Immanuel Kant Essay

Deontological ethics are concerned with what people do and not with the consequences of their actions. It teaches some actions might be correct or wrong because of their nature, and it is the duty of the people to act accordingly, regardless of the consequences that might occur, for the good or bad. It basically means one has to adhere to the universal rules and guidelines irrespective of the consequences and act in accordance to them. Getting to the means is not important by the way or choice of getting to the mean is important. Immanuel Kant, the man who formulated this theory had a method to practice this theory and this was known as the maxims. Before testing the decisions of the product manager with the three maxims, let’s look at the decision from a business and not an ethical point of view. The product manager has chosen the Thai company and it benefits his company financially as his costs go down by 1/3 rd the price, thus making sense from a business point of view. There is another way of looking at this situation, it could be said that this decision of the product manager is providing those families with work and giving them a chance to make some money and earn a livelihood and provide for themselves. Also the decision makes sense on a personal level as he stands to earn a hefty bonus at the end of the year. In spite of the decision making financial and business sense, on his way back the product manager had an ethical dilemma as the decision questioned his morality as the situation involved inhumanity and child labour, leading him to think is this the right decision? Testing the decision against the three maxims, I will decide whether the decision taken by the product manager is ethical or not. Considering the three maxims a lot of valid points can be argued for and against the decision of the product manager. Maxim 1: The first maxim states that â€Å"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction†. The decision contradicts the universal law as the product manager does not want to see his nieces in the same situation as the kids making the toys. He wonders about his nieces and whether he would like to see them grow up as the kids making the toys. He wants his nieces to have a good life with education, shelter and all basic necessities. According to maxim 1, even the children making the toys should have the same privileges. As a result this decision by the product manager fails maxim 1 and although it makes financial sense, ethically it will not be right and according to the universal law the decision does not support deontology theory as the product manager is not at ease with himself in the same situation. As a result according to maxim 1 it will be a non-ethical decision. BAFD2 1321A PAGE 2 Ethics in Business Studies Maxim 2: The second maxim states that â€Å"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end but always at the same time as an end†. This means one should treat another person as one would like to be in the treated himself. The product manager would definitely not want to be in the same situation as the family making the toys, where young children who are supposed to go to school and have a normal childhood sitting all day and making toys and an old lady preparing meals for everybody as the family lives in sub-standard conditions. He would not want his nieces in that similar situation or his family living in similar circumstances. This cannot be considered humanitarian and as a result the decision of the product manager fails the second maxim of deontology and cannot be considered to be an ethical decision. Maxim 3: The third maxim states â€Å"Therefore, every rational being must so act as if he were through his maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends. † This maxim does rationalise the decision of the product manager. These families that make the toys depend on this for their livelihood and need it for their survival. So if the product manager declines the offer some other company might take it up and the families will continue to work and live in the same situation. If the product manager declines the contract he may be depriving the families of their income. On the other hand by accepting the contract he is supporting child labour and inhuman working conditions. This makes him wonder and he would not want to see his family in a situation where he is sitting in a barn with his nieces working and his mother cooking a meal. The children that should be at school are forced to work and elderly women are forced to work too. Seeing his family in a similar situation would want to make him decline the contract on ethical grounds. However with regards to the third maxim the decision to choose the Thai company does not pass the test but neither does it fail the maxim test. The decision to decline may not be warranted as some other company might take up the contract but on a rational and ethical ground declining the contract will be a correct decision on part of the product manager. As we have seen in this essay the decision of the product manager to choose the Thai company does not pass all three maxims and as a result it should be considered as an unethical decision. BAFD2 1321A PAGE 3 Ethics in Business Studies References: †¢Bbc. co. uk, (2014). BBC – Ethics – Introduction to ethics: Duty-based ethics. [online] Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1. shtml [Accessed 15 Jul. 2014]. †¢Crane, A. and Matten, D. (2010). Business ethics. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. †¢Ethics. iit. edu, (2014). Deontological | ethics. iit. edu. [online] Available at: http://ethics. iit. edu/teaching/deontological [Accessed 15 Jul. 2014]. BAFD2 1321A.

Human Resources Information System Essay

A Human Resources Management System (HRMS) or Human Resources Information System (HRIS), refers to the systems and processes at the intersection betweenhuman resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible. There are approximately 36 vendors of HRMS software in the U. S. and Canada[1]. The function of human resources (HR) departments is generally administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of â€Å"human capital† progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized human resource management systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before the client–server architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of client–server, application service provider, and software as a service (SaaS) or human resource management systems enabled increasingly higher administrative control of such systems. Currently human resource management systems encompass[citation needed]: 1. Payroll 2. Time and attendance 3. Performance appraisal 4.  Benefits administration 5. HR management information system 6. Recruiting/Learning management 7. Performance record 8. Employee self-service 9. Scheduling 10. Absence management 11. Analytics The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems. The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions. The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement. The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to â€Å"read† applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to: * produce pay checks and payroll reports; * maintain personnel records; * pursue talent management. Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent management systems typically encompass: * analyzing personnel usage within an organization; identifying potential applicants; * recruiting through company-facing listings; * recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants. The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the deve lopment of a dedicated applicant tracking system, or ‘ATS’, module. The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a â€Å"learning management system† (LMS) if a stand alone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics. The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module also lets supervisors approve O. T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR department. Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety and security, while others integrate an outsourced applicant tracking system that encompasses a subset of the above. Assigning Responsibilities Communication between the Employees. The Analytics module enables organizations to extend the value of an HRMS implementation by extracting HR related data for use with other business intelligence platforms. For example, organizations combine HR metrics with other business data to identify trends and anomalies in headcount in order to better predict the impact of employee turnover on future output.

Autobiography of a Yogi: Summary Essay

quite different from his or her own. The journey to assimilation is portrayed uniquely by Okada as he writes his character in ways different from other writers of whom are portraying Asian Americans at this time. In an article, written by Mr. Stan Yogi, ‘You had to be One or the Other: Oppositions and Reconciliation in John Okada’s No-no Boy,’ it is stated that Asian Americans are often portrayed as ‘docile, patient’ peoples. Many of Okada’s characters do not feature these qualities; they are often†¦ and now he’ll shrivel up like a prune if you let him. With any luck, I’ll have him holding his own fishing pole by this spring, and I’ve already got my eyes on a little pair of water skis. Who knows, maybe 20 years from now, he’ll be writing an autobiography about how growing up on the water help shape his life too.†¦ been his way of showing that you go out with a fight because of the way he ends his Autobiography. Franklin showed his successful stand against the proprietary estate holders against the tax law. Most men would not end their autobiography on the terms of a won fight like this unless they were boasting; even if a little. Conclusion The life carved out for Benjamin Franklin through the words of his autobiography is a portrait of a man who started out with self-acclaim and pridefulness that all†¦ Wherever There’s a Fight by Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi, is a book that narrows down the struggles of man and woman of all colors to protect and extend their civil rights liberties. It provides stories of events in history that marked the lives of many people.The stories described in the book show how many people were being discriminated for the way they looked, the disability they had, their sexualaty for being black, latino, or Japanese. It gives the reader an image of all the injustices and†¦ Bam, Quay, Dino, and Yogi rode through the city for hours searching for the Hurst and eventually they gave up in order to get some rest. Intoxicated and tired, Bam drove everyone to the apartment and that’s where they crashed until the sun rose. Nessa and Olivia had stayed up worried sick about them and finally they could put their mind at rest. Now, for a chance, everyone in the house had finally fallen asleep. Nessa slept on the lounge chair as usual. Quay, Yogi, and Dino fell asleep on the floor†¦ race, gender or beliefs. Gandhi: An Autobiography and The Help portray multiple insights of the world in the 1900’s compared to modern day society. Social justice is a major theme in The Help and Gandhi: An Autobiography. In these two books we see how society can be a cruel mistress. How people of different races are treated throughout time and how the main characters never give up on hope for a better future in our community. In Gandhi: An Autobiography and The Help, the social aspect of†¦ Sexual Autobiography Shaping my sexual behavior was generally influenced by my mom. I learned to be dependent on men and use safe sex through media. Gender sex roles also placed me to be secretive with my sex life and nurturing. My body image makes me insecure when it comes to intimacy. There were no specific sexual guidelines that my family made me follow. I was raised in a family where I was able to explore and have my own opinions about sexual situations. Not having guidelines or a path made†¦ worth writing and then wrote about it in his autobiography. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin is a different beast in its literature. Unlike most books, and possibly most autobiographies as well, Franklin’s autobiography does not have a smooth flow between his three sections. These abrupt transition could be accounted for by the many years of break Franklin took in between each section. The overall theme for Franklin’s autobiography is for one to become self developing. As Franklin†¦ The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was not an easy book to read. Writing styles have changed tremendously since the 1700’s. Despite the cultural differences I learned a lot about the man and the time. Benjamin Franklin was a remarkable man. He was a printer, author, politician and an inventor. He was one of fifteen children in his family. Because he was from such a large family he was sent out to work at a very early age. He only had a few years†¦ From an Electrician to a Teacher: An Autobiography â€Å"The heart of human excellence often begins to beat when you discover a pursuit that absorbs you, frees you, challenges you, and gives you a sense of joy, meaning and passion.† – Angel Chernoof* I firmly believe that to be successful and flourish in education and childhood learning, your heart must lead you to this passion – as my heart did a year ago. Coming out of high school, my dreams were far beyond teaching and spending a lifetime discovering†¦

The Trial of Martha Stewart essay question type

Discussing the Trial of Martha Stewart - Essay Example The evidence as presented in her trial assisted the jurors in believing beyond a reasonable doubt that Martha was guilty on four of the indictments against her. The jury could not agree that the government had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Stewart and Bacanovic fabricated the $60 sale agreement and acquitted both parties on these counts. Stewart was not found guilty of the crime of insider trading when she sold her ImClone shares on December 27th 2001. She did, however, settle in 2006 on the case filed against her by the SEC. They had filed a civil case of insider trading against there in 2003 to which she did not admit or refute her guilt to the charge of insider trading, rather she settled. In my opinion, the U.S, Attorneys, and the Securities and Exchange Commission appeared to use sound and consistent judgment in indicting Martha Stewart. The indictments against Stewarts and Bacanovic did not happen until a year after the December 27th 2001 incident. The indictments came on June 4th 2003. This gap of time allowed enough time to investigate the situation at hand while gathering evidence from all involved parties. There is a law on the books against insider trading. The government entities are responsible for persecuting those that break the law. Martha Stewart was found guilty of breaking laws relating to the incident on December 27th, even if she could not be convicted of the crime of insider trading. Based on the information I read I have no reason to believe that prosecutors had additional motives for pursuing the case. When money is involved it is always a motivator, especially when dealing with a case of a crime against someone who is a millionaire. It would not s urprise me if there was an additional motivation; however, the information on the case was very straightforward and businesslike.

Nutrition in School-Aged Children Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nutrition in School-Aged Children - Assignment Example Some of the children do not have enough to eat each day because they come from poor families. Childhood is a critical time of growth where proper nutrition is necessary. Children with poor diets are prone to illness. The children are at a higher risk for mental, obesity and emotional health problems. They might also fail to thrive academically. Research shows that children with poor nutrition are likely to miss days of school and hence repeat classes. When a school-aged child does not get enough vitamins and minerals, it could lead to lethargy. Research shows that there is an association between child nutrition and the level of IQ of the child. Poor nutrition leads to a lower IQ. Failure to thrive socially and academically due to improper diet can have impacts that last throughout the person’s lifetime (Kelleher, Ireland & National University of Ireland, 2003). In addition, school going children who do not access proper nutrition, are prone to psychological disorders such as l earning disabilities and anxiety. These children are likely to require mental health counseling. Some nutrition habits such as skipping of meals are linked to depression, In conclusion, issues such as nutrition in school-aged children should be addressed. In dealing with this issue illness, injury and death in the children will be prevented. Those in power should affect these questions to help the children. Kelleher, C., Ireland. & the National University of Ireland, Galway. (2003). The national health & lifestyle surveys: Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition (SLAÃŒ N) & the Irish Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey (HBSC).  

Absenteeism from School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Absenteeism from School - Essay Example Thus, an individual's absenteeism is determined both by the information that he derives from the situation and by the set or expectation in terms of which he views the situation. The desirability of a situation is estimated in reference to internalized scales and norms of value which are determined by past experience (Burgess, 2003). That which conforms to these norms tends to be most readily perceived, and that which departs from the norms tends to be rejected. Since the absenteeism tends not only to confirm desirability estimates but also to strengthen other related expectations that are highly valued, the individual develops systems of more or less highly interrelated value expectations relative to his family, school, community, church, political party, nation, work group, and so on. These different systems may be mutually reinforcing or they may be in conflict with each other. Young people frequently experience conflict between the values acquired from their parents and those acq uired from their age peers. They may also perceive conflict between the values acquired at church and those acquired from their science teachers. Because of their high degree of independence of validating outcomes, they come to serve as stable reference points in terms of which experienced outcomes are evaluated as satisfying or unsatisfying. They also serve as comparing criteria and, as such, enable the individual to evaluate the values of other persons, groups, and subgroups. The student affected by absenteeism is one who makes evaluations in terms of his value systems without reference to the objective validity of his judgments (Byman and Burgess 2001). The value of the proposed research will be justified by increased number of drop outs from schools and low scores showed by many low class students in working areas. The concern has been validity: the truth value of research outcomes is stronger when both the data and the design are valid. Legitimating means that the research methods are consistent with the philosophical underpinnings of the question. For instance, the positivist assumes an objective reality; the postmodernist assumes no objective reality and no objective, truth. While a perfectly accurate portrayal of our notions of validity across the continuum is not possible, researchers can outline the major dimensions of thinking (Coffey and Atkinson 2003). Taking into account the nature of research, it is important to note that concerns about validity will include both external and internal validity, on the one hand, and measurement validity, on the other hand. Both these categories of concern are generated by the need to have confidence that our test, data, or design does indeed measure or reflect or produce what researchers intend it to measure, reflect, or produce. Without internal validity, one can only conclude that the approach being used to answer the question of interest is capable of estimating the relationship, and no statement about causation is possible. Even though there are those among the ranks of qualitative researchers who say they are not interested in internal validity, those who wish to infer causal relationships must be concerned with this aspect of their research. In fact, even some who dismiss this concern as being only a quantitative researcher's dilemma will admit to processes like triangulation and theoretical sampling, which are conceptual attempts and techniques to get at internal validity (Reid 1999). Absenteeism level is difficult to measure, so interview methods will help to collect required data and evaluate the level and causes of this problem. The research interview as a strategy to find out from people things

Laboratory 4 Report ( HMST 2530 ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Laboratory 4 Report ( HMST 2530 ) - Essay Example nvolved an assessment of the effects of practice with the dominant hand on the performance in tracing the star through a mirror view with the non-dominant hand. The results indicated that the practice group performed better than the control group. Overall, the data suggest that the means of training may impact the learning processes associated with the acquisition of fine motor skills. The study of motor control involves an empirical assessment of the neurological factors critical to the acquisition of motor skills. The development of motor skills requires the ability to execute learned movements toward a directed result. This process requires learning. Skills require accuracy and the ability to execute motor functions in a controlled fashion. The study of motor behaviour involves an attempt to ascertain the mechanism by which motor skills are produced. This area encompasses motor development, control and learning. Fine motor skills require little actual movement but require precision and control of fine muscle activities involving the manipulation of tools or objects. The experiments conducted in this laboratory practicum have explored principles of fine motor control in an experimental setting to assess critical factors associated with learning new fine motor skills. Skilled motor performance requires an organized sequence of movements associated with temporal organization. Other components of fine motor skills include accuracy and consistency of performance to produce purposeful activity. Learning may be defined as a change in behaviour that results from experience and practice; it is not an innate behavour. Learning is generally assessed by evaluating changes in performance. Performance may be defined as observable behaviour. Important measurements of learning include rate of response, error, reminiscence, and trials. The most important assessment tool of learning is retention, which involves the ability to perform after a period in which no

How to success with social media such as my father Essay

How to success with social media such as my father - Essay Example Each has his own way of measuring success. One may view it as ‘making loads of money’, while others may perceive success as fulfillment of goals and maximizing one’s potential. But to be particular, what I’ll be discussing here is about the success achieved by my father through the use of the social media. Social media are the ‘media for social interaction using web-based and mobile technologies for interactive communication’ . In other words, these are the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Cyworld, LinkedIn and others. You see, my family was poor when I was a child. Though he was already a plastic surgeon then, he had very little patients. But when the â€Å".com† boomed, my father joined the bandwagon and built a plastic surgery website. Through the website he advertised the services he offered and established a good network of clients. He also promoted community network service in the site, thus increasing his visitors’ traffic. Now I am proud to share with you guys, that my father gained success in his endeavors and now has a big network of marketing service team. Though we may view my father’s success as because of the websites, I will still say that the website is only half of his success. The other half is because of the inner qualities that he possessed to achieve his goals. As Richard St. John puts it, ‘passion, love, hard work, practice, focus, push, ideas and persistence are the secrets to success.’To succeed, a person must have passion for whatever he is doing or promoting. It is the ‘energy that comes from bringing more of you into what you do’ (The M.A.P.) It lights the fire to make you do what you want to do and do it to the best of your abilities. By doing your work passionately shows your love to your work. And when you love your work you’ll continue doing it irrespective of monetary rewards. Also, success entails hard work. Not only work but hard work. D uring this process when you realize you need a lot of practice to get perfect results. Getting perfect results need focus. Focus to attain perfection. But whatever it is, always remember that great things come from good ideas. Whatever the idea is, whether big or small, it’s just right to pursue it because nobody knows what will happen unless you give it a try. In addition, being persistent can lead you to success. Had my father were not persistent enough to try his luck in the social media, then he would not have achieved his status today. However, Will Edward has a different listing as to what success means to him. To him it needs ‘commitment, open mind, persistence, flexibility, faith, thankfulness and passion to be successful’ (Edward 2006). The number one in his list is commitment. To be fully committed, a person must bind his emotions and mind in fulfilling a certain goal. You need to take action relevant to your wishes to make it happen. But you’ve got to have your own dream and commit yourself to its accomplishment. As soon as you’re committed, you need an open mind to consider every possible solution available to achieve the goal. Like in the case of my father, he showed his open-mindedness when he tried using the social media even though it was still at its infancy stage and have not proven results yet. And he proved to be right. Next in the list of the keys of success of Edward is persistence, the act of being firm in the decision to do what he thinks is the way to the achievement of his goal. Persistent people are sometimes called hard-headed because they refuse to give up even in the face of continuous failure. Just in the case of my

Media, Democracy and the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media, Democracy and the Internet - Essay Example Here the power to rule is vested in the people, which is exercised through elected agents. Abraham Lincoln, calls democracy as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Media also shares a similar role in a democratic state. If democracy gives the power, media helps to strengthen it through unrestricted dissemination of information. It gives 'information, knowledge, forums of communication and debate necessary to govern their own lives effectively.'(McChesney 2000) Thus media emerges a true watch dog, constantly monitoring the democratic system for its flaws and giving the necessary feedbacks to 'people in power and people who want to be in power.' (McChesney 2000) Media can fulfill these tasks only it served the democratic system and the people who hold its key with unbiased and uncensored information accessible for every one. Only then it can build a 'self governing society of political equals' (McChesney 2000) strengthening the pillars of democracy and there by building its own credibility. Mass media has been regarded as the champion of public cause and history is replete with examples how it has fought along with the people in changing the public policy in both democratic and authoritarian regimes. With the emergence of the global media, the surveillancei function of the mass media has become more intensive and the watch dog was given a new responsibility to watch the whole world for the possible violations of democratic ideals and human rights. It started with a total support for Corazon Aquino's campaigns in the late seventies in Philippines and still going strong with reports to garner public support against Iran's dubious nuclear programme. Although the global television has changed the perspective of the mass media taking it from the 'locale' to 'global', media still focuses the domestic front, influencing the public policies through agenda setting. Here the media has further responsibilities like providing the citizen the means to understand the substance of policies at any particular time. Secondly they should perform an amplifying function by giving publicity to the actions and views of important individuals. Thirdly they should provide the common fund of information necessary for the formation of public opinion and the conduct of the political process. Further the mass media should attempt to provide standards by which political actions can be judged, the common frame of reference which must unite rulers and the ruled in a democratic political structure. The media therefore could help considerably in public participation in national and regional policies. Internet as a form of political protest The internet pioneered the ICT and spearheaded a revolution just like the invention of the printing press. If printing empowered people with knowledge, the internet gave them digital liberation. 'In the information age, the critical organizational form is networking. The most critical distinction in this organizational logic is to be or not to be -- in the network. Be in the network, and you can share and, over time, increase your chances. Be out of the network, or become switched off, and your chances vanish since everything that counts is organized around a world wide web of interacting networks.' (Manuel Castells 1998) The freedom to interact directly and instantaneously, end to copyright

Investigating the Properties of Oils Coursework

Investigating the Properties of Oils - Coursework Example The cup viscometer measures the kinematic velocity of a fluid and the unit of viscosity measured by such a viscometer is centistokes (Viswanath). Purpose: To determine the viscosity of a given sample of lubricating oil of unknown viscosity, with the help of a Cup Viscometer and different commercially available oils of known viscosity. It can be hypothesized that as the viscosity increases, the flow decreases and thus the efflux time increases, i.e. substances with a higher viscosity would take more time to efflux from the cup viscometer to the beaker. Methodology: In this experiment a cup viscometer will be used to determine the viscosity of a sample of lubricating oil of unknown viscosity. The cup viscometer will first be constructed by using disposable Styrofoam cups and subsequently be used to measure the viscosity. The following equipment will be required to conduct the experiment: Three different types of commonly available oils with known viscosities, viz. Olive Oil Soyabean Oi l Kerosene Oil A sample of the oil whose viscosity is to be determined, viz. lubricating oil Four disposable Styrofoam cups Burette Clamp or stand Four 100 ml graduated Cylinders Four beakers A skewer of uniform diameter to punch holes Scotch Tape An accurate Stopwatch The first part of the experiment is to construct a cup viscometer using disposable Styrofoam cups and calibrating it using oils of known viscosities. Four disposable Styrofoam cups are taken and holes are punched in their bottoms using a skewer of uniform diameter. One should be extremely careful while punching holes in order to ensure that all four holes are of the same diameter. Once the holes have been punched, scotch tape has to be applied at the bottom of all the cups in order to prevent the oil from leaking once it has been poured in to the cups. The cups are then marked as A, B or C, one for each different oil of known viscosity. The next step is the calibration of the cup viscometers prepared. This is achieved via pouring measured quantities (i.e. 60 ml) of the three different oils of known viscosities in to three different cup viscometers. Olive Oil is placed in Cup A, Soyabean Oil in Cup B and Kerosene Oil in Cup C. This can be achieved by using a graduated measuring cylinder to measure out 60 ml of each oil into the respective cups. While filling the graduated cylinders, it should be ensured that the cylinder is placed in a flat horizontal surface, in order to avoid any errors in measurements. Moreover, it is important to remember that most solutions would form a concave meniscus. Thus, while reading a meniscus, the bottom of the meniscus should be read and the meniscus should be kept at eye level in order to avoid parallax errors. Moreover, the meniscus should be read against a uniform background, which can be achieved by placing a white sheet of paper behind the level of the liquid. Once all the cups have been filled, one of the cups (i.e. Cup A) is suspended in a burette clamp and a beaker is placed underneath. The scotch tape is then carefully removed and the stopwatch started in order to time the experiment. The time required for 60 ml of Olive Oil to flow from the cup in to the beaker is recorded. The timing should start immediately after the removal of the scotch tape and should

10 years from now Essay Example for Free

10 years from now Essay My primary goal over the next ten years is to graduate from the University of Florida. I will major in advertising and possibly minor in business administration. I will graduate with a Masters of Advertising (M.Adv.). In order to get this degree, I have to complete at least one hundred and twenty-four hours of credits. Some of the classes I will need to take for my major are Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of Advertising, Advertising campaigns, and Media Planning. To earn a Masters of Advertising, at least thirty-three credits are required excluding undergraduate courses throughout the university. There are eighteen core credits out of the thirty-three. Some Classes unique to my degree are Advertising Planning, Advertising Theory, and Creative Advertising Strategies. Electives such as International communication and Advanced Media Planning are also required. A Business Administration minor at the University of Florida provides an overview of the major practical elements of business for non-business UF undergraduates. This minor can be completed on line, at UF or through a study abroad program. To earn a Business Administration minor, twenty four credits must be completed while maintaining a 2.0 or higher GPA in the minor. Obtaining a master’s degree would be beneficial in that a higher pay is earned and greater expertise in that subject is attained. The average tuition cost for undergraduates living either on or off campus at the University of Florida is $20,220. My schooling will be paid for by family savings and a Bright Futures scholarship. During my time at the Uni versity of Florida I would like to study abroad. My top locations are Madrid, London or Rome. Studying abroad would be a great experience. Through this program I could improve and increase my language skills, gain different perspectives on vital global issues, encounter new things and meet new people. The Department of Advertising at the University of Florida strongly encourages students to gain work experience through internships. Although internships are not required, they can have great benefit in the long run. Through internships, my interest, motivation and willingness to work hard could be noticed by future coworkers, clients and bosses. After completing  schooling and internships I hope to become a Director of Public Affairs in Tampa, Florida. Directors of public affairs are responsible for developing effective communication plans that strengthens brand promise, create and launch new media and marketing and to resolve public affairs issues. Qualifications for this position include a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations or Journalism. Strong media relations skills and strong relationships with key media outlets such as print, television, bloggers and radio are preferred. The ability to multi task and to take initiative in a fast paced environment is favorable. The median pay for a Director of public affairs in Florida is $58,000. The tax rate for that income is $7,929 or 14.74%. A Director of Public affairs works with the management and assigns tasks to the staff. To ensure and maintain the company’s good reputation, the Director of Public Affairs must supervise and review the activities of the staff. In ten years, my main form of transportation will be by car. One of the most important factors considered when buying a car is price. I lean towards bigger cars such as a GMC Tahoe or a Honda Pilot. The estimated average cost of either of these cars ranges from $18,000 to $30,000. One of the disadvantages of driving a larger car is the high cost of fueling. As a result of the low MPG, a larger sum of money will have to be budgeted for gas every month. Before I begin the search for a car, a target price should be determined. It’s important to also consider how much the car can be sold or traded for in the future. Another factor to consider is whether the car will be new or used. New cars are favorable because the car won’t have any unknown problems prior to purchasing it. Used cars are beneficial due to their lower prices and shorter financing periods. In my opinion, the benefits of a used car outweigh the disadvantages. The ability to travel will play a key role in my j ob selection. I would like to travel around the world to places I’ve never been including places such as New Zealand, Australia, Italy, and Spain. I would also love to be able to go back to Scotland to see my family and visit parts of the country I’ve never seen. Tampa, Florida would be my ideal city to live in. Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa. Living in a two bedroom apartment with a  roommate would make the most sense, financially, when I am starting my career. Bell Channelside is an upscale apartment community that would be suitable to both my needs and wants. The average cost for a two bedroom apartment at Bell Channelside ranges from $1442 to $1750 with a down payment of $300. These apartments have an impressive walk score of 82. The Tampa Aquarium, Channelside Bay Plaza, nightlife, dining and shopping are all in walking distance of Bell Channelside apartments. They are also conveniently close to the I-275 and the Crosstown Expressway. The crime rate in Downtown Tampa is less than 42% of the cities in Florida. Contrary to what many may assume about Downtown Tampa, it is safer than 77.9% of the neighborhoods in Tampa. ï ¿ ¼ In order to stay out of debt and to maintain my funds, I will have to budget my spending. Ten years from now, student loans will likely still need to be paid off. Falling into debt would add unnecessary stress and would delay paying off my student loans and prevent me from investing for the future. The average yearly pay of a Director of Public affairs is $58,000 which calculates to an estimated $4,833 every month. A minimum of $750 will be paid each month for rent. Monthly utilities usually aren’t included in the rent so at least $50 should be set aside for groceries and $65 to $90 for gas. The pie chart in the figure above breaks down the cost of living expenses in Tampa based on a monthly income of $4,000. I will also put money into long-term investments. Long term investing will aid future purchases and savings for houses, education and funds for traveling. If I stick to my budget and follow my plan, you will be able to find me living in Downtoan Tampa, working as a Direct or of Public Affairs, and driving a slightly used Honda Pilot in 2023.

Ethical issues Essay Example for Free

Ethical issues Essay Code of ethics for education defines the professional behavior of educator and serves as a guide to ensure there is ethical conduct. Professional standards commission came up with standards that give guidance as far as conducts that are general accepted in education profession. For this case, there is assurance of protection of safety, health and general welfare of teachers and students to ensure some degree of accountability within the education profession and defines unethical conduct justifying disciplinary action. Educators ought to uphold ethics such as moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral character among others wile working. Ethical standards are set such as criminal acts, abuse of students, alcohol or drugs, misinterpretation, public fund and property mismanagement and improper remunerative conduct among others (Code of ethics for Educators, 1999) How is it then possible for a teacher, who has been trusted with the welfare of children, dare think, for a moment to have a sexual relationship with a student? Well, here is a case study in Leewicks High School in America. English teacher charged with having affair with student, February 1998 English teacher, Mary (not real name), 35 years old was charged with criminal sexual exploitation and having a sexual and romantic affair with a minor 16 year old boy. She admitted having sex with the boy. Suspicions were raised about the affaire when people saw them together cuddling and holding hands away from the school. Another teacher, Mrs.  Shael (not real name) also found a hand written note with the student’s initials on Mary’s desk. There was also a piece of paper with a list of things she wanted to do which included dinner out and â€Å"great sex! † Police said they seized letters in which Mary wrote. She was upset that the boy wanted to breakup the relationship. The boy told the police that the relationship started when he was 15 years old while baby sitting Mary’s son and taking care of her dogs and cats. They also exchanged gifts and letters, including wedding rings, police said. Mary was arrested at school and initially denied the allegations, saying the boy was fantasizing. Police said that she later confessed. Prosecutors noted that Mary initially made up a cancer story to save her marriage from breaking, and later on continued to use the same lie in order to be absent in her place of work and in an effort to keep the lover boy from terminating the relationship Mary was ordered on bail and could be sentenced to more than eight years. She was suspended with pay. She has separated with the husband; they had a 9 year old son. Mark (not real name), the principal of the school said the whole school felt betrayed. This became the topic of discussion among students and teachers in the school. Some students found it hard to believe the story as they described her as a very nice teacher who is always positive. † She was a very dear teacher to us† student commented. Some felt the act was disguising. The disciplinary action taken might lead Mary to be fired by the education managers. She is likely not to serve the eight years in jail because she can easily be released on bonds. Mary could alternatively have been asked to compensate the teen for sexually using him. The ministry of education could monitor the educator’s conduct and performance after an investigation is held. This action is to ensure that the prosecuted educator is abiding by laws and regulations of the sector. Professional certificate or license could be suspend or revocation. The action is usually taken the way it is outlined in educator’s code of ethics. Another alternative way of dealing with the case is not to allow the educator to be engaged in to play the role of volunteers. Or substitute teachers or any position during the time of her revocation, suspension or denial for the violation of the code of ethics. These solutions though acceptable, may complicate the situation because the students will loose the teacher and the education performance be affected. The sector will also have lost a human resource.

Who is to blame for the Deepwater Horizon rig incident?

Who is to blame for the Deepwater Horizon rig incident? On the 20th of April 2011 explosion at Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and led to the largest oil spill in the petroleum industrys history. Apportionment of blame is likely to be contested in the law courts for years to come. Who i.e. which stakeholders do you consider has to share some responsibility for the accident or do you consider it an ultimately unpreventable accident, in todays global economy? Trying to get out of the PR wars on the oil spill, 4 month after the tragedy on September 8th, 2010, BP issued its own internal 234-page report. BP cited at least eight errors of judgment and equipment failures that caused the explosion that sank the rig. BP concluded that a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces contributed to the incident. The company accepted only shared responsibility for the explosion and pointed fingers at its contractors Halliburton, which provided cement for the blown-up Macondo well, and Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon. Transocean assailed the BP report as self-serving, contending that BPs fatally flawed well design set the stage for the rig explosion 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Halliburton, which did the well cementing, said it found a number of substantial omissions and inaccuracies in the report and remains confident that all the work it performed was completed in accordance with BPs specifications. BPs internal investigation report was met with criticism by watchdog groups who questioned the companys motives. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of non-for-profit organization Food Water Watch told IPS News Agency: BP is distributing the blame and deflecting responsibility for the incident so they can justify their continued operation in the Gulf. Rather than accept the blame and financial consequences for its disaster, BP is continuing to point fingers at everyone it can, said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the conservation group Center for Biological Diversity. BP is clearly trying to limit its financial liability by blaming other companies and denying there was criminal negligence, Suckling said. If the Department of Justice concludes that BP was criminally negligent, its fines under the Clean Water Act will quadruple from 1,300 dollars per barrel to 4,300 dollars. That is more than a 10- billion-dollar difference. One month after the accident on May 21 President Barack Obama established the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The Commission examined the relevant facts and circumstances concerning the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and developed options to guard against, and mitigate the impact of, any oil spills associated with offshore drilling in the future. This included recommending improvements to federal laws, regulations, and industry practices. A final report on the Commissions findings was presented to the President on January 12, 2011. According to the report, the Macondo blowout was the product of several individual missteps and oversights by BP, Halliburton, and Transocean, which government regulators lacked the authority, the necessary resources, and the technical expertise to prevent. Halliburton and BPs management processes did not ensure that cement was adequately tested. Halliburton had insufficient controls in place to ensure that laboratory testing was performed in a timely fashion or that test results were vetted rigorously in-house or with the client. In fact, it appears that Halliburton did not even have testing results in its possession showing the Macondo slurry was stable until after the job had been pumped. It is difficult to imagine a clearer failure of management or communication. BP, Transocean, and Halliburton failed to communicate adequately. Information appears to have been excessively compartmentalized at Macondo as a result of poor communication. BP did not share important information with its contractors, or sometimes internally even with members of its own team. Contractors did not share important information with BP or each other. As a result, individuals often found themselves making critical decisions without a full appreciation for the context in which they were being made (or even without recognition that the decisions were critical). Decision making processes at Macondo did not adequately ensure that personnel fully considered the risks created by time- and money-saving decisions. Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time (and money). There is nothing inherently wrong with choosing a less-costly or less-time-consuming alternative-as long as it is proven to be equally safe. The problem is that, at least in regard to BPs Macondo team, there appears to have been no formal system for ensuring that alternative procedures were in fact equally safe. The report summarized that the accident of April 20 was avoidable. It resulted from clear mistakes made in the first instance by BP, Halliburton, and Transocean, and by government officials who, relying too much on industrys assertions of the safety of their operations, failed to create and apply a program of regulatory oversight that would have properly minimized the risks of deepwater drilling. It is now clear that both industry and government need to reassess and change business practices to minimize the risks of such drilling. BPs claim about disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to be the unavoidable accident was actually driven by a reckless pursuit of profits and selfish disregard for our planet. QUESTION 2: If you were Tony Hayward, how would you have acted in the immediate aftermath of the accident? It is easier to say what I would have done being a CEO of BP after analyzing what Tony Hayward did wrong during the incident in the Gulf. BPs handling of the Deepwater Horizon crisis under its former CEO Tony Hayward may be seen as a textbook case of how not to manage an enterprise in a period of reputational crisis. On June 17 Tony Haywood stonewalled the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation by refusing to provide information he knows as chief operating officer. He was recorded telling a camera man to get out of there during a photo-op on the shores of Louisiana. Haywards summer of PR disasters culminated in his public declaration that Id like my life back, and he went to participate in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island yacht race off the Isle of Wight in the UK, while Gulf residents struggled with the effects of the spill. He was widely criticized for his comment which was perceived as selfish and he later apologized for it on BP Americas Facebook page. President Obamas chief of staff Rahm Emanuel wryly observed on American network news that I think we can all conclude Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR consulting. In an interview on NBC on 8 June, 2010, Barack Obama said that Hayward wouldnt be working for me after any of those statements, referring to the remarks BP CEO made following the spill. In a lecture at Stanford Business School in May 2009 Hayward declared to the business students that our primary purpose in life is to create value for our shareholders. Later his statements that focused only on the individual corporate remit have also been quoted outside the context of the full lecture. Haywards point of view is in line with Milton Friedman who wrote in his famous 1970s article in The New York Times Magazine, that the one and only social responsibility of business, is to increase profits for shareholders. General idea of Friedman was that only people can have responsibilities, but not businesses. The people who are hired by business owners have a responsibility primarily to their employers, to meet their desires which in most cases are profits. General public view the company as a whole representative and if CEOs mistake leads to an error is social judgment, the public will judge the whole company, not just this person. It has been proven time and whilst CSR has yet to be harnessed to create a significant positive difference to profits, a negative policy can destroy profits. The costs BP saved by taking risky decisions at Deepwater Horizon have finally gone to many other stakeholders residents of the Gulf, government, business owners. BP cut corner after corner to save a million dollars here and a few hours there, said Henry Waxman, whose committee was investigating the Deepwater Horizon accident in the US. And now the whole Gulf Coast is paying the price. Some theorists believe that CSR stops businesses performing to their full potential and crippling the economy. My opinion is that an effective CSR policy together with efficient marketing and clear business strategy could help a business grow to larger profits whilst also benefitting society. Ironically enough, Tony Hayward was one of the key proponents of CSR in 2005, giving a speech about corporate responsibility and its increasing importance at BP. This was when Lord Browne was CEO and CSR was gaining more attention. But since mid-2007 many factors have weakened under Tony Haywards leadership, including contractor fatalities and greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental and safety fines spiked upward in 2009 and hydrocarbon flaring has nearly doubled since 2007. Summarizing the answer, if I was a CEO of BP I would spend all my time in the US to see whats happening on a regular basis and actively communicate with US administration for coordination of clean-up efforts. I would not lie about the size of catastrophe from the beginning and will not try to bribe ecologists in attempts to hide the actual result of the oil spill. The leader is always needed at the time of crisis which Tony Hayward has failed to be. QUESTION 3: If you were a member of the BP board what would you be recommending at this point that BP should do about the disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico? BP lost $95 billion in market capitalization within a few weeks of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, with its stock priced back to 14 years. There was a clear disproportion between the companys market losses and even the most pessimistic estimates of cleanup costs that never exceeded $30 billion this was an indication of the costs of this reputational risk crisis to BP. While firms today recognize the value of brand definition as a competitive advantage in the marketplace, reputation remains an often underestimated component of a companys value. Corporations experiencing a public crisis, such BP in 2010 undergo what is termed reputational distress. This concept was first coined by Stephen Greyser, Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, and describes the critical period following a crisis event when a companys management is at risk of losing the confidence of the markets. Reputational distress can result in significant impact upon a firms market capitalization, as well as its corporate reputation, in correlation to how the crisis response of the firms management is represented in the markets and the mass media. Brand Finance Plc, the worlds leading brand valuation consultancy, estimated that the fallout from the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig has caused BPs brand value to plummet by $7.4bn, representing a 61% fall (or  £72m per day). Having spent many millions on promoting its Beyond Petroleum strapline and positioning itself as the most environmentally friendly of the oil companies, this disaster has had a highly detrimental impact on its brand value globally, especially in the US. In contrast to BP, the actions of Johnson Johnson in the case of the Tylenol tampering scandal represent a best practices example of how a firm can successfully manage reputational risk. Employing a crisis strategy defined by aggressive transparency, Johnson Johnson retained public and market confidence, resulting in the value of its shares quickly rebounding from immediate losses and the Tylenol brand actually becoming the industry leader shortly thereafter. Reputational risk management can therefore represent not only a challenge, but an opportunity. Traditionally in CSR the Bottom Line refers to the financial and economic responsibility of the company that is making profits. Recently introduced by John Elkington (1994) Triple Bottom Line model gives a wider view of responsibilities of organizations which obviously encompasses financial aspects and also environmental and social impacts of the company. The utilization of the triple bottom line allows companies to evaluate their success not only in their economic field but also in the environmental and social ones. BP currently remains a member of United Nations Global Compact. This is a high-profile CSR scheme, which requires firms to adhere to 10 principles which require to take a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, promote environmental responsibility, and encourage the development of clean technology. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico appears to provide evidence that BP has not adhered to the principles and could undermine its credibility as a signatory to the Compact. According to Mary Ann Ferguson, professor of PR at the University of Florida, when a company has a good reputation, people will appreciate its high-fit CSR program. But if BP tries to use high-fit CSR to further its public image, it may do itself more harm than good. Before you develop any high-fit CSR program, evaluate your companys reputation first so you dont just wreak further harm. Once the company name is tarnished, high-fit CSR tends to produce only skepticism. In other words, it backfires. If I was a member of the BP board at the time of the scheduled board meeting in London in May 2010, first of all I would recommend that the board meeting should be convened in Louisiana, preferably carrying part of it on one of the support vessels, engaged in the oil spillage liquidation operation, so that all board members can see for themselves, what has happened and received first hand information from the emergency operations crew. The second part of the board meeting should have been carried on the shore in Louisiana, and representatives from the key stakeholders in US such as regulators, environment protection agencies, NGOs, fishing community, should have been invited to this meeting. This little step, which wouldnt cost much would have helped to change the public perception of the companys approach to the problem. Secondly, Tony Hayward should have been removed by the board at this meeting, and a new interim CEO with specific drilling and disaster management experience should have been appointed at this time, showing BPs dedication to liquidate the disaster, thus bringing someone with hands-on approach instead of discredited CEO. At this time I would also suggest that the company start providing accurate estimates of the amount of oil spilling from the well, instead of trying to deceive the media and professionals. BPs move with lowering estimates of the oil spillage has done more damage than good. The inconvenient truth is less harmful that the sweet lies. The next step would be stop putting blame on subcontractors Halliburton and Transocean and start working together trying to find fast and solid solution of the problem. BP looked really silly with its biased internal report which has put most responsibility for the disaster to its contractors. Wasnt it BP the owner of the rights to the well, who selected those contractors in the first place? I am sure that BP has done their due diligence before hiring these companies. Last, but not least is to start paying serious attention and investing significant funds into disaster liquidation in the communities along the Gulf. BP has to draw attention of primarily US as well as world media to the efforts which company is undertaking in the sea and on the ground along the affected coast. Capping the well is no doubt a high priority, but dealing with the local stakeholders and environmental damage is no less important task, which provided to the company as being one of the most difficult ones. Stakeholder management is equally important, and saving the environment and providing other opportunities to the people which have lost their income source is critical. If I was a member of the board of BP at that time, I would put as much efforts and funding into this exercise as I would into capping of the well, if not more. Such proactive approach would help BP in the future when dealing with individual or class lawsuits, coming their way, as US is one of the most liti gious countries in the world. QUESTION 4: Why do you think BP attracted such opprobrium? Hayward, and BP in general, initially downplayed the spill, stating on 17 May 2010 that the environmental impact of the Gulf spill would likely be very very modest and calling the spill relatively tiny in comparison with the size of the ocean. On 27 May, Haywood changed his assessment, calling the spill an environmental catastrophe in an interview with CNN. Hayward earned the nickname Tone-Deaf Tony for his far from the truth assertions. Then after the explosion, BP denied there was a leak until it became painfully obvious. When they could no longer hide that fact, they low-balled the estimate of the leak at 5,000 barrels a day, which is probably low by a factor of 20. When Hayward met with members of the U.S. Senate shortly after the accident, he asserted that BP intended to meet its obligations up to its $75 million liability cap under the U.S. Oil Pollution Act. Haywards assertion that BP was protected by limited liability under U.S. law, coming at a time when thousands of fishermen and tourism workers in Gulf states were being laid off due to the oil spill, so angered the senators with whom he met that within days legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate to raise the damage cap facing BP from $75 million to $10 billion. BP sprayed more than 1 million gallons of chemical dispersants Corexit 9500 and 9527 into the Gulf since the oil spill began in a reckless effort to make the oil disappear from public view. BP threatened clean-up workers theyd be fired if they spoke to the media, also the company ordered workers showing up with respirators and other protective gear to remove it or be fired. Cleanup workers have been complaining of dizziness, nausea and other symptoms ever since then. Dispersants only alter the chemical and physical properties of the oil, making it more likely to mix with seawater than deposit on the shoreline. So what the dispersants do is re-direct the oil, making its impact perhaps less so on birds and shore-dwelling animals, but more so on fish, coral reefs, oysters and other marine life that live in the deeper waters. Also, when the dispersants mix with the crude oil, a third far more toxic product is produced called dispersed oil which has been shown to be more toxic than the sum of its parts. Toxicologists can only guess what the full extent of the damage will be, and its likely it wont show up in full for years or decades. Before BP could stop the oil leaking at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, it unleashed $100 million in ad spending, largely on network TV, to stem the damage to its image. But it also started spending heavily where it had never spent much before: buying ads in Googles search results. Nearly $3.6 million in the month of June alone were spent by BP, which pushed the company into the upper echelon of search advertisers, in a league with ATT, Expedia, Amazon and eBay. When people searched for oil spill theyll be directed to BPs damage control page that shows the companys Gulf of Mexico Response and cleanup efforts, instead of the massive amounts of damage that was still ongoing. In the CNN interviews, Deepwater Horizon workers described a corporate culture of cutting staff and ignoring warning signs ahead of the blast. They claimed BP routinely cut corners and pushed ahead despite concerns about safety. The rig survivors also said it was always understood that you could get fired if you raised safety concerns that might delay drilling. CNN interviews also revealed that BP had ordered a shortcut on the day of the explosion designed to speed drilling, as the rig was five weeks behind schedule and one day of its operation had an estimated cost of $750,000. All these facts are not surprising as BP is no stranger to environmental crime. Over the past two decades, BP subsidiaries have been convicted of three crimes in Alaska and Texas, including two felonies. Also BP holds the dubious honor of receiving the stiffest fine in history for work safety violations 760 fines as of June 2010, while Exxon Mobil has had just one. In 1991 BP was cited as the most polluting company in the US based on EPA toxic release data. The company has been charged with burning polluted gases at its Ohio refinery (for which it was fined $1.7 million), and in July 2000 BP paid a $10 million fine to the EPA for its management of US refineries. During the last couple of years before the Gulf accident BP became more profitable: Tony Hayward received a 40 percent pay increase in 2009 based on BPs improved performance. The company announced earnings of $5.6 billion for the first quarter of 2010, more than double the same quarter in 2009. But BP failed to fix the one problem that continues to get it into trouble: a reactionary management culture that puts an emphasis on cutting costs and efficiency while neglecting preventative maintenance. BP has been chronically unable or unwilling to learn from its mistakes according to analysts, competitors and former employees. QUESTION 5: Looking ahead 3-4 years, how do you think the disaster will affect BP? Will it: (a) have no significant, long-term impact on the business? (b)Result in BP becoming a much smaller company? (c)) Result in BP being bought by the Chinese, Qataris etc ormerged with another international oil company? (d) Be the catalyst for BP to move irrevocably beyond petroleum and becoming a new form of global energy business, based eventually in renewable energy? The BP oil spill has set a new precedent for both environmental damage and corporate irresponsibility. According to BP official there was a good reason why the Macondo well was being drilled in the first place. Its because the world badly needs the oil and gas that reside beneath the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic and other oceans in order to meet inexorably growing energy demand. BP pushed technology to the limit in the remotest reaches of Alaska and the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico the tough stuff that others cannot or choose not to do, as Tony Hayward once put it. Last year there was a serious debate as to whether the Deepwater Horizon incident will lead to bankruptcy for BP. Project failures such as the Deepwater Horizon can have enormous consequences on the value of BP shareholders, including many pensioners in the UK and current and past employees and may even jeopardize survival of the enterprise. BP have been paying not only for all environmental and economic damages from the blowout, but will also be facing years of claims, negotiations and litigation. The company is still facing legal suits from Edinburgh and Merseyside pension funds for the loss of value that emanated from an Alaskan pipeline spill in 2006. Gulf of Mexico claims will last much longer. According to Bloomberg, BP took charges totaling US$40 billion in the second and third quarters of 2010 to account for the cost of the Gulf spill. The company announced in July 2010 it would sell between $25 billion and $30 billion of assets, and has sold fields in Argentina, Colombia, Pakistan, the U.S. and Vietnam. BP interests in Algeria, Alaskas Prudhoe Bay and Canadian pipelines may be next up on the block. According to offshoreenergytoday.com, since taking charge in October, new CEO Bob Dudley has taken asset sales to $22 billion to pay costs from the worst US oil spill, reorganized management and cut the deal with Rosneft to give the company access to Russias untapped Arctic reserves. The share price has recovered about 60 percent from Junes post-spill low, in part on expectations that the dividend will return at 50 percent of the previous level. Recently BP has reinstated the dividend that was suspended after the spill as higher oil prices and improved refining margins lifted its earnings. It is unlikely that BP will be acquired by other major oil companies ExxonMobil or Royal Dutch Shell. BP executives held talks with a number of sovereign wealth funds including funds from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore, for creation of a strategic partnership to avoid takeover. Now BP continues to be Europes second-biggest oil company and the biggest producer of oil and gas in the US. Financial Times said that before the accident, the US had been the principal focus of the groups strategy, with deepwater oil production in the Gulf of Mexico at its heart. It was a source of oil and gas reserves in a region with an apparently stable legal and tax framework, and was a place to develop techniques that could then be deployed around the world. The BP oil spill has brought attention to the issue of greenwashing. This term was coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westerveld (1986) and means deceptive use of green PR or green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a companys policies or products are environmentally friendly. BP entered the greenwashing playing field spending 200 million dollars on rebranding the company in 2000. BP TV ads were focused on themes of biofuels, alternative energy and carbon footprints, closing with a green, flower-like logo and the slogan Beyond petroleum. According to Kate Sheppard, a writer at Foreign Policy (3 May 2010), despite all BP has spent on rebranding, the company hasnt done nearly as much to move beyond petroleum as its campaign implies. In fact, BP has been turning away from investments in nonfossil energy, last year cutting investment in alternative sources from $1.4 billion to $1 billion. Weeks before the spill, BP announced that it was shuttering its solar manufacturing plant in Maryland, it closed the doors of its much-hyped UK Alternative Energy headquarters in 2009. The company brought in $73 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2010, but only about $700 million of its business was alternative energy sources like wind and solar. The company has also spent a lot of time and money convincing political leaders that offshore drilling is clean, safe, and environmentally friendly while at the same time actually fighting against safety measures that might have prevented the horror in the Gulf. Green Energy Reporter said that BP plans to invest $1 billion in 2011 in its renewable energy business, roughly the same amount it invested last year. In 2008 BP was awarded a satirical prize, the Emerald Paintbrush award, by Greenpeace UK. The award was given to BP in order to highlight its alleged greenwashing campaign. Critics point out that while BP advertises its activities in alternative energy sources, the majority of its capital investments (more than 90%) continue to go into fossil fuels linked with major environmental challenges on a global scale. BP will definitely not make steps to becoming a new form of global energy business based on renewable energy until it can get the same tremendous profits from oil and gas. After the incident Bob Dudley has identified improving BPs safety practice and performance as one of his highest priorities. As it mentioned in BPs internal investigation report, it was possible for BP to drill deepwater wells safely. It is vital for the companys future that it can live up to that aspiration. In his latest speech on March 08th 2011 at CERA Week Conference in Houston Bob Dudley said: BP is sorry. BP gets it. BP is changing. Were strengthening safety, growing value and working to earn trust. The lesson for large companies is that whilst cost and time savings are certainly key initiatives, senior management and the Board need to ensure that they do not happen at the risk of brand and stakeholder relationships. Only by remembering this disaster and pushing for the truth to be brought to the surface the truth about what BP was hiding we can prevent a similar event from occurring in the future.

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The American Dream is an idea and a myth that people struggle for but can never be achieved. It cannot be attained because it is an endless race for perfection and better than oneself. For some the dream might be to become impossibly wealthy, or become stronger and smarter than one can be. People pursue the American dream because they believe it has been accomplished before. We live in a society where perfection is ideal and flaws are covered up or hidden. Americans believe that everyone else is perfect because that is what they are shown, and they strive to copy that flawless image too. They are thought of in the same way however, and the All-American power struggle ensues, with each group being more jealous than the next.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America is founded on the principle of liberty, the notion that everyone is free to say and write what they want, and that everyone is equal. Some people assume that since so much freedom is allowed, at least one person is exercising that freedom to its fullest. They work their whole lives to try to be like that person, but that person does not exist. They want to be as rich as him, as sophisticated as him, and as powerful as him. These people are called the wealthy. Karl Marx would describe them as â€Å"The Haves†. They differ morally with the majority of the population, but then again they vastly different from the people they perceive as having all the freedom to do what they want. The Great Gatsby illustrates the story these people, and how they are corrupted by the potential of seemingly limitless freedom. Jay Gatsby and Tom and Daisy Buchanan are the elite. They have it all, from huge sprawling mansions to private golf courses. They want it all, and more often than not, they get it all. Tom and Daisy are out for pleasure, but loner Jay Gatsby is looking for love after wasting his life for so many years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom and Daisy Buchanan are not modest people. They know they are rich and they flaunt it. They openly show off their wealth openly to Nick when he comes to visit. Money has taken over their lives and they know it. They are living the American Dream of money, power, and sophistication. Tom is described as a â€Å"hulking wad of muscle†, which could mean that the Buchanans is a deciption of the corrupted rich families with money and power.

Schizophrenia Essay -- essays research papers

Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic, and often disabling brain disease. While the term Schizophrenia literally means, "split mind," it should not be confused with a "split," or multiple, personality. It is more accurately described as a psychosis -- a type of illness that causes severe mental disturbances that disrupt normal thought, speech, and behavior. The first signs of schizophrenia usually appear as shocking or radical changes in behavior. Others may have severe psychotic symptoms listed above. But many people also show "negative" symptoms, such as decreased emotional arousal, mental activity, and inability to socialize. Schizophrenics often report a sense of strangeness and confusion about the source of their sensations. They feel great loneliness, anxiety, and an overwhelming sense of being disconnected from others. A schizophrenic person may think and communicate incoherently, jumping from one idea mixing a "word salad" of new words or jumbled phrases. It is common for schizophrenics to be suspicious and resentful. They may sense that their thoughts are stolen, broadcast aloud, Or replaced by new information from strangers seeking to control their behavior. They may describe voices that speak directly to them or criticize their behavior Schizophrenia often appears earlier in men -when they are in their late teens to early adulthood - and in women in their 20s and early 30s, but the disease affects men and women with equal frequency. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 2.2 million American adults or about 1. 1 % of the population age 18 and older in a given year have schizophrenia. Some people experience only a single episode and remain symptom-free afterward. More commonly, however, the course of illness fluctuates over several decades, with each recurrence leading to increasing impairment. Experts don't know what causes schizophrenia, but they agree that it most likely results from a complex interplay of genetic, behavioral, and other factors, similar to other diseases. It is widely believed that neurotransmitters, brain chemicals that allow communication between brain cells, play a role in causing schizophrenia, but the exact mechanism is not known. Most m... ...ns is often difficult for schizophrenics. They may deny that they are ill, or their disease itself may hinder their ability to take regular medication. Fortunately there are many ways for patients, doctors, and families to improve adherence. Some antipsychotic medications are available in long-acting injectable forms so that the patient can receive a dose of medication just once a month. Other useful tools include pillboxes or electronic timers that beep when medication should be taken. Families can also help by motivating the patient to take their medicines properly. Often, additional drugs, such as antianxiety medications or antidepressants, may be used to treat side effects of the antipsychotic medicines or other symptoms related to the schizophrenia, including stiffness, tremors, and depression. Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy by itself is of little value without medication, and vice versa. While medication can be effective in relieving psychotic symptoms, psychotherapy can help with behavioral symptoms such as socialization and communicating appropriately. Supportive and sympathetic psychotherapy helps these patients understand their disease and re-enter society and family life.

Concretions :: essays research papers fc

Dating back to the 18th century concretions have been known as geologic curiosity’s due to the various sizes, shapes and compositions. Concretions have also been thought to be dinosaur eggs, extra-terrestrial debris, human artifacts and animal and plant fossils. Due to these curiosity’s I will try and enlighten you more on these in the following by explaining the process in which they are formed and explaining some locations where they can be found in large outcrops. â€Å"The word "concretion" is derived from the Latin "con"-- meaning "together" -- and "cresco" -- meaning "to grow."† Concretions are hard compact accumulations of mineral matter and are found inside sedimentary rocks. Some examples of this are Sandstone and in some weathered volcanic rock. Concretions come in many different shapes and the most common of the shapes is spherical or disk shaped. Concretions are the most varied-shaped rocks of the sedimentary world. The way concretions come to be is the mineral matter concentrates around the nucleus of a host rock. The nucleus is often organic such as a tooth or leaf or shell or fossil. As the mineral matter concentrates around the nucleus it forms harder zones known as nodules. Concretions are very odd in the sense that they very in size, shape, color and hardness. Often concretions are mistaken for bones, fossils, meteorites and other odd objects. They can be so small that it requires a magnifying glass to be visible or as large as 10 feet in diameter and weigh hundreds of pounds. Concretions can also have somewhat of regular shapes such as boxes, blocks, flat disks, pipes, cannon balls and have even been known to resemble parts of a human body such as a foot or ribs. Concretions are most commonly composed of calcite but sometimes can be composed of iron oxide or iron hydroxide such as goethite. But also concretions can be composed of other minerals ranging from siderite, ankerite, dolomite, pyrite, baryite and gypsum. Concretions form in many different ways. The box shape of some ironstone concretions most often depend on the way a sandstone or shale bed breaks up due to the action of weathering into regular blocks of various sizes. The way in which this separation takes place along natural planes of weakness in a rock such as a horizontal bedding surface and vertical joints. Before this process of separation, as well as during the separation ground water soaks into the rock and circulates through the planes of weakness making the rock more porous.

Mountainside Industries consultant report Essay

Upon analyzing the ongoing problems facing Mountainside Industries in effort to increase efficiency and reduce production cost. Company-wide resolutions must be implemented. This report comes to the following conclusion that in efforts to rectify the proceeding situations, Mountainside Industries should implement the following; communicate to all employees a shared vision for the company’s future, reconstruct the administrative framework, encourage employees to take initiative, and planning and implementing a proper payroll system that will result in smoother operations and efficiency. Shared Vision of Company’s Future Creating a clear and effective future company vision delivers many benefits to the business. Not only does a clear, shared vision help define the values of a company and its employees, but it also helps guide the behavior of all employees. A strong vision also leads to improved productivity and efficiency, in which seems to be a growing problem for Mountainside Industries. With a clearly communicated vision, Mountainside Industries will encourage involvement from its employees and create a sense of shared vision that will enable the organization to realize the benefits associated with a strong sense of vision. It is important to create this company-wide vision in order to benefit the company. Restructuring the Administrative framework at Mountainside Industries If the company aims to resolving the occurring issues with its employees, it is important for the company to employ a proper leadership style. The improper management strategies of the Administrative System at Mountainside Industries, in conjunction with lack of proper communication has caused the financial status of the industry to become unsteady. Currently, a major issue lies between the manager’s more authoritative approach in which the workers feel obliged to respect the leader, as opposed to the more lenient  operations occurring prior to the new leadership changes that has caused productions to slow. In order to resolve these issues, the company should introduce a â€Å"Code of Ethics† that both administrative and production employees must abide by to keep from any future employee/management complications from arising. This will resolve the current resentment tissues that the employees have incurred for management, and will improve the relationship between mana gement and employee. Encourage Employees to Take Initiative In order to encourage employees to become more involved within the company, the need for employees to take initiative on their own to do what needs to be done is the best way to insure the company’s future as profitable. The problem that pertains at Mountainside Industries is that the company lacks in treating all members of the company as valuable, which remains to be a major issue. The workers are unhappy because they feel that there is unfair treatment occurring leading them feel discouraged and invaluable. Employees need to be encouraged and rewarded for being involved, as well as taking initiative, and sharing ideas. In addition to helping the organization save money by reducing costs, improving processes, and delight the company’s ethics, taking initiative makes the employee’s job much more exciting encouraging them make things happen. A company that encourages their employees to get involved in the decision making process will encourage employees to become more involved as well as increase productivity within the company. Planning and Implementing a Proper Payroll System In order to increase company efficiency, the company should implement a payroll system that compensates employees according to their productivity output and efficiency. Currently, workers complain that the wages are low, and turnover is high among the young males, which they then compensate for by taking breaks or taking home with them company materials, causing production cost to increase and efficiency levels to decrease. A proper payroll system will improve the efficiency of the workforce, and increase  production due to monetary incentives. Rewarding workers for their efforts will keep the workforce from veering off their intended duties, thereby reducing employee turnover and costs. It is vital for the company to implement a proper payroll system if they are to entourage workers cut costs and increase efficiency to insure the company’s future goals are reached.

Educating Special Needs Students Essay

This render is entitled Educating peculiar(a) Needs Students, the antecedent impart discuss and several big issues, which provide be the side by side(p) the defining of Mental meanwhile a pre set apart the author despises, Autism, Severe Disabilities and bigeminal Disabilities, in any case their causes, and the impact of these disabilities have on the reproduction of savants with Mental Retardation.In addition to the above menti aced, the essay will identify field of studys of political platform, inevitable for students with grave disabilities and will let off why. address alike will be the side by side(p) using the authors topical anesthetic school district, Las Vegas Nevada, an investigating into the policies, procedures, and programs for the nurture, of students with Mental Retardation, Autism, and or Severe multiple Disabilities. last, an explanation of how these policies, programs, and procedures, either address or ignore the area of curriculum, the aut hor has listed deep down the content of the essay. harmonize to the Association for slow down Citizens or (AAMR), Mental Retardation is defined as a disability characterized by world-shattering limitations both in adroit humanity presentation and in adaptive style as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills.Though its causes can be attributed to a variable amount of many a(prenominal) things, here are good a few of noticen caused medical factors familial conditions, which have been the outlets from abnormalities of genes inherited from one or both parents, errors when genes combine, or from early(a) disorders of the genes caused during pregnancy by infections, overexposure to x-rays and other factors.Problems during pregnancy, close to of these problems, in the opinion of the author, are definitely evitable such as the use of inebriant or drugs by the pregnant buzz off which can cause mental retardation. other problems exist too such as, Mal nutrition, rubella, glandular disorders and diabetes, and cytomegalovirus. Many of these types of illnesses can be traced back off to the mother and often times in the archaeozoic trimester of the pregnancy. Another of hese causes is Poverty and heathen deprivation, in which children in poor families whitethorn become mentally retarded because of malnutrition, disease-producing conditions, and wanting(predicate) medical care. This brings us to one of the to the highest degree controversial topics of late Autism. It is defined as a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships, a mental condition in which fantasy dominates over reality, as a symptom of schizophrenia and other disorders.The causes of this disability are still up for debate however, the Autism Society of America (ASA) defines it as the avocation Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first trey years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social fundamental interaction and communication skills. The causes of this disability are attributed to the following Depakote, also called Valproate, an anti-seizure medication, taken during pregnancy, Fragile X syndrome, a transmittable disorder, Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting only females, tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder and Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Lastly defined are Severe Disabilities and Multiple Disabilities, those who conventionally have been labeled, as having severe to profound cognitive impairments or infrastanding disabilities.It is difficult to define this term hardly because, during the authors research, in that location is no one plunder definition that covers all the conditions that special educators and psychologists know about this disability. So, what is the impac t of disabilities on the rearing of students with mental retardation? Well compared to their peers, close to students with severe and multiple disabilities learn more than slowly, forget more readily, and experience problems generalizing skills from maculation to situation.This makes educating students with this particular disability more challenging and often times harder to manage. The public precept of these students moldiness start early and keep back at some level throughout life. Second, all students typically need lecture and language intervention, while many others will need physical and occupational therapy. Students with sensorial impairments whitethorn need interpreters and mobility trainers, while some with medical needs may bespeak nursing divine service or supervision.Third, because the educational teams of students are often large, close collaborationism between members is essential if their expertise is to result in improved student functioning. The benefits of consolidation therapy into natural activities are now universe widely accepted over the traditional practice of isolated, or pull-out, therapy. The essay will now turn its focus to the budge of identifying areas of curriculum, necessary for students with severe disabilities and will explain why.To begin, the Handicapped Childrens Act of 1975, federal emphasis shifted from curriculum development to preparing and implementing individualize educational programs for students with disabilities (Meyen, 1996). Why, because in the opinion of the author, any student in every show deserves to have the best on hand(predicate) education the section of Education has out thither also, with the use of modern technology there is no obstacle to hard to overcome. The following statement illustrates the authors point. Students with complex healthcare issues, significant developmental delays, and severe multiple disabilities convey approaches that offer intensive levels of support.Stud ents who are blind, deaf, deaf-blind, and ill may in some cases consume the same degree of support, but they also require more specialized curriculum and teaching approaches (in, for example, technology and literacy). Additionally, such students may require specialized resources from related service providers (such as orientation and mobility instructors or audiologists). the matter Center on Accessible instructional Material. In the conclusion of this essay, using the authors local school district, Las Vegas Nevada, an investigation into the policies, procedures, and programs for the education, of students with Mental Retardation, Autism, and or Severe Multiple Disabilities, and an explanation of how these policies, programs, and procedures, either address or ignore the area of curriculum, the author has listed within the content of the essay.According to Charlene Green, a teacher in the Nevada Clark County work district, shes seen the number of children with autism spectrum di sorders in her charge increase from 96 to more than 1,000. Green, the touch on superintendent for student support function in the Las Vegas-area district, oversees those childrens educationan expensive, multiform task. Moreover she says, The school establishment was at a nadir in transaction with the needs of its autistic children and their parents. We were being bombarded with collect process requests, she says, by parents who sought jural recourse against a school system they believed wasnt providing the necessary education for their children, as schools are required to do under the 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Educating students with Mental Retardation While the author has lived in the urban center of Las Vegas for over eight years now, there is no clear Policy, nor procedure in which the author could find to answer this question, to his impress the list below was researched and readily in stock(predicate) Las Vegas, Nevada Courses Regis Univ ersity-Colorado college Special needs jobs in Las Vegas, NV careerjet. com, Special education jobs in Las Vegas, NV careerjet. com and this list just goes on from here. But under the part of Education in Nevada it reads as follows Nevada Department of Education Office of Special Education, wide-eyed and Secondary Education, and School Improvement Programs down the stairs federal and state law, each student with a disability is entitled to go a free appropriate public education (FAPE).Special education programs in Nevada serve students with identified disabilities in one of the twelve categories established in Nevada revise Statutes, Chapter 388. School districts must provide the services necessary to assure FAPE for all students with disabilities, without figure to the adequacy of state revenues to support the costs. In closing and in the opinion of the author, we, this way of life everyone who works in the educational exertion as a Teacher, Principle, or Administrator, mu st focus on all available data to, not only overwhelm but, to educate every student no matter what the disability.

Gender, Authority and Dissent in English Mystical Writers Essay

The hand of Margery Kempe sure enough provoked an intense amount of controversy, non least in the present but in her clutch pedal cartridge holder as well a debate that centred on her stick as a mystic. This position entailed having original knowledge of graven image, to change read towards a union with him where they would basically become unrivaled. Margery Kempe, at the real least views herself to be one of gods vessels finished which He canful allow her to receive spectral spates and feelings. It is in her book that Kempe conveys through words what she considered to be the or so significant of these experiences, in order that those who read them would derive smashing comfort and solace. It is Kempes case-by-case and brilliant adaptation of what was originally a guinea pig for cloistered elites1 that draws attention to her. except it is this individual voice, the style she uses, and her firm relationship with the grocery store place realism that ques tions her experiences of higher(prenominal) contemplation.certainly Kempe does non conform to the caveman intent of a conventional mystic, much handle Richard Rolles statement of running off into the woods, and at one point she is withal sorrowful and suffer because she has no company. Yet she uses many another(prenominal) an(prenominal) of her interactions with others to confirm her position as a mystic. She visits the revered mystic Julian of Norwich to seek advice as to whether her visions were genuine or not (Chapter 18), and receives confirmation from Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury.Essentially what it has been suggested that Kempe experiences is a higher level of contemplation affirmative mysticism. This was the search for paragon through human imagery, which insists on the physical as a legitimate means of access to the apparitional.2 sure enough one of the standard patterns in hugger-mugger experience were the feelings of love between the mystic and Go d which is often described as fire, hence Rolles Incendium Amoris. Kempe notes that there was an unquenchable fire of love which burnt full sore in her soul, and that christ had set her soul all on fire with love. Thus the intensity of her visions can not be brought into question as she certainly sh ares with the tradition a mystical genius of God at performance in human experiences.3These human experiences included her proclaim body, as she suffers illness and indulgences in self-mutilation, wearing a haircloth, fasting and even biting her hand so violently that she has to be tied down. However, the visions that Kempe experiences, as mystics viewed them as gifts, are not a product of careful praying and meditating. In most shipway what she conveys is an imitation of what many effeminate European mystics experienced, like Bridget of Sweden and Dorothy of Montou or Catherine of Siena. She seeks justification for her mystical standing by linking herself closely to others and , though illiterate receives much of her inspiration from such mystical texts as Incendium Amoris, Stimulus Amoris, and Walter Hiltons Scale of idol. However, as Glasscoe has pointed out, her religious experiences were not an easy affair for Kempe to meditate on. Whereas Hilton focused on inner spiritual growth, Kempe can only explain her transcendence through what was familiar to her the body.4 She even says that roughly metres, what she understood physically was to be understood spiritually. Thus, whereas her visions may at many points seem entire and even distasteful it does not necessarily mean that she was experiencing anything less than what is considered mystical.What similarly inspires Kempe, whilst also bringing into question her status as a mystic is the fact that she was a womanhood who was hard placed in the world. David Aers describes her as an independent businesswoman, who to begin with her initial vision was active in the market economy, investing money, o rganising public work and employing men.5 Mysticism was overwhelmingly contemplative, and there was not much spoke most the active life, with the exception of Walter Hiltons positive description of the mixed life. However kind of of accepting that she is too busy with worldly occupations that essential be attended to6, like Hilton proposed, Kempe integrates the economic world into her mysticism. Shelia Delany proposed that in her work one is constantly mindful of the cash nexus.7 This is true in the sentience that Kempe even strikes a deal with Jesus, in the sense that he becomes the mediator between Kempes social responsibilities as a wife and her trust to lead the spiritual life. Through Christs help she can lead the chaste life by buying off her husband, hence paid off all his debts (Chapter 11. p.60). Atkinson, commented that what Kempe creates is a God, who controlled the economy of salvation, and functioned as a great banker of a merchant prince.8 in addition Kempes dr ive for to a greater extent is also suggestive of her market drive values, in the same sense that she sees that by giving charity to her fellow Christians she get out receive in heaven double return.This unusual market driven line of base is not the only factor that distinguishes her from her predecessors. Her style of piece is different and her visions are certainly unique. She actively put one acrosss office staff in many of the experiences, using speech, as chirrup Coulson has suggested to inject herself into the holy narrative,9 even at one point acting as the handmaiden to God, and as a replacement to the biblical figure bloody shame Magdalene. Her first vision is also very personal, and in some slipway domesticated. Jesus is said to thrust appeared in the likeness of a man clad in a mantle of purple silk, seated upon her bedside. The Incarnation is taken to the extreme, where her visions erstwhile(prenominal)s sit impertinent the historical moments of the Bible a nd become part of her own world.Despite distancing herself by calling herself the creature passim the text many make accused her work of being self-absorbed I comport told you in advance that you are a uneven lover of God, and consequently you shall have a singular love in heaven, a singular reward and a singular honour. Certainly her relations with God are very personal, and in many ways conveyed in sexual terms, as when Christ says to her Daughter, you greatly appetite to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in bed, take me to you as your wedded husband. However, over again this great pomp and pride, is said to emerge from her experience as a female within an urban class which fostered within her a strong sense of class identity and self-value.10 A self-value that she neer very agrees to give up, thence because she refuses to tralatitiously quieten the self, Kempe does not sit comfortably as a mystic. besides she never really abandons her desire for worldly goods. She even admits in the first chapters that after her initial vision she refused to give up her worldly leisures, and hush took delight in earthly things. This earthiness continues throughout the book. At one point she explains that she was embarrassed because she was not get dressed as she would have liked to have been for neediness of money, and wishing to go about unrecognised until she could curry a loan she held a handkerchief in front of her face.This embarrassment does not hold well with the lower stage of mysticism in which the visionary is to dispel themselves of all earthly matters so that their soul is open to heaven. Her mysticism is driven to accumulate. She refuses to be content with the goods that God has sent her, whilst ever desiring more and more. From God she can attain spiritual status, whilst through her (fathers) social position she maintains earthly standing, thus she is caught between two (masculine) worlds. As David Aers has noted the market world never r eally receives rebuke in her mystical world, in fact it remains a natural part of it.11 Yet to see her as the victim of a capitalist society is, as Glasscoe maintains, to trim back her avowed purpose.12Yet it is hard to ignore the element of hysteria in her work. She certainly experiences the traditional mystical dilemma that her visions will never be truly conveyed to those who stand outside it, that herself could never assort the grace that she matte, it was so heavenly, so high supra her reason and her bodily witsthat she might never express it within her world like she felt it in her soul. However her Gift of Tears, in which she cries abundantly and violently, break quite viciously this silence of contemplation. It may be however that her deafening screams and cries convey her veneration and justify her higher state.Certainly tradition showed that mystics thought of themselves as vehicles for suffering and their abject voices and lacerated bodies reflected the stress under which they laboured.13 Her hollo brought attention to her being, even in her own time when crowds flocked to see her, becoming somewhat of a spectacle. These tear are almost a sign of her richness in her contemplative life, and also justified in the Bible Psalm cxxvi, 5-6 says that they that sow in bust shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, military posture precious seed, shall dubietyless come again with rejoice Her tears therefore, although extreme and lead many throughout her work to rebuke her, are essentially a sign of grace demonstrating that the Incarnation for Kempe was an ever-present reality.14Ursula Peters suggested that female mystics, through mysticism turned inward and discovered ways to describe their own experiences.15 In fact the component Kempe plays as a woman is very classical to her whole mystical experience, and in some ways may even bring it into question. In her experiences with God she plays the wife, the mother, the sister and the dau ghter. When her husbands exclaims that she is no good wife it again demonstrates that Kempe struggled between two worlds, that of the spiritual and that of her family commitments. St Bernard once entitle that natural human feeling doesnt have to be suppressed but channelled into God, and in some ways this is exactly what Kempe achieves. By using the idea that she is a holy vessel she is able to sustain herself as a woman in the super competitive world quite drastically. She refuses to abandon her genius and quite forcefully, hence her adamant desire to be chaste, asserts who she is. The Church even attempted to denounce her as a Lollard, which shows that she was a threatening (female) voice and the only way to quieten her was to denounce her as a heretic.Rather than being a mystical treatise, The Book of Margery Kempe is a narrative account, almost a story, or even an autobiography as many have stated it to be, in which she attempts to adopt the contemplative model of piety.16 In fact it is more than mysticism, it is the experiences of a woman trying to find her voice in a masculine social world, and the only way that she can achieve this is through having spiritual authority. Certainly her devotion can not be questioned, and she cant even predict herself when the intensity of Christs Passion will overwhelm her, be it sometime in the church, sometime in the street, sometime in the chamber, sometime in the field.Yet her extreme fables and use of language certainly bring into doubt her status as a mystic. As Susan Dickman has suggested prayers and visions certainly occupy the text, yet they are embedded in a larger structure17, namely how she was painfully move and steered, her pilgrimage acting as a metaphor for her mystical journey to enter the way of perfection. Certainly painfully is an apt description, leading many to comment her as a charlatan, a terrible psychoneurotic and even one who was possessed by the devil. Yet this account is from a very i ndependent and highly spirited woman, who although struggled with her identity and sought the higher state to explore that larger structure of herself through God, was late devoted to her faith. In the end her piety was very ordinary, it is her style of conveyance however, the lack of the abstract mental lexicon of Julian of Norwich, Rolle and the Cloud author18 that brings her status as a mystic into controversy.BibliographyAers, David., Community Gender and single(a) individuation in side Writing, 1360-1430 (London, 1988)Bancroft, A., The Luminous Vision sixsome Medieval Mystics and their Teachings (London, 1982).Evans, Ruth and Johnson, Lesley (eds.)., Feminist Readings in spunk incline Literature The Wife of Bath and alone Her Sect (London, 1994)Klapisch-Zuber, C (ed.)., Silences of the substance-Ages (London 1992),447Glasscoe, Marion (ed.)., The Medieval hole-and-corner(a) custom (Exeter, 1980)http//www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htmhttp//www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ ladder-PART_I.htmlhttp//www.sterling.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/index.htmlKnowles, D., The side of meat Mystical usage London (London, 1961)Meale, Carol. M., (ed.)., Women and Literature in Britain 1150-1500 (Cambridge, 1993)1 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),1602 J.Long., Mysticism and hysteria the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O, in Feminist Readings in Middle position Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994),1003 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics Games of doctrine (London, 1993),268.4 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics Games of Faith (London, 1993), 268.5 D. Aers, Community, Gender and various(prenominal) Identity English Writing 1360-1430 (London,1988), 112.6 http//www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ladder-PART_I.html7 J.Long., Mysticism and hysteria the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O, in Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994), 87-1118 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988),1069 http//www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.html10 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988),115.11 ib.12 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics Games of Faith (London, 1993), 275.13 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),44614 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics Games of Faith (London, 1993), 276.15 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),44716 http//www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htm17 S. Dickman., Margery Kempe and The English Devotional Tradition, in The Medieval Mystical Tradition, ed. M. Glasscoe (Exeter, 1980), 156-17218 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics Games of Faith (London, 1993), 272.