George Washington Essay Example for Free

George Washington Essay The reaction of the modern reader to George Washingtons 1796 Farewell Address might well be amazement coupled with awe. And justifiably so as Washingtons remarks has proven to be not only eloquent, but startlingly prescient, regarding the challenges that the American constitution and American Democracy would likely face during its immediate, post-revolutioin future, as well as its far-flung future, which includes the political turbulence of the present day. The sensitive reader would also, no doubt, reach the conclusion that America would be in a far stronger and much more authentically democratic state had Washingtons perceptive Farewell Address been taken heed of by those who followed in his footsteps. Foremost among the many important assertions made by Washington in the Farewell Address is the concept that American principles and the tenants which inform the American government are cultural traditions that tie together very different geographical, political, and economic concerns. Therefore, according to Washington, the greatest threat to America lies in the erosion or perversion of the cultural ties which bind these disparate parts together. this cultural association is, of course, a tradition of liberty and individual pursuit of happiness which is directly expressed in the democratic form of government itself. However,beyond laws and government institutions there must be a shared allegiance in hallowing the principles behind the laws because the laws, even the constitution itself, Washington warns, may be susceptible to manipulation and self-interest: one method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 225) Washingtons emphasis on the need for Americans to cherish and revere their liberty and their democratic institutions cannot possibly be overstated. It is the primary thrust behind nearly all of his admonishments and advice to the nation in his Farewell Address. The core of his belief was in the principles rather than the institutions of laws of the American democracy and he urged all Americans to share this important reverence and vision: you should cherish a cordial, habitual and immoveable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 219). The unity of reverence for democratic traditions and democratic institutions ties directly to Washingtons emphasis on preserving the wholeness of of and mutual sustenance of the various states of the Union. In a particularly prescient observation, Washington mentions the tensions and also mutual benefits that exist between the geographically apportioned states of the Union, foreshadowing through intensely optimistic language, the American Civil War that would take place more than a century later: The North, in an unrestrained, intercourse with the South protected by the equal Laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter, great additional resources of Maratime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South in the same Intercourse, benefitting by the Agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 220) His comments which follow upon this statement stress the urgency of preventing geographical identities or grievances to disrupt the unity of the nation. He warns: In contemplating the causes which. may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographical discriminations (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 223) which is, of course, precisely what occurred during the events leading up to the American Civil War. Washingtons vision of unity extended beyond geographical realms to the realms of the merely political. In noting that the same kind of local or even personal interests that threatened geographical division within the Union, could also manifest themselves within the government itself, based in political parties and the aspirations of those who controlled them. Washington warns that the alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 227) presents a very real threat to American democracy not only for its obvious divisive capacities, but because of the fact that when people become deeply and openly divided, The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an Individual (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 227) which leads to Autocracy and the complete overthrowing of American Democracy. Because the unity of American society depends so intensely upon the integrity of democratic traditions and beliefs and not merely laws or legislation, Washingtons concept of the public as the nations most important trust rests, also, on the notion of cultivating the public with an eye toward enabling, rather the obstructing, the will of the people. In this acknowledgment, issues of war and peace, economic issues, and cultural issues all play pivotal roles in maintaining the traditions of American democracy. Washington notes that One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasions of expence by cultivating peace, (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 230) or, in other words, enabling a widespread feeling of participation and accomplishment to be held by the nation which embraces prosperity and peace. For Washington, prosperity and peace remained deeply intertwined and hoped-for states: one follows the other. This belief, among Washingtons many observations and admonishments, infuses Washingtons Farewell Address with an uncanny historical prescience which seems almost chillingly appropriate to present era of global politics. Warfare and conflict should be avoided and the avoidance of such catastrophes is enabled by good faith and justice towards all Nations and by America setting an example for the world: a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. (Fitzpatrick, 1931, p. 231) In fact, more than an eerie premonition about the contemporary global-political situation, Washingtons views on global affairs seem almost too lofty, too idealistic to be taken at face-value by a contemporary observer. However, Washingtons observations do not, to my mind, cloak a deeper, perhaps more cynical vision. Rather, the ideas and concepts expressed in Washingtons Farewell Address seem to speak of an era when such loftiness of ideals and such idealism and faith were not viewed as weaknesses, but as the accouterments of the most powerful and most decisive of minds. The cumulative impact of reading Washingtons Farewell Address and refraining from spinning the words to mean something less-incisive, less idealistic, or less passionate, is one of grim admiration and perhaps a bit of wistfulness for the time when national leaders believed deeply enough inn the principles of American democracy to hold these as the highest of ideals: above personal ambition, above global supremacy, above military might, and even above the institutions of government itself. In final analysis, there is no doubt that America would be stronger, more prosperous nation had Washingtons brilliant observations and advice been heeded in earnest by the successive generations of law-makers and public officials. One can, of course, easily imagine counterpoints to most of Washingtons ideas; these counter-ideas have, in fact, directly infused and directed American domestic and foreign policy for the better part of the past ten years. To describe them point by point would require a voluminous amount of reflection, annotation, and writing. As easy as it is to imagine counter-arguments to Washingtons vision as it is expressed in his Farewell Address, it is equally easy to imagine an America which did follow the precepts laid out by Washington. A nation which, by simply adhering to the idea that democratic ideals are more important adn more crucial to individual liberty than the apparatus of government or the leaders who are supposed to serve government, Washington offered an almost spiritual vision of American democracy which, in the light of contemporary experience, seems to have despite its urgency, wisdom, prescience, and eloquence has fallen on deaf ears. Reference Fitzpatrick, J. C. (Ed. ). (1931). The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799 (Vol. 35). Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office.

Impact of Globalization on McDonalds

Impact of Globalization on McDonalds Globalization is a difficult term to be defined. This is because it means different things to different people. However in general, globalization refers to the trend toward countries joining together. According to Frost (2010), globalization refers to the worldwide phenomenon of technological, economic, political and cultural exchanges, which are brought by modern communication, political choice, transportation and legal infrastructure. These are used to open cross-border links among countries all around the world in international trade as well as finance. Globalization is also a term used to describe how people interact with one another economically, politically, and culturally (Frost, 2010). What is McDonalds? McDonalds is the world largest chain of fast food restaurant that were founded in May 15th, 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California. However, McDonalds Corporation was founded in April 15th, 1955 by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois. There are more than 31 000 McDonalds restaurant all around the world. Among them, 26 216 restaurants are franchises, 19 020 are operated by conventional franchisees, 3 160 by development licensees, and 4 036 are operated by the company itself (McDonalds, 2009). McDonalds headquarter is located in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant that offers a wide range of products to its customers. Among them are hamburgers, French fries, chicken, milkshakes, coffee, soft drinks and many more. However, in some countries, McDonalds has come up with several products in order to tackle its customers in the country. For example, McDonalds is offering Maharaja Mac in India, Terayaki burger in Japan, and Croque McDo in France. As a successful company, besides its US$ 22.6 billion revenue and US$29.2 billion assets, manpower asset also play an important part in obtaining McDonalds success. Other than Jim Skinner as the chairman and CEO of McDonalds Corporation, there are 1.7 million of employees that have been hired by McDonalds to operate its business all around the world. Due to globalization, McDonalds can start its business is other countries without any hassle. Since its corporation in 1955, McDonalds has successfully operate more that 31 000 restaurants in 117 countries worldwide (McDonalds, 2009). Besides the United States, other countries that McDonalds is operating in are India, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, France, United Kingdom, and many more. Due to this, McDonalds had become well-known in most of the countries in the world as one of the biggest fast food chain in the world. McDonalds SWOT Analysis SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. SWOT Analysis refers to a tool used by a company for auditing it organization and environment (MarketingTeacher.com, 2010). It is the first stage in planning and it also helps the marketers to focus on the key issues (MarketingTeacher.com, 2010). It is used to analyze a companys strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities in the market that they operate in. By analyzing McDonalds SWOT, McDonalds strengths can be identified and changes can be made to overcome it weaknesses. On the other hand, by analyzing McDonalds opportunities and threats action can be taken to improve McDonalds services in the future. Below is the SWOT analysis of McDonalds Corporation. Actual impacts of globalization on McDonalds As a successful and a fast-growing company in a globalized world today, there are number of globalization impacts that McDonalds has to face in order to succeed. Those impacts can be divided into two categories; positive impacts and negatives impacts. Positive impacts are those forces that can help McDonalds to move forward in the industry and on the other hand, negative impacts are those forces that can slowdown its operations. Thus, without a proper and effective decision-making plan made by the managers, these impacts will lead to McDonalds failure in the future. In determining the impacts of globalization on McDonalds, PESTLE Analysis has been used to identify the factors that have caused the impacts. PESTLE stands for political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental. The information obtained from this analysis are used to guide McDonalds management in their decision-making process as well as their future planning process. Positive impacts One of the positive impacts of globalization to McDonalds is due to the economical factor. According to CIPD (2010), economic factor refers to what is happening within the economy such as economic growth, cost of living, rate exchange and interest rate. As the economy is rapidly booming in Asian countries, this has affected McDonalds business in various ways. The table below shows the number of McDonalds restaurants that operate in Asian countries. From 2000 to 2010, with an average quarterly GDP growth of 1.29 percent, Indonesias gross domestic product (GDP) has expanded at an annual rate of 3.45 percent in the last reported quarter (TradingEconomics.com, 2010a). This happened because as the largest national economy in Southeast Asia, government of Indonesia plays a significant role by owning more than 164 state-owned enterprises and at the same time, they also control the prices of several basic goods such as fuel, rice, and electricity (TradingEconomics.com, 2010). As the economy in the country is growing, McDonalds has taken this opportunity to expand its business in the country. From the table above, there are only 75 McDonalds restaurants available in Indonesia compared to 1 restaurant in Brunei. This happened because of the economic growth and the government proposal to increase the employment rate in Indonesia. With this decision made by McDonalds, it has not only increases their reputation in the country but also has decreased the unemployment rate in the country from 9.75 percent in January 2007 to 7.41 percent in January 2010 (TradingEconomics.com, 2010b). Another positive impact of globalization to McDonalds is due to the technological factor. Technological factor refers to what is happening technology-wise which can impact what a company do (CIPD, 2010). As new technologies are continually being developed, changes are made by McDonalds to improve its performance in the industry. According to EngineeringTalk.com (2010), McDonalds has decided to use Echelons LonWorks technology produced in San Jose, United States to meet its goal which is to lower energy consumption and at the same time increase its operational efficiency. McDonalds is encouraging its kitchen equipment manufacturers to include this technology in new equipment for its restaurants (Environmentalleader.com, 2010). McDonalds Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, Bob Langert, says that the technology will enable their franchisees to create a working environment which is easier to operate, facilitate preventive maintenance and provide new services and at the same time save the energy (EngineeringTalk.com, 2010). It also said that with the presence of Echelons power line networking technology, McDonalds can provide communication and data exchange between various pieces of kitchen equipment in its restaurants and this is to allow the development of business process improvement applications, manage energy use, and reduce maintenance costs (EngineeringTalk, 2010). In a globalized era today, import and export between countries are becoming easier (reference). This is because Therefore, Echelons power line networking technology which was produced in San Jose, United States can be accessed by countries such as India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore easily. As a result, besides benefiting McDonalds financial, this will also increases the countrys FDI rate. Besides economical and technological factor, sociological factor also plays a role in pushing McDonalds in the industry. Sociological factor refers to what is occurring socially in a market in which a company operates in (CIPD, 2010). Sociological factor includes population growth rate, health consciousness, cultural norms, and career attitudes (CIPD, 2010). Negative impacts In contrast to positive impacts, negatives impacts are those activities that can decrease the level of competitiveness of a company in a particular market. However, by making the right decision and action, negative impacts can bring advantages to the company. Similar to positive impacts, negative impacts are also happen because of PESTLE (politics, economics, social, technology, legal and environment) factors. One of the biggest negative impacts of globalization to a fast food restaurant like McDonalds is due to the sociological factor. As mentioned earlier, sociological factor is one of the six external influences that a company has to cope with in order to compete in the market effectively (Wall, et.al., 2010). As a fast-growing company that has franchisees all around the world, McDonalds has also decided to expand its business to India. However, for a country which 20% of its population are vegetarian and around 82% does not eat beef, McDonalds might face problems in attracting its customers. This is because they are either vegetarian, cow- worshipping or non-beef-eating people (Kannan, 2006). Hence, as the worlds largest beef-based food chain, McDonalds may face difficulties in setting up a business where most of its residents do not consume beef. After realizing the problem that they might face, McDonalds has decided to modify its menu to suit the locals needs. Besides Indianizing its menu, McDonalds also offers several products that are only available in India. They are the Maharaja Mac, McAloo Tikki, and McVeggie. Maharaja Mac is the substitute of hamburger which is made from a 100% ground lamb burger that is served with lettuce, tomatoes, special sauce, cheese, onion and pickles on a sesame bun. On the other hand, McAloo Tikki and McVeggie are the products offers by McDonalds with a 100% pure veg stamp on them to the Indians (Kannan, 2006). In addition, to avoid from offending Indias vegan sensibilities, McDonalds strictly segregated it foods into vegetarian and non-vegetarian lines and even the mayonnaise has no egg in it (Harding, 2000). Today, there are more than 58 McDonalds restaurants that are successfully operate in India and according to a study that has been made, McDonalds revenue has increased 50% annually since 1997 (Kannan, 2006). According to the statement above, it shows that McDonalds has successfully overcome the problem that they are facing in India by adapting its local culture. At the same time, McDonalds has also increases its sales revenues and the Indians awareness on the presence of the McDonalds in the world. Besides the social factor, another negative impact of globalization has brought to McDonalds is due to the economical factor. In a globalize era today, besides the existing competitors such as KFC, Wendys and AW, there are numbers of potential entrants has joined the industry. This has led to a rapid growth of fast food restaurant all around the world. Hence, as one of the biggest fast food restaurants, the problem that McDonalds has to face is on how to attract more customers to consume its products. The reason is that, with more fast food restaurants available, consumers can make decision on which fast food restaurants products to be consumed according to their choices. In order to overcome the problem stated above, McDonalds has decided to do a limited time promotions that can attract its existing as well and the new customers. In Malaysia, one of the promotions that McDonalds has came up with to overcome the problem is by offering the McValue Lunch package. According to McDonalds (2010a), the McValue Lunch offers 10 most favourite menus among customers with a cheaper price from 12pm to 3pm every day. The price range for a set of McValue Lunch which includes a French fries as well as carbonated soft is between RM5.95 to RM8.95 per set (McDonalds, 2010a). As a result to the promotion done by McDonalds to attract more customers, today there are more people consumed its products since the promotion was introduced in February 2009. Another negative impact of globalization that McDonalds has successfully overcome is due to the legal factor. According to CIPD (2010) legal factor refers to what is happening with changes of legislation. Legal factor may affect the employment, imports/exports, quotas as well as resources of the country that a company have to deal with. One of the legal problems that McDonalds have to face is the religious law. For McDonalds to operate in an Islamic country, one of the laws that McDonalds has to face is the religious law. This law does not only apply in Malaysia but all Islamic countries all around the world. According to the religious law in the Malaysia, all restaurants that operate in the country have to have HALAL certificates that are produced by Jabatan Agama Islam Malaysia (Jakim). With this standard for foods, it shows that all the products produced by the company are not only 100% free from pork but it also covers the production, preparation, handling and storage of the food. Besides that, with this certificate it shows that the foods produced are safe to be consumed, hygienic and healthy for consumers (Hayati, et.al., 2008). Besides that, an Islamic country like Malaysia, McDonalds have decided to call its hamburgers as Beefburger to avoid the word ham. This is because ham is the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especially a pig (FreeDictionery.com, 2010). As a Muslims country with 60.4% of its people are Muslims (NationMaster.com, 2010), hamburgers are called Beefburger to show that the burgers are not made with pork and to avoid misunderstanding between the population in the country. Potential Impacts of globalization and strategies to overcome them Besides all the impacts that have been discussed above, there are still other impacts that McDonalds might have to face in the future. As similar to the impacts mentioned earlier, McDonalds potential impacts of globalization are also due to the external influences towards the company and decision has to be made to overcome them. One of the potential impacts of globalization to McDonalds is due to the economical factor. As the economy in China is growing rapidly, China is also experiencing a food inflation crisis. According to Fullick (2010) a report cited that the rapid food price increase is the main economic problem faced by the country at present. Fullick (2010) also says that food, which makes up about a third of Chinas consumer price index has increased by 10.1 percent compared to non-food items which increased just by 1.6 percent. As KFC and Pizza Hut kept their price unchanged, McDonalds has taken their first step in overcoming the food inflation crisis that are facing China by raising its menu prices by 0.5 yuan to 1 yuan per item (Kwok, 2010). McDonalds (China) Co Ltd spokeswoman said that the adjustment was made because some of the materials prices have increased due to the food inflation. As a number of analysts believe that Chinas GDP is not just slowing but could also dries up its exports, McDonalds which had 1 135 stores in China has ignore all that and planning to open about 500 restaurants in China in three years time (McIntyre, 2009). The reason is that, McDonalds is optimistic about the business prospects in China and for a company that has the balance sheets and cash flows to take the risk, McDonalds sees this downturn as an opportunity to push itself into a new market. Based on McDonalds point of view, as Chinas economy recovers, they have already taken market share in a country that is bound to see relatively rapid population growth and relatively strong GDP over the next several decades (McIntyre, 2009). Another potential impact of globalization to McDonalds is due to sociological factor which is health consciousness. As mentioned by Ronald McDonald (2004), Sugeon General David Satcher has said that fast food is a major contributor to obesity epidemic. With this statement, it has been agreed that fast food may cause obesity and overweight among people. According to figure 1.1 below, number of American adults that are facing obesity as well as overweight has increased since 1973. The statistic shows that since 1973 to 2009, number of obese in America has increased by 20 percent which make the number of obese adults in America today to be more than . people (reference). On the other hand, figure 1.2 shows the number of French adults that are facing obesity has also increased since . As a conclusion, with the evidences given above, due to the increase of fast food restaurants, number of obesity cases has also increased all around the world. As people all around the world are becoming more aware about their health, McDonalds might lose its customers and this will lead to a decrease of its sales revenues. Hence, strategies need to be done by McDonalds to avoid this issue from spreading and resulting to its failure in the future. One of the strategies that can be done by McDonalds is by offering more healthy food to the customers such as salad. Even though the menu offered by McDonalds today have a high nutrition value for a balance life, by offering variety of healthy food will attract the health conscious customers to consume its products. By doing so, it will not only increase McDonalds reputation but it will also decrease the obesity rate all around the world. Conclusion As a conclusion, globalization does influence a company performance in the industry that they are venturing in. These influences can either bring a good impacts or bad impacts to a company. Thus, for the company to succeed in a globalized world today, proper planning and decision-making has to be made by the company to overcome all of the negative impacts caused by globalization. As one of the major company in the fast food industry, McDonalds has been affected by globalization in many ways. However, due to the critical thinking and decision-making made by its manager, McDonalds has successfully overcome all the obstacles and this has increase their reputation in the eye of the world.

Free Cornell Admissions Essay :: College Admissions Essays

Cornell Admissions Essay By unlocking the door to (name) past, one sees his thoughts and actions when they first took hold of his persona. This essay serves as a key to that door and to my current personality. The first beloved books in my life were the Sesame Street Encyclopedia volumes. At three, I wasn't old enough to read them, but I always wanted to have them read to me. In fact, I memorized the ten volume set so when my parents would skip some pages I would ask them to read what they skipped. After learning to read on my own, my favorite book became the anatomy volume in the Charlie Brown Encyclopedia. Courtesy of a supermarket book offer, I was the only kindergartner who knew about fertilized egg cells. As I grew older, I continued to read largely because reading taught me so much outside of what we learned in school. Since kindergarten, my extensive reading also originated my various interests, especially in science. Living within walking distance of the library, I went there every day, enabling me to dabble in a different subject during each visit. By the fourth grade, I had read all the chemistry books containing fewer than 200 pages, by the fifth grade I was reading about Einstein's Theory of Relativity. During that time period, I became so interested in astronomy through Odyssey Magazine that I sold holiday cards door-to-door in order to buy a telescope. Reading also helped me in school. A little ingenuity didn't hurt, either. For example, as part of my third grade reading grade, I needed to do some independent reading. Every sixty pages in a book counted for one star of credit and in order to get an "A, " I needed fifteen stars. I was greedy and saw this as an opportunity to shine far above the rest of my classmates. Instead of reading many short books, I devoured 300-page sagas by Laura Ingalls Wilder. When everyone else got eighteen stars, the little banana with my name on it had 45. This inner drive and competition still motivates my work today, but unfortunately, no one gives out stars anymore. Despite this desire to do my best, I was quite normal, except for a slight perfectionist's twist to everything. I too owned a cabbage patch doll, but it was taken away because I cared for it excessively.

Bilingual Education :: American History

Bilingual Education In order to learn more about the bilingual education program in the Public School system, we felt it would be essential to discuss a few controversial issues with some bilingual teachers, and ask them for their opinion on the effectiveness of the system and the concept of bilingual education. We also questioned the benefits and disadvantages of the program. We wrote and asked these question with Latino (Puerto Rican) migrants in mind, however the Public School system consists of many ethnic groups which speak other languages other than Spanish. As one of the teachers stated, the political connotation that Bilingual Education carries is that of concerning only Spanish and English. We interviewed Mrs. Aida Ramos (Vice-Principal), Ms. Clara Velez (Bilingual Math Teacher), Mrs. Irene Killian (TESOL), Ms. Zoraida Ortiz (Bilingual Science Teacher), and Ms. Nancy Harrison (TESOL/Bilingual Computer Lab Teacher). When we asked these teachers whether they supported or were against the bilingual education system, they each shouted their answer as if it were instinctive. Although they had different reasons why, each and every one of the teachers said they supported the system without a doubt. We were given a multitude of reasons why bilingual education is advantageous. Ms. Velez stated that she supports bilingual education because, first and foremost, she is a product of it, and second because she believes the program allows the children to earn credit and learn the language at the same time. She said that if the non-English speaking child were immersed in the English mainstream classes they will fail, and as a result the already high drop out rate of Latinos would increase. Ms. Harrison felt that the bilingual education program would be even stronger and more effective if it served more of the ethnic groups in Hartford. The Vietnamese, Lao, and Albanian students are often put in transi tional classes because there are not enough in that particular ethnic group to create a bilingual class that will help them to learn English, while maintaining their primary language. Presently, the state requires twenty students who need assistance in the same language to hire a teacher to create a class for them. She also stated that the students in bilingual education classes have just as many difficulties in academics as do the students in mainstream education, and that the bilingual education program is often used as a scapegoat for those students not achieving.

Ideology and Reality in the Movie, The Matrix Essay -- Movie Film Essa

Ideology and Reality in the Movie, The Matrix The matrix, as presented in the eponymous film, operates as an Althusserian Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The Matrix1 presents a world in which "the state [as] a 'machine' of repression" is made literal where robots rule the land (Althusser 68). It is true that they rule by force (sentinels and agents) and these constitute the Repressive State Apparatus, but their primary force of subjugation is the matrix, their ISA. The film traces the path of one man, Neo, in his painful progress from the ideology of the matrix to the "real world," or the ideology of the "real."2 The matrix, unlike the ideology of the "real," is explicitly defined along Althusserian lines as an ISA. Althusser identifies ISAs as "a certain number of realities which present themselves to the immediate observer" (Althusser 73). Just as the "machine" of the state is taken literally, ideology as "reality" is taken literally. Any discussion of the ISA must include both a brief discussion of the State and Althusser's use of the term "ideology." For him, the State "has no meaning except as a function of State power" and as such, "the State is the repressive State apparatus" (71-72). The State Apparatus (SA) is in turn comprised of the Repressive State Apparatus and the Ideological State Apparatus. The RSA will be discussed in further detail later, but to understand how the matrix serves as an ISA, a brief discussion of ideology is called for. Althusser defines the ISA as those private institutions that operate by ideology instead of physical repression. Ideology, as a term, has two aspects for Althusser. The first is that "ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their ... ... amount of time that passed between The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded. 2 To be concrete about the difference between the matrix and the "real world," I will refer to one as the matrix and the other as the ideology of the "real." The quotes are necessary as the ideology of the "real" is still a fictional ideology. Furthermore, it must be remembered that Althusser saw ideology as inescapable and a necessary feature of society ("there is no practice except by and in an ideology") (Althusser 93). Therefore, referring to the world outside of the matrix as the real world is insufficient and inaccurate. The ideology of the "real" (as Morpheus says, "welcome to the real") serves to enforce the notion of Neo not as rejecting ideology in favor of reality, but rather moving from the ideology of the machines (the matrix) to that of Morpheus (the ideology of the "real").

Ethics †Morality Essay

Ethical relativism is a view on morality stating that there are no universally accepted moral principles. Morality varies from one culture to another and no society has the right to impose their view of morality on other societies. Ethical relativism can be summed up to mean that morals are derived from what is culturally acceptable in any given society. ER is made up of two theses. The first is the diversity thesis, which simply says that moral practices are diverse across cultures. Ruth Benedict defends this theory by using homosexuality as an example. She explains how homosexuality was accepted and even encouraged in many cultures throughout history, like ancient Greece, but denounced in others. More evidence for the diversity thesis can be found in burial practices. Ancient Greeks honored their dead by burning the bodies. Similarly, Callatians showed respect to their dead by eating the bodies. However, both cultures were extremely offended when asked how much money would be required to institute the burial practices of the other. These examples clearly illustrate the vast differences in morality from culture to culture. ER’s second thesis is called the dependency thesis. It states that there is no objective standard by which to judge morality. Westermark defends this theory by saying that ethics is a learned set of behaviors instilled in every human at a young age by his or her surroundings. As a young person, we pick up on â€Å"right† and â€Å"wrong† by learning from those around us what is culturally acceptable. The ultimate source of morality, according to Westermark, is sympathy. This â€Å"gut feeling† of right and wrong is the only scale of morality each person has. Pojman has found many discrepancies in the theory of ethical relativism. Since ER says that no cultures view of morality can be criticized, we ought to be tolerant of all cultures. The problem is that tolerance would then be a universal moral principle, which ER says doesn’t exist. In fact it would be just as acceptable for a culture to be intolerant since morality is relative. Thus ER is logically inconsistent. This inconsistency makes ER inapplicable to solving conflicts between cultures, since each can be viewed as being morally right in any action by their own definition. Pojman also explains how any social reformers, like Martin Luther King Jr. , would inherently be wrong by going against the societal majority (i. e. those that determine morals). ER also implies that mass opinion is infallible, thus making a brutal dictator such as Hitler morally justified. The challenge of the ring is a hypothetical question posed to Socrates by Glaucon in the 5th century BC. Glaucon introduces a mythical ring that turns its wearer invisible. Glaucon says that every person, even the seemingly most moral, would use the ring to his or her advantage even at the detriment of others. His argument is based on the fact that the only reason people don’t live fully unjust lives now is fear of repercussions. Under the stipulation that one can never be caught, the fear vanishes one becomes immoral. Socrates responds by asking if injustice really does pay. His point is that by one’s own definition of success, one may or may not use the ring. For example if success is defined by a man as being scrupulous, he wouldn’t use the ring because ultimately it doesn’t lead to happiness for him. In contrast, the man who defines success by wealth would use the ring. Socrates says that to do injustice is to scar ones â€Å"soul,† which is equivalent to the modern word â€Å"character. † Both sides of the ring argument have merit. For the majority of the population I believe Glaucon is right, they would use the ring. However, some define happiness differently, and for them the ring is of no use. Friedman’s argument on corporate social responsibility is that it doesn’t exist. According to Friedman, a corporation’s only goal is to increase profits infinitely while staying within the realm of the law. He states that a corporate executive is merely an employee of the shareholders and his or her job is solely to increase return to the shareholders. If an executive were to be â€Å"socially responsible† and donate money to a charity, it’s an unauthorized distribution of shareholder funds. Thus being socially responsible is simultaneously being morally irresponsible. The burden of social responsibility should be placed on individual consumers. If they don’t like the policies and practices of a certain company they have the option to not buy the product or not invest in the company. The divine command theory makes a single differentiation between right and wrong. Simply, according to DCT, morally right means commanded by God and morally wrong means forbidden by God. This theory is highly criticized and many philosophers would say it has been refuted for thousands of years. The main criticism comes from Socrates and Euthyphro. The question is whether what is right is right because God says so (DCT) or does God say it’s right because he sees that its right (theory of natural law). Option one is quickly dismissed by Euthyphro because it implies quite a bit of arbitrariness. For instance, in the very beginning all actions were morally equal until God starting commanding and prohibiting certain ones. If God loving something makes it right, what reason is there for God wanting us to do right? If God commanded adultery, adultery would be morally right and obligatory. Option two means that there is a standard of morals independent from God’s own will. This contradicts the divine command theory’s basic component that commanded by God is right and prohibited by God is wrong. -Reason, Morality, and Public Policy: Classic and Contemporary Readings in Philosophy by: G. M. Brown, Ph. D.

Canters Behavior Essay

Dylan is a five year old boy that from the very start showed disruptive behavior frequently throughout the classroom. Dylan’s teacher has well- documented his actions and she has asked the administrators of the school for support, plus she has also referred Dylan to have a behavioral evaluation. The teacher has spoken with Dylan’s parents on many occasions and they say his behavior was the same at home. Dylan’s parents also stated that his disruptive behavior was his way of seeking attention. During this time Dylan’s behavior is generally getting more and more disruptive and aggressive. With the teacher’s observation logs, Dylan’s is having a rough time playing along with other children and is having a difficult time following directions. Just about every day Dylan is hitting, yelling, or is taking things away from the other children’s hands to get the teacher to come over and see what is wrong. Many of the children have made the decision to ignore him or to just move in another direction away from him. With his academic skills he is far more behind than the other students in class. Dylan has the knowledge to finish the activities, but he is rarely in the mood to do so. Sometimes the issues begin when the teacher starts giving everyone there assignment and is working quietly, that’s when Dylan’s behavior really goes through the roof, and when he is told what to do about his behavior. While the disruptive behavior remains the teacher’s patience with Dylan starts to run very thin and begins to call out to every unacceptable behavior that he shows. These actions start to have a negative influence on the attitudes of the remaining students. Most of students start to mimic Dylan’s actions while the others students are not finishing their work. This can result in the teacher needing to spend a lot of time having to deal with Dylan’s behavior and not having enough time with to teach. Teachers have many avenues to teach students successfully and professionally take care of unacceptable behaviors. One step would be to use the Canter’s Behavior Management Cycle, into effect (Canters 2006). Canter has three steps; first, effectively communicating explicit directions, second, using behavior narration and third, taking corrective action. When starting to use Canters’ cycle teachers will need to take the time to use two very important methods at the start of the school year this is going to help minimize disruptive behaviors. One, creates lessons on appropriate behavior for specific parts of the school day, activities, and transitions (Canters p. 31) and second creates a, â€Å"Responsible Behavior Curriculum,† for the first two weeks of the school year (Canters chap. ). This curriculum will set the tone of the class for introducing what is acceptable with appropriate behaviors, and that they are expected to follow the rules from students throughout the school day. Teachers should start with Canters’ behavioral cycle; Dylan’s teacher needs to start with the first step. The first step will need to that the teacher to communicate clear, specific and detailed directions. The directions are being given to Dylan and he is to follow them precise. When giving directions they need to be quite clear and on point at all costs. The teacher needs to always evade being unclear to the students, if they know what is expected of them they will follow. The teacher’s directions should contain precisely how the students are to conduct themselves in the classroom. Explicit directions should include the, â€Å"expectations for student verbal behavior, physical movement, and participation† (Canters p. 53). The teacher needs to never make the mistakes of assuming what the students know, what the expectations of their behavior is, and the teacher should always recall the students on a daily basis what is expected of them. The teacher has to have a firm grip on effective communication while having detailed directions, she can continue on to the next important step. This step involves using â€Å"Behavioral Narration† (Chapter 9), which is how the teacher will positively motivate Dylan to follow directions. One way of achieving this is to give Dylan and the class as a whole effective positive feedback (Canters p. 58). When giving detailed directions, the teacher should look to notice which student within seconds of giving the directions to see who is really following the directions that were given. The teacher needs to point out who is listening to the directions and how the students are following the directions. At the moment when Dylan is being difficult the teacher does not need to focus on giving Dylan more attention, but try to focus on the students who are listening and making good choices. When trying to change the unwanted behavior the teacher needs to try to use the behavioral narration, which will allow the teacher to repeat the rules and define the acceptable behavior of students who are making good choices. This will show the students their teacher is mindful of the actions that are taking place and is more than ready to fix any problems that may arise. When the teacher acknowledges the acceptable behaviors and recaps the directions it sets a wonderful start and a positive atmosphere in the room. The class will be regularly recalled on what is expected from their behavior, students are expected to follow the rules, students who were not able to receive or finish their assignment will have time to finish and catch up with the rest of the class. Students will be given a chance to have time to catch up when needing be. With this step it can go the extra mile by setting up an award-system in place. For example, when the directions are given the teacher notices Dylan is sitting where his seat is and he is working on the assignment that was given to him, then the teacher would say to his friends, â€Å"Look at Dylan he is sitting at his seat and is working on his assignment so nicely I am going to have to give Dylan his extra class point that he earned in class. Ultimately this will inspire Dylan to have more acceptable behaviors and the other students to strive for the goals that are set up for the students to obtain. The last action of the cycle is corrective action taken (Chap. 10). When the direct instructions have been given out, looking to observe the group for ten seconds, reports were made on students that are on the right track, and when Dylan is not following directions; then you must use the corrective action. This is done by directive verbal statements or disciplinary consequences (Canters p. 9). The teacher needs to peacefully reaffirm the instructions and notify the students of their penalties and what their actions have caused. This can also let Dylan and the entire class knows and understands that you are very serious about bringing an end to unacceptable behavior. Students need to know, understand, and be aware of the effects for disrupting the class and just making unacceptable choices. When the unacceptable behavior remains untouched the procedure needs to be shadowed with the corresponding reaction. Every time a student shows a disruptive behavior it should be dealt with immediately and that the penalties produced is entirely from the student’s actions. In order for students to learn the rules must be enforced. Students have to have structure so they can flourish, they need to know what is expected of them on day one. Once a child knows that they cannot get away with disruptive behavior they will tend to not want to misbehave. If there is a reward system they will definitely want to have a reward at the end of the day or week. Consistency is the key to keeping students where they need to be in order to have peace in the room.