Romeo and Juliet : the Deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt

Romeo and Juliet: Act 3, Scene 2 The deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt| In the greatest play of all time â€Å"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet† by William Shakespeare, tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who take their own lives. In Act 3, scene 1 while Mercutio and Benvolio are joking around they are interrupted by some Capulets including Tybalt, who is looking for Romeo. When Romeo arrives he tries to make peace with Tybalt, but Mercutio feeling his friend has been insulted challenges Tybalt to fight. Romeo tries to stop the fight between the two men and Mercutio is wounded.As he dies, Mercutio curses both houses. Romeo furious by his friends death turns and attacks Tybalt killing him. When the prince arrives, Benvolio tells everything that had happen. As a punishment for the death of his dear cousin the prince banishes Romeo, saying that he will be killed within the hour if he is found in Verona. The people who are the most to blame for the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio are the Capulets and the Montagues. Both houses, The Montagues and The Capulets are to blame for the deaths.For example in the prologue of act 1 scene ,line 3 it states â€Å"From Ancient grudge break to new mutiny† A families old hatred will still affect lives today. This quote proves that both houses don’t like each other and over the years hate has been building up affecting others lives. Another example would be found in Act 3, Scene 1, and Line 100, â€Å"A plague on both of your houses! They have made worms meat of me. I have it, and soundly too. Your houses! † this quote says that Mercutio blames both houses for his death saying you have made worms meat out of me.This quote shows that everyone blames both families for anything that has happen to them. In conclusion both the Montagues and the Capulets are to blame. Both houses are responsible for the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio. With all of their constant fighting and hate building up on top of hate they are bound to be doomed. If the Capulets and the Montagues don’t make up now later on the will have to pay a huge price. They may have thought the Prince’s declaration was worse they would just have to keep on acting like a bunch of children and their actions would soon come back to haunt them.

Understanding Man’s Power

In recent years, we have come to understand that relations between men and women are governed by a sexual politics that exists outside individual men's and women's needs and choices. It has taken us much longer to recognize that there is a systematic sexual politics of male-male relationships as well. Under patriarchy, men's relationships with other men cannot help but be shaped and patterned by patriarchal norms, though they are less obvious than the norms governing male-female relationships. A society could not have the kinds of power dynamics that exist between women and men in our society without certain kinds of systematic power dynamics operating among men as well. Men do not just happily bond together to oppress women. In addition to hierarchy over women, men create hierarchies and rankings among themselves according to criteria of â€Å"masculinity. † Men at each rank of masculinity compete with each other, with whatever resources they have, for the differential payoffs that patriarchy allows men. Men in different societies choose different grounds on which to rank each other. Many societies use the simple facts of age and physical strength to stratify men. Our society stratifies men according to physical strength and athletic ability in the early years, but later in life focuses on success with women and ability to make money. In our society, one of the most critical rankings among men deriving from patriarchal sexual politics is the division between gay and straight men. This division has powerful negative consequences for gay men and gives straight men privileges. But in addition, this division has a larger symbolic meaning. Our society uses the male heterosexual-homosexual dichotomy as a central symbol for all the rankings of masculinity, for the division on any grounds between males who are â€Å"real men† and have power, and males who are not. Any kind of powerlessness or refusal to compete becomes imbued with imagery of homosexuality. In the men's movement documentary film Men's Lives, a high school male who studies modern dance says that others often think he is gay because he is a dancer. When asked why, he gives three reasons: because dancers are â€Å"free and loose,† because they are â€Å"not big like football players,† and because â€Å"you're not trying to kill anybody. † The patriarchal connection: if you are not trying to kill other men, you must be gay. Another dramatic example of men's use of homosexual insults as weapons in their power struggle with each other comes from a document which provides one of the richest case studies of the politics of male-male relationships to yet appear: Woodward and Bernstein's The Final Days. Ehrlichman jokes that Kissinger is queer, Kissinger calls an unnamed colleague a psychopathic homosexual, and Haig jokes that Nixon and Rebozo are having a homosexual relationship. From the highest ranks of male power to the lowest, the gay-straight division is a central symbol of all the forms of ranking and power relationships which men put on each other. MEN S POWER WITH WOMEN The relationships between the patriarchal stratification and competition which men experience with each other, and men's patriarchal domination of women, are complex. Let us briefly consider several points of interconnection between them. First, women are used as SYMBOLS OF SUCCESS in men's competition with each other. It is sometimes thought that competition for women is the ultimate source of men's competition with each other. There is considerable reason, however, to see women not as the ultimate source of male-male competition, but rather as only symbols in a male contest where real roots lie much deeper. Second, women often play a MEDIATING role in the patriarchal struggle among men. Women get together with each other, and provide the social lubrication necessary to smooth over men's inability to relate to each other non-competitively. A modern myth, James Dickey's novel Deliverance, portrays what happens when men's relationships with each other are not mediated by women. According to Heilburn, the central message of Deliverance is that when men get beyond the bounds of civilization, which really means beyond the bounds of the civilizing effects of women, men rape and murder each other. A third function women play in male-male sexual politics is that relationships with women provide men a REFUGE from the dangers and stresses of relating to other males. Traditional relationships with women have provided men a safe place in which they can recuperate from the stresses they have absorbed in their daily struggle with other men, and in which they can express their needs without fearing that these needs will be used against them. If women begin to compete with men and have power in their own right, men are threatened by the loss of this refuge. Finally, a fourth function of women n males' patriarchal competition with each other is to reduce the stress of competition by serving as an UNDERCLASS. As Elizabeth Janeway has written in Between Myth and Morning, under patriarchy women represent the lowest status, a status to which men can fall only under the most exceptional circumstances, if at all. Competition among men is serious, but its intensity is mitigated by the fact tha t there is a lowest possible level to which men cannot fall. One reason men fear women's liberation, writes Janeway, is that the liberation of women will take away this unique underclass status of women. Men will now risk falling lower than ever before, into a new underclass composed of the weak of both sexes. Thus, women's liberation means that the stakes of patriarchal failure for men are higher than they have been before, and that it is even more important for men not to lose. Thus, men's patriarchal competition with each other makes use of women as symbols of success, as mediators, as refuges, and as an underclass. In each of these roles, women are dominated by men in ways that derive directly from men's struggle with each other. Men need to deal with the sexual politics of their relationships with each other if they are to deal fully with the sexual politics of their relationships with women. MEN'S POWER IN SOCIETY At one level, men's social identity is defined by the power they have over women and the power they can compete for against other men. But at another level, most men have very little power over their own lives. How can we understand this paradox? The major demand to which men must accede in contemporary society is that they play their required role in the economy. But this role is not intrinsically satisfying. The social researcher Daniel Yankelovich has suggested that about 80% of U. S. male workers experience their jobs as intrinsically meaningless and onerous. They experience their jobs and themselves as worthwhile only through priding themselves on the hard work and personal sacrifice they are making to be breadwinners for their families. Accepting these hardships reaffirms their role as family providers and therefore as true men. Linking the breadwinner role to masculinity in this way has several consequences for men. Men can get psychological payoffs from their jobs which these jobs never provide in themselves. By training men to accept payment for their work in feelings of masculinity, rather than in feelings of satisfaction, men will not demand that their jobs be made more meaningful. As a result, jobs can be designed for the more important goal of generating profits. Further, the connection between work and masculinity makes men accept unemployment as their personal failing as males, rather than analyze and change the profit-based economy whose inevitable dislocations make them unemployed or unemployable. Men's jobs are increasingly structured as if men had no direct roles or responsibilities in the family–indeed, as if they did not have families at all. But paradoxically, at the same time that men's responsibilities in the family are reduced to facilitate more efficient performance of their work role, the increasing dehumanization of work means that jobs give men only the satisfaction of fulfilling the family breadwinner role. The relative privilege that men get from sexism, and more importantly the false consciousness of privilege men get from sexism, play a critical role in reconciling men to their subordination in the larger political economy. This analysis does not imply that men's sexism will go away if they gain control over their own lives, or that men do not have to deal with their sexism until they gain this control. Rather, the point is that we cannot fully understand men's sexism or men's subordination in the larger society unless we understand how deeply they are related. Ultimately, we have to understand that patriarchy has two halves which are intimately related to each other. Patriarchy is a dual system, a system in which men oppress women, and in which men oppress themselves and each other. At one level, challenging one part of patriarchy inherently leads to challenging the other. This is one way to interpret why the idea of women's liberation led so soon to the idea of men's liberation, which ultimately means freeing men from the patriarchal sexual dynamics they now experience with each other. But because the patriarchal sexual dynamics of male-male relationships are less obvious than those of male-female relationships, men now face a real danger: while the patriarchal oppression of women may be lessened as a result of the women's movement, the patriarchal oppression of men may be untouched. The real danger for men posed by the attack that the women's movement is making on patriarchy is not that this attack will go too far, but that it will not go far enough. Ultimately, men cannot go any further in relating to women as equals

Bioethics of Euthanasia

Therefore, the family is also an institution which generates the same attachment to objectivity that encourages a certain set of goals. Ultimately though, it is one’s subjective experience that has it’s own social, physical, mental, and spiritual habits and attachments that cause the mind and body to perform and exist in a particular way. The overarching illegality of euthanasia across North America is supported by religious institutions which act as the sole moral platform for questioning the professional conduct of medical practitioners. The hegemonic belief that is fostered views euthanasia as a breach of non-maleficence, though doctors have and will likely continue to comply with life-ending aid in North America, regardless of recent deliberation regarding legislation. A legalization of euthanasia could ease tensions for physicians and patients dealing with chronic fatal health conditions, but would require specific criteria for legality. The debilitating suffering from a terminal illness should be the first criteria, as well as an autonomous request made by the sufficiently competent patient. Those who advocate for the legalization of euthanasia are part of a particular morality that sees beyond the mystical value of medical non-maleficence and opposes overarching institutional moralities that forbid life-ending decisions. Also of concern is the slippery slope argument, whereby any level of legal euthanasia would likely incite requests for more flexible criteria, publicly bringing into question the intangible value of human life. A central notion of biomedical ethics that stands as a major contender against the legalization of euthanasia is non-maleficence. To generally adhere to the principles of non-maleficence, physicians should not provide ineffective treatments to patients as these offer risk with no possibility of benefit and thus have a chance of harming patients. In addition, physicians must not do anything that would purposely harm patients without the action being balanced by proportional benefit (Beauchamp, 155). This benefit is not necessarily beneficial to the terminally ill individual who has requested euthanasia. The benefit referred to in the medical field is generally an extension of life and a restoration of health, which is not a reality for the terminally ill, rather a benefit might be an end to incurable suffering. Because many medications, procedures, and interventions cause harm in addition to benefit, the principle of non-maleficence provides little concrete guidance in the care of patients, and acts as a fairly weak argument against euthanasia. A helpful distinction when debating the validity of physician assisted suicide is that of ‘killing’ and ‘allowing to die’. If a patient is too frail to undergo restorative treatment, it can be said that the withholding of that treatment is allowing the patient to die. On the other hand, ‘killing’ entails taking action that would hasten the onset of death. There is considerable overlap between these two concepts, to the point that a clear distinction is not readily discernible (Beauchamp, 172). The prima facie nature of allowing a patient to die, as expressed by Beauchamp is acceptable under certain conditions whereby a medical technology is considered futile, or ineffectual, or a patient and/or surrogate decision maker has validly denied a medical technology (173). In the case that a patient is suffering unnecessarily, and has denied or been denied the opportunity for treatment due to severity of illness, should euthanasia not be an acceptable option? This action would undoubtedly fall under the category of ‘killing’, but if the nearest solution is the imminent death of a terminally ill patient, the concept of non-maleficence should not apply to a deliberate hastening of the patients’ biological shutdown. It can also be argued that fading to death in palliative care with little to no cognition is of little value, and coming from a strictly utilitarian perspective, in some cases, may be unnecessary. If an elderly patient has no immediate family, and is in the final stages of a degenerative disease, the option of the patient to deny extended care and hasten the imminence of death should ot be considered immoral. The approval of certain cases such as the example above would definitely introduce a ‘slippery slope’ argument whereby the notions and parameters of conducting euthanasia would be challenged, inflated, and publicly scorned. The infamous example of Dr. Kevorkian is indicative of the demand for physican-assisted suicide, and the flexible moralities of perhaps many physicians who are faced with the challenge of allowing a patient to pursue a hastened death. Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for delivering a lethal injection to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was the first time in five trials that Kevorkian was found guilty of a crime after participating in, by his count, at least 130 assisted suicides. Likened to â€Å"a medical hit man† by the prosecution, Kevorkian compared himself to Martin Luther King and told the court he was no more culpable than an executioner. The 70-year-old doctor had dared prosecutors to charge him and threatened a hunger strike if convicted. â€Å"Suicide†). The case of Kevorkian’s assisted suicides shows that public hegemonic belief places all burden on the physician involved, for it is technically legal to carry out or attempt suicide, but not with the aid of any other person, especially a clinician. These laws tend to make sense in every realm except the medical world, where euthanasia is an issue that arises with the terminally ill, and particular moralities strongly advocate for the right to die under certain circumstances, as illustrated by Kevorkian’s rash threats of a hunger strike if convicted. Obviously viewing himself as a liberator, Kevorkian’s particular morality quickly earned him a reputation, and having participated in over one hundred assisted suicides, he stands not as a reputable opposition to hegemony, but rather a moral pariah. Kevorkian’s comparison of his ‘moral fallacy’ with the conduct of an executioner is an interesting philosophical idea, and also illustrates the exclusivity of moral professionalism within the medical world. This is mostly apparent in the United States where there is a domination of privatized health care, and plenty of capital punishment. The application of morality is varied when it comes to death and dying, in a society where a 20 year old can be put to death for committing murder, and in the same society, a terminally ill, suffering patient cannot decidedly seek a peaceful death without moral intervention. In both cases, strong moral impositions are made, and guide the fate of both individuals. The convict has a chance at rehabilitation, and renewing his moral adherence and contribution to society, but is not rewarded the chance because his actions stripped him of his dignity. On the other hand, the dying patient is not permitted to seek assistance in death because common morality forbids it, much like the same common morality denies the convict a second chance. The patient is denied euthanasia because the hegemonic function of the medical field is to avoid non-maleficence, so according to the same morality, the criminal is denied rehabilitation and put to death because the function of the law is to appropriately punish offenders. This paradox shows how two distinct versions of the same common morality are stamped like a ‘cookie cutter’, yielding the anticipated results of the societal function: the patient can’t die because medicine is designed to keep him alive, and the criminal can’t live because capital punishment is designed to eliminate him. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the application of euthanasia in the medical field should be acceptable in certain circumstances, and that exclusive clinical moralities should allow deliberation on the subject, and not continue to function in a ‘cookie cutter’ fashion. In Canada and the United States, laws distinguishing ‘active’ and ‘passive’ categories of euthanasia are divided into four sections: â€Å"deliberately killing persons who wish to die or assisting them in suicide (active voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide), deliberately killing persons whose wishes are unknown or opposed to such treatment (active involuntary euthanasia), withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means from those who do not want them used (forgoing treatment of competent individuals), and letting persons die by withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means when their wishes are unknown or when they want, or would tolerate, such means to be applied or maintained (forgoing treatment of incompetent individuals)† (Dickens, 136). According to these legal parameters, it would seem that active and passive euthanasia should only occur when indicated by the patient, living will, or a surrogate, such as active voluntary euthanasia, an d the forgoing of treatment to competent individuals. These two forms provide the patient with the moral decision to adopt the institutional values of their choice and affect their course of longevity and suffering. In the cases of active involuntary euthanasia, and the withholding of treatment from incompetent patients it can be said that, morally, the physician has no right to change the course of the patient’s treatment without clearance from a living will or surrogate. To conduct active involuntary euthanasia, or withhold treatment for no apparent reason indicated by the patient or surrogate, negligence would necessarily apply and represent the justified fault of the attending physician. Dealing with death is a subjective experience that generates fear, and causes humans to seek comfort in institutional beliefs, whether that be family, religion, other forms of spirituality, or modern medicine itself. Death reminds humans of their biological capacities and fleeting opportunities for experience in life, and generates a desire to medicalize suicide. â€Å"We want physicians to provide the means to end life in an antiseptically acceptable fashion. Knives, guns, ropes, and bridges tend to be messy. We seek a more aesthetically pleasing way of terminating life, one that leaves the patient looking dead, but not disgusting. For this, as in so much else in the 20th-century quest for happiness, we turn to the physician† (Paris, 33). Much like we seek aesthetic modifications from plastic surgeons, and mental stability from psychologists, we turn again to professional doctors for a method of dealing with the harsh reality of death. Though euthanasia may be an acceptable option for some people in certain sets of dire circumstances, it is the fear of death generated by the triumphs of medicine that provide the illusion that death and suffering are something a physician can cure. Medicinal miracles and the rise of technological medicine give people the impression that old losses are new triumphs, at least insofar as one can be kept alive for longer with chronic diseases. This notion sparks the fear of suffering before death, and that morbidity will be extended instead of compressed. Essentially then, it is the physician who bears all weight of the laws pertaining to euthanasia, which seems unjust when there is little more that medicine can do for a terminally ill patient than aid in their peaceful departure from life. The argument that legalized euthanasia would initiate the slippery slope, and â€Å"hospitals would become cruel and dehumanized places† are refuted by the suggestion and observation of the exact opposite (Schafer). As Schafer suggests, â€Å"experience has shown that what happened was exactly the opposite of what was predicted by the naysayers: Doctors and hospitals have become kinder and gentler, patients’ wishes are better respected than previously and society has come to accept the importance of individual autonomy at the end of life† (3). Clearly, the legalization of euthanasia would not entirely disrupt the nature of medical care in Canada, and with current debates indicating the possibility of change, society may undergo a change of ideas in the near future. The idea that euthanasia may provide a patient with more dignity at death than what is often referred to as ‘sedation to unconsciousness’ is becoming more common, and should not be deemed unacceptable next to palliative care. With the right safeguards in place, euthanasia should be one of many life-ending options available to Canadians near the end of their life, with palliative care being a morally adjacent decision. The subjective experience of death is one’s own, and even familial institution can only do so much to comfort the process of being terminally ill. Therefore it should be a decision of the patient to seek medical help, either in the form of sedation and longevity, or immediate peace. Bioethics of Euthanasia Therefore, the family is also an institution which generates the same attachment to objectivity that encourages a certain set of goals. Ultimately though, it is one’s subjective experience that has it’s own social, physical, mental, and spiritual habits and attachments that cause the mind and body to perform and exist in a particular way. The overarching illegality of euthanasia across North America is supported by religious institutions which act as the sole moral platform for questioning the professional conduct of medical practitioners. The hegemonic belief that is fostered views euthanasia as a breach of non-maleficence, though doctors have and will likely continue to comply with life-ending aid in North America, regardless of recent deliberation regarding legislation. A legalization of euthanasia could ease tensions for physicians and patients dealing with chronic fatal health conditions, but would require specific criteria for legality. The debilitating suffering from a terminal illness should be the first criteria, as well as an autonomous request made by the sufficiently competent patient. Those who advocate for the legalization of euthanasia are part of a particular morality that sees beyond the mystical value of medical non-maleficence and opposes overarching institutional moralities that forbid life-ending decisions. Also of concern is the slippery slope argument, whereby any level of legal euthanasia would likely incite requests for more flexible criteria, publicly bringing into question the intangible value of human life. A central notion of biomedical ethics that stands as a major contender against the legalization of euthanasia is non-maleficence. To generally adhere to the principles of non-maleficence, physicians should not provide ineffective treatments to patients as these offer risk with no possibility of benefit and thus have a chance of harming patients. In addition, physicians must not do anything that would purposely harm patients without the action being balanced by proportional benefit (Beauchamp, 155). This benefit is not necessarily beneficial to the terminally ill individual who has requested euthanasia. The benefit referred to in the medical field is generally an extension of life and a restoration of health, which is not a reality for the terminally ill, rather a benefit might be an end to incurable suffering. Because many medications, procedures, and interventions cause harm in addition to benefit, the principle of non-maleficence provides little concrete guidance in the care of patients, and acts as a fairly weak argument against euthanasia. A helpful distinction when debating the validity of physician assisted suicide is that of ‘killing’ and ‘allowing to die’. If a patient is too frail to undergo restorative treatment, it can be said that the withholding of that treatment is allowing the patient to die. On the other hand, ‘killing’ entails taking action that would hasten the onset of death. There is considerable overlap between these two concepts, to the point that a clear distinction is not readily discernible (Beauchamp, 172). The prima facie nature of allowing a patient to die, as expressed by Beauchamp is acceptable under certain conditions whereby a medical technology is considered futile, or ineffectual, or a patient and/or surrogate decision maker has validly denied a medical technology (173). In the case that a patient is suffering unnecessarily, and has denied or been denied the opportunity for treatment due to severity of illness, should euthanasia not be an acceptable option? This action would undoubtedly fall under the category of ‘killing’, but if the nearest solution is the imminent death of a terminally ill patient, the concept of non-maleficence should not apply to a deliberate hastening of the patients’ biological shutdown. It can also be argued that fading to death in palliative care with little to no cognition is of little value, and coming from a strictly utilitarian perspective, in some cases, may be unnecessary. If an elderly patient has no immediate family, and is in the final stages of a degenerative disease, the option of the patient to deny extended care and hasten the imminence of death should ot be considered immoral. The approval of certain cases such as the example above would definitely introduce a ‘slippery slope’ argument whereby the notions and parameters of conducting euthanasia would be challenged, inflated, and publicly scorned. The infamous example of Dr. Kevorkian is indicative of the demand for physican-assisted suicide, and the flexible moralities of perhaps many physicians who are faced with the challenge of allowing a patient to pursue a hastened death. Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for delivering a lethal injection to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was the first time in five trials that Kevorkian was found guilty of a crime after participating in, by his count, at least 130 assisted suicides. Likened to â€Å"a medical hit man† by the prosecution, Kevorkian compared himself to Martin Luther King and told the court he was no more culpable than an executioner. The 70-year-old doctor had dared prosecutors to charge him and threatened a hunger strike if convicted. â€Å"Suicide†). The case of Kevorkian’s assisted suicides shows that public hegemonic belief places all burden on the physician involved, for it is technically legal to carry out or attempt suicide, but not with the aid of any other person, especially a clinician. These laws tend to make sense in every realm except the medical world, where euthanasia is an issue that arises with the terminally ill, and particular moralities strongly advocate for the right to die under certain circumstances, as illustrated by Kevorkian’s rash threats of a hunger strike if convicted. Obviously viewing himself as a liberator, Kevorkian’s particular morality quickly earned him a reputation, and having participated in over one hundred assisted suicides, he stands not as a reputable opposition to hegemony, but rather a moral pariah. Kevorkian’s comparison of his ‘moral fallacy’ with the conduct of an executioner is an interesting philosophical idea, and also illustrates the exclusivity of moral professionalism within the medical world. This is mostly apparent in the United States where there is a domination of privatized health care, and plenty of capital punishment. The application of morality is varied when it comes to death and dying, in a society where a 20 year old can be put to death for committing murder, and in the same society, a terminally ill, suffering patient cannot decidedly seek a peaceful death without moral intervention. In both cases, strong moral impositions are made, and guide the fate of both individuals. The convict has a chance at rehabilitation, and renewing his moral adherence and contribution to society, but is not rewarded the chance because his actions stripped him of his dignity. On the other hand, the dying patient is not permitted to seek assistance in death because common morality forbids it, much like the same common morality denies the convict a second chance. The patient is denied euthanasia because the hegemonic function of the medical field is to avoid non-maleficence, so according to the same morality, the criminal is denied rehabilitation and put to death because the function of the law is to appropriately punish offenders. This paradox shows how two distinct versions of the same common morality are stamped like a ‘cookie cutter’, yielding the anticipated results of the societal function: the patient can’t die because medicine is designed to keep him alive, and the criminal can’t live because capital punishment is designed to eliminate him. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the application of euthanasia in the medical field should be acceptable in certain circumstances, and that exclusive clinical moralities should allow deliberation on the subject, and not continue to function in a ‘cookie cutter’ fashion. In Canada and the United States, laws distinguishing ‘active’ and ‘passive’ categories of euthanasia are divided into four sections: â€Å"deliberately killing persons who wish to die or assisting them in suicide (active voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide), deliberately killing persons whose wishes are unknown or opposed to such treatment (active involuntary euthanasia), withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means from those who do not want them used (forgoing treatment of competent individuals), and letting persons die by withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means when their wishes are unknown or when they want, or would tolerate, such means to be applied or maintained (forgoing treatment of incompetent individuals)† (Dickens, 136). According to these legal parameters, it would seem that active and passive euthanasia should only occur when indicated by the patient, living will, or a surrogate, such as active voluntary euthanasia, an d the forgoing of treatment to competent individuals. These two forms provide the patient with the moral decision to adopt the institutional values of their choice and affect their course of longevity and suffering. In the cases of active involuntary euthanasia, and the withholding of treatment from incompetent patients it can be said that, morally, the physician has no right to change the course of the patient’s treatment without clearance from a living will or surrogate. To conduct active involuntary euthanasia, or withhold treatment for no apparent reason indicated by the patient or surrogate, negligence would necessarily apply and represent the justified fault of the attending physician. Dealing with death is a subjective experience that generates fear, and causes humans to seek comfort in institutional beliefs, whether that be family, religion, other forms of spirituality, or modern medicine itself. Death reminds humans of their biological capacities and fleeting opportunities for experience in life, and generates a desire to medicalize suicide. â€Å"We want physicians to provide the means to end life in an antiseptically acceptable fashion. Knives, guns, ropes, and bridges tend to be messy. We seek a more aesthetically pleasing way of terminating life, one that leaves the patient looking dead, but not disgusting. For this, as in so much else in the 20th-century quest for happiness, we turn to the physician† (Paris, 33). Much like we seek aesthetic modifications from plastic surgeons, and mental stability from psychologists, we turn again to professional doctors for a method of dealing with the harsh reality of death. Though euthanasia may be an acceptable option for some people in certain sets of dire circumstances, it is the fear of death generated by the triumphs of medicine that provide the illusion that death and suffering are something a physician can cure. Medicinal miracles and the rise of technological medicine give people the impression that old losses are new triumphs, at least insofar as one can be kept alive for longer with chronic diseases. This notion sparks the fear of suffering before death, and that morbidity will be extended instead of compressed. Essentially then, it is the physician who bears all weight of the laws pertaining to euthanasia, which seems unjust when there is little more that medicine can do for a terminally ill patient than aid in their peaceful departure from life. The argument that legalized euthanasia would initiate the slippery slope, and â€Å"hospitals would become cruel and dehumanized places† are refuted by the suggestion and observation of the exact opposite (Schafer). As Schafer suggests, â€Å"experience has shown that what happened was exactly the opposite of what was predicted by the naysayers: Doctors and hospitals have become kinder and gentler, patients’ wishes are better respected than previously and society has come to accept the importance of individual autonomy at the end of life† (3). Clearly, the legalization of euthanasia would not entirely disrupt the nature of medical care in Canada, and with current debates indicating the possibility of change, society may undergo a change of ideas in the near future. The idea that euthanasia may provide a patient with more dignity at death than what is often referred to as ‘sedation to unconsciousness’ is becoming more common, and should not be deemed unacceptable next to palliative care. With the right safeguards in place, euthanasia should be one of many life-ending options available to Canadians near the end of their life, with palliative care being a morally adjacent decision. The subjective experience of death is one’s own, and even familial institution can only do so much to comfort the process of being terminally ill. Therefore it should be a decision of the patient to seek medical help, either in the form of sedation and longevity, or immediate peace.

Theory of representation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Theory of representation - Case Study Example The most symbolic event of this political transformation is the recent election of Barack Obama to the office of President. The rest of this essay will critically assess Anne Phillips' "politics of presence" theory of representation, by contrasting it to alternative theories and interpretations forwarded by other scholars. In the introduction to her book 'The Politics of Presence', Anne Phillips states that "most voters know too little about the candidates to make their talents or virtues the basis for political choice. Most voters, indeed, would query whether these should be a central concern. We might all wish to be represented by people we regard as wiser or more able than ourselves, but, faced with a choice between someone more competent and someone whose views we can share, we usually feel safer in giving our support to the latter. The political party provides us with the necessary shorthand for making our political choice: we look at the label rather than the person, and hope we will not be let down." (Phillips, 1998, p.15) The above passage captures the essential dilemma confronting a voter, who is often unsure of which candidate truly represents his/her interests, opinions and beliefs and in turn will help create matching policy measures. Typically, there are no concrete ways in which one can ascertain if a candidate really represents the aspirations of the voter. To this extent the democratic system is said to operate on "the politics of ideas". Anne Phillips' model of representation based on "politics of presence" aims to provide an alternative framework for analyzing representation. At the centre of political representation based on presence is the demand for equality based on gender, race, class and other parameters of a particular democratic society. The well-entrenched politics of ideas, which is the dominant model in the twentieth century, suggests "a broadly secular understanding of politics as a matter of judgement and debate, and expects political loyalties to develop around policies rather than people" (Phillips, 1998, p.16). But either due to the apparent failure of this model of representation or due to the compulsions of modern times, political scientists and public intellectuals are looking at alternative models of representation, based on avenues of "'typical' or 'mirror' or 'random' representation, which they have seen as a better approximation to the old dream of being ruler and ruled in turn, or as a more satisfactory way of ensuring that all interests are adequately addressed" (Phillips, 1998, p.16). Although Anne Phillips does not endorse these radical alternatives to traditional models of democratic representation, the theory based on 'politics of presence' is an effort toward the broader search for alternatives. The politics of presence theory of representation tries to address the sense of political exclusion felt by communities defined by their race, gender or ethnicity. More specifically, the politics of presence "demands for the equal representation of women with men; demands for a more even-handed balance between the different ethnic groups that make up each society; demands for the political inclusion of groups that have come to see themselves as marginalized or

Why I Chose a Career in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I Chose a Career in Nursing - Essay Example Practicing as a Nurse can be both emotionally challenging and rewarding. Nursing involves the care of people throughout the continuum of life and provides an essential service to humankind. The career possibilities are endless in nursing. Nursing is a profession offers exciting challenges and unlimited career opportunities which excites me and motivates me to continue my service. I have been working primarily in the area of Ophthalmology for the past few years. In general nurses work in hospitals, clinics, schools, wellness centers, long-term care facilities, hospices, physician offices, home settings, and temporary help agencies. Besides, nurses can specialize in a number of roles including: Neonatal Nursing, Labor and Delivery Nursing, Intensive Care Nursing, Operating Room Nursing, Cardiac Care Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, Occupational Health Nursing, Pulmonary Nursing, Diabetes Nursing, and others. With the experience I have developed over the years, an understanding of the overall needs of both patients and an evolving health care industry, I decided to pursue a career in nursing because of the many opportunities available. With a wide assortment of different fields to choose from, my particular area of interest is to work as a medical surgical nurse. A medical surgical (med surg) nurse has the capacity to function in both a medical and surgical environment involving care in the pre and post-operative period. This field requires a broad base of medical knowledge applicable to wide range of medical and surgical conditions. I understand the responsibilities are challenging. A med surg nurse assesses patient health problems and needs, develops and implements nursing care plans, and maintains medical records. With my long service in the nursing field, I am confident that I

Social Science Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Science Studies - Essay Example This has been one of the most profound scientific investigations of man kind. The search for the answers to life have eluded man for decades, although in recent years many evolutionists, researchers, religious leaders, and other renowned historians claim that they are closer than ever to gaining the answers to the questions that have been sought after for centuries. Much of this is based on the phenomenon of religion and what it means to people in society. If anything, religion gives people something steadfast to believe in, and brings a source of inspiration to many lives. Without this specific icon of belief there are many that claim life would be blank and meaningless because religion is a part of the natural history of man. It is also claimed that the concept of religion was developed to exert social control over various groups in society. This is stated because it is known that the body of religion leads to many human emotions and activities. Some of these being very profound emotional states such as fear, wonder, reverence, gratitude, love, prayer, worship, and ultimate sacrifice (Swatos 2006). There is no doubt that those who follow a religious faith turned towards their religion as a guidance to help them in their lives. Also, whether people are going through good times or bad, they are found to worship what they believe in and it dictates many aspects of their life to them, basically in a sense of understanding what is right and wrong. Furthermore, as has been mentioned, many moral decisions are based around the essence of religion. For Christians, they realize that committing an act such as murder might condemn them to hell so by following the structure of their religious teachings they would ref rain themselves from such an act regardless of what might have lead to the contemplation of it to begin with. So it can be seen that another possibility for the science of religion lies in the concept of morals in human kind (Cline 2006). To delve a little deeper into the meaning in behind religion it is found that a great deal of people who are religious turn to their beliefs for many answers. They do believe that what they worship will provide them with the answers that they seek. At times this is very true and others it is not, but it gives purpose to many peoples lives. As it has been stated, those who follow a religious stature would not fully grasp their purpose in life or feel as whole without its presence. In this regard many could claim that it developed to bring a sense of peace to the human race so that they would feel more at ease in times of troubles and strife. It is feasible to see how the scientific context for religion has developed through the ages. The search for how human kind developed lead to the strong need of faith to try and interpret and understand for many, many people throughout the world. Though many religious ideas differ they all hold certain similarities as well. For whatever the reason it has become a very profound state of being in the world for many different ethnicities and cultural groups. Education Education in society has a variety of reasons for developing and playing a big part in the social life of all people. Without the educational system societies all

Psychology of religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychology of religion - Essay Example needs to acts in his own interests and to ward off things that will harm him.† (Retrieved from www.englishforums.com) Different communities maintain different religious beliefs, though attributes affiliated with the Supreme Being are similar to some extent. The same is the case with Christianity. Christianity is the most popular religion of the globe, as its followers are highest in number to all other faiths existing in the contemporary world. Christians have extracted the attributes of God from Biblical themes and stories. But the philosophers contain diversified opinion regarding the background, description, existence and executions of these characteristics. Hodgson & King (1985) have discussed the philosophical views of eminent theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas of 13th century with the work of contemporary thinker Gordon Kaufman, in a comparative way, in their famous work under the title â€Å"Readings In Christian Mythology.† The work concentrates on the religious aspects of Christianity with reference of religious themes and beliefs in order to show the relation of human characteristics with those attributed with Almighty God. St. Aquinas is of the view that the merit and demerit of all the qualities obtained and possessed by humans have been determined as good or bad by Almighty God. In other words, it is no t man that decides an action, an idea, a notion or a concept as good or bad; rather, these qualities have already been decided by the Lord, on the basis of which all the actions, activities and attitude of human beings are regulated and maintained. â€Å"All that man is, and can, and has†, Aquinas suggests, â€Å"must be referred to God; and therefore every action of man, whether good or bad, acquires merit or demerit in the sight of God, as far as the action itself is concerned.† (Quoted in Porter, 1997: 212) In the same way, Aquinas submits that no words in any language can portray the attributes of God. On the other hand, man has learnt and

Understanding Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Understanding Organisations - Essay Example Understanding Organisations The firm was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and since then it has manufactured a large number of commercial cars. Ford also manufactures luxury cars but they are marketed under the brand Lincoln. The chief executive of the company has taken measures since 2008 to simplify the fleet of all Ford cars across the world (Vlasic, 2008). The company has also shaped several automotive components. Ford Australia is an Australian subsidiary company of the original corporation. This subsidiary was founded in Geelong, Victoria in the early 1925. In May 2013 Ford president Bob Graziano has announced to cease the manufacturing process of the company in Geelong (Reuters, 2013). The industry for automobiles is highly competitive in nature in the current economic era. The establish firm of Ford has undergone certain losses since the last six years. The president claimed that the company’s manufacturing cost in Australia is extremely high when compared to that of Asia and Europe (News Geelong, 2 013). Thus, in order to reduce its costs and losses the company has decided to cease its operating plants in Geelong by 2016, as its fabrication in Geelong is not economically viable in the long run (Lambreth, 2007). The decision of Ford to cease its manufacturing unit in Geelong Australia may be actually beneficial to the economy of the country according to modernistic view (Goodwin and Wright, 2007). It is believed by many economists that the domestic economy of Australia would evolve as a result of the decision taken by Ford. Newscastle was another city that experienced a similar situation in 1999, when the city lost the BHP Steelworks. After BHP steel ceased its business in Newscastle, the city shifted its competences towards medical research, education and innovation. Thus the decision of BHP Steelworks was a blessing for Newscastle in 1999. It is thus felt that the people for Geelong should be optimistic regarding their future despite of experiencing a closure of Fords manufacturing and loss of employment opportunities. It is believed by the modernistic thinkers that this incident would help Geelong to carve new ways for improvements of in segments of the economy like academics and medical research. Though it is true that the loss of Ford business would render many individuals jobless but still according to the modern optimistic view the growth of other industries would surely generate more employment opportunities in Australia (Raschella, 2013). Environmental Impact The decision of Ford to cease its manufacturing division in Geelong would surely create a stressful atmosphere in its working environment. The closure of the factory was reported to cease 510 job losses in Fords Geelong engine plant (News Geelong, 2013). The president of the Australian branch of the company along with its CEO Bob Graziano stated that it was necessary to end the production unit of the company in Australia because the company faced a loss of almost $141 million in the recent financial years. Such situation would surely create an uncanny environment in the existing workplaces of the company. The existing workers would fear to lose their jobs in this crisis, when the company is facing severe financial instability. The employees would surely resist to the decision of manufacturing cease, as they would not want their jobs to be lost. Internal

See the instructions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

See the instructions - Research Paper Example Given these detrimental consequences of the attack, a revolution in the modern aviation was ineluctable. This discussion will establish the impact of the 9/11 attacks on the contemporary aviation with a keen interest in the changes that have been put in place in this respect. Prior to the 9/11 an attack, the â€Å"Common Strategy† tactic was employed in the case of aircraft hijacks but were no longer effective after the striking event. The â€Å"Common Strategy† involved complying with the hijackers because most of the hijacks entailed the plane being flown to a particular destination after which the hijackers made their demands, such as ransom. As such, compliance was the sure way of surviving hijackings. However, in the 9/11 attacks, the hijackers neither made any demands nor did they allow for negotiation and this meant that the mundane tactic was inapplicable. Given this, the modern aviation security system has been altered to accommodate suicide attacks, such as the 9/11 attacks. Passengers and crew members have been encouraged to consider the risk of cooperating and resisting the commands of the hijackers by not only considering their interests but the people on the ground as well. Pilots and flight attendants now undergo intensive tr aining in self-defense and anti-hijacking training aimed at baffling bombing and hijacking (Sheehy, 2004). Besides, Air Marshalls have been added to the crew in order to forestall hijacking. Cockpit doors have been fortified and made bullet prove to deter hijackers from taking control of planes (Woodruff, 2011). These novel improvements to the aviation security system stem from the lesson learned in the 9/11 attacks. Airports security checking systems were proved to be weak, and major changes were inevitable. Before the attacks, private companies conducted the screening of passengers under the supervision of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ultrasound examination of deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy Essay

Ultrasound examination of deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy - Essay Example Deep venous thrombosis was classically diagnosed by venography, which has its own problems in a pregnant patient. Recently with development of suitable technology, noninvasive methods such as plethysmography and specifically Doppler ultrasonography are being increasingly used to diagnose clinically silent deep venous thrombosis in pregnant individuals. The clinical criteria of deep venous thrombosis are rarely apparent in many cases, and some actual cases of DVT are termed as superficial phlebitis (Chan et al., 2002). Thus a diagnostic modality that can establish the diagnosis would be very necessary due to initiate management and prevent complications which may be detrimental to the fetus and life-threatening to the mother. Mortality rates of thromboembolism in pregnancy have been reported to be 15% in untreated patients and less than 1% in treated patients. This substantiates the grounds for establishing an early diagnosis and treatment based on that. It is quite evident that the r easons the patients remain untreated are ill-defined clinical manifestations, need for a very index of suspicion, lack of guideline regarding routine screening examinations for DVT in pregnant women, unavailability of a dependable and reliable noninvasive test, consequent failure to establish the diagnosis, and resultant failure to initiate treatment, all of which culminate into death of 15% pregnant women affected with DVT, much of which can be prevented with the use of a noninvasive and easy to use diagnostic imaging procedure (Ray and Chan, 1999). Early diagnosis and early intervention remain the clues to successful outcome specially in pregnant women since missing the diagnosis has potentially fatal implications. Over the top of that misdiagnoses have implications of potentially unnecessary risks of anticoagulation therapy such as teratogenic effects of drugs in the first trimester and the risk of fetal

Effective communication Essay Example for Free

Effective communication Essay Describe situations where you have effectively demonstrated each of the forms of communication mentioned Effective communication is an important part of my job role. On a daily basis I need to communicate with various different people. Firstly, I have to collect the information from various parts of our organisation, this is normally done over email, however on some occasions this requires further explanation and this would be done over the telephone or face to face. Once the information is prepared, I distribute this via emails, internally to the managers to review. Once this has been reviewed by the management team, I then distribute this externally to the client. What did you do to help communicate effectively? I send out the ‘raw data’ to the client each week, however I then send out a pack that summarises the figures in a clear and precise format. For the period review, the data is put into a PowerPoint presentation. The client gets a copy of the slides that we discuss. We discuss each meeting whether anything should be changed going forward. There have been occasions we have gone into more detail, and others where we have summarised as the client is happy with the figures behind this. How have your communication skills helped you to improve your performance elsewhere? The effective communication in this particular example has increased my confidence in certain areas. I also think that by asking for feedback regularly, I can ensure I am reporting exactly what people want to see in the formats they want too. I have applied this to other areas of my job role.

Every Child Matters Act and the No Child Left Behind Act Essay Example for Free

Every Child Matters Act and the No Child Left Behind Act Essay Robinson 3rd hour Flanders A barrier for ensuring that all children in our community receive a high quality education would be the Every Child Matters Act and the No Child Left Behind Act. Ed. Gov states, â€Å"President Bush made a commitment to ensure that all children receive a high quality education so that no child is left behind. In just one year after the president first took office, the No Child Lefty behind Act (NCLB) passed overwhelmingly. No Child Left Behind has led to higher standards and greater accountability throughout the nation’s school systems. No Child Left Behind provides the schools with more funding, gives states and school districts more control and more flexibility to use resources where they are needed most, holds schools and school districts accountable for results, and may provide your child with free tutoring and extra help with school work. When it comes to improving education in our state I believe our priority is to improve teaching, make better finical investments in our education systems, and coming up with better way to get students more involved and excited to learn. I believe we need to look at how much we’ve already spent and what were using the money for and evaluate what we are receiving in return. Opening college doors to more high school students who don’t have the funds to pay for it themselves is also another way in improving education in our state, allowing more students to have the opportunity to receive a decent education. Offering more and specific work related classes that interest the student and offering high more challenging courses for the students as well. But its not just about what the state and community can do, but its also up to the parents. Parents and Guardians play a big part in helping improve our education systems. The role of parent and parental involvement in improving education in our state is being involved. Regardless of the family income or background students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores attend school regular basis. Students with involved parents tend to have better social skills, improved behavior, and graduate on time and attend college. Children who have parents who aren’t there to push and motivate them don’t make it quit far. Parental support is always needed and a big part of parental involvement. If your parent doesn’t care about your education or is involved regarding you education you’re going to feel as if it’s not so important. Parents can become more involved by talking to their child and the child’s teachers, making sure they know who is giving their child the education and to be sure the child is working to their best of their ability. Physical environment affect school climate and student achievement by depending on what goes on inside or outside of school of the school will the feelings expressed by students, teachers, staff and parents about school. If the child is placed into a negative environment outside of school there’s a big guarantee that it will be brought back into school by that child. There’s also a chance that other students may pick up vibes from another student rather its negative or positive. When the child is placed into a good positive environment outside of school more than likely he or she will feel more better about themselves and bring that attitude back into the school as well. A well disciplined environment, learning environment, social environment, and school-community relations all affect the schools climate and the achievements of the students who attend. When students have to travel outside their neighborhood to attend a great school their family looses time, money, and energy. To put your child in a school that is better than their neighborhood schools probably cost more and is a bit embarrassing to the community or area you reside in. You’re using more gas to provide your child transportation to attend this school. It also takes up more time to take and pick your child up from a school that’s more than 20 minutes away from where you live. Now with a lot of students coming from poorly educated schools to attend the good schools they are making the â€Å"good† public schools in that particular area look bad. Most Africa-American communities don’t care about attending school or getting a good education. Everyone wants to make it out on their own but it seems as if the younger generations don’t want to make the first step in receiving a good education. They don’t take getting a education as serious as they should. But not all African Americans in a community feel that way. I believe the African-American communities stand beside other communities in America with the problems in the system. I believe the African Americans stand beside other communities because most of them don’t care. From the looks of things I believe most African-Americans have the wrong mentality about school and life.

Gate Gourmet Swot Analysis

Gate Gourmet Swot Analysis I choose Gate Gourmet as an organisation for use as case study. It is headquartered at Zurich-Airport, Switzerland and is the worlds second largest airline catering company, providing catering services to many of the worlds major airlines, such as British Airways, Swissair, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific to name just a few. The scale and complexity of the Gate Gourmet operations is high and it operates in global environment in an industry that is highly competitive and cost sensitive. This gives an opportunity to evaluate the macro and micro environment in line with the strategic options that Gate Gourmet has. Task1 (B) There are several practices that are used for strategic planning in the industry today and the choice of these are driven by factors such as type of industry, market realities, competitive pressures, size of the business and of course the culture and ethical practices of the organisation. Planning horizons have now considerably shortened considering the dynamic nature of business of the 21st century. The horizons have now become 2-3 years. There are however several best practices that have emerged from what is observed across industries: Stretch goals are an imperative to make strategic thinking more out of the box Planning processes are now regarded as evolving and flexible and it is to the organisations credit how quickly it can course correct. With the understanding of importance of stakeholder buy in and support there is an emphasis on communication in the strategic plan. This is an integral part of the quality planning in the strategic planning. Detailed plans are now created to tie the objectives to activities and outcomes. An organisations competitiveness is now determined by a set interconnected core competencies and not by a single core competency. This has emerged from the understanding that there are various organisational aspects that go into building a competitive advantage. In addition to the best practices mentioned above, there are some theories and frameworks that support the strategic planning: SWOT analysis for environmental analysis Porters 5 forces theory for environmental analysis Strategy as an ecology to understand the competition Balanced Scorecard approach McKinseys 7-S model to understand how the organisational factors help drive its operation strategy Ansoffs matrix to define the service or product strategy BCG and McKinsey matrix to review the product portfolio Value chain analysis as to how the organisation is adding value and interacting with its ecosystem Core Competency approach for deciding differentiation approach Top down or bottom up approach for participation and communication Strategic narratives that help in framing and analysis of strategic options Task 1(C) For Gate Gourmet to formulate its strategy, we must look the following: Environmental analysis and the position of Gate Gourmet relative to its environment. I would recommend using Porters 5 forces and SWOT as it will help us understand both the macro and micro environment and link it with the Gate Gourmets position in the competitive landscape. Since the industry of inflight catering is defined largely by operational excellence, we can use the 4-V analysis to understand the areas of operational excellence that can be used to differentiate, not merely to drive operational efficiency, but also to achieve competitive advantage. The SWOT will also then help us understand the core competency of Gate Gourmet and if that fits with the differentiation strategy that will help it achieve competitive advantage. From the core competencies, the balanced scored card can be used to outline the business objectives that will help leverage the core competencies and achieve competitive advantage. These objectives will be defined across financial, customer, human resources and knowledge management aspects of the organisation. Task 1(D) Relevant theories for the marketing plan for Gate Gourmet are product Life cycle management using Ansoffs matrix and BCG matrix, service marketing strategy and innovation based marketing strategy. Looking at the product life cycle of the inflight catering business, we understand that the business is a mature business and therefore will require innovation and service differentiation focus to compete. Also, BCG matrix will help Gate Gourmet evaluate the services and geographies that can be dropped from its portfolios and the ones that need to be consolidated and invested in. Ansoffs matrix will help Gate Gourmet to decide the innovation strategy through new product launch. This will help improve its utilization of the supply chain resources and the investments and thus help reduce its per unit costs. Task 2(A) There are 2 general strategic options that are available to Gate Gourmet: Cost Leadership and Differentiation. Let us look at the relative advantages and disadvantages: Cost Leadership: Gate Gourmets business drives the need for it to be increasingly efficient as its airline customers face heightened cost pressures due to the changing business and economic scenario. It operates in a business which is low margin and increasingly coming under further squeeze. Hence Cost leadership is a requirement for business in this industry in the in flight catering business. It cannot be a source of competitive advantage. Differentiation: Given that efficiency focus is a requirement or a qualifying criterion in the industry of Gate Gourmet, what can lead to a competitive advantage is through a differentiation strategy. Quality and flexibility are areas that can help Gate Gourmet differentiate itself to its competition. However, focus on quality and flexibility will lead to overheads that can act against the cost leadership requirement. Therefore Gate Gourmet will also need to have a robust operational strategy to drive the quality and flexibility differentiation with cost leadership. Task 2(B) The following are Gate Gourmets key stakeholders: Employees and contractors: The strategy of flexibility and consolidation will impact the employees as Gate Gourmet will have to resort to lay offs for its permanent employees and look at flexible hiring model to suit its operations. Raw Material Suppliers: Gate Gourmet will have to look at creating a deeper alliance and information sharing to implement its strategy of flexibility and quality focus. This will happen though further integration of their systems and through real time information sharing. For cost leadership, Gate Gourmet will need to get into longer term contracts and choose strategic suppliers that can offer it better unit prices. Supply Chain/Logistics partners: Gate Gourmet will need to have more integration and alignment with its supply chain partners to put in place a quality and flexibility strategy. It will need to agree with them on standard quality practices to ensure consistent quality experience creating the competitive advantage that Gate Gourmet is looking at. Airlines: Flexibility and cost leadership will require Gate Gourmet to receive information from its airline customers in real time. Gate Gourmet will also need to have Task 2(C) The following are the key areas that need to be paid special attention to by the management team implementing the strategy: Communication The communication of the strategy, its objectives and the rationale behind that needs to be clearly articulated and communicated to the employees. This is required to create the appropriate buy in from them. The communication also needs to be planned to the customers of the organisation to share with them how the organisation is changing for the better and aligning to the market and competitive requirements The partners of the organisation also need to be informed and aligned with the changes so that they too can change their work practices to align with the organisational strategy. Organisation design The organisations structure needs to support the new strategy and ensure that the execution is supported by the new organisation This will also ensure resources are allocated efficiently and minimise the waste Training and development Training programs need to be implemented for the new and existing employees to close the information and skill gap required to execute the new strategy Investments into Systems and Integration For close integration with the partners and customers of the organisation systems need to be put in place to support this. The organisation will need to invest in infrastructure and work practices to put these systems in place Contractual Strategy Serviced Based and Strategic partners The contractual relationships with the partners may need to be revisited and consolidated in view with the new strategy Also existing partners may have to revisit the service levels and scope of the contractual relationships. Task 2(D ) Communication Organisation design Training and development Task 3 Develop vision, mission, objectives and measures of these Task 3(A) Vision statement articulates how the organisation sees itself in the future, in fact it is the long term goal for the organisation which it strives to achieve. Ideally this goal should be such that it can never be achieved by the organisation and it should serve as the drive for the organisation. A mission statement is more of a goal statement for a fixed tenure of time and is usually derived from the Vision statement. From the mission statement the organisational objectives year on year can be derived. Value of the organisation defines the principles and ethics that the organisation abides by and holds dear. These could be targeted at doing business in a specific way, or giving high consideration to employees and customers. These are principles that are considered to be above the business objectives and are the fundamentals on which the company envisions its future. There are many ways in which these can be measured. A representative way of doing this is evaluating how customers and employees believe the organisation is doing business keeping in mind the vision, mission and values. Also, employees can be interviewed to determine how their individual values are aligned to organisational values and if they hold the latter close and let it reflect in their working. The prevailing organisational culture also reflects how the vision, mission and values are absorbed by the different stakeholders of the organisation. Another way of measuring the effectiveness is to determine how the organisations performance management system is aligned to the mission and goals that have been set and how these are supported by the training, development, mentoring and coaching in the organisation. Task 3(B) Gate Gourmet abides a set of brand values and that drives its vision of its business. The Gate group was established as a master brand to reflect the growing diversity of the business. The shapes making up the outline of a star in the logo symbolize Gate groups individual companies and their vast range of capabilities. The points on the star represent the brand values with which we make every effort to serve our customers: QUALITY We deliver best-in-class products and services. INTEGRITY We pledge an ethical and trustworthy relationship. RELIABILITY On-time and with a clear focus on safety. VALUE Optimizing value for you throughout the supply chain. FLEXIBILITY One size does not fit all. We are attuned to your needs. PASSION We lead through innovation and inspiration. RESPECT We celebrate the diversity of cultures among our employees and customers. RESPONSIBILITY We strive to protect the environment and to be a good corporate citizen in our communities. The companys website gives the following information on its mission statement: Customers prefer us because passion shines through everything we do. We measure our success by the success our customers enjoy. (Refer: Source 2) Task 3(C) The organisations cultural and ethical environment provides a mean for realising its vision and mission. These are execution ingredients that it requires to attain the vision and mission that it has set for itself. The culture and ethical conditions are determined by how the employees and partners of the organisation have adopted and aligned with the vision, mission and strategy. It is important to note that without these supporting factors, even the most well crafted vision, mission and strategy cannot be implemented. The stakeholders need to align with these and the McKinseys 7-S model reflects how these factors interact with each other and determine how vision, mission and strategy get implemented. Task 3(D) Gate Gourmet operations can be described as extremely complex requiring optimized efficiencies and responsiveness at the same time, where it must be able to achieve very stringent operational objectives in an extremely competitive, dynamic business environment. Some of its operations objectives are listed and evaluated below along with relative importance of criteria selected for evaluation, conflicts with other objectives and how Gate Gourmet accommodates these changes Driving lower costs through economies and processes Due to the nature of the competition in the industry, and where customers are always looking drive costs lower to increase their profitability, the cost per meal that Gate Gourmet charges to its customers would directly impact the amount of business that it is able to generate from its existing and new customers. Flexibility, responsiveness to changing customer needs and ability to operate in an dynamic environment Though the company has to offer very competitive pricing, it is also very important that the company that it is very flexible to the constantly changing customer requirements and is able to deliver the product and service that are closely aligned with customer expectations. As can be seen from the case, the final requirement for a particular flight is not known till hours before the flight and even that could change due to last minute cancellations or new booking, due to which they have to operate in a just in time fashion, of being able to come up with delivery at the moment the customer requires it. Maintenance of highest quality standards As Gate Gourmets customers are airlines that are extremely conscious of offering the best to their passengers and also ensuring that they have good branding as a company offering the highest quality experience, they would want to ensure that the food that is served on their flights is of the highest standards and that various processes are followed for maintaining quality and consistency. [Critical success factors for Inflight Catering services: Singapore Airport Terminal Services practices as management benchmarks , Type: Article, Case study, Author(s): Zeph Yun Chang, Wee Yong Yeong, Lawrence Loh, Source: The TQM Magazine; Volume: 9 Issue: 4; 1997] Reliability and service guarantee In addition to the above discussed factors, a very important operational objective for the company to achieve would be the ensure very high reliability in the services that it provides and also providing very high service levels that would ensure its customers business work as smoothly as possible. [Critical success factors for Inflight Catering services: Singapore Airport Terminal Services practices as management benchmarks , Type: Article, Case study, Author(s): Zeph Yun Chang, Wee Yong Yeong, Lawrence Loh, Source: The TQM Magazine; Volume: 9 Issue: 4; 1997] Seamless communication and working with a vast array of partners in a global supply chain As discussed above, the operation of the company, due to the scale at which it operates is very complex where it has to coordinate multiple aspects and work with multiple partners and customers to deliver the required level of service, it is a very important operational objective that there is a very high amount of information sharing and close working together across the entire value chain that would allow for planned service delivery. This is again an important objective and is aligned with the other objectives that ensure that the company is able to deliver. Task 4 Explore the implications of changes in the general and marketing environment for organisations Task 4(A) Let us start by analysing the typology of Gate Gourmet which will then set the context for relevant objectives for Gate Gourmet. This is the key to understanding operations and any gaps in their performance: Volume: Clearly Gate Gourmet completes a high volume of daily transactions across its supply chain with 534 thousand meals a day worldwide, on average 195 million every year. It has 115 flight kitchens in 30 different countries, in locations as diverse as Hawaii, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, New York, Madrid, London, Bangkok, Sydney and Tokyo. Also, it emphasises working in unison with cleaning staff, baggage handlers and maintenance crews to ensure that the aircraft are prepared quickly for departure. Variety: Gourmet Gate faces variety across its airline customers and also within its customers due to the geographical spread of the airline operations, the customer needs differ. Creating a high variety situation for Gate Gourmet. To summarise we the following drivers for variety: Geo disperses airline organisation Geo dispersed end customers Customizations of the end product required based on airline/geo Variation in demand: Gate Gourmet faces mediocre variation in demand that typically emerges from the change in booking status of passengers which is the nature of the airline industry. While demand variation can be high during emergency situations as had been the case during the aftermath of September 2001. Visibility: The Gate Gourmet operations are not customer facing while they supply a product and service that impacts the end customer experience for their airline customers. Task 4(B) Give the 4 V analysis, we need to look at the implications for Gate Gourmet: High transaction volume would mean capital intensive operations for Gate Gourmet which will help it drive high repeatability and lower its unit costs as the volumes increases and economies of scope kick in. Gate Gourmet will also pay attention to introduce specialisation in its operations and allocated its resources as per the areas of specialisation these will be in terms of the geographic operation of the airlines and the airline itself. High variety in its business would mean Gate Gourmet operations to be flexible and aimed to meet the customer needs. The complexity that this introduces in the operations increases the unit costs. Variation in demand is though mediocre, but the Gate Gourmet needs to be in touch with demand and have the ability to anticipate the demand fluctuations and flexibility to cater to these demand variation. Capacity redundancy may not be crucial as there is no regular high variation in the demand. This factor also drives the unit costs upwards. Visibility of operations for Gate Gourmet is low for the end customer, therefore is a delay between the production and consumption of the product of Gate Gourmet. This allows for higher standardisation and staffing with resources with low contact skills. This allows high staff utilisation and centralisation of production therefore driving the unit costs down. The analysis and implications leads us to the objectives that will be key for meeting Gate Gourmets customers and end customer expectations: Dependency of delivery Order Qualifying criterion Speed of response Order Qualifying criterion Cost Order Qualifying criterion Quality Focus Order Winning criterion Flexibility- Order Winning criterion While the high volume and low visibility of the operations help Gate Gourmet standardise the operations and resourcing driving down the unit costs through economies of scope. They have also reduced the number flight kitchens by 10% from 115, when the case was published, to 97 currently and also their daily volumes have gone up by 10% hinting at strong economies of scope driving their unit costs lower. While the need for high variety and medium variation require its operations be flexible and integrate with the customer demand scenario. This drives the unit costs upwards and creates a challenge for gate Gourmet in this low margin and low cost business. Task 4(C),(D) Organisation Design: Gate Gourmet advocates the concept that the organisational structure should reflect the core processes undertaken by the business, with a manager given responsibility for each process. Under the traditional structure, if there is a problem with servicing a flight, no one manager would be responsible-the fault might lie with the purchasing manager for not ordering supplies, the equipment manager for not having the right equipment, the production manager, or the transportation manager. So, some caterers have now organised their production units based on core processes. Gate Gourmet in Geneva (Emad, 1997) identified these as Equipment Handling, Customer Management, and Goods Supply and Preparation Speed of Response: Gate Gourmet integrates tightly with its upstream and downstream supply chain partners through transparent and real time information sharing through the SCALA and e-gatematrix ensuring that the same information is available to all the partners at the same time; demonstrating backward and forward integration for creating competitive advantage. They have integrated the SC partners giving the last mile reliability to their end-customers, though they function as different organisations the information sharing couples then tightly and helping them reach rapidly to changes in their environment. It has created standardised menus in SCALA to ensure consistency and repeatability in its menus. Quality Focus: For quality Gate Gourmets global team of talented and accredited chefs is ready to serve your catering needs and deliver on your vision. (Source: http://gategourmet.gategroupmember.com/index.php/culinary) Gate Gourmet has instituted a total quality management initiative that is aimed at inculcating process quality than relying on inspection quality. This initiative is called Airline Catering On The Move Global Service Excellence and has been implemented internationally across its network of operations. This program was developed through the expert support of Dr. Donald Fisher, a globally-acknowledged expert in the quality management field. Dr. Fisher, of the Mid-South Quality Productivity Center (MSQPC). Dr. Fisher has been acting as an external consultant and has been instrumental in this initiative by bringing in his global experience and expertise. This alliance has been particularly valuable as Gate Gourmet operates in an international context as well. (Source: http://www.msqpc.com/Newsletters/Spring2003.pdf) (Source: Title: High flyer Author(s): Bettye Wells Miller Journal: Managing Service Quality) Flexibility Customer requirements of Gate Gourmet are such that it needs to assemble meals as per the specific guideline provided. Also, the packing and loading onto the service trolleys are as per specification. These service trolleys are loaded onto huge coolers and into loader trucks to send to the aircraft galleys just before the take off. Gate gourmet operates nearly 1700 of these vehicles and many of these are already equipped with cooling systems, cameras and state of the art engines to meet with the strict FDA regulations and also comply with the environmental guidelines. Cost Focus: Gate Gourmet also follows aggressive HR policies to manage its human resources and ramping down based on changes in its customer demand. It also got into union issues due to these practices in the UK in 2005. (Source: http://www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/gategourmet.cfm) Gate Gourmet is also looking at moving from permanent employee base to flexible staffing practices again in an attempt to be flexible and responsive. (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4153366.stm) It is reported to making losses globally and trying to revamp its operations to stay profitable. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/business/worldbusiness/15iht-gate.html?_r=1) Gate Gourmet is consolidating its partnerships and acquiring logistics companies to allow it to backward integrate focussing on driving its unit operational costs lower. It is also looking at longer term contracts with it customers to assure a business volume over time. It is also innovating and getting into new lines of business to improve utilisation of its supply chain reduce its cost of operations and also drive top line growth. Gate Gourmet has entered into an alliance with ARINC Inc. (leader in onboard retail management). They are working together to promote on board sales programs for the worlds airlines and rail systems as well. This is helping Gate Gourmet improve utilization of its resources and reduce idle time. (Refer: http://www.arinc.com/news/2008/04-30-08.html) Gate Gourmet has also diversified into non-airline catering where it can use its existing supply chain to service on-land and train passengers as well e.g it has teamed up with Starbucks and railways in Portugal. (Source: http://gategourmet.gategroupmember.com/index.php/culinary/non-airline-catering) (Source: Title: Developing new products and services in flight catering Author(s): Peter Jones Journal: International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management) Task 5 Plan for the implementation of a general or marketing strategy. Task 5(A) The mission and goals will help determine the business objectives that the organisation needs to achieve. Also, timelines for achieving these objectives can be set based on the mission and macro environmental factors of the organisation. The objectives and the timeliness can then be broken down into lower level objectives and activities with shorter timelines. Each of these activities will be assigned to individuals with responsibilities and also resources required to complete these activities. Each of these activities will have outcomes outlined and linked to the key performance indicators. These can then be established as milestones and linked to the key performance indicators that can be used to review the milestones and activity status. Therefore the timetable will consist of the following key elements: High Level objectives Low Level Objectives Low Level Activities Estimated duration of completion Milestones Responsible individuals and departments Resources required to complete the activities Desired outcomes KPIs to be used to evaluate milestone status Task 5(B) Task 5(C) While crafting a strategy, key performance indicators can be determined at the time of planning. A balanced scorecard typically helps determine the required KPIs along the different areas of strategic importance. Also, targeted values for these KPIs can be established during the planning process and how these need to be re-visited with time. The data required for these KPIs can be collected regularly and published as per a pre-determined schedule. These KPIs can then be compared to the target and a root cause analysis be done for those KPIs that are off the targets. Corrective action can then planned based on the root causes determined. Task 5(D) Post the difficulties that the customer airlines of Gate Gourmet were facing, Gate Gourmet decided to go with an approach of flexibility and to be able to match its cost structure with the changing financial situation of its customers. It decided to model its workforce requirement to this strategy as well and laid off workers in UK and US. However, there was an immediate backlash of these lay off specially in the UK leading to major business disruptions in Heathrow airport leading to grounding and delay of several flights prominent airlines. This had not been factored in by gate Gourmet management and they had to go for significant damage control measures post this fiasco. This indicates why Gate Gourmet should have monitored proactively the effects of its flexible strategy. The decision of the Coca Cola company to expand its operations in India as ap art of its Asian strategy was faced with issues when its expansion in Southern India was faced with stiff resistance from the local population and community on the detrimental effects of the factories on the ground water table. This again demonstrated the need to the company to monitor and factor in the community aspects of a strategy.

Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers

Many authors utilize loaded language to try and convey another possible meaning behind the story. However, it is often neglected and the reader never comes to such a realization. But it is quite clear through Joseph Conrad’s choice of words, that there is a suggestion of an allusionary meaning, which is the determination of heaven, hell, and purgatory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Part one gives a wealth of information to suggest and alternate meaning. The way that I chose to interpret the beginning was that of the story of creation-a new boat, a new voyage, and a new life-just as Adam and Eve had begun. Marlow was starting off sinless and without a fault. Then, Marlow comes across “a man who [hung] himself.'; (p. 12) According to Catholicism, suicide is considered a sin,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the use of loaded language, Conrad assumes a direct relationship between the story of Adam and Eve to the man who hung himself. As Marlow and his companions walked through the countryside, they eventually wound up in a different location, an “inhabited devastation'; where there are people, a place where sinners reside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is a large contrast from where Marlow started out, which was seemingly the Garden of Eden. Reading the section of the story that I did consider the Garden of Eden, I felt quite empty, as if it was a place where only Marlow and his companions were. Conrad used detail in this section which really made me pick up on this feeling of loneliness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we finally arrive to the “inhabited devastation,'; the feeling that Marlow along with his companions are the only people there, evaporate. Immediately, the mountainous scenery strikes me. The details that Conrad gives of this specific places, gives me a very cold feeling. All around, the reader receives a geometric description of the natives, who are a part of the inhabited devastation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Just as Adam and Eve are out of place, the reader can assume the same of Marlow and his companions. However, we are not fully aware of one sin that Marlow has come across, the sin of suicide. It has to have played a part in their expulsion.

The Origin of Life :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

How life arose is a question that is fundamental to both philosophy and science. Responses to it enable one, in turn, to answer such questions as, â€Å"Who am I?†, â€Å"Why am I here?†, and â€Å"How do I make sense of this world?† This secondary set of questions can be answered in a myriad of ways for a variety of reasons, but the answer to the first question has only two responses. As Douglas Futuyuma says, â€Å"Creation and evolution, between them, exhaust the possible explanations for the origin of living things† (197). Either we are the product of the chemical and physical laws of nature operating over time, or we have been formed, at least in part, by some supernatural Force or Deity. The acceptance of one of these options as a foundation will determine how one will establish a belief system to determine his place in the world. This is a matter of crucial importance, yet in most biology classes offered at U.C. Davis, we learn that life c ame from nonlife by strictly natural (as opposed to supernatural) processes. The possibility that perhaps the origin of life cannot be explained by a natural mechanism is ignored, and this is disturbing. For if we limit what explanations we are willing to accept for the origin of life, we could be closing our eyes to reality. Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, has said that â€Å"the origin of life appears to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have to be satisfied to get it going† (Horgan 27).2 Noted evolutionary astronomer Frederick Hoyle has described the chances of life having evolved from nonlife to be about as likely as the chances that â€Å"a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein† (Johnson 106). Why do respected scientists doubt what textbooks teach as fact? It would appear that these scientists know something that current theories describing the origin of life fail to explain. While current theories describe scenarios in which genetic material such as RNA becomes entrapped in a protective cell membrane as a likely recipe for the formation of life, they generally do not focus on the difficulties of forming and concentrating all of these components in the first place.3 To clarify, current theories suffer from what I call the â€Å"cookbook mentality.

Juicy Fruit Investigation :: Papers

Juicy Fruit Investigation Aim: To find out if temperature affects the amount of juice the enzyme pectinase releases from an apple. Prediction ========== I predict that the temperature the pectinase will work best in is 30Â ° - 40Â °, I think this will be the temperature the pectinase will be able to break down the most fruit into fruit juice. I do not believe the enzyme will work above 45Â ° as it would become denatured. This is because I know most enzymes (similar to proteins) stop working/get destroyed above this temperature, as they are made up of protein. I also know that the temperature enzymes work best in the body at body temperature; 37Â ° therefore I believe the higher the temperature is without going over 45Â ° the faster the molecules will move and hit the enzyme molecules. An enzyme works when a substrate molecule bumps into a molecule of the correct enzyme, they fit together into a depression on the surface of the enzyme molecule. When this movement takes place the depression is called an 'active site'. A reaction takes place and the substrate products are released separately. Because the substrate molecules are different shapes they will only fit into certain enzymes. When the enzyme reaches a temperature too high it will change shape, therefore the substrate molecule would not fit. When the enzyme reaches a temperature that is low (or lower than 37Â º) the molecules will not move as fast as they will have less energy. This therefore means the enzyme molecules will not hit the substrate molecules as often as they would in a higher temperature meaning less juice will be released. [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Enzyme molecule [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Active site [IMAGE] Substrate fits into active site Active site [IMAGE] [IMAGE] A reaction takes place [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Products leave the active site separately Preliminary test:

Psychology the Nervous System

Assignment 3 Written Essay Questions 1. a) We are able to experience different types of sensations because our nervous system encodes messages. German physiologist Johannes Muller in his doctrine of specific nerve energies described a kind of code which is anatomical. In his doctrine, Muller explains that different sensory modalities exist because signals received by the sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways that lead to different areas of the brain. For example, when the ear receives signals, these signals cause impulses to travel along the auditory nerve to the auditory cortex.And signals from the eye cause impulses to travel along the optic nerve to the visual cortex. Because of these anatomical differences, light and sound produce different sensations. b) The code in the nervous system that helps explain why a pinprick and kiss feel different is known as functional. These codes rely on the fact that sensory receptors and neurons fire or are inhibited from firing, only i n the presence of specific kinds of stimuli. Functional encoding may occur all along a sensory route, starting in the sense organs and ending in the brain. 2.The lens of an eye operates differently from a camera, that just like a camera, the eye registers spots of light and dark, but neurons in the visual system build up a picture of the world by detecting meaningful features. The eye doesn’t passively record the external world, like a camera, ganglion cells and neurons in the thalamus of the brain respond to simple features in the environment, such as spots of light and dark. The existence of a specialized face module in the brain, explains why a person with brain damage may continue to recognize faces, after losing the ability to recognize other objects. . These units which were named after Alexander Graham Bell were called decibels (dB). Each decibel is 1/10 of a bel. Using decibels, they can be used to determine sound intensity, intensity of a wave’s pressure. Huma ns have an average absolute threshold of hearing of zero decibels and all decibels are not equally distant. For example, in my own environment, in my living room there is a 40decibel sound, my refrigerator and the light traffic from my window has about 50 decibels of sound.Everyday noises that may be hazardous to hearing could be rock concerts, deafening bars, stereos that are often played on full blast. In addition to that, noisy home appliances, lawn mowers and heavy city traffic also are hazardous to our ears. 4. If you were to inhale vapour from a rose, your receptors for smell have specialized neurons embedded in a tiny patch of mucous membrane in the upper part of the nasal passage. Millions of receptors in each nasal cavity respond to chemical molecules in the air.So when you inhale vapour from a rose, you’re pulling these molecules into the nasal cavity and can also enter from the mouth. These molecules then trigger responses in the receptors that produce that of fres h roses. From there, signals from the receptors are carried to the brain’s olfactory bulb by the olfactory nerve. And from the olfactory bulb, they travel to a higher region of the brain. 5. The basic concept of the gate- control theory, states the experience of pain depends on when pain impulses can get past a ‘’gate’’ in the spinal cord.The gate is a pattern of neural activity that blocks pain messages coming from the skin, muscles and internal organs or lets those signals through. Most of the time this gate is kept shut by impulses coming into the spinal cord from large fibres that respond to pressure or by signals coming down from the brain itself. However, when body tissue is injured, the large fibres are damaged and the smaller fibres open the gate. Once the gate is open, pain messages reach the brain unchecked. However, the theory doesn’t explain phantom pain, the pain from an amputated limb or organ that a person continues to feel aft er surgery.Melzack explains, even though there are no nerve impulses for the spinal cord gate to block or let through, the brain not only responds to incoming signals from sensory nerves but is also capable of generating pain entirely on its own. An extensive matrix of neurons in the brain gives us the sense of our own bodies and body parts. Pain results when this matrix produces an abnormal pattern of activity, as a result of memories, emotions, expectations or signals from various brain centres and not just from signals from peripheral nerves.Because of the lack of sensory stimulation or a person’s efforts to move a nonexistent limb, abnormal patterns may arise, resulting in phantom pain. 6. a) The role stimulus generalization plays in this problem is where mental images of the sights and smells of the clinic can become conditioned stimuli for nausea, aside from the nurse’s uniform, smell of rubbing alcohol or the waiting room. b) High order conditioning can be illus trated in this problem of vomiting and nausea where a patient who drank lemon –lime Kool-Aid before their therapy sessions developed anxiety disorders.They continued to feel anxious even when the drink was offered in their homes rather than at the clinic. c) Classical conditioning could help patients reduce pain and anxiety through the use of placebos. For example the use of pills and injections that have no active ingredients or treatments that have no direct physical effect on the problem. The bigger and more impressive the placebos are, the stronger their psychological effects are. 7. The evidence shows that punishments are effective when they are carried out immediately.As shown in the studies of criminal records of Danish men, punishments were effective in deterring young criminals from repeating their offences. After examining repeat arrests through the age of 26, punishment reduced rates of subsequent arrests for both minors and serious crimes. However, recidivism stil l remained fairly high. Other studies have indicated that the severity of punishment made no difference, in that fines and probation were just as effective as jail time. The consistency of the punishment is what matters most.For example, when law breakers get away with their crimes, their behaviour is intermittently reinforced and becomes resistant to extinction. Speeding tickets are another example of when you receive punishments. Even though the use of photo radar systems is useful for catching all speeders or reduces speeding, it doesn’t eliminate speeding entirely. As mentioned before, punishments are most effective in the period immediately following its delivery. This would explain when police officers supervise the speed traps; they are more effective since the punishment is given out immediately.However, when photo radars catch you, you have to wait for several weeks to receive the ticket. Laboratory and field studies find that punishments fail in everyday life, in sc hools, families and workplaces because of six drawbacks. The first is that people often administer the punishment inappropriately or mindlessly. People swing in a blind rage or shout things they don’t mean and when people aren’t angry, they misunderstand the proper application of punishment. Secondly, the recipient of punishment often responds with anxiety, fear or rage. Negative emotional reactions can create more problems than the punishment solves.For example, a teenager who has been severely punished may strike back or run away. Children, who have been punished physically in childhood, risk at being in depression, having low self-esteem, violent behaviour and many other problems. Third, depending on the presence of the punishing person or circumstances, the effectiveness of the punishment is often temporary. When a police officer is around at a park, you wouldn’t dare littering but if the police officer isn’t around then you wouldn’t be as afra id of littering. Forth, most behaviour is hard to punish immediately.For example, while you’re at work, your children eat all the deserts that were for tonight’s party, but you don’t punish them till after work, the punishment is no good. You children’s behaviour would have been reinforced by all those deserts. Fifth, punishments express little information, in that punishments may tell the recipient what not to do, but doesn’t communicate what the person should do. For example yelling at a student who learns slowly, won’t teach him/her to learn faster. Sixth, an action intended to punish may instead be reinforcing because it brings attention.For example, in the classroom, students enjoy when teachers yell at them in front of their classmates, putting them in the limelight. Often rewarding the student’s misbehaviour they are trying to remove. 8. a) Fixed Interval b) Variable Interval c) Variable Ratio d) Fixed Ratio Take a Long look 1. What is meant by the term â€Å"form perception†? Form perception means when an infant can or can’t respond to stimuli as shape, pattern , size or solidity. Thus they can see or can’t perceive form. 2. Why is the â€Å"preferential-looking† method of studying infants likened to a biologist’s use of a microscope?This method is similar to that of a biologist’s use of a microscope because this method is one of the first tools researchers turn to when they want to study how babies think. The method literally opened the doors to understanding the minds of infants. 3. What patterns were the babies in Fantz’s studies least interested in looking at? The patterns the babies were least interested in were the shapes that were just plain with no complexity. The least interesting shape for the infants was the square with no designs or complexity inside the square. 4.A preference for looking at faces is said to â€Å"set the stage for an infantâ €™s future survival and growth† (p. 41). Suggest two areas of learning that an infant’s attention to faces might facilitate. Two areas of learning that an infant’s attention to faces might facilitate are innate and primitive knowledge. The innate knowledge of the environment is shown by the infant’s interest in the kinds of forms that will later aid in object recognition, social responsiveness and spatial orientation. The primitive knowledge help provide an accumulation of knowledge through experience. 5.The early psychologist William James thought that the world for babies was a â€Å"blooming buzzing confusion† (see page 211 of the course text). Do Fantz’s findings support this statement? Explain. Fantz’s findings pointed out infants, regardless of age, can demonstrate that basic form perception is present at birth and ruling out a learning or developmental factor. Meaning that, babies have some kind of understanding of the diffe rent patterns and forms that are presented to them. This is how they are able to differentiate between faces, their mothers face or a stranger’s face. 6.Imagine you have been hired by a toymaker. Using Fantz’s findings describe your design for an infant toy or crib mobile. Using Fantz’s findings, I would create a toy that would have detailed patterns and include pictures or objects of faces of people or similar to those of people. Thus, I would create a toy with a face similar to that of humans and cover their body with items of great complexity, for example, a bull’s eye or a checkers board type of pattern. You would be able to place this toy over the infant in the crib, which should keep the infant entertained for many hours.Watch out for the Visual Cliff 1. What is meant by the statement that Gibson and Walk take a nativist position on the topic of depth perception? Both Gibson and Walk believed that depth perception and the avoidance of a drop-off app ear automatically as part of our original biological equipment and has nothing to do with experience. On the other hand, empiricists argue that these abilities are learned and aren’t biologically hard wired in us. 2. Write a one-paragraph summary of what Gibson and Walk discovered from their visual cliff studies with infants.Gibson and Walk had 36 infants for this study between ages 6 and 14 months with their mothers participating in the study. Nine of infants refused to move at all off the center of the board, which wasn’t explained by the researchers, but perhaps infant stubbornness. However, the other 27 infants crawled off the board and crossed the glass when called by their mothers on the shallow side of the table. Only 3 of the infants crept with hesitation off the brink of the visual cliff when called by their mothers from the deep side.When the infants were called from the cliff side by their mothers, most of the infants either crawled away from their mother on the shallow side or cried in frustration at being unable to reach their mothers without ‘’ falling off the cliff’’. The infants would often peer down through the class of the deep side and then back away or pat the glass with their hands, but would refuse to cross. After these results, it was difficult to prove that human’s ability to perceive depth is innate rather than learned because all the infants had at least 6 months of life experience to learn about depth through trial and error. . What did Gibson and Walk discover about depth perception in young animals? Gibson and Walk discovered that the ability of various animals to perceive depth developed in relation to when the species need such a skill for their survival. For example, within 24 hours of age, baby chickens never made the mistake stepping off into the deep side while looking for food. Kids and lambs response was the same as the baby chickens, which indicted the visual sense was in com plete control and the animals ability to feel the solidity of the glass on the deep side had no effect on the response.The rats were different from the others, as they didn’t show any preference for the shallow or deep side of the table. This could be explained by the fact that rats locate food by smell and doesn’t depend very much on its vision, but moves around using cues from the stiff whiskers on its nose. 4. Describe how Gibson and Walk use evolutionary theory to explain their infant and animal findings on depth perception. Gibson and Walk used evolutionary theory to explain that all animals that are to survive need to develop the ability to perceive depth by the time they able to move independently.For humans, this doesn’t occur until about 6 months of age and for chickens and goats it’s immediately. For dogs, rats and cats it’s about 4 weeks. Thus, this ability is inborn because to learn through trial and error would cause many potential fat al accidents. 5. Give one example of a finding that suggests depth perception has a learned component. A later study placed younger infants, ages 2 to 5 months, on the glass over the deep side of the visual cliff. The infants showed a decrease in heart rate, a sign of interest and not fear.This had indicated that the younger infants had not yet learned to fear the drop off and would learn the avoidance behaviour later on in life. 6. How has social referencing been found to impact youngsters' behaviour when faced with a visual cliff? In the Gibson and Walk study, when the mother had been instructed to maintain an expression of fear on her face, the infants refused to crawl any further on the table. However, when the infants saw their mothers looking happy, they checked the deep side again and crawled across.But when the drop-off was made flat, the infants did not check with their mothers before crawling across. Knock Wood 1. Why is Skinner referred to as a radical behaviourist? Skinn er is referred to as a radical behaviourist because he believed that all behaviours are ultimately learned, are controlled by the relationships between the situation that immediately precedes the behaviour and the consequences that directly follow it. This includes behaviours that are public or external, private and events such as feelings and thoughts.He believed that private behaviours are difficult to study, but acknowledged we all have our own subjective experience of these behaviours. However, he didn’t view internal events, such as thoughts and emotions, as causes of behaviour but rather as a part of the mix of the environment. 2. What is a Skinner box? How was the food dispenser set up for the pigeons in this study? Refer back to your text. What type of reinforcement schedule is this? The Skinner box consists of a box or cage that is empty except for a tray or dish into which food may be dispensed.This allows the researcher to have control over when the animal receives reinforcement, such pallets of food. The earlier boxes contained a lever that when pressed, would cause some food to be dispensed; rats were most commonly used in these boxes. For pigeons, the conditioning chambers were designed with disks to be pecked instead of bars to be pressed on. This study is an example of fixed – interval schedules, as the dispensers were rigged to drop food pellets into the tray at intervals of 15 seconds, regardless of what the pigeon was doing. 4.What were the pigeons conditioned to do as a result? One of the birds was conditioned to turn counter clockwise, making two or three turns between reinforcements. Another bird was repeatedly thrusting its head into one of the upper corners of the cage. Two of the birds developed pendulum motion of the head and body in which the head was extended forward and swung from right to left with a sharp movement followed by a somewhat slower return. One of the other birds was conditioned to make incomplete pecking or brushing movements directed toward but not touching the floor. . How did the pigeons’ behaviour change when the delay period for reinforcement was extended to a minute? With one of the head bobbing and hopping birds, the bird’s movements become more energetic until finally the bobbing and hopping become so intense, that it appeared that the pigeon was doing some kind of dance during the intervals. When the reinforcement in the cage was discounted, the birds’ behaviour was considered extinct. This resulted in the superstitious behaviour disappearing gradually.In the case of the dancing pigeon, there were over 10,000 responses that were recorded before extinction occurred. 5. Was extinction of this behaviour possible? This type of behaviour can persist a lifetime because any behaviour that is reinforced once in a while in a given situation, becomes very difficult to extinguish. This is because the expectation stays high that the superstitious behaviour might w ork to produce reinforcing consequences. In real life, instances of accidental reinforcement usually occur at irregular intervals which make extinction of this behaviour almost impossible. . What explanation does Skinner give for the resiliency to extinction of human superstitions? Skinner states that any behavior that is reinforced once in a while in a given situation, partial reinforcement, it becomes very difficult to extinguish. This is due to the expectation that stays high that the superstitious behaviour might work to produce the reinforcing consequences. In real life, accidental reinforcement usually occurs periodically, so you could imagine why superstitious behaviour may persist for a lifetime. 7.Use Skinner’s operant conditioning principles to explain the development of a superstition that you hold or once held, or one you have observed in someone else. Using Skinner’s operant conditioning principles, I noticed my friend who enjoys roulette had a superstitio n that when he bought himself and the person on his right a drink and place the bet on black he believed he would win. Of course he wouldn’t always win, only the person to his right side won with a free drink, but he always thought this would bring him good luck when he needed it.