Saturday, August 31, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Obesity rates are soaring throughout the United States. â€Å"Today, two thirds of American adults are obese or overweight†(Brink and Querna 620). This quote is explaining how obesity has become a concern for many people in our culture. The obesity rate among Americans has gotten worse over the years. The topic of weight is very prevalent among people in today’s society. Everywhere you look you see people of different weights and appearances. Obesity affects Americans of all ages, sexes, and racial/ethnic groups. This essay is targeting all Americans but talks mostly about the children and teenagers. Obesity can cause serious medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Of the four essays in the â€Å"What (and How) should we eat† this essay’s argument has all three rhetorical appeals and pathos being the strongest in my opinion. The Essay establishes credibility by explaining some examples of relevance to the issue under debate. Like when Brinks and Querna say, â€Å"It’s everywhere†. Tank up your car, and you walk past soft pretzels with cheese sauce†. â€Å"Grab a cup of coffee, and you see doughnuts, danishes, and cookies the size of hubcaps†. Stop at Staples for an ink cartridge, and you confront candy bars at the register†. Stroll past the receptionist’s desk at the office, and find somebody’s leftover Christmas cookies, Valentine’s Day candy, Easter Peeps, birthday cake, or vacation saltwater taffy†(620). This is a very true statement because everywhere you look; there is an increase in high calorie sweets on the counters of any store. Americans believe that Obesity is becoming a serious issue here in the United States because a lot of his arguments are very true. This goes back to Americans believing that something should change or else there is going to be big health risk in their life. The essay uses pathos because it is incorporating fear into the target audience when it says â€Å"What’s worse, they project that the rise in obesity rates among children and teens could knock off as many as five years from today’s average of 77 years as overweight people in that generation  grow up and die prematurely. Diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and some cancers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Brinks and Querna 620). This will cause the target audience to think twice about eating a high calorie meal because dying young scares a lot of people. This is a good strategy to know about obesity because fear is one of the strongest emotions for every human being. Eliciting fear into Americans will make them think twice about eating unhealthy. The essay also establishes logos because it has an abundant of statistics everywhere. One Example of this is â€Å"the early 1980s, food production came to an average of 3,300 calories a day available to every person. Then farm policy changed, and farmers no longer plowed food under or slaughtered animals to be entitled to subsidies. Today, America produces enough food to allow every man, woman, and child 3,900 calories a day†( Brinks and Querna 621). This quote is explaining how we have the opportunity to eat a lot more than we used to and is one of the reasons why people are turning obese. These Statistics are precise because there has been an increase in the amount of food we can eat. The essay also establishes authority because it quotes some high status professors. One example is â€Å" ‘Food is never just the physical product itself, it’s invested with national meanings, associated with comfort and nostalgia. There are class associations. Food can be elegant or cultured’ † (Stephanie Hartman 621). She is a professor who teaches a course at the University of America in Washington D.C. call ed â€Å"Food and Media†. There are many other quotes that the authors use in his essay. Since they are of high status, the target audience feels that they must trust what they are saying since they teach in those fields. It does have some bias though because evidently you can ignore the food and choose not to eat it. But the authors talk about how hard it is to say no to food when it says, â€Å"Riddled with anxiety, we take our meals with equal parts pleasure and guilt. We might say an internal no a dozen times a day, then give in to the Krispy Kreme near the bus†¨stop on the way home†( Brinks and Querna 622). Bringing awareness to the issue is the first step in creating a solution to the problem. This essay effectively employs Aristotle’s three main rhetorical strategies to gain the assurance of Americans that obesity is becoming a serious issue here in the United States. He specifically uses a strong use of logos to convince the target audience about this growing issue. Susan Brinks and Elizabeth Quernas  expertise of ethos, logos, and pathos have successfully informed Americans about Obesity.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Analyzing Fiction Essay

In â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been†, this story makes me frustrated with the main character Connie. She comes off to me as an immature little girl who wants to live the life of a mature woman, but when faced with reality she is still just a little girl. I felt Connie feels the need to rebel or act a different person when she leaves her house and in a sense lives a double life and has two personalities. In the story the author writes, â€Å"She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home† (Oates 325). This was an example of how Connie lived this double life. Connie made herself very vulnerable when she goes out with Eddie and exposes herself as a â€Å"woman† when she is not. What I feel is significant about this piece of literature is the story that is being told and the reality behind it. Many young girls face this kind of reality everyday and don’t have a good outcome. The authors’ intention in the story was to portray a little girl named Connie and show her struggle with adolescence and wanting to become a woman far too fast. The themes that stand out to me in this story are Connie’s constant fantasizing and daydreaming. She is always worried about her appearance and fantasizing about boys, but when it comes down to the reality of actually engaging and being confronted with a man, she reverts to being a child again. Another theme that stands out to me is Connie leaving herself extremely vulnerable. She has her friends’ dad drop them off at a shopping plaza, but sneaks off to a drive in to meet boys. Then she meets with Eddie and hangs out in an alley. This exposes her to Arnold Friend. She portrays herself with a lot of independence, but when she has the confrontation with him at her house, she tries to scare him away with saying, â€Å"But my father’s coming back. He’s coming to get me† (Oates 330). She says this because she is still a little girl and doesn’t quite know how to handle this situation. The reality of this type of story is what makes this piece of literature valuable. The author wrote a story about a young girl wanting to grow up too fast and puts herself in situations that portrays her independence, but then exposes her vulnerability. As a reader, I felt this story is a reality for many young girls. I think the authors’ goal here was to allow the reader to see what many young girls face and how easy it is to be manipulated by a man who has aggressive attributes. It was very creepy for this man to know everything about Connie when they were never formally introduced, but Connie’s appearance led him to believe she was open to her sexuality than what she really was or could handle. References Oates, Joyce Carol. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.† Lit. Eds. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 325-331. Print

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Analysis of Consumer Decision Making Process

Consumer decision making process is a list of steps that are carried out by consumers concerning to a potential market transaction, before, during and after the purchase of a product or service. The process includes identifying the problem, collecting information, evaluating the alternatives, making the purchase decision and evaluating post purchase. Generally, decision making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple options. As a consumer, I find that the consumer decision making process is a great help in choosing for the right roduct which gives a consumer the greatest satisfaction. One of the latest scenarios where I applied this process into my product purchases was buying a beautiful, yet not too costly wedding gown, as I am getting married in the coming month. I went through five stages of the consumer decision making process in buying the perfect wedding gown as follows:- Problem recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase / Decision making Post-purchase evaluation Problem recognition is the stage where the consumer is aware of a need or want. It occurs when the consumer realize a significant difference between his or her ctual state and desire state. My problem in this situation at this stage, is having to own a new wedding gown, because I am walking down the isle with my fianc © next month. This desire of something new leads to the triggering of the decision process. In addition to my problem, I do not have a very well-funded family, so I cannot afford expensive, luxurious designers wedding gown. Information search When a consumer discovers a problem or a need, he or she is likely to search for more information on how to solve it. The information search stage involves gathering nformation from various sources in order to make a better-informed decision, it helps clarifies the options open to the consumer which may involve internal search and external search. Internal search is not required in my situation, because I do not have any past experiences or feelings with wedding gown to recall to, as it is going to be my first time buying it. Since I have no prior experience with this high-involvement product, Ill have to use external search, that is, to engage in extensive search of the outside environment for helpful information on which to support a choice. IVe obtained information from various sources. First of all, I became more attentive towards commercial sources, such as, bridal gowns advertisements on the Moreover, I went to different bridal retailers to get help from the sales consultants and also to browse through the gowns myself. I even sought some information through internet source to see what the basic idea is I need to know about wedding gowns. Last but not least, I gained more information and opinions from my friends and family that are married, through word of mouth. Through gathering information, I learnt more about the brands that compete in the market and their features and characteristics. Evaluation of alternatives With the information search from the previous stage, it helps clarifies the problem for the consumer by suggesting criteria to use for the purchase, yielding brand names that might meet those criteria and developing the consumer value perception At this stage, I have narrowed down the options available to me and I have to compare the ones that caught my attention based on the criteria that matters most. After browsing through so many types of brands of wedding gowns, there are two main ones that really meet up to my requirements or expectations, that is Vera Wangs wedding dresses collection and Mori Lees. However, I cannot possibly purchase both of the gowns, because I only need one. Therefore, I have listed down and established the criteria of these wedding gowns for evaluation, so that I can make the right choice. The table below shows the designs of both wedding gowns:- Brands I Vera Wang I Mori Lee I Color Since I have a fair skin tone, a lighter delicate hue of dress should suit me very well. I Ivory I White pastel I Fabric- I prefer much lighter and softer fabrics, as Im getting married during a hot season. I SilkThis light and floaty material is nown for its lustrous shine, which gives a lightweight look and feel. I Chiffon and Cr ©pe These two materials were used to produce the tulle gown in delicate sheets. It gives a soft flowing with a crinkled floral texture. I Length-full-length gowns are more suitable for my formal wedding. I Full-length I Full-length I Silhouette- This refers to the shape of the gown and how it hugs your body. I Mermaid shapelt is form fitting and slim, but the skirt flares out below the knee to show the perfect hourglass shape. I Full ball gownThis is the most traditional wedding dress silhouette. The bodice is fitted through the waist with full puffy skirt. I Train- The gown comes with a long train for people to carry when I walk. I It is detachable, so that it will not be stepped on or torn during the reception. I It is detachable, so that it will not be stepped on or torn during the reception. I Mood- Dresses are also categorized by moods. I RomanticThe dress is strapless and is usually complemented with a long train. I Traditional and romanticlt is described as a full gown with fluffy bottom and bares a heart-shaped neckline. I Pricing- The price of the dress. I Approximately RM13, 000 | Approximately RM9,OOO I Purchase / Decision Making After giving the criteria of both wedding gowns a thorough evaluation, I have come to a decision on which dress to purchase. I chose the second option, which is the Mori Lees full wedding ball gown, because the design, texture and color really meet up to my requirements. As I have mentioned before, I am not very well-funded, thus I cannot afford to pay requires me to pay only 20% of the original price. Vera Wangs do not provide rental services, thus this adds extra points up on why I prefer Mori Lees gown. To implement my purchasing decision, I have decided to rent the gown from Milan ridal studio, Penang. There are many sizes available there, where I can try them and loan from there easily. Furthermore, I do not need to own the wedding gown myself, because I wont be wearing it again after my wedding day, so renting the gown is the best option. I have paid for the loan fee using credit card two weeks before my wedding day, so I can get myself prepared with the wedding themes and set ups beforehand. Post-purchase evaluation Last but not least, we have come to the final stage, which is the post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is very common for consumers to experience concerns fter making a product purchase. After buying a product, the consumer compares it with expectations and is either satisfied or dissatisfied. What I experienced after using the product was the performance of this product exceeds my expectations, causing what is known as positive disconfirmation. After wearing Mori Lees wedding ball gown on my special day, I felt completely satisfied and contented with the gown I chose. That wedding gown suited me perfectly well on that day; the floral texture on the skirt matches the wedding theme flawlessly and I felt really comfortable wearing it. The fabric of the gown did not cause me to feel hot or itchy at all, unlike some other gowns I have tried. Furthermore, I was really happy with the decision I made, that is to only rent the dress. It helped me saved a lot from my budget and I still get to flaunt that piece of beautiful gown during my wedding day at the same time. Conclusion In short, I find that the consumer decision making process is really helpful when it comes to choosing the right product to purchase. I think this process is more suitable to be used in high-involvement purchases, which include those involving high xpenditure or personal risk for example buying a house, a car or making investments, because the stages of the process really guides you to choose the best option, without having to feel guilty or regret after buying it. I will strongly recommend people whom I know to use this process when they are purchasing something important, because it lessens the risk of buying and increases post-purchase satisfaction to a consumer after going through the stages and choosing the right alternative.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Analysis of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Essay

Analysis of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address - Essay Example However, the speech was also intended to try to bring together the two warring halves of the nation that was still involved in the last-gasp efforts of the South to secede from the union. As a result, only about half of the population truly recognized Lincoln as their leader and commander in chief. In this speech, Lincoln attempts to use rhetoric to bring the nation back together again, emphasizing how both North and South had benefited from the slave market and how both North and South should now take up the expense of rebuilding the nation that had been ripped apart over the issue. In making this argument, Lincoln strips away the North’s ability to sanctimoniously condemn the South for profiting off others’ suffering at the same time that Lincoln removes the South’s ability to deny all responsibility for the cost of the war. Within Lincoln’s speech, one can identify all three of the essential elements, exigence, audience and a set of constraints, which L loyd Bitzer suggests are required to create rhetorical communication. Like many of his public speeches, Lincoln kept his second inaugural address short and to the point, presenting a cogent rhetorical argument that addresses the exigence of reuniting the warring factions, the audiences of both North and South and the set of constraints in realizing that human nature would stand in the way of progress. The speech clearly outlines Lincoln’s foundational ideas regarding the Reconstruction he envisioned happening once the war was officially over by releasing both North and South of their objections to working together. The exigence, as it is described by Baxter, emerges as the impending end of the war and national response to the necessary rebuilding of the South. Many of the cities and towns had been destroyed, farmlands were now graveyards and the large plantations had been stripped of more than half of its labor force and required to hire

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

A full statement of purpose to study Health and social care module Personal

A full of purpose to study Health and social care module - Personal Statement Example Pursuing a health and social care course enables a student to gain evidence-based practice, current skills and knowledge to deliver quality care (p. 331). This is because, while at school, a health care student can directly interact with cares and users of services gain experience which will help them deliver and meet the modern needs of health and social care. In addition, another purpose of studying health and social care is that it equips students with the sought of knowledge and skills that they need for this beneficial career path. Once a student finishes the course, he or she will be in demand and have plenty of options that he or she can choose from. For instance, one can choose to work with children, elderly people, those with disabilities, or young people in housing, health centres, care giving homes, or community care settings (p. 343). Another purpose of studying health and social care course is that a student is able to progress with other careers such as social work, midwifery, nursing, probation, or care management with further training or even

Monday, August 26, 2019

Focus in literally devices analyze one of the poems and what the poet Essay

Focus in literally devices analyze one of the poems and what the poet is trying to say - Essay Example Despite the peaceful environment the persona and his love listens to the rasping sound of the pebbles that are being dragged by the waves in and out of the ocean. The poet in the second stanza mentions that Sophocles, an historical character associated with the incidences at the shore. This stanza carries us back to the time while helping us link the incident at the shore with what happened in the past. Sophocles might have heard a similar sound in the Aegean that reminded him of human suffering. Such a sound is heard from a distance in the north but all this occurs in the thoughts of the persona. He further talks about the ‘Sea of Faith’ (line 21) that existed at one time but it is only heard. Faith was beheld by a mighty sea that touched on every part of the earth. He asks his love that they ought to be true to one another despite the many issues that surrounds them. He seems to point out that the world that they are in is full of beautiful and good things but it lacks true joy, spiritual light, as well as true love. These are the ingredients of a well-lived life; it could be ironical to leave them out. He mentions that the wor ld is coupled with several uncertainties especially when help is required. The poem has been structured in a manner that it captures diverse aspects within its body. Firstly, the title of the poem closely relates with what is happening. The poets focus is in drawn to Dover beach that is on the French coast despite them occupying a position in England. Secondly, the poem is basically a monologue that consists of thirty seven lines and is divided into four sections, with each having some different view. The first section brings into view the location of the persona and the unfolding of events. The second section talks about Sophocles and what happened to him in relation to the incidence at the Dover beach. He is a person whose history has a basis of the same incidence. The third

Letter Of Application to Honors Marketing Program Essay - 1

Letter Of Application to Honors Marketing Program - Essay Example During my years as a student at I have taken part in several extra-curricular programs. I have been the Marketing Coordinator for the University Radio Station, a charter member of the University Marketing Association, and I am the founder and President of the University Consulting Group. I have also put considerable effort into gaining hands-on experience through work. I have completed internships with the Illinois Attorney General’s Officer as a Law Clerk, with Morgan Stanley as a Marketing Assistant, and most recently with the Illinois State Senator’s Officer as an Assistant to the Senator. In addition to this I am the President of Press Play Promotions, an entertainment promotions company which plans and promotes events at venues throughout the Chicago area. I have acquired valuable skills from these activities, not the least of which is the ability to prioritize my work and manage my time effectively. My particular aim with my extra-curricular activities was to work on my leadership skills, and I feel I have accomplished that effectively. Leading Press Play Promotions has allowed me to further refine these skills, as I direct a staff of fifteen in this company. In addition, Press Play Promotions has been invaluable to me in honing my entrepreneurial and promotional skills. Working at Morgan Stanley was also a very valuable experience, as at this firm I worked in a cohesive team that recruited new clients via presentations which utilized several different media. I have attained many skills which will be of use to me in my chosen field of work, and feel that my combination of skills is highly suitable for helping me attain my career goals. After graduation I will take up a Marketing Business Development position with in Chicago. I am hoping to be able to attend the part time Honors Program in conjunction with my work at the firm. Ultimately I intend to draw on my experience with Press Play

Sunday, August 25, 2019

NAFTA (SLP) Module5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NAFTA (SLP) Module5 - Essay Example problems created by NAFTA continue to affect some of the member states – a problem that has not been received well by critics such as Ralph and Pat. Reasons for opposing NAFTA include the loss of jobs that has affected the USA. It is estimated that since 1995, NAFTA is responsible for the loss of some 765,000 jobs. This loss of jobs has also created a ripple effect on the economic wellbeing of the laid off workers. After the loss of jobs, finding new jobs has a 23% less pay within the same industries they used to work. Additionally, investment on manufacturing industries has increased Mexican problem in that, around the maquiladora zones along the Mexico-US border, pollution and poor disposal of waste has threaten to cause adverse environmental issues (Global Exchange, 2011). In the USA, NAFTA has been viewed as a free trade agreement that has caused multiple employment and investment issues. For example, a study by the Cornell University shows that two-thirds of manufacturing and communications companies have threatened their employees that they would move their operations outside the USA. This move aims at exporting well-paying jobs from the USA to either Mexico or Canada where labor is expected to be cheaper. In this case, more employees are left jobless or underpaid as companies thrive to create value through the free trade agreement (Workorg, 2010). NAFTA is an export dependent trade agreement which affects the resources of the nations involved. For example, natural resources such as forests and fish have been overexploited to settle trade debts among member states. Mexico has been on the receiving end as 15 US-based wood products’ companies have established operations in Mexico drastically increased logging. Guerrero, a Mexican State has lost 40 percent of her forest cover following the establishment of US-based wood products’ companies. Family farmers face the adverse effects of the NAFTA free trade doctrine. It is seen that NAFTA has influenced

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Operations Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Operations Management - Term Paper Example The outputs will be the various types of lighting products such as bulbs and light lambs. The main focus in measuring productivity will be on our total productivity in which case all inputs and outputs will be considered (U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).     Measuring productivity will be important since it is the best way to know whether we are making progress or not. Essentially, when a manufacturing company wants to boost its competitiveness, it has to invest a significant amount of money in methods that attract production and office efficiencies. This usually calls for external consultants and cost accounting experts (Brynjolfsson, 1993). For this business, measuring productivity will not demand the help of external consultants. The main objectives of the manufacturing business are to create high demand through the manufacturing and distribution of quality lighting products to our customers, but we do not want to create extra expense doing this since the skills to achieve this goal are available. However, the high demand has to be met (Chew, 2015). This implies that our production has to meet the existing demand for our lighting products. To achieve this, we plan to come up with an effective way of monitoring our total productivity by measuring it.   To measure our business productivity, we intend to define our inputs and outputs by determining their economic value. In this regard, the business aims to look for highly qualified personnel to achieve the most efficient human resources possible.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Online Shopping in Thailand Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Online Shopping in Thailand - Research Proposal Example Therefore it has become necessary to conceptualize a online shopping mode that suits the Thai culture and satisfies most of the needs of the consumers. The present study intends to do so through quantitative methodology by undertaking survey through questionnaires and perform parallel research so as to collect information regarding their problems and requirements in the online shopping that may encourage them to make online purchases. The collected data further will be compiled and analyzed in tabulated format to arrive at a formidable conclusion and recommendations for conceptualizing online shopping in Thailand. The use of internet has increased to such an extent that most of the activities are performed online. Ho and Wu (1999) mentioned that the World Wide Web (WWW) users have been multiplying rapidly and have widely spread into all walks of life.1 Hsi -Jui Wu and Li (n.d.) also mentions that the progress and popularization of information technology and internet has led to enormous growth in the global ecommerce market. It is further stated that volume of B2C e-commerce sales will increase 23.3% annually in Asia Pacific Region and will reach $16.87 billion in 2011. Countries like Japan and Korea, who are having experience in B2C ecommerce markets, are facing stiff challenges from developing countries like India, China, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.2 Orton and Windham (2000) pointed out that Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan are the broad regions in Asia and the Pacific where 94 percent of the online sales are through Japan, Korea and Australia which suggests that the people in the other parts are not so user friendly and do not trust in online shopping.3 According to National Statistical Office, there were about 928,000 computers in use in Thai households during 2001 which is equivalent to 5.75 computers per 100 households and it was also found that there were an about 3.54 million internet user which is 3.83 times the number of computer owners which means that most users access internet through homes, offices, caf, etc.4 Laosethakul and Boulton (2005) stated that Thailand with a population of 66 million had seen a steady growth in the number of internet users from 4.8 million in 2002 to 7 million in 2004 which propelled the volume of ecommerce sales in Thailand to US$ 500 million in 2003 and US $750 million in 2004. However, the Thailand Internet User Profile 2004 Survey reported top four reasons stopping the consumers to shop online which were the trust as they cannot see/feel the products, distrust for online merchandisers, unwillingness to reveal the details of credit card, and slow processes along with computer viruses and slow internet speed.5 So in future any companies planning to develop an online shopping portal for the Thai consumers, the above problems need to be addressed. Laosethakul et al (2007) states that Thai consumers are still practicing the traditional shopping due its convenience associated

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Hals Hardware Essay Example for Free

Hals Hardware Essay Hal’s Hardware Inc. s regional, therefore they only have stores (14 of them) in three states. This scope of customers is a weakness because of their competitors such as Home Depot and Lowe’s are not regional Franchise Hardware Stores. Hal’s Hardware Inc. doesn’t have a good business process to deal with a national scale demand. The size of the products that can be delivered directly to the customer is also limited. Hal’s Hardware Inc. can adapt to an online website filled with the items they sell because all of they have a database of all their items they ever had. Hal’s Hardware Inc. will be able to expand their stores as well as apply their demonstrations online, have accessibility, and a will adopt new ways means of attracting customers. Convenience to the customers is especially possible to provide due to the ‘order online and pick-up in-store’ idea. Hal’s Hardware Inc. , if developing an e-commerce, will have to consider the factors of their decision. They will be facing immense competitions from larger Hardware industries and e-commerce Businesses who in which has a higher area profile, a vast scope of customers. With other e-commerce Businesses, the threat of losing manufacturing companies from selling via Hal’s Hardware Inc. , and directly selling their products online using e-commerce sites such as Amazon, and other sites with a wide target client coverage. There are numerous additions that the company may resort to in order to remain strong amidst other competitors. Hal’s Hardware can make use of the aspect of community and service that they’ve developed in-store and apply it on their website. This can be done in various ways. First, wanted ads from constructors should have a place on the website. From these projects, the web site could suggest tools and materials which would bring the attention of customers to certain items by showing how they can be used. Second, website could also be host for methods of instruction. In the store and tool demonstrations already occur. Online, the instruction manuals that they give out in store could be uploaded, for example. There could also be videos of the tool demonstrations to help online customers see the products in action. Third, seminars and workshops may be accessible online. Fourth, customers should be allowed to submit reviews of products that they’ve purchased either online or in-store. Moreover, schedules of seminars and workshops should be available online in order to advertise store events and draw in more people both to the website and to the store. With regard to their purchasing process, Hal’s Hardware should implement a way by which customers can find the store nearest to them prior to completing a transaction. Seeing as some items cannot be delivered directly to the customer due the size of the product and its effect on the price of shipping, the company should consider giving the customer the option of hipping their orders to their home or to a store. To go along with this, solid return and warranty policies should be constructed in order to cater customer satisfaction. To address areas in which their stock and resources are lacking, the company may make use of the site to post advertisements for manufacturers and distributors wh o would like to have their products or resources available in the store. Otherwise, the existence of a database will be a great help in forming the website. Stock will likely be updated as much as possible as the current database is changed in real-time. The amount of stock and location of products are already integrated into the current system. Both elements are incredibly useful to online customers. Overall, the website should focus on forming a good relationship between the company and the customers. The community atmosphere should translate to the website. The tight-knit nature of HHI’s customer community isn’t usually present in large chain stores. If the website contains features that nurture this, then it has a standing chance against its competitors.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Virtue theory Essay Example for Free

Virtue theory Essay Abstract: This paper develops and explores a pedagogical innovation for integrating virtue theory into business students basic understanding of general management. Eighty-seven students, in 20 groups, classified three managers real-time videotaped activities according to an elaboration of Aristotles cardinal virtues, Fayols management functions, and Mintzbergs managerial roles. The studys empirical evidence suggests that, akin to Fayols functions and Mintzbergs roles, Aristotles virtues are also amenable to operationalization, reliable observation, and meaningful description of managerial behavior. The study provides an oft-called-for empirical basis for further work in virtue theory as an appropriate conceptual framework for the study and practice of management. The results indicate that virtue theory may be used to re-conceive our fundamental understanding of management, alongside its capacity to weigh moral judgment upon it. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit. we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. —Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics V irtue theory has generated increasing interest among moral philosophers (e. g. , Maclntyre, 1981) and business ethicists (e. g. , Hartman, 1998; Koehn, 1995; Mintz, 1996; Moberg, 1999). While limitations of virtue theory have been justly noted (Koehn, 1998), scholars have effectively drawn on Aristotles (1999) virtues to help business students develop their moral capacities (Hartman, 1998; Mintz, 1996; Solomon, 1992). However, a significant challenge remains to help business students incorporate ethical concerns into a more integrated understanding of the practice of management (Park, 1998) and enhance their ability to recognize ethical issues (Gautschi and Jones, 1998). Our study seeks to address the moral integration problem by exploring a pedagogical strategy aimed at providing business students a moral lens via placing the virtues alongside other well-known frameworks of management. In  ©2001. Business Ethics Quarterly, Volume H, Issue 4. ISSN 1052-150X. pp. 561-574 562. BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY particular, students enrolled in a general management course were asked to observe managers actions and classify them according to tbree frameworks: our version of Aristotles (1999) four cardinal virtues; atextbook adaptation of Fayols (1949) functions of management; and our operationalization of Mintzbergs (1973) managerial roles. Most management textbooks are organized according to Fayols four functions (planning, organizing, controlling, and leading), with Mintzbergs roles being the second most-mentioned approach (Carroll and Gillen, 1987). We argue that, just as Fayol and Mintzberg provide frameworks that have proven helpful in talking and thinking about management and for helping students and practitioners to develop good habits of organizing, planning, making resource allocation decisions, and so forth, so also an Aristotelian approach will help us to talk and think about management in a way that permits integrating good ethical habits into management practice. Put differently, as expressed in the familiar maxim, A way of seeing is also a way of not seeing, at the heart of tbis current study is a pedagogy to provide management students an Aristotelian way of seeing what management is, to place alongside the more familiar and entrenched Fayolian and Mintzbergian ways of seeing. Providing students witb a lens drawn from virtue theory, to use alongside their lenses of managerial functions and roles, promises to help students integrate moral theory into general management thinking and practice. The remainder of our paper is divided into three parts. We begin by describing how we adapted Aristotles four cardinal virtues for our study, and present the tbree general research questions that guided our research. In the second part we present our method and our findings. The final section provides a discussion of the implications of our findings, future directions for research, and the potential usefulness of the virtues for integrating ethical concerns into management education. Virtue Theory and Management. It is commonplace to see management in terms of Fayols functions (planning, leading, organizing, and controlling) and in terms of Mintzbergs roles (interpersonal, informational, decision-making, etc. ). In particular, most management textbooks suggest that these ways of seeing provide the essential, basic lenses for developing an understanding about management (Carroll and Gillen, 1987). In this paper, we contend that virtue theory can be used in a similar way to provide a basic foundational view of management. Indeed, to make our case as forcefully as possible, we claim tbat virtue theory is primarily about management. For example, from Aristotles (1999) assertion tbat tbe purpose of life is to maximize bappiness, and that bappiness can only be maximized by practicing virtues in community, it follows that how we manage our communities is of main concern. Whereas for Aristotle ethics culminated in politics, we are suggesting tbat today etbics culminates in management, as managers play a critical role in society (cf. Maclntyre, 1981). Solomon (1992: 104 emphasis added bere) concurs that an Aristotelian approach to business ethics ARISTOTLES VIRTUES AND MANAGEMENT THOUGHT 563 conceives of business as an essential part of the good life, living well, getting along with others, having a sense of self-respect, and being part of something one can be proud of. Because managers in our society have a great say in what practices occur in business and organizations, and thus in facilitating social purpose, we contend that they are a central figure in virtue theory, Aristotles Virtues Reformulated for Todays Business Organization Just as Fayols original functions have been adapted and reformulated over time to fit and reflect contemporary concerns, so also we have adapted Aristotles four cardinal virtues for our study. Toward this end, we found the work of Solomon (1992) particularly helpful. Thus, our description of wisdom, justice, courage, and self-control takes into account the contextual and embedded qualities of virtues as relevant for present-day managers. We hasten to add that for our present purposes, our focus is on examining whether a virtue theory-based approach to conceptualizing management is empirically possible; it is not critical to our present enterprise that the particular virtues we have chosen, or our particular operationalizations, are the most appropriate. Similar to Aristotle (1999), we conceive of practical wisdom as a capacity for deliberation and action by individuals to obtain what is good for themselves and others in general. Practical wisdom entails the ability to ask insightful questions, evaluate real-world business situations, and apply relevant knowledge to the-individual-in-the-organization (Solomon, 1992: 111) unit of analysis. Instead of an individual or community focus, the business manager who possesses practical wisdom views individuals as embedded in community and understands that a potential dichotomy between the two is more apparent than real. S/he recognizes the reciprocity of individual and community good despite the complexities associated with a plurality of different stakeholders. When Mintz (1996: 829) notes that wisdom is an intellectual virtue and is considered to be the consequence of teaching and for that reason requires experience and time to be cultivated, it draws particular attention to the responsibility of scholars and leaders who shape how we think about and understand management. Solomon (1992) views justice, in the sense of fairness and everyone connected with an organization getting their due, as the basic virtue that holds institutions together. This emphasizes a personal responsibility as essential to business organizations, and reflects present-day concerns with the accountability of private and public institutions as citizens in society as well as organizational citizenship behavior by individuals. With the growth of highly complex multinational corporations, burgeoning bureaucracies, and unregulated cyberspace, it is more incumbent today than ever for individuals to act justly with promptitude and pleasure (Pieper, 1965: 63, 113) and to develop personal responsibility for their participation in organizations and larger communities. Our view of the virtue of courage in organizations today differs from traditional notions of courage in battle or courage of ones convictions—both instances 564 BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY of extraordinary virtue which depend on especially threatening contexts (Solomon, 1992). To nurture oneself as an intimate part of a community, we see courage as a continuous fortitude or stamina to resist the ongoing pressures for impression management, job-hopping, and self-aggrandizement in todays organizations, which all potentially undermine other virtues necessary for community, such as honesty, loyalty, trust, and so forth. Courage implies hope and acting for the good of all even if this may diminish ones own status. Courage may involve speaking out on matters of injustice and personal conviction, and generally concerns maintaining ones integrity or wholeness (Solomon, 1992) in an increasingly fragmenting corporate context. The last of the four virtues, self-control or temperance, we see as relating to contemporary concerns with managers emotional regulation and impulse control. Such internal regulation is likened to Aristotles (1999) notion of virtue as a kind of mean, with excess and deficiency as vices (e. g. , see Aristotles commentary on anger). For instance, it is widely accepted that assertive, instead of aggressive or passive-aggressive, communications are more helpful in building relationships. Intermediate, rather than excessive or deficient, emotion is necessary for fostering other corporate virtues such as caring, gentleness, and compassion (Solomon, 1992). Self-control entails keeping focus on the whole, rather than over-reacting to details. Temperance in moderating desires is important (e. g. , reducing exorbitant individual and organizational consumption levels), but self-control vis-a-vis emotionality is especially relevant in todays crowded organizations, cities, and societies. Of course, the challenge that others have raised (e. g. , Hartman, 1998; Maclntyre, 1981; Mintz, 1996), and which underlies our current study, is to make virtues observable in management practice and a relevant guiding framework for management theory. More generally, this reinforces our overarching goal of placing this alternative way of seeing management alongside the two most common current ways of seeing (i. e. , Fayol and Mintzberg), and having virtue theory viewed as a partner framework for understanding and guiding management theory and practice. Research Questions We did not enter this study with a particular set of hypotheses we wished to test. Rather, ours is an exploratory study aimed at examining whether Aristotles virtues are similarly observable in managerial behavior by students as are Fayols functions and Mintzbergs roles. This leads to our first research question, to determine whether there are any differences between how able management students are to capture and classify managerial behavior using virtue theory versus the more commonly used managerial functions and roles frameworks. Can students be trained to see the four virtues as often as the managerial functions and roles? In terms of anticipated results from this first question, since our methodology was adapted from Mintzbergs original study, we expected students to be able to. ARISTOTLES VIRTUES AND MANAGEMENT THOUGHT 565 classify a greater proportion of managers activities using his framework than Fayols. We were not sure how well virtue theory could be used to classify behavior, but, given that it is a less common lens through which to view management, we would not have been surprised had students observed virtues less frequently. Of course, the less frequently virtue theory is able to categorize management behavior, the less utility it might have as an overarching approach on par with function and role theory. Our second research question is a deeper examination of the first. We wanted to compare how the various students applied the tbree frameworks, with an eye toward seeing whether there was some consistency in classifications of managers activities across students. Again, given the kinship between our methodology and Mintzbergs, we expected his framework to generate the highest inter-rater reliability. And, given the fact that management virtue theory is relatively underdeveloped, we might expect to see the least consistency in this framework. Of course, we were interested in this question because, in order for the virtues to be a useful framework for understanding management, they must be amenable to operationalization and consistent observation. We are using virtues as a way of understanding or (re)conceiving what management is, not as a way to pass moral judgment on it. In sum, we are interested in whether the consistency of students classifications of virtues were comparable to managerial functions and roles. Finally, we were curious to examine whether there were any inter-relationships between virtue theory and the other two frameworks. Again, as there is virtually (pun intended) no research in this area, our a priori expectations were based on speculation and intuition. Thus, for example, we might expect that managers who exhibit relatively high levels of justice might be more likely to manifest the controlling function and the decisional role. In asking this third exploratory question, we wanted to investigate how the virtues might be related to functions and roles in the behavior of actual managers, and how the three frameworks may be integrated. Method The methodology used for this study was adapted from the original method Mintzberg (1973) used in developing his managerial roles. We videotaped three managers from the same manufacturing firm during their regular work hours. The total amount of taping for all three managers combined was 9 hours, 39 minutes, and 56 seconds, and included the general manager, the financial controller, and a sales manager. These managerial positions comprise a reasonable representation of the variation in managerial job categories of the focus organization. The data reported here are based on the work of twenty student groups enrolled in one of three sections of an Introduction to Management and Organization Theory course offered in a midwest public university. The data reported here are based on the work of 87 students, with 4 or 5 students in each group. Each group was given the task of classifying one of the three different managers behavior according to each of the frameworks developed by Aristotle, Fayol, and 566 BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY Mintzberg. To help students operationalize each of the categories within each of the three frameworks, the instructor provided them with templates of each. An abridged overview of the templates is provided in Table 1. The templates described various behaviors that represent each of the managerial virtues, functions, and roles. Readers wishing more detailed information on Fayols functions may consult any introductory management textbook (the template used in this study was based on the description presented in Starke and Sexty, 1992, the textbook used in the students course). Similarly, further information on Mintzbergs managerial roles can be found in Mintzberg (1973), which was used to prepare the template for this study. Table 1: Operationalization of Virtues, Functions, and Roles Category Sample Actions. Aristotles Virtues Practical Wisdom Justice Courage Self-control Using appropriate knowledge required to size up a real world situation and making a decision that increases the common good; helping subordinates to improve in a way that allows them to feel good about themselves; asking insightful questions Giving credit for success where credit is due; assigning appropriate accountability and responses for failure; accepting and acknowledging the merit in advice/wisdom from others. Treating set-backs as temporary; empowering others rather than hoarding power; complimenting others; accepting others counsel even when it may seem to diminish self status Making other-full decisions; calming a situation where over-reaction might be tempting; correcting a mistake in a self-controlled manner; letting go of details to embrace a larger perspective Fayols Functions Planning Organizing Controlling Determining new industries to enter in the future; setting and priorizing market share goals; determining tevel of vertical integration; choosing strategic focus; implementing and evaluating plans. Setting policy statements; establishing procedures; setting rules; determining how a specific service is to be performed or product to be manufactured; ensuring payroll or accounting functions are performed uniformly across the organization Touring facilities; reviewing financial/productivity reports; evaluating individual, group and/or organizational performance; rewarding good performance or taking corrective action for poor performance Mintzbergs Roles Interpersonal Informational Decisional. Helping a subordinate to leam a new task; making job assignments for subordinates; meeting with other managers at the same level within the organization; talking to competitors/suppliers/customer organizations Readitig industry newspapers; attending industry conferences; reading fmancial reports; sending memos; attending weekly staff meetings; relaying information fiom upper level managers; lobbying for organizational unit Develop a new way to produce or to market a product or service; responding to day-to-day crises; setting budgets; deciding how to increase capacity; conducting union negotiations. ARISTOTLES VIRTUES AND MANAGEMENT THOUGHT 567 An earlier study based on these data provided a much more detailed rationale for how each of the various categories and sub-categories were established. For the present study, it is sufficient to make two notes. First, rather than provide a detailed analysis of each of Mintzbergs ten roles, we here report data only for his three basic roles: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. This allows for a much more parsimonious presentation. Second, our analysis includes data on only three of Fayols roles: planning, controlling, and organizing. Students were not asked to code Fayols leading function for several reasons, but mostly because the curriculum in our university covers the leading function in a different course. 2 Results The data from the twenty reports were analyzed in several ways to address our three guiding research questions. We used simple descriptive statistics to examine the first question, namely, whether there were any differences between how ably students could classify managers behaviours using the three conceptual frameworks (i. e. , virtues, functions, and roles). As shown in Table 2, the findings were different than expected. First, because our methodology is adapted from Mintzbergs, we expected that his roles would be evident more often in the videotapes than Fayols functions and Aristotles virtues. We found that the opposite occurred. Although the students did classify 80 percent of the managers behavior using Mintzbergs roles, this was slightly less than the 82 percent of the time they classified using Fayols functions, and both these are statistically significantly less than the 89 percent of managers behavior students classified using Aristotles virtues (p . 01). Practical wisdom was the most frequently categorized virtue at 48. 4 percent, followed by justice at 26. 6 percent, courage at 8. 6 percent, and self-control at 5. 3 percent. Fayols functions were categorized at 17. 1 percent for planning, 22. 5 percent for organizing, and 42. 4 percent for controlling. Mintzbergs roles were categorized 51. 3 percent for interpersonal, 24. 5 percent for informational, and 4. 4 percent for decisional. Our second research question was to examine how much consistency there was between students in observing the various virtues in managers. For virtue theory to be a useful way to understand management, and for it to be most helpful in developing students ethical competencies, there should be consistency. Thus, inter-rater reliabilities were calculated to measure the consistency of student group observations vis-a-vis each framework (see Table 2). As we expected, inter-rater reliability scores among the 20 groups were the highest for Mintzhergs roles at . 98 and lowest for Fayols functions at . 82; Aristotles virtues ranked between these two frameworks, at . 91. 568 BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY. Table 2: Descriptive Statistics and Inter-Rater Reliability Category n Category mean (†¢/o of time) Wisdom 20 48. 4 20. 3 Justice 20 26. 6 19. 9 Courage 20 8. 6 8. 3 Self-control 20 5. 3 Framework mean (†¢/. of time) Framework inter. rater reliability 88  » 5. 1 5d .91 82. D .82 80. 2 n Aristotles Virtues Fayols unctions Planning 20 17 1 14. 5 Organizing 20 22. 5 18. 7 Controlling 20 42. 4 19. 8 Interpersonal 20 SI. 3 14. 4 Infonnational 20 24 5 5. 5 Decisional 20 4. 4 3 1 Mintzber gs Roles Finally, our third research question was to explore how the virtues related to the other frameworks. Toward this end we calculated Pearson correlations between each virtue, function, and role (see Table 3 below). As this is an exploratory study, we used an alpha level of . 10 to examine significant correlations. We found four significant correlations between the virtues and the categories of the other frameworks. Practical wisdom correlated positively with both Fayols planning function (. 38, p=. O99) and Mintzbergs interpersonal role (. 55, p=. O12), and negatively with the controlling function (-. 41, p=. O74). Justice correlated negatively with the interpersonal role (-.40, p=. O78) and had an almost statistically significant positive correlation with the controlling function (. 36, p=. 118). Two more statistically significant correlations were found within the four virtues: (i) a negative correlation between justice and practical wisdom (-. 77, p=. OOO); and (ii) a negative correlation between justice and courage (-. 51, p=. O21). Finally, three other significant correlations emerged among categories outside of virtue theory: (i) a negative correlation between the organizing function and the controlling function (-. 70, p=.OOl); (ii) a negative correlation between the informational and decisional roles (-. 45, p=. O49); and (iii) a positive correlation between the planning function and the interpersonal role (. 61, p=. 004). In sum, it may be noteworthy that, of the nine statistically significant correlations found, most included at least one of the virtues (six), and fewer included one of the functions or one of the roles (four each). ARISTOTLES VIRTUES AND MANAGEMENT THOUGHT ao S p O g o 9 q o o o II 569 p o CN Z 9 tn so rn o e s o I o 00 I o 10 (N 2 g o o o o o 2S8 e o ci d o 8 i o. b O o U  § i  § 9 U , . ; N .2 s 3 570 BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY Discussion For proponents of a virtue theory of management, the results of our exploratory study are encouraging. Our findings offer preliminary empirical support for the contention that Aristotles virtues provide a useable framework for integrating moral concerns into a holistic view of management. Our results, that students are able to observe the virtues in actual managerial behavior, encourage their further use and development as a framework for education in management theory and business ethics. We will now discuss the implications of our findings, and future research opportunities, in more detail. Research Question #7 In regard to our first research question concerning the different frameworks efficacy to classify managerial behavior, Aristotles virtues performed better than the two most commonly used conceptual frameworks in management teaching. Students were able to use virtue theory to categorize almost ninety percent of managers behavior, about ten percent more than functions or roles. Thus, the further use and development of a virtue theory framework for teaching students about the responsibilities of management is supported. Future researchers may examine the link between the training that students receive and their subsequent ability to observe virtues, and also whether their ability to observe virtues is related to their likelihood of putting them into practice. This latter linkage, between being able to see in others and doing oneself, also undergirds mainstream management theory (e. g., students who observe the managerial roles will be more able to play those roles themselves) and is of particular relevance from a virtue theory perspective. Students who traditionally are taught to pose questions like What function or role should I be trying to improve as a manager? can be provided a framework to also ask Which virtue do I need to pay more attention to in order to develop as a manager? Do I practice enough justice in my interactions with subordinates? Have I been courageous in my dealings with upper management when advocating for my staff? Am I adequately temperate in my work aspirations? This approach to incorporate an ethical dimension within students professional identity is welcome given the competing complexities and demands of business life, and may help to address Parks (1998) concern with business students integrating ethical issues with other business frameworks. Unfortunately, current business ethics courses may be perceived as unrelated to the rest of what students are taught in business schools if they do not define a set of ethical responsibilities and practices in conjunction with other functional and role requirements of management proper. As a result, when students come to fill managerial positions, they may be left virtually point-of-viewless regarding their responsibilities as managers vis-a-vis ethical issues, and have a constrained ability to define managerial success. ARISTOTLES VIRTUES AND MANAGEMENT THOUGHT 571 Research Question #2 In examining our second research question, we found a relatively high level of inter-rater reliability across student group categorizations of the virtues, comparable to the categorizations for the two more mainstream views of management. Beyond providing additional empirical support to continue to develop a virtue theory of management, this finding also draws our attention to further study what the key management virtues are and how we should describe them. In particular, partially in response to readers who might be surprised at the high incidence of virtuous behavior observed in our managers (e. g. , Maclntyre, 1981), our exploratory study begs future research to more closely examine the content of what the students were observing to be virtuous behavior. The consistent student observations are striking because operationalizing the virtues is not an easy task. For example, a person can act fairly without manifesting the virtue of justice if he does so without promptitude and pleasure (Pieper, 1965) and, similarly, performing a courageous act does not make a person courageous. In this light, the consistency of observations in our study should serve to encourage researchers who focus on specifying which virtues are most important for contemporary managers, because it lessens their need to limit or compromise their choice to easy-to-operationalize virtues. In any case, we suggest that future research use multiple method research designs to study virtues. For example, researchers could collect self-report data alongside videotapes, where managers are asked to describe, say, what prompted them to act fairly in a given situation. Similarly, researchers may interview subordinates and colleagues with whom focal managers interact. There may also be merit in developing a grounded theory of virtuous management, and analyzing observers classifications. As the research stream matures, there is potential for experimental designs and even survey instrument research. In short, empirical research within a virtue theory perspective has the potential to utilize and draw from the same methods and design strategies that have proven useful for other theoretical points of view. Research Question #5 The answer to the third research question provides a final point of departure for future research. For example, what do the positive correlations between practical wisdom and planning, practical wisdom and interpersonal roles, and the negative correlation between wisdom and controlling suggest? Is the wise manager one who controls less and pays more attention to issues of planning and interpersonal relations? Or, do these correlations reflect a bias in students towards the rightness of more participatory management styles that have become increasingly in vogue? Another question arising from the correlational analysis is the meaning of the negative association between justice and practical wisdom and justice and the interpersonal roles. Does the manager who displays more 572 BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY practical wisdom do so at a cost to justice as we have operationalized them? Further, does the negative correlation between justice and the interpersonal role (and the almost-statistically-significant positive correlation between justice and controlling) indicate that students regard exhibiting the interpersonal role as somehow unjust and manipulative and not concerned with giving employees their due? Do managers who act justly perhaps do so at a cost to interpersonal relationships (e. g. , perhaps students perceived as just managers who enforce rules without adequate regard to unique personal needs)? The negative correlation between justice and courage draws further attention to issues around managerial manipulation, if students viewed managers ability to act unjust as something that takes courage. Alternatively, perhaps students see as courageous managers who protect their employees, even if this is not just toward shareholders. Along a different line, perhaps future research should examine the complementarity of virtues among managerial teams. Following Nadler and Tushmans (1990) argument that management teams should have leaders with complementary skills, so also the managers in our study may have complementary virtues. Thus, for example, one manager may be wiser while another more just. Such an approach leads to fascinating opportunities to examine the interplay between these virtues across managers. Finally, a comment on a non-finding in the correlational analysis. What about self-control? Is the lack of significant relationships with other categories, and the relatively low frequency of temperate behavior observed, an artifact of the methodology as might be the case if, for example, self-control is the least amenable to direct observation? Future research might find higher levels of self-control through self-reports asking managers about their feelings and stress levels during particular interactions. Similarly, one might design experiments using confederates to create highly frustrating interpersonal scenarios to assess the level of self-control displayed by subjects. These types of questions are indicative of potentially important directions in future research. Alternatively, perhaps our data suggest that future researchers should consider replacing self-control as a primary virtue for managers. Recall that the primary focus of our paper was to develop empirical support for the development of a virtual theory to conceptualize and understand management; we do not contend that the four virtues we have used here are necessarily the best or most appropriate. Our findings do demonstrate the merit in developing a virtue theory of management, and we now invite others to join us in the task of deciding which are the most important virtues for contemporary managers, a task which requires specifying its undergirding moral point of view (Frankena, 1973). Conclusion Our exploratory study provides welcome empirical support.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Neurotransmitter and Hormone Receptors

Neurotransmitter and Hormone Receptors 1) Transcription of DNA and translation into protein are tightly regulated in Eukaryota cells. Give an account of the key steps involved. Gene expression is under continuous regulation. This regulation is differentiated between Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic organisms, especially due to matters of complexity. In Prokaryotic organisms the regulation of gene expression is happening only at the stage of transcription and includes one stage. On the other hand, the regulation of gene expression in Eukaryotic organisms is happening not only in transcriptional level, but also at post-transcriptional, translation and post-translation level (Latchman 2007). The figure on the right shows the steps of gene expression that can be regulated. In case where the regulation of gene expression happens in transcriptional level, then the levels of cytoplasmic mRNA and nuclear RNA should be paralleled. On the other hand, in case a gene is being transcribed in the same manner in all tissues, there will be a difference in the majority of tissues between the cytoplasm mRNA and RNA, due to post-transcriptional mechanisms. As a result, in order to distinguish post-transcriptional and transcriptional regulation the first approach is to see if there are changes between the RNA levels in the tissues (Latchman 2007). Initiation of transcription In many cases where there is an increased level of transcription, this results from a high level of transcriptional initiation mediated by RNA polymerase responsible for initiating the process. This means that in a tissue that occurs an active transcription process, the RNA polymerases will be moving beside the gene continuously, and thus increasing the rate of transcript production. In contrast, in tissues where a gene is transcribed at low levels, the initiation of transcription will not be so apparent and the level of transcripts will be significantly low (Latchman 2007). Elongation Except of the initiation of transcription which seems to occur in the majority of the cases, there has been demonstrated that the regulation can also happen during at a post-initiation level by producing a shortened RNA than the full length one. In this case, the transcriptional control seems to happen by blocking the elongation of a newly formed transcript (Latchman 2007). DNA elements The expression of protein-coding genes is regulated also by specific DNA elements, which are located usually upstream of the initiation site of the gene. These DNA elements can influence positively or negatively the transcription of a gene. For example, DNA sequences such as insulators and silencers, suppress the genes transcription (Latchman 2007). Transcription Factors The transcription factors are also important modulatory elements of transcription. The binding of specific transcription factors on the DNA, can either activate or suppress gene transcription (Latchman 2007) . Although so far we discussed the transcriptional control of gene expression, which corresponds to the most abundant transcriptional control mechanism, there have been cases where even though the transcription rate of a gene doesnt change, changes in the synthesis of specific proteins have occurred. This control mechanism occurs between the translational and transcription control and includes splicing of the nascent mRNA, alternative splicing, and regulation of RNA stability. The splicing of the RNA is the process in which the protein coding regions are encoded by exons, after removing the intervening sequences which are named introns (Latchman 2007). The alternative splicing, includes the differentiated processing of RNAs in order to produce different RNA variants (Black 2000). The translational control of gene expression, corresponds to mRNA regulation and is also a very important regulatory stage. In the same manner as transcriptional control, translation can be affected either positively or negatively by altering the levels of specific translation factors, and most of the times it happens at the initiation of the translation process due to differences in the 5 untranslated region of the mRNA. During translation, the 5 un-translated region contains an AUG triplet of bases which is important to be located in a favorable context. This means, that if the ribosome is incapable of recognizing this triplet, then the initiation of translation is inhibited. For example, in a situation which is called leaky scanning, when AUG codons are located upstream, the ribosome has a difficulty to recognize them (Wickens et al. 2000). Furthermore, except of the recognition of the AUG codon, other coding regions seem to play an important regulatory role. For example, some frequencies which are located in the open reading frame of the mRNA (ORF) seem to cause a frameshift at a specific triplet both in viral and mammalian mRNAs (Wickens et al. 2000). Finally, another regulatory element of gene expression includes the post-translational control. This category composes of all the mechanisms that act after translation by modifying the protein levels. Such a mechanism is ubiquitination, which will have as a result the degradation of the ubiquitinated protein in the proteasome (Wang et al. 2013). In conclusion the transcription and translation are highly regulated processes and this take place due to the complexity of Eukaryotic cells, since strict regulation usually corresponds to high complexity. 2) Discuss the role of microtubules and their motor proteins in the motion of cilia and flagella. Microtubules are important elements for various cell movements, such as the chromosomal separation during mitosis and the motion of flagella and cilia. This movement, which happens along microtubules, is highly dependent on proteins that use energy from ATP hydrolysis in order to produce force and movement. These proteins are members of the kinesin and dynein families (Alberts et al. 2002). Cilia and flagella are plasma membrane projections dependent on microtubule formation, and are important for the movement in various eukaryotic organisms. In bacteria, the flagella structures are different from the eukaryotic flagella (Alberts et al. 2002). The movement of these structures has been extensively studied by using animal models, especially sea urchin models which appears to be a very powerful system for flagellar motility. Furthermore, the first scientists to observe this sliding mechanisms driven by dynein across the microtubules, were Summers and Gibbons by using dark-field microscopy (Hirose Amos 2012). In eukaryotic organisms the flagella and cilia are highly similar structures. Firstly, flagella are mostly found in sperm and many hair-like cellular projections with a core composed of microtubules (Cooper 2000). With their rolling motion they permit the cells to swim through liquid media. The cilia, are usually shorter than flagella but their organization tends to be similar. Their beating motion is like the breast stroke of the swimmers, and the cycles of adjacent cilia are quite asynchronous, thus producing the characteristic effect that can be observed through microscope (Alberts et al. 2002). The movement of both each flagellum and cilium is produced by the bending of each ones core, which is specifically termed as axoneme. The axoneme is a structure that is composed of microtubules in conjunction with their associated proteins in a regular and specific pattern. This pattern is composed by nine doublet microtubules which are fused together to surround a pair of microtubules. Th is formation is also known as the 9+2 pattern and is represented in the following picture (Cooper 2000). This type of arrangement is commonly seen in the majority of eukaryotic flagella and cilia forms. The length of these microtubules extends along with the length of the axoneme which can reach the 200 ÃŽÂ ¼m. At specific positions along the distance of microtubules, are located accessory proteins, providing with this a way a cross-bridging between the doublet microtubules. These molecules are dynein proteins, and are located around the perimeter of the axoneme (Cooper 2000). Dynein is a very large molecule (2000 kd), consisting of three heavy chains in conjunction with a variable number of intermediate and light polypeptides that have a weight ranging from 14 to 120 kd (Cooper 2000). The heavy chains are forming a globular domain which binds ATP and is responsible for moving along microtubules. The intermediate chains are responsible for the assembly of the dyneins. The light chains form two distinct groups, in accordance with the molecules that are related with. For example the first group is associated with the heavy chains, while the second group with the intermediate chains. In the cilia and flagella, there is also another specific dynein group, the intraflagellar transport (IFT) dynein, which is important for the association and disassociation of these organelles, and also have transport properties of either membrane proteins or even the IFT themselves (Hirose Amos 2012). The ciliary dyneins, are composed of a different set of arms, the outer dynein arms and a more complex set of inner dynein arms. Each one of this structures plays a different role in the ciliary movement. The outer dynein arms are responsible for the production of the majority of the force required for the ciliary movement, while the inner dyneins, are mostly providing a precise control of this movement (Hirose Amos 2012). Another important feature of the cilia and flagella, is that the minus ends of each microtubule are anchored in a structure which is named basal body. This is highly similar to the centriole, and is necessary for the arrangement of the axoneme microtubules. Each one of the doublets located in the outer part of the flagella or cilia, is formed by the extension of two of the microtubules of the basals body triplets (Cooper 2000). The movement of cilia and flagella is caused by the relative sliding of outer microtubules, driven by the activity of axonemal dynein, and the mechanism is represented in figure 3. The dynein bases attach with the A microtubules while the head of each dynein attaches with the B microtubule. With the green color is represented the nexin link, which binds the microtubules in the axoneme. When the one doublet of microtubules, bends along with the other one, the resulting movement is bending, which is the source of the beating movements of cilia and flagella (Alberts et al. 2002). Scientific evidence suggests that upon ATP hydrolysis the dyneins change their conformational state (Hirose Amos 2012). 3) Describe the most important classes of molecules that participate in common signal transduction pathways In signal transduction pathways, extracellular signals such as hormones or other molecules are registered by membrane receptors and the signal is being transferred inside the cell by a set of reactions. This signal transduction can be mediated by two distinct mechanisms. The first one includes the use of receptors, and other proteins including enzymes. The second one contains a set of molecules which are known as second messengers, that regulate the intracellular signaling (Boon 2009) . The intracellular second messengers, are signal molecules that reach their target by diffusion. They can be divided into two different groups, those with a hydrophobic character (diacyl glycerol or phosphatidyl inositol) and the hydrophilic ones. The hydrophobic messenger are located on the membrane and they can reach the proteins located on the membrane by diffusing through the plasma membrane of the cell. The hydrophilic messengers are located in the cytoplasm and their targets are located in the cytosol as well (Boon 2009). The most important second messengers include the cAMP, cGMP, inositol phosphates, calcium ions, diacylgrlycerol and phosphatidyl inositol phosphates. 3-5 cyclic AMP (cAMP) Is among the most important second messengers and regulates a variety of cellular functions, such as glycolysis, muscle contraction and ion transport. The intracellular concentration of cAMP is regulated by two factors, the adenylyl cyclase and the phopshodiestarases. The former is important for the cAMP synthesis while the latter for its degradation. The activation of adenylyl cyclase is dependent to G-protein coupled receptors and involves the participation of GÃŽÂ ± and GÃŽÂ ²ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ³ proteins. The degradation of cAMP mediated by cAMP phosphodiesterases, which are being regulated by Ca2+/calmodulin and also by phosphorylation (Boon 2009). In the majority of the cases, the target of the high cAMP concentration is the activation of protein kinases A (PKAs). Initially, in the absence of cAMP the PKA is organized as a tetramer, with two catalytic and two catalytic subunits, and the protein kinase is inactive. When cAMP concentration is increased by adenylyl cyclase, leads to the binding of two molecules to the regulatory subunit and the tetramer dissociation and activation of PKA (Boon 2009). cGMP In the same manner with cAMP, the 3-5-cGMP is extensively spread in the intracellular space. Like in the case of cAMP , the cGMP is formed by guanylyl cyclase from GTP. The cGMP can activate cGMP-dependent protein kinases, after binding to specific locations. In contrast to the PKA kinases, the activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinases is dependent to only one protein chain of these proteins. Specifically, the binding of the cGMP to the regulatory domain of the protein, activates it and permits phosphorylation of other substrates (Boon 2009). Inositol Phosphates The inositol containing phospholipids located in the plasma membrane, are the starting points for the production of many inositol messengers as a response to extracellular or even intracellular signals. The inositol phosphates are important players for the regulation of phospholipase C, which is a very important enzyme in the metabolism of phosphatide inositol. Another important function of these phosphates, is the recruitment of Ca2+ ions that are inside storage organelles, such as mitochondria. The calcium ions are among the most ubiquitous targets of second messengers, and regulate a vast array of actions (Boon 2009). Calcium ions The calcium ions can have a regulatory character in many ways, according to the time, frequency and amount of release rate. This feature, explains the complexity of Ca2+ signals. Still it is not understood how oscillatory calcium signals are regulating various processes. It has been suggested that CaM kinase II participates in the formation of repetitive calcium signals. The high intracellular concentration of calcium is temporary and usually a local phenomenon. The cell contains a variety of transport systems, which can transfer the calcium ions inside the storage locations. These transfer mechanisms are Ca2+ ATPases, which transfer calcium against the concentration gradient. Another mechanism, is the sodium-calcium exchange proteins which are mostly apparent in muscle cells (Boon 2009). Diacylglycerol and phospatidyl inositol phosphates The diacylglycerol is being produced by the metabolism of the membrane phosphatidyl inositol phosphate, after the effect of two distinct enzymes, the PLCÃŽÂ ³ and PLCÃŽÂ ². The diacylglycerol (DAG) is then responsible for activating the protein kinase C, which plays an important role in cell proliferation through phosphorylation of various substrate proteins (Boon 2009). Except of DAG, the metabolism of phosphatidyl inositol diphosphate, produces the inositol triphosphate, which increases intracellular calcium levels by binding to specific receptors (Boon 2009). Conclusively, signal transduction is a highly regulated mechanism, which permits the transmission of an extracellular signal inside the cell, and a subsequent cellular response. Among the most important molecules that are participating in this process, we distinguished some members of the family of the second messengers, such as calcium ions, diacyl glycerol and phosphatidyl inositol. 4) Describe the steps of neurotransmission. The process of neurotransmission can be divided into five distinct steps. The first includes the synthesis of the neurotransmitter, the second the storage of the neurotransmitter into transport vesicles, the third the influx of calcium and exocytosis of neurotransmitter, the fourth the binding of the neurotransmitter at the postsynaptic membrane and the fifth the deactivation of the neurotransmitter. The low weight neurotransmitters are synthesized in the cytoplasm of the cell, where enzymes act and convert them into mature neurotransmitters. These enzymes are produced in the neuronal cell body and are transferred to the presynaptic terminal via the slow axonal transfer system. When the new transmitters are synthesized in the cytoplasm, certain mechanisms need to follow for transporting them to the synaptic membrane. On the other hand, the neuropeptides which is the other category of known neurotransmitters, are produced in the neuronal cell body, and need to be transferred a long distance in order to reach the site of secretion. For this reason, they are transported from the soma of the neuron to the presynaptic terminal with the fast axonal transport (Hyman et al. 2009). The small-molecule neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine and amino acids, are stored into vesicles of 40-60 nm diameter. The primary characteristic of these vesicles, is that in electron micrographs they appear with a clear center area. The storage, requires specific proteins which are located in the membrane of the synaptic vesicles in the presynaptic neuron, the vesicle monoamine membrane transporters (VMAT). In contrast to the small-molecule neurotransmitters, the neuropeptides, are stored into synaptic vesicles with a larger size (90 to 250 nm). In electron micrographs, they seem to have a center relatively more dense than the synaptic vesicles of the small neurotransmitters (Purves et al. 2001). After the influx of calcium into the pre-synaptic cytoplasm, it begins the process of neurotransmitter release. The first step of this exocytosis, includes the docking of the synaptic vesicle membrane at the active zones plasma membrane. The second step is priming. This corresponds to an ATP dependent maturation of the synaptic vesicles that are being docked in the membrane of the active zone but cant be induced by Ca2+. The result of this maturation, is that the primed vesicles can immediately release their content after a Ca2+ influx. The third step of this process includes the fusion of the synaptic vesicle with the presynaptic membrane, which allows the exocytosis to happen. In this step, the function of the protein synaptotagmin is of high importance, since it senses the levels of Ca2+ and regulates with this way the fusion of the vesicles. The final step of this step includes the quantal release of the neurotransmitter with a mechanism of exocytosis. The exocytosis is synchroni zed with the influx of Ca2+ and its induction is controlled by the depolarization of the nerve terminal. After the release of neurotransmitter at the synaptic cleft, the membrane of the vesicle will be recycled with a process of endocytosis (Hyman et al. 2009). After the exocytosis, the neurotransmitter starts to diffuse across the synaptic cleft and targets the post-synaptic neuron and its receptors which are localized on the membrane. The binding of the neurotransmitter to the postsynaptic membrane, will cause both biochemical and electrical alterations. Specifically, an excitatory signal will depolarize the membrane and thus a positive charge will pass inside the cell. This depolarization is caused by the opening of sodium channels located on the post-synaptic membrane, which permits the influx of sodium ions across the membrane. On the other hand, an inhibitory signal will hyperpolarize the cell, and thus a positive charge will flow with a direction outside of the cell. This hyperpolarization is induced by an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) which cause the influx of chloride ions, which make the membrane potential more negative and the propagation of the action potential significantly more difficult (Hyman et al. 2009). When a neurotransmitter finishes its function, the next step is to be removed from the synaptic cleft. When the local neurotransmitter concentration falls, the neurotransmitter unbounds from the post-synaptic receptor. After this, the neurotransmitter can be either degraded by specific enzymes, or reuptaken by high affinity receptors. The latter corresponds to the most common way of neurotransmitter removal, and includes the reincorporation of the neurotransmitter into the pre-synaptic terminal by endocytosis. This permits the neurotransmitter to be recycled inside the cell. The remaining percentage of neurotransmitters, follows the other path of removal which corresponds to the enzymatic degradation. A characteristic enzyme is acetylcholinesterase (AChE) which degrades the neutrotransmitter acetylcholine into acetate and choline. Another examples of such enzymes include catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) (Naik 2015). 5) Describe with examples the major mechanisms of action of the different types of neurotransmitter and hormone receptors. In 1907, the physiologist Langley, introduced the aspect of receptor molecules, in order to explain specific properties of molecules on muscle and nerve cells. The neurotransmitter receptors are proteins located in the post-synaptic plasma membrane and contain an extracellular site, specific for the binding of a neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitters, have two distinct families of receptors. The first one, the ligand-gated ion channels or ionotropic receptors, combine the properties of ion channels by having also a neurotransmitter binding domain on their outer part of the membrane. The other family of receptors, are the metabotropic receptors, because the movement of ions depends on certain metabolic steps. The important difference of these channels with the ionotropic channels, is that they dont have an ion channel in their structure, in contrast they have a domain which affects the channels through activation of G proteins, and these receptors G protein coupled receptors (Purves et al. 2001). G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane protein signaling molecules. The activation of these proteins can be achieved by various ligands, thus modulating the activity of a diverse set of signaling pathways (Kobilka 2007). Nowadays, it is estimated that the human organism contains approximately 800 unique GPCRs, and the 460 of them are assumed to be olfactory receptors (Fredriksson et al. 2003). Their main characteristic is that they contain seven transmembrane-spanning segments, which coordinate the position of the proteins N-terminus at the extracellular space and C-terminus at the intracellular space. Studies in neuromuscular synapse, have demonstrated in detail the neurotransmission mechanism. The binding of the acetylcholine to the postsynaptic receptors, leads to the opening of ion channels. Specifically, the binding of two Ach to a receptor, causes an influx of sodium for milliseconds. In real situations, when an action potential reaches a presynaptic neuron, millions of ACh molecules are secreted into the synaptic cleft. As a result, a high number of AChs will bind to numerous receptors, located on the postsynaptic membrane. The opening of these channels will cause the membrane to depolarize, and the opening of voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels (Purves et al. 2001). When the postsynaptic membrane potential becomes more negative even from the resting potential, the end plate current increases, and decreases when the membrane potential is more positive. At very positive potential, there is a reverse polarity which cause the current to convert form an inward to an outward one (Purves et al. 2001). The other category that we will discuss, the hormones, are produced most of the times by specific cells, and initiate a reaction in certain cell types. Only the cells that have hormone receptors, can be used as hormone target cells. These receptors, recognize certain hormones according to their chemical structure. The classes of these receptors are two, the membrane bound receptors, which are transmembrane proteins and the second category the intracellularly localized receptors which are intracellular receptors (Boon 2009). The membrane bound receptors have an extracellular domain which is linked with an intracellular one. The binding of a hormone are following the rules of noncovalent interactions. In general, signaling molecules for example adrenaline, binds to their receptors with a very high affinity, even higher than the one observed between an enzyme and a substrate. After the binding and the recognition of adrenaline by the receptor, this signal is converted into an intracellular signal, which targets the nuclear compartment. According to the type of the receptors which will bind, adrenaline can cause inhibition of insulin secretion, glycogenolysis and glycolysis (Boon 2009). Furthermore, the hormone insulin, uses for signal transduction a set of tyrosine kinases receptors. The receptors that have tyrosine kinase (TK) activity (RTKs), contain a specific domain for binding ligand molecules located on the extracellular side. Inside the lipid bilayer there is a single alpha-helical element, and inside the cytosol another part that harbors a TK domain. When the RTKs are not bound with the ligand molecule, most of them are in their monomeric state. The only exception of this paradigm is the insulin receptor and in general its family members. When extracellular stimulus is absent, in our case insulin, the kinase domain of the receptors remains in its inactive, auto inhibited state. In this phase, the receptors either have very low kinase activity, or they havent at all. After the binding of insulin on the receptor, the consequent transformational changes that lead to the activation of the TK domain. The activation process of TK includes a trans-autosphorylation of tyrosine residues at segments inside and outside of the TK domain. Then, the phosphorylated P-Tyr which is formed at the site of receptor, becomes a docking region for proteins that harbor phosphorylated tyrosine specific domains. Such proteins are SH2, phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) and C2 .This signaling eventually leads to an increase of the number of glucose transporter 4 in the outer membrane of specific cells, and thus the increased reuptake of glucose from the blood (Boon 2009). Bibliography Alberts, B. et al., 2002. Molecular Biology of the Cell,   Ã‚   Black, D.L., 2000. Protein Diversity from Alternative Splicing: A Challenge for Bioinformatics and Post-Genome Biology. Cell, 103(3), pp.367-370. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867400001288. Boon, E.M., 2009. Biochemistry of Signal Transduction and Regulation, Available at: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/603489. Cooper, G., 2000. The Cell: A Molecular Approach 2nd editio., Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9833/. Fredriksson, R. et al., 2003. The G-protein-coupled receptors in the human genome form five main families. Phylogenetic analysis, paralogon groups, and fingerprints. Molecular pharmacology, 63(6), pp.1256-72. Hirose, K. Amos, L.A., 2012. Handbook of Dynein. In Handbook of Dynein. pp. 12-16. Hyman, S. et al., 2009. Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience, Second Edition. In Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience (2nd ed.). pp. 265-266. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Neuropharmacology-Foundation-Clinical-Neuroscience/dp/0071481273. Kobilka, B.K., 2007. G protein coupled receptor structure and activation. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1768(4), pp.794-807. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17188232%5Cnhttp://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC1876727. Latchman, D., 2007. Gene Regulation, Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=4x3ZzLNyfDsCpgis=1. Naik, P., 2015. Biochemistry, JP Medical Ltd. Purves, D. et al., 2001. Neuroscience. 2nd edition. Sinauer Associates. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11166/. Wang, X., Pattison, J.S. Su, H., 2013. Posttranslational modification and quality control. Circulation Research, 112(2), pp.367-381. Wickens, M. et al., 2000. Translational control of gene expression. , 37(6), p.295.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Global Warming is Here. Now What? Essay -- Climate Change, Synthesis E

Global warming denial and unprogressive energy outlooks are all products of not seeing the full picture. The evidence is clear, even in nature. Plants are blooming earlier, animals are waking up from hibernation earlier, birds are migrating farther north, and populations of animals have already gone extinct due to global warming. Yet, some still stay stern in denying its reality. That being said, even honest open-minded people can fall prey to misleading notions and statistics. To truly uncover the truth, we need to see the full picture. While researching climate change, with the mountains of false or cherry-picked data out there, you certainly learn to be skeptical of a source's creditability. You also, learn the importance of getting the full picture, rather than just a partial one. Heres a few examples, of what I'm talking about. A while back many were convinced that because CO2 follows global surface temperature increase by about 800-1000 years, that CO2 as a cause of global warming was disproved. Which made sense; how can a cause follow a result? It seemed to go against the basic order of cause and effect. Al Gore even strengthened the argument, by mistakenly telling the audience in his video An Inconvenient Truth, that CO2 lead temperature. So when that statement turned out to be false, many people came to the conclusion that climatologists were wrong about CO2, and if they were wrong about a major cause than maybe they were wrong about global warming all together. However, unknown to most of those people at the time, climatologists were already very aware of CO2's lag behind temperature. The complexity of the process was already known. It isn't a straight forward cause and effect ordeal. The initiator is... ...ance of the greenhouse effect. Information I will use to explain the greenhouse effect. "FORD PLANNING NEW ELECTRIC, HYBRID AND PLUG-IN VEHICLES IN NEXT 4 YEARS." Ford Motor Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. Information on the Ford Focus electric car. I could use the Ford Focus electric car as an example. Paddock, Barry. "Nissan Leaf vs. the Chevrolet Volt: Electric car war heats up New York International Auto Show." NY Daily News. N.p., 1 Apr. 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. Information on both the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt electric cars. Both cars can be used as example, and to show the difference in models. Edwards, Ross. "Electric Car Battery Swapping Station Launched in Japan." PriceWheels.com. N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. Contains information on the Electric car replacement stations. Vital in explaining why electric cars are the future.

The History of Jewish Persecution Essay -- Essays Papers

The History of Jewish Persecution Every religious group has suffered a time when their religion was not considered to be popular or right. Out of all of these religious groups that have suffered, no one group has suffered so much as that of the Jewish religion. They have been exiled from almost every country that they have ever inhabited, beginning with Israel, and leading all the was up to Germany, France, Spain, England, and Russia. Not only have they been exiled but also they have suffered through torture, punishment, and murder. Thus, because of the history of the religion, the Jewish people have become a very resilient people. They have survived thousands of years carrying their religion with them from one country to the next and never loosing their faith. They have traveled form Eastern Europe, to the United States and have finally managed today to settle comfortable all over North America. The Jewish religion has suffered tremendously throughout the centuries, and unfortunately it did not become a ny easier for them during the twentieth century. The Jewish people's problems began long before the Common Era; they were persecuted long ago by King Nebuchadnezzer. Because of the treaty that was signed with King Nebuchadnezzer the Jews were uprooted from their home in Jerusalem and were forced into exile in the city of Babylon. The Jews were not treated poorly, though they were bitter because of being taken away form their beloved Jerusalem. Due to this bitterness they became more intensely Jewish than ever before. (1) After seventy years of exile the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Most of them gave up this option and elected to stay in Babylon. Those who stay in Babylon became ... ...s problems in the past. Many religions would have fallen and ceased to exist under this kind of persecution. To the Jewish believer this is perhaps because they are the ‘chosen people.’ This religion continues to prove its strength and resilience even today and will continue to do so. Works Cited 1) Fast, Howard. The Jews. The Dial Press, Inc., New York:1968. 2) Goldberg, David J. The Jewish People, A History and Their Religion. Viking, New York: 87. 3) Kantor, Mattis. The Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia. Jason Aronson Inc., New Jersey: 1992. 4) Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization A Brief History (third edition). Houghton Mifflin Company, New York: 1997. 5) Perry, Marvin. Peden, Joseph R. Von Laue, Theodore H. Sources of the Western Tradition third edition). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: 1995.