what you like and what you really want in a phone. Each phone is great in its own right. Sky + Users The Sky + box incorporates an internal 80Gb hard disc which enables you to pause live TV or record one programme while watching another. You can even instruct the receiver to record episodes from your favourite series, all this without the use of videotapes. The onscreen menu is very easy to use, simply highlight the channel you wish to record and press the record button. It will automatically record at the time the programme starts, plus if you have instructed it to record several other programmes at different times it will record those as well. Advantages: Simple Straightforward to use Able to pause, record, stop and rewind Brilliant picture Disadvantages: Can be expensive Everything you do is recorded onto your database Privacy of information Small children may buy something that they didnt want to; they may have accidently bought it. How ICT has Affected People with Special Needs Disabled people often have great ICT skills that could be used in industry. However, people are often reluctant to employ them because of the fact that they have a disability. People often dont realise that just because somebody has a disability, they are still fully able to work on a computer or in ICT. 20% of the British working age population are disabled so it would be wasteful not to consider their expertise in work. This expertise could be used rather than left to do nothing; even if it is working from home. . The Visually Impaired Visually impaired or blind people cannot do normal tasks, such as read the paper. By being visually impaired or blind, you will not know what you are doing or where you are going. In the old days you could only trust your other senses to work and guide you around, but nowadays there is new technology that will help you. Blind people or the visually impaired can use, something known as, Braille to communicate with other blind or visually impaired people. It was created by Louis Braille and it uses dots as the alphabet. You can also get Braille translations software on computers which will translate Braille and read it out loud and clear in your chosen language, so this makes life easier for you. People who are visually impaired can use screen magnification. This allows you to zoom in on the page and lets you read what it says, as it is much clearer, a monitor that is larger may be helpful. Also, if the person has certain problems with colours then the contrast can be changed on new monitors to specify your needs. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) can also be used to scan documents and then converted into Braille or it can be read out by your computer. This is very useful as letters received by post can be scanned and then read to you. Also there is voice recognition programs which allow you to talk to the computer and the computer would do what you want and it will also automatically word process the speech. There is also speech output software which can read a document from a word processor and will dictate it out. Speech output software can also be used to read websites, menus and other things related to the computer. Technology is always improving and now there is something called the video magnifier. They allow you to place anything on them and it will be automatically magnified and show on a monitor so you can clearly see what it is and what it may say. You can zoom in onto it and read it; if it is a document or book. Hearing Impaired Hearing impairment could affect your everyday life and the things you are able to do. You may not be able to: hear people properly. Hearing impairment affects many old people and also young. Many deaf people can now text and e-mail even if they cant hear. The use of text messages and e-mailing has opened up a new way for deaf people. This gives deaf people or the hearing impaired a new way of communicating with the outside. Deaf people can see so they are able to text as it only involves reading and typing only. Interactive whiteboards can be used for teaching in schools with deaf pupils, interactive whiteboards can be used to show what the pupils have to do and also instructions can be written in as well without needing to listen to the instructions. This allows even deaf pupils to learn in special schools for the deaf. At home new technologies allow the deaf to know when the door bell or phone is ringing. There are extra loud devices, flashing lights, or if on the person then, vibrating alerts, to ensure the deaf that someone is ringing the bell or the phone is ringing. This allows you to respond to the doorbell, without these devices you would not know if the doorbell or phone is ringing when you are at home alone. Transmitters can be placed near to the phone to be notified about so when the transmitter picks up a sound it will activate the flashing lights or vibrating alerts. Special telephones can be used which make the incoming or outgoing speech louder or adjusts the pitch for people with hearing impairment. BT has launched videophones which allow deaf people to communicate with each other using sign language through video. These can be connected to a TV for a larger picture. People with hearing difficulties may find it hard to hear in public places and large rooms such as classrooms. This is caused by poor room sounds. Infrared systems are used to overcome hearing difficulties in larger rooms. Infrared systems replace the sound between the source and the listener with an infrared signal which is not affected by sounds. Mobility Difficulties Computers and ICT can improve the way of life for people with disabilities, giving them independence without having to have help off other people looking after them. It also gives them employment opportunities, and a new way of life which will help them a lot. There is a lot of help available through the internet as it allows many things to happen. Online shopping helps people with a physical or mobility disability to do their weekly shopping and much more through the internet without even having to move out of a seat let alone their own home, the items they purchased would be delivered to their footsteps. Home banking allows people to pay bills and look after their finances from home without having to go down to the bank in person. Computers can be adapted for people who have a physical disability. Using sticky keys the response time of keys pressed be adapted to ignore shaking. Predictive text can be used to predict which word is being typed which can speed up typing of a physically disabled person. You can also get mouth sticks and head pointers for people who can only move their head and they use their head to press keys on the keyboard. You can also get infrared head pointers which can be used to move the screen curser. If somebody has difficulty using a mouse then they can use a roller ball or a joystick as an alternative or a specified keyboard which can control the pointer on the screen. The most effective thing to use, instead of a keyboard, is a touch screen which allows physically impaired people to press buttons directly through the monitor and in some cases even type on the monitor. People with Reading Difficulties Many people with dyslexia find that they have problems with the mechanics of writing which can make them slow and unwilling writers. The effort required will often distract them from thinking about the content of the work and final checking will be harder if their writing is hard to read. Some people find that when using a keyboard and screen they can devote more attention to the content and spelling of their writing. They also find it much easier and less depressing to read and correct their work on the screen. Adaptations and alterations can be made to the standard computer and software to give additional support if this is required. Using spreadsheets, they can give visual aid to pupils with dyslexia as they can be taught visual methods of laying out their work and this means they are less likely to get lost in the process of calculation. ICT in the Community ICT has affected the community in many ways. It has changed our surroundings and what we see. Nowadays we can shop online, book holidays online, search where the landmarks of a country is. We can even communicate with each other within a community online. We can create a forum just for one community and discuss about topics we would like to. Cyber Cafà ©s The idea behind the Cyber Cafà ©s is to provide a public access point where a user can indulge in some surfing of the Internet. Customers are encouraged to stay for as long as possible . . . the longer they stay, the more food/drink they buy and most importantly the more they pay for the use of the Internet. People can go to cyber cafes and use the Internet relatively cheaply. The Internet they use is broadband, which is fast, and people can enjoy tea, coffee, other drinks and food whilst they enjoy the Internet at the same time. Cyber cafes share many of the disadvantages, as libraries such as time restrictions, lack of privacy etc. The cyber cafes are a bit more lenient when it comes to restrictions comparing cafes to the libraries. Hardware is also available in cyber cafes as it is in the libraries. Cyber cafes have their good and bad points. The bad points include the cost. Even though its cheap, in libraries its free to use ICT facilities. Cyber Cafes are a good invention and a re helpful. They are a lot more popular than libraries and seem to becoming a trend. Cyber cafà ©s are often busy places, with many people using the computers and others roaming the grounds. A total lack of privacy becomes difficult to check E-mails, enter passwords or even look at preferred sites. Well, basically, if you need some privacy, then cyber cafà ©s arent very highly recommended. Libraries Public libraries arent just shelves full of books anymore. They are fast becoming the focal point of the local community. Many libraries offer, amongst other services: Internet access for free Again, access is restricted, but at least it doesnt cost a single penny! Search engines to locate books Based on a similar technology to that of online search engines, a database of books is searched across the numerous local libraries. Facilities to host political meetings Due to the facilities to host political and community meetings, many MPs are holding their surgeries at local libraries. Members of libraries can use the ICT facilities there to access Internet and e-mail or even programs such as Microsoft office, which includes PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access and FrontPage. Using the Internet at libraries can be a waste of time because sometimes the computers maybe slow or busy. When using e-mail it can be frustrating because some of the domains have been blocked, this only affects children mostly. Other computer hardware is available, for example, speakers, scanners or printers. Most libraries also give free access to their ICT equipment. When using the libraries computers, most of the websites for children have been blocked. This is to stop misuse of the computers and noise in the library from children coming in and being noisy talking to each other while on the computer, playing games. There is also not enough privacy on what you maybe doing, for example, when logging on to certain websites someone could see you type in your password. You are also restricted to using ICT because of the times that the library is open and in most libraries time slots of 1-2 hours are given. Libraries ICT equipment is not used to the best of its ability because some of the staff havent been fully trained. This could affect the way some people are put off going to the libraries. Online Forums Online discussion forums are increasingly common in the community. Such forums are usually set up by just a few people. Once the forum becomes more popular, hundreds of people are often found discussing issues of all kinds. You can ask anything you want and somehow people will find an answer and they will reply to your post. Forums can be used for revision. You can ask people what you should revise and they would tell you what you should. There are millions and millions of forum users in the world. Usually, a topic is posted by one person and then replies are posted by other people who visit the forum centre often. As a result, an online community has surfaced, where people can discuss issues with people from all around the world. This type of technology is still new but it is becoming vastly popular. Many people nowadays research their homework and general conceptions of ideas on online forums rather than going to find record books and going to libraries, like people did in the past. Online forums have brought us more together online but separated us from the outside world. We believe in ICT far too much. Some forums may be misleading and wrong, so you have to be careful on which forums you trust and want to research on. CCTV CCTV security cameras are a step up in technology. They are great to help companies protect their businesses and keep safety levels high in the community. CCTV security cameras are a quick and easy way to make the community safer. There are many security cameras everywhere in the community and they make the public feel safer. It also cuts crime down. But they also can cut your privacy down as would be caught on tape without knowing. CCTV security cameras come in all shapes and sizes and picture quality, some these days are able to zoom in and out up to a few miles away. If an incident takes place, its easy enough to check the tapes and find information need for the police. The police then have evidence; which they can use to take action if needed and make the community a safer place to live in. The problem with having CCTV security cameras is it costs a lot of money to capture the whole community, if there are no CCTV cameras then people would take advantage of the areas that are not see able on camera. Another problem with CCTV security cameras in the community is that people think their privacy is being invaded. At the end of the day its only for our safety the CCTV security cameras have been installed. Positioning is crucial though because for example, there is a tree in the way of the camera; it would be pointless having the camera there. The good points about CCTV security cameras are they are great for doi ng their job on catching criminals and warning people there being watched and makes some people feel safer. By Visnu

History of Climate Records and Climate Change in Mexico City Essay exam

History of Climate Records and Climate Change in Mexico City Mexico City lies in the Basin of Mexico, and has been one of the most densely-populated areas of the world for thousands of years[1]. Consequently, it serves as a prime area for exploration of human impacts on climate and climate change. Mountains surround the Basin of Mexico on three sides; when the Spanish conquered the basin in 1519, it contained five lakes that connected during times of abundant precipitation. The lakes were drained as modern Mexico City expanded and today the majority of the basin is covered with human structures and concrete roads (Kasperson et al, 1995). With latitude 19 degrees and an elevation of 2250m, Mexico City has a temperate climate year-round. Summer brings intense convective rains caused by the unstable air and moist conditions of the prevailing trade winds (Juaregei, 1997). An abundance of historical data has the power to tell us whether the climate has always been this way, or if manÕs overbearing presence in the Basin of Mexico has had real effects on the areaÕs climate. Source: www.holyartworks.com Lake Texcoco, the site of modern Mexico City, during the time of Aztec rule (around 1500) Although the area that Mexico City now occupies has was settled by man over 6,000 years ago, regular reports of temperature and rainfall were not collected until 1826. The Mexico City newspaper, El Sol, was the publication that first made regular weather reports available (OÕHara and Metcalfe, 1995). More widespread collection of weather data was taken beginning in the 1870Õs through the newly-establish Meteorological Observatory, which introduced meteorological stations throughout the country, but civil unrest later on... ...ents. Eds. Jeanne X. Kasperson, Rogr E. Kasperson, and B.L. Truner II. New York: United Nations University Press, 1995. Juaregei, Ernesto. ÒClimate Changes in Mexico During the Historical and Instrumented Periods.Ó Quarternary International. Vol. 43/44. (1997): 7-17. Juaregei, Ernesto. ÒHeat Island Development in Mexico City.Ó Atmospheric Environment. Vol. 31, No.22. (1997): 3821-3831. Metcalfe, Sarah E. ÒHistoical Data and Climatic Change in Mexico: A Review.Ó The Geographical Journal. Vol. 153, No. 2. (1987): 211-222. OÕHara, Sarah L., and Sarah E. Metcalfe. ÒThe Climate of Mexico Since the Aztec Period.Ó Quarternary International. Vol. 43/44. (1997): 25-31. OÕHara, Sarah L., and Sarah E. Metcalfe. ÒReconstructing the Climate of Mexico from Historical Records.Ó The Holocene. Vol. 5, No. 4. (1995): 485-490.

A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy Essay -- Exploratory Essay

A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy One of the most hotly contested issues inside and outside of biomedical ethics today is abortion. The discussion received a new impetus at the release of the controversial abortion drug RU-486, "a pill to increase access to abortions and let women get them privately from their own doctor instead of facing shouting protesters at clinics."2 As is the case with all controversial issues, there are very passionate people on both sides of the fence. Unfortunately, a heated discussion on abortion can easily and quickly turn into a battle of rhetoric rather than a dialectic of reason. But the guiding light in such a discussion must always be reason, not rhetoric or other fallacies, for only reason can solve this issue and judge which side is correct. In this brief essay, I shall attempt to clear away some of the confusion present in typical abortion debates by cooling the rhetoric with reason enlightened by scientific facts. Specifically, I will examine two common pro-abortion arguments made by Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thomson and demonstrate that they cannot stand up to rational scrutiny and therefore fail to justify abortion. I shall also use a "quadrilemma" argument similar to that of Peter Kreeft's to show that, aside from all specific argumentation, abortion cannot be morally justified. Before even beginning to discuss the issue of abortion, it is imperative to agree upon a starting point from which to reason. The fact that some people differ even about this very point tends to render the pro-abortion and the anti-abortion paradigms somewhat "incommensurable," and this is probably one major reason why people are tempted to arrive at different conclusions about this ... ...ilure is equal to an unwanted pregnancy due to rape is nothing short of ridiculous. The sexual act by nature tends towards pregnancy, i.e., that is the natural purpose of the sexual act, and any woman who engages in this act voluntarily, with or without contraception, thereby willingly opens herself to pregnancy. 20 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468. 21 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468f. 22 M. LeRoy Sprang and Mark G. Neerhof, "Rationale for Banning Abortions Late in Pregnancy," Journal of the American Medical Association 280, no. 8 (1998): 745. 23 Sprang and Neerhof, "Banning Abortions," 745. 24 Cf. Peter Kreeft, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), 119-21. 25 One might object that "abortion is morally neutral" is another possibility, but that which is morally neutral is morally permissible. A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy Essay -- Exploratory Essay A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy One of the most hotly contested issues inside and outside of biomedical ethics today is abortion. The discussion received a new impetus at the release of the controversial abortion drug RU-486, "a pill to increase access to abortions and let women get them privately from their own doctor instead of facing shouting protesters at clinics."2 As is the case with all controversial issues, there are very passionate people on both sides of the fence. Unfortunately, a heated discussion on abortion can easily and quickly turn into a battle of rhetoric rather than a dialectic of reason. But the guiding light in such a discussion must always be reason, not rhetoric or other fallacies, for only reason can solve this issue and judge which side is correct. In this brief essay, I shall attempt to clear away some of the confusion present in typical abortion debates by cooling the rhetoric with reason enlightened by scientific facts. Specifically, I will examine two common pro-abortion arguments made by Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thomson and demonstrate that they cannot stand up to rational scrutiny and therefore fail to justify abortion. I shall also use a "quadrilemma" argument similar to that of Peter Kreeft's to show that, aside from all specific argumentation, abortion cannot be morally justified. Before even beginning to discuss the issue of abortion, it is imperative to agree upon a starting point from which to reason. The fact that some people differ even about this very point tends to render the pro-abortion and the anti-abortion paradigms somewhat "incommensurable," and this is probably one major reason why people are tempted to arrive at different conclusions about this ... ...ilure is equal to an unwanted pregnancy due to rape is nothing short of ridiculous. The sexual act by nature tends towards pregnancy, i.e., that is the natural purpose of the sexual act, and any woman who engages in this act voluntarily, with or without contraception, thereby willingly opens herself to pregnancy. 20 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468. 21 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468f. 22 M. LeRoy Sprang and Mark G. Neerhof, "Rationale for Banning Abortions Late in Pregnancy," Journal of the American Medical Association 280, no. 8 (1998): 745. 23 Sprang and Neerhof, "Banning Abortions," 745. 24 Cf. Peter Kreeft, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), 119-21. 25 One might object that "abortion is morally neutral" is another possibility, but that which is morally neutral is morally permissible.