Family is losing its functions Essay

Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the view that, in today’s society the family is losing its functions. As stated in Item 2B, the family fulfils a number of important functions for individuals and for society, such as the socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. However, some sociologists suggest that, in today’s society, the family is losing its importance as these functions are being taken over by other institutions; for example, nurseries have an increasingly important role in the socialisation of young children whose parents are working full-time. Functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system; they believe that the nuclear family is a key institution as it meets basic needs. Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members. Firstly, they offer economic support to provide the children with all the fundamental necessities they requir e in life e.g. food, shelter and water. They too give a stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner, making their partner feel more safe and secure, as well as reducing the chances of getting STDs. Another purpose is reproduction of the next generation, without which society could not continue. Further to this, it also provides the child with 2 role models and so, they will feel more safeguarded of having both parents. Lastly, it socialises the young into society’s shared norms and values- without this, society would suffer from negative impacts e.g. feral children. A criticism to Murdock’s study is that it is out-dated, many sociologists argue that society has now changed and these functions can be performed equally well by other institutions, or by non-nuclear family structures. Marxists and Feminists reject his ‘rose-tinted’ consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all the members of the family. They argue that functionalists don’t review exploitation and conflict within society. Marxists argue that the family maintains class inequality and capitalism and so, the functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system. They do not see the nuclear family in the same way as functionalists and believe that they ignore the ‘dark side’

Marc Jacobs Brand Analysis Essay

There has been much debate within the fashion industry about what kind of branding strategy to pursue. With the increasing democratization of fashion ushered in by globalization fashion designers have been able to create and/or transform their labels to have a strong and strategic world-wide presence. The two main schools of thought within branding strategies are globalization and adaptation. Thus a fashion company must traverse the terrain and select which strategy suits the company’s policies, aims and mission. Theodore Levitt launched the globalization debate in 1983 with his seminal essay in the Harvard Business Review ‘The Globalization of Markets† arguing that communication, transportation and travel created a new commercial reality where corporations did not cater to local differences in taste. He believed that the world, its various cultures and borders, were uniting, which resulted in the dissolution of multinational corporations, and the rise and domination of global corporations (Levitt, 1983). There have been many supporters toward this faction of thinking which include Elinder (1965), Fatt (1967), Buzzell (1968) and Dunne (1976) whom feel, as with Levitt that the globalization of markets has come about because of advances in transportation, and most importantly technology. This strategy believes that one marketing campaign can be used and translated to its customers world-wide, and is adequate for their purposes. Standardization also assumes that their target customer is completely homogenous and should be pursued in the same manner. The adaptation strategy and its supporters on the other hand, believe that the market and its customers are heterogeneous. The followers of adaption namely Anholt (2000), Kanso and Nelson (2002) and Kotler (1986), argue that marketers and branding professionals need to consider difference in economics, cultures, competition, technology, sociology, physicality, politics, infrastructure; as well as the level of customer similarity (Vrontis, 2003). This strategy is clearly opposite to that of standardization. What the managers of companies need to decide early on is, which strategy they will adopt acknowledging that both factions has positive and negative points. Another approach that is widely exploited is that of a  hybrid, adopting certain aspects of each strategy to obtain the greatest advantage whilst negating the negatives. This strategy is promoted by many since the late nineteen eighties namely Vrontis and Vronti, (2004), Kotler et al., (1996), as well as Douglas and Wind (198 7), With an abundance of strategies to choose from and the swift pace of the global fashion industry, which is becoming more competitive every day, it is of utmost importance to have a clear message and brand identity to launch to the fashion world. Using Marc Jacobs as a case study, this paper will investigate his labels approach to marketing and branding within the United Kingdom and the United States to demonstrate how Marc Jacobs uses standardization. This approach is illuminated through his product ranges, advertising, shop decoration, and marketing, which have been inherent since the beginning of the branding process. To keep up in today’s ever changing industry, fashion labels like Marc Jacobs, need to be highly differiented, customer-oriented, constantly innovative and create effective powerful brands (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). Marc Jacobs has executed what Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) set out with sheer precision. Since graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1984, where Marc Jacobs won two Golden Thimble Awards, he has had a loyal following both with the media and customers alike who have backed him through his many ventures. His clothes have been described as uptown, downtown – and all around, chic eccentricity, edgy and chic, friendly downtown cool as well as breezy and discreet luxury (Foley, 2004 and Cohen, 2001). Jacobs has an innate perception of how women and men want to dress each season; a sense of the past and how the passage of time changes the definition of beauty and glamour (Shaw, 1993). Having his finger on the zeitgeist each season, year after year, has made his name synonymous with retro-chic cool urbanites and celebrities. On the one hand, Marc Jacobs, the person, his personality, are what his customers are buying into and what is being marketed. On the other, it is his association as head designer for ready-to-wear at Louis Vuitton and how he has transformed that company. This position propelled him to global fashion stardom making him a household name. His characteristics of charming, spirited, cool, arty, high, low and edgy all describe his designs  (Aaker, 1996) and his customers are buying into this personality and identity mix. This blend extends to the way Marc Jacobs dresses himself, and as an extension his clientele. â€Å"I buy very expensive clothes and very inexpensive clothes. People do not dress in designer clothes from head to toe. They may wear a $40 shirt with $600 shoes. That’s the way we’ve always shown the collection (Shaw, 1993).† This is how their younger, arty and celebrity customer dresses. They wear clothes that can traverse the polished sophistication of uptown and the edgy, hip, distressed chic of downtown. â€Å"Brand personality can help by enriching†¦ perceptions of and attributes toward the brand, contributing to a differentiating brand identity, guiding the communication effort and creating brand equity (Aaker, 1996, p.150)†. The brand personality, and its personality traits, are also created by various marketing variables such as user imagery, advertising style, packaging and logo, price, and product-related attributes (Levy 1959, Plummer 1985, Batra, Lehmann, and Singh 1993). All of which are extremely important to the Marc Jacobs branded image and lifestyle that is standardized in both the UK and USA. Though Marc Jacobs brand identity and marketing is driven by his own personality and has been a chosen strategy, there are negative’s to this approach. In this case, the personality is living and has their own life, which changes and acquires a dimension and symbolism, which may not always correspond with the brand’s strategic interests (Kapferer, 1997). For instance, it is commonly known that Marc Jacobs has been battling drug addiction for many years and has had a recent bought in a rehabilitation facility. This episode does not seem to have affected the brand’s image and personality, though it is a caution for adopting this strategy; especially with a personality that is in the public eye and imagination. Jacobs’s success has earned him five designer of the year awards in women’s wear, men’s wear and accessory design by the Council of Fashion Designers of America throughout the last fifteen years. These prestigious awards have assisted in leveraging his brand, which is worth 5 billion dollars according to Fortune magazine (Borden, 2007) and enabled Jacobs to expand the company. What has also assisted Jacobs and his business partner  Robert Duffy’s vision to build the brand architecture, is the stake that Moà «t-Hennessy-Louis-Vuitton (LVMH) owns, which is 96% of Marc Jacobs International L.P. but only 33% of trademarks, meaning that LVMH has power over the money, but Jacobs has creative control.[1] With the backing of LVMH using brand architecture as an organizing structure of the brand portfolio, which gives specific roles and relationships to various products has become a reality (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). The Marc Jacobs brand portfolio has gro wn immensely since he first started the company with Duffy in 1993. That year saw the launch of his women’s collection and in 1995 the first full men’s collection was introduced. Expanding into the men’s market assisted in leveraging the brand assets, creating a synergy by generating brand exposures and more associations in different contexts (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000 and Kapferer, 1997). These two Marc Jacobs collection lines are the strategic brand as they represent the majority of sales and have become the driver role for other extensions and ranges within the portfolio (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000 and Kapferer, 1997). The women’s and men’s collection have thus expanded to include footwear, bags, eyewear and fragrance creating new line extensions in other product classes which is the ultimate way to leverage the brand (Aaker, 1996). The collection line extensions or sub-brands expands the user base, provides variety for the customer that would like to buy into a total image or lifestyle, energizes the br and as well as manages innovation within the brand (Aaker, 1996). Jacobs’s accessories and his fragrances for both men and women have become his cash cows. The cash cow has a significant customer base and its role is to generate margin resources that can then be invested back into other brands and extensions (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). Utilizing this strategic approach assists customers who cannot afford the collection but can buy into the brand, starting with a perfume or a handbag in hopes of one day being able to purchase a variety of clothes and other product offerings. Cash cow roles help to build up the brand portfolio as well as create customer loyalty. With the success of his main collection line, Marc Jacobs launched Marc by Marc Jacobs (in 2001), a diffusion or secondary line/brand that made Jacobs more accessible to the very important middle retail market (Moore,  Fernie, and Bert, 2000). The movement into diffusion lines is completely linked to the drive of greater profits, which is linked to public demand. The trouble a brand faces in moving down vertically is risking the brand’s reputation, customer base, quality and credibility especially when coming from a luxury brand (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000, Kapferer, 1997 and Aaker, 1996). Luckily, Jacobs has avoided this successfully without cannibalizing his high-end brand. One explanation of this is that Jacobs’s designs lend themselves to being made in both expensive and moderate priced materials and do not lose their cool. For example, Marc Jacobs produces a thermal jumper in cashmere that sells for 300 pounds and the same design in less luxurious wool sells for 80 pounds in the Marc by Marc Jacobs range (Borden, 2007). Robert Duffy states â€Å"There is a huge difference in feel and quality, but there is a customer base for both (Borden, 2007, p. 3)†. In this case the diffusion line actually enhances the brand’s presence in this very different context not just from increased visibility but also the positive associations generated (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). The response to this line was so encouraging a men’s Marc by Marc Jacobs line was added along with shoes, bags, eyewear, accessories as well as timepieces for both men and women. In effect the diffusion line and its extensions have been playing the role of the silver bullet brand by positively influencing the image of the strategic brand (Marc Jacobs) (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). Strategically though the ready-to-wear collection provides the much needed PR but the diffusion lines and their extensions and the collection extensions horizontally drives and creates the revenue (Moore, Fernie and Burt, 2000). The linchpin brand of the Marc Jacobs portfolio and architecture is the accessories line which is housed in its own free-standing store in New York, as well as a multi-branded store in London. This line of accessories is priced even lower than the accessories offered in the Marc by Marc Jacobs lines and is cultivating new customers by the hundreds of thousands. Marc Jacobs staffers like to call this store and line the â€Å"junk store† but the results are anything but. The accessories line and store sells anything from $90 leather bags, to $20 T-shirts to $5 heart shaped make-up compacts as well as flip-flops, gloves, hats, scarves and wellington rain boots. The low  cost of the merchandise is the allure and initiates an even younger customer than the diffusion line into the cult of the brand. The idea of this line is to increase brand recognition and ultimately overall revenue. (Jana, 2006). This line is 70% of units sold in Marc Jacobs stores, which totals around $20 million (Borden, 2007). The accessories line and shop in New York City generates $25,000 per square foot, which exceeds the $4,032, which is earned by the average Apple store the highest in a study by Bernstein Research (Borden, 2007). Gail Zuader a manager of boutique investment bank Elixir Advisors states â€Å"Marc Jacobs has achieved that rare feat of creating a secondary line that doesn’t dilute the value of the high-end with a focus on tongue-in cheek design that allows people to mix it up (Borden, 2007, p. 3)†. This directly relates to Jacob’s comments back in 1993 about his customer wearing expensive and inexpensive clothes, this can now be done with his whole brand architecture. A Jacobs follower can wear a collection dress from the high-end ready-to-wear line and mix it up with shoes and sunglass from the Marc by Marc Jacobs diffusion line. Then accessorize with cheap accessor y handbag and a few bracelets. Again, the Marc Jacobs brand has been extended horizontally with the introduction of the luxury home wares sub-brand in 2003, which includes crystal (produced in Eastern Europe from some of the best known manufacturers), sterling silver, cashmere pillows and other luxuries. This extension is also a silver bullet brand as it both positively influences the strategic brand, and maintains the luxurious cool edge that the label stands for. Marc Jacobs brand architecture has been fuelled by the ever increasing money spent on luxury products throughout the world. According to Verdict research company the luxury retail sector is worth 263 billion dollars for October 2007 and is rapidly accelerating by 71% (Verdict and Thind, 2007). The factors that have contributed to this increase include higher net disposable income among middle to top earners, increased leisure time, as well as economic recovery within several major countries including the United States and the UK (Moore, Fernie, and Bert , 2000). A luxury company would be foolish not to expand in as many areas as possible without overextending its offerings to tap into the money being increasingly spent in this sector. Marc Jacobs success can be contributed to standardized  marketing, brand identity, image as well as product offerings between the US and the UK. The image and the identity of the brand are two different items and are not to be confused. The image deals with perceived notions from the customer’s side whilst the brand identity is the picture the organization wants to send out to the public at large and its customers (Kapferer, 1997). The identity is sent out through the Marc Jacobs logo, advertising, store design and products. The logo is the words Marc Jacobs in a black font that is classic yet retro, not too thin or too thick, a medium thickness that is bold behind the white page. (Fig. 1) This typeface is standardized on all product offerings, line extensions, sub-brands and advertising. The black and white palette is kept throughout. The words may change as well as the offerings but the typeface is always the same. In this sense the font has become an icon of the label like Jacobs himself. To compete in a global market, a global advertising and marketing strategy and product development strategy are integral to the luxury fashion brand. The average money spent on advertising is anywhere between 20-30 per cent of a company’s gross margin higher than it ever has been (Moore, Fernie, and Bert, 2000). â€Å"Every successful fashion brand is based upon an image; the way that you make that image is through your advertising. Fashion thrives on advertising. Advertising is what creates the identity and attraction (Moore, Fernie, and Bert, 2000, p. 932).† The Marc Jacobs advertising campaigns, which are all shot by world renowned photographer Juergen Teller since 1997, is integral to the brands standardized marketing campaign and has greatly contributed the Jacobs image of being arty, cool, hip and of the moment.[2] The images shot by Teller are normally of artists, directors, musicians, and actors in beautiful colours. Normally the product in the photograph is secondary to the poses, actions, background and expressions of the person(s) being photographed. The photograph is always in the middle of a stark white background the product name below it in the iconic Marc Jacobs font. The people that have been included in the advertising such as Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Samantha Morton, Kristen MacMenamy, Meg White of the White Strips and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth have also contributed to the brands identity and image. (See Fig, 2) Bernd Schmitt states: Customers want products, communications and marketing campaigns that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts, and stimulate their minds [as well as] things they can relate to and that they can incorporate into their lifestyles. They want these things to be able to deliver a desirable customer experience (Schmitt, 1999, p.22). Thus he aligns the brand with people who are thought to be â€Å"cool†, â€Å"hip† or â€Å"of the moment† and in turn this has positive associations for the customer base and the brands offerings. These advertisements are seen both in American and UK high fashion magazines. For instance Vogue’s UK December 2007 issue features an advertisement for the Daisy perfume, the same ad is also in the December issue of Vogue in the US as well as Harper’s Bazaar in the US. This standardized marketing strategy is clearly chosen so the image and identity is not diluted between the countries; especially since the ideal Marc Jacobs customer has the income and luxurious lifestyle to fly between the two, and are the main markets for the brand. Though LVMH does not break down sales by brand, instead giving turnover by operating division, Table 1 clearly shows that Europe and the US are the biggest market for the luxury group, Europe generating 35% of group sales whi lst America is the largest single market. Table 1. LVMH: Group sales, by region, 2005 Source: LVMH/Mintel Though there are Marc Jacobs stores in six cities in America and only one in the UK, London, the product offerings are standardized between the two. This is evident by visiting the stores in both countries and visiting the website where all the products are displayed, along with videos of the runway shows as well as news and gossip, all contributing to the marketing. By choosing to standardize the products amongst the two markets, stores, and on-line Jacobs adopts Levitt’s strategy, â€Å"at a relative low cost – as if the entire world were a single entity; it sells the same thing in the same way everywhere (Levitt, 1983, p.292).† Standardization for the brand increases its profits and visibility in both market sectors. The store’s interior  design and window displays are also uniform. Jacobs and Duffy have enlisted designer Stephen Jaklitsch to design the store’s interiors, completing twenty one stores to date. He designs â€Å"hip but comfortab le environments that mix high-end residential furnishings with sleek finishes and cheeky detailing (Kim, 2004, p. 126).† Jaklitsch’s design for the Marc Jacobs shops represents an evolution of the brand concept and is mostly standardized though each space has its own challenges. â€Å"We do adhere to consistent color and materials palettes. We always use black-stained floors and luxurious materials like marble for the collection stores. I work to create backdrops that are as edgy as the clothing, yet a little more timeless (Kim, 2004, p.127).† Having harmony amongst the retail shops’ designs and the products offered customers in both countries ensures the same aesthetic experience, retail experience and service that the luxury brand is known for. The display windows are another extension of this standardization. During the month of June this year, the shop windows had a Blondie display theme with a large pop orientated portrait of Debbie Harry, with co-coordinating Blondie T-shirts on the mannequins; both in America and the UK. These windows are displayed on the website under featured windows and it is evident that the windows are an important part of the global marketing strategy, as it is presented on the website. The windows are also eye catching and creative, enticing the walker-by on the street, into the store placing special importance on them. The windows for September 2007, featured the newly launched Daisy perfume. Here the art direction allows for some creative flourishes as the mannequins and other decorative displays are specialized for the windows in both countries, though the theme and many elements are uniform. The importance of the window displays shows how the design can be standardized across countries, but equally innovative and exciting for the customer. Using Marc Jacobs as a case study, it is evident that a globalized strategy for products and marketing is still alive and used by global luxury companies as Levitt predicted in 1983. The markets have greatly increased, and drastically changed since this seminal article was written and in our postmodern society many consumers want greater differientation and customization. It will be interesting to see if Marc Jacobs can continue to  survive with a uniform marketing strategy and product offering, or if the brand will have to adapt their strategy for a hybrid one. [1] According to Mintel’s Luxury Good Retail Global report for July of 2006, LVMH was the leading global luxury goods company with 11% of the market in 2005. Mintel also states that they control the strongest and most dynamic luxury brands including Marc Jacobs. [2] For more information on Juergen Teller and his work see Juergen Teller edited by Cornel Windline, Koln, London: Taschen, 1996.

Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X Essay

They were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful words. â€Å"I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed†¦ that all men are created equal. † (Martin Luther King) The other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race. â€Å"Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you’re not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we’ll have to change you. † (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed of a separate nation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. A Southerner, a black man, he gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to free all people from the bondage of separation and injustice, he wrung his eloquent statement of what America could be. (Ansboro, pg. 1) An American clergyman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was one of the principle leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest. King’s challenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s, helped convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. After his assassination in 1968, King became the symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) In 1964, Malcom X founded an organization called â€Å"The Muslim Mosque, Inc. In an interview conducted by A. B. Spellman on March 19, 1964, Malcom speaks of his goals for this organization. â€Å"The Muslim Mosque, Inc. will have as its religious base the religion of Islam, which will be designed to propagate the moral reformations necesary to up the level of the so-called Negro community by eliminating the vices and other evils that destroy the moral fiber of the community. But the political philosophy of the Muslim Mosque will be black nationalism, as well as the social and economic philosophies. We still believe in the Honorable Elijah Muhammand’s solution as complete separation. The 22 million so-called Negroes should be separated completely from America and should be permitted to go back home to our native African homeland. † (Breitmaned, pgs. 5-6) Perhaps the key to these two African-Americans leaders opposing goals lay within their very different pasts. Malcom X was born in Omaha as Malcom Little. Malcom’s faith, a Baptist minister was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist leader of the 1920’s. The family moved to Lansing, Michigan, and when Malcom was six years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Malcom’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by the welfare department. Malcom was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform school. After 8th grade, Malcom moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and eventually became involved in criminal activity. (Malcom X, pg. 1) In 1946, he was sentenced to prison for burglary. While in prison, Malcom became invested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammed, the leader of the black Muslims also called the Nation of Islam. Malcom spent his time in jail educating himself and learning more about the black Muslims, who advocated racial separation. When Malcom was released in 1952, he joined a black Muslim temple in Detroit and became the most prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam by the early 1960’s. It was then that he took the name of Malcom X. (â€Å"Malcom,† pg. 1) Martin Luther King was born in Alanta, Georgia, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, Sr. a Baptist minister, and Alberta Williams King. King attended local segregated public schools, where he excelled. He entered nearby Morehouse College at age 15 and graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. After graduating with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951, he went to Boston University where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology i n 1955. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) Throughout King’s education, he was exposed to influences that related Christian theology to the struggles of oppressed peoples. At Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston University, he studied the teachings on nonviolent Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. King also read and heard the sermons of white Protestant ministers who preached against American racism. He was married in 1953, and in 1954, he accepted his first pastorate at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a church of well-educated congretions that had recently by a minister who had protested against segregation. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) Where as King was full of love, peace, respect, and compassion for his fellow white brother, Malcom X was full of hate, anger, and vengeance. He was a dark presence, an angry, cynical, implacable man whose good will or forgiveness or even pity the white race could neither earn nor buy. â€Å"Coffee,† he once remarked in an interview, â€Å"is the only thing I like integrated. † He also pleasantly mentioned that whites were inherently enemies of the Negroes and that integration was impossible without great bloodletting. Nonviolence was as he put it, â€Å"a mealy-mouth, beg-in, wait-in, plead-in kind of action,† and it was only a device for disarming the blacks. He also believed that everything we had heard to the contrary from the Martin Luther Kings and the Roy Wilkinses and the Whiteny Youngs was a deadly dangerous pack of lies. â€Å"That’s etiquette,† he said. â€Å"Etiquette means to blend in with society. They are being polite. The average Negro doesn’t even let another Negro know what he thinks, he’s so mistrusting. I’m black first- my whole objectives are black, my allegiance is black, my whole objectives are black. By me being a Muslim, I’m not interested in American, because America has never been interested in me. † (Goldman, pg. 5) Black blood, claimed Malcom X, is stronger than white. â€Å"A person can have a teaspoon of black in him, and that makes him black. Black can’t come from white, but white can come from black. That means black was first. If black is first, black is supreme and white is dependent on black. † He meant to haunt whites, to play on their fears and quicken their guilt and deflate their dreams that everything was getting better- and he did. â€Å"America’s problem is us. † Malcom X told whites that if they argued that the sins of the past ought not to visited on them, he would reply: â€Å"Your father isn’t here to pay his debts. My father isn’t here to collect, but I’m here to collect, and you’re here to pay. † (Goldman, pgs. 6-9) Martin Luther King is known for his key role as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the oganixation that directed the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery’s black community had long standing grievances about the mistreatment of blacks on the city’s buses. Many white bus drivers treated blacks rudely, often cursing them and humiliating them by enforcing the city’s segregation laws, which forced black riders to sit in the back of busses and give up their seats to white passengers on crowded busses. By the 1950’s, Montgomery’s blacks discussed boycotting the busses in an effort to gain better treatment- but not necessarily to end segregation. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a leading member of the local branch of the NAACP, was ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger. When she refused, she was arrested and taken to jail. Local leaders of the NAACP, especially Edgar D. Nixon, recognized recently arrived King’s public speaking gifts as great assets in the battle for black civil rights in Montgomery. King was soon chosen as president of the MIA, the organization that directed the bus boycott.

History of canadian labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of canadian labour - Essay Example The first article, â€Å"The honest Workingman and Worker’s Control: The Experience of Toronto Skilled Workers’, 1860-1892†, by Gregory S. Kealey, is an attempt to identify the trends of trade unions during the nineteenth century. The author discusses â€Å"Coopers International Union, Ontario No. 3, which played an important role in the Nine Hour Movement and the establishment of the Toronto Trades Assembly; the extensively studied International Typographical Union No. 91; and the Iron Mot-ders International Union No. 28, employed in Torontos heavily capitalized stove, machinery, and agricultural implements industry† (Kealey). What the author tries to suggest is that the working class was an organized association of trade unions, which had a disciplined way of working, and earnings were fairly decided. The second article, â€Å"Joe Beef of Montreal: Working-Class culture and the Tavern, 1869-1889†, by Peter DeLottinville, is a different account of working class in Montreal. The author chooses to represent the working class through a dominant tavern owned by Charles McKiernan, popularly known as ‘Joe Beef’. The book presents a rather different account of the hardships of working class, which were not mentioned in the previous article. Since the article mentions a period that is almost the same as the earlier article, no mention of trade unions is a surprise. Rather the working class is a beer-drinking, rowdy class that finds the middle class suspicious and though there is mention of organized strikes, but the centre of the subject is Joe Beef’s Canteen, which provided the sole entertainment enjoyed by the working class. The author has more to say about Joe Beef than the working class. However, at the same time he has introduced the conditions of working c lass through a tavern and a man, who the working class people hailed him as their â€Å"champion† (DeLottinville). The third article,

ECE440 Week4Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ECE440 Week4Discussion - Essay Example Working with children requires an understanding of the best methods of attaining their attention. The idea is to get the most essential attributes that will precisely provide children with a higher chance of remembering what they are taught. Essentially, the demands of these children are pegged on the ability to reach out to the structures intended to remind them of what they read, and have a view of what they are learning (Shores, & Grace, 2005). This is a great way of ensuring the students do understand what they learn, and capitalize on their ability to memorize the pictures. It also reduces the processing demands of semantic information, reducing the complexity of the information attained. It also improves the children’s ability to learn strategically, with an emphasis placed on their communication skills, reading and writing capabilities, as well as analytical creative and critical thinking skills (Atkins-Burnett, & Meisels, 2005). The constructions of such patterns in th eir minds provide a greater understanding of the thinking constructs that define the results

The Importance of Research in Assessing Educational System Essay

The Importance of Research in Assessing Educational System - Essay Example Through this process, the mandate on the capability of the administrators to create the most possible ways available to recreate an existing system of teaching for the sake of better learning procedures offered to the stakeholders of the situation, the students. Besides, the research proceedings designed to make the systems better are noted to make great impact on the ways by which teachers apply the efficacy in the profession that they have taken responsibility of. Education has and will always be an important aspect in the society. This idea is mainly true because of the fact that it ensures an individual sense of responsibility and it promotes independence by equipping individuals in the society valuable knowledge and skills for them to survive and become existent to their purpose. In general perspective, education significantly promotes the development and further advancement of the society as a whole by enabling the young people to become knowledgeable individuals capable of enhancing the current lifestyle and culture of the society. Thus, in like manner, the act and concept of teaching is indeed significant since it is one and the major link between education and the society. Teaching in either private or public educational institutions is always perceived to be a great and respectable profession however, challenges and problems also exist in this field. Personally, this author also recognizes the importance of the concept of teaching to the society because of its significant benefits it offers for the individuals seeking knowledge and education. Secular teaching in the established educational institutions is generally considered by this author as a profession that is well honored and valued by the people . However, many problems and issues are still needed to be address and developed to fully recognize the significance of this concept for the society. The constant change in the society then defines the importance of continuously developing the educational systems that are present in the society hence increasing the competence of teaching among the instructors of learning in support to the developments that the human community takes into serious consideration. Believably, the importance of choosing the right research design to assess the community from their willingness to approve the needed adjustments in teaching has a great impact on the manner of educating the society making each curriculum presentations rather comprehensively effective for the learners to grasp. Society has always been increasing and the population and likewise its number of students because of which, facilities in the educational institutions must also be expanded to accommodate the said increase. This author believes that every student has their own right to claim and have access to education thus they must be given a way for

Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Computing - Essay Example DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is based on copper wire or other transmission technology framework. Digital Subscriber Line technology uses electronic waves for the communication and data transfer. However the fiber optics technology is based on the cylindrical glass tube with stressed characteristic being the intensity of light in the tube. The technology of fiber optics is based the light waves those travel through the glass tube that works as the transmission medium for the communication and transmission (Schneider., 1995; Ray, 2004; Kurose & Ross, 2009). This report is aimed to assess and review some of the main areas and aspects of the communication as well as transmission technologies of the DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and Fiber Optics technology frameworks and platforms. This report is designed to explain the relative benefits and limitations of Fiber Optic infrastructure over DSL infrastructure. Therefore this research will pay attention on some of the main aspects and the relationship of these two technology frameworks, rather than only describing these transmission technology frameworks. Digital Subscriber Line and Fiber Optics technologies both are modern technologies designed for the provision of internet and various other network communication facilities. Both these technology frameworks are currently working competently at home, business, and diverse areas of organization. The prime aims and objectives of this report are to analyze these transmission technologies for the assessment of better technology. In this regard I will compare and evaluate features of each technology regarding its formation, functioning, performance, data communication, issues and technology deficiencies. Main aims and objectives of report are presented below: At the moment a lot of users or persons using the network and communication services have no

Logic Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logic Application - Essay Example Now, this belief goes against the teachings of Bible about stealing. The fact is that a culture is surrounded by a variety of beliefs and human actions that they perform in different situations. Sometimes, those actions earn people benefits even when they are wrong if compared with the God’s words. In such situations, those negative actions become common human behaviors, as well as part of the culture. The impact of following the culture blindly is not good for a society in the long-term. For example, if people adopt the habit of stealing each other’s assets, it will give rise to insecurity and mistrust everywhere in the society. People should understand that stealing is wrong because it makes the environment insecure. As Kurtus (2010) states, â€Å"There have been cases of a mob of angry people catching a purse-snatcher and beating him senseless†. People should understand that what a person earns is his/her personal asset and nobody has the right to steal that asset even if a person has an excess of an

Faulty forensic science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Faulty forensic science - Essay Example ts as to why there is a need for a centralized governing forensic science body to oversee the crime labs, and also look into the possibility that maybe, just maybe, forensic science is not always at fault when it comes to the acquittal or conviction of a criminal. Acknowledging the fact that the forensic field of criminal investigation is not fool-proof, the United States Department of Justice has decided that the time has come to establish a forensic commission that will set the standards and oversee the functions of crime labs nationwide. This commission is expected to set the standards that will be used to determine the forensic guilt of a criminally charged person. through the creation of a â€Å"a professional code for forensic scientists, set certification requirements and advise the Attorney General... In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will double-check existing forensic science standards and develop new ways of making forensic measurements.† (Diep, â€Å"New Commission to Set Standards for Troubled Forensic Sciences†). Currently, there are no uniform rules existing to guide the forensic labs in the discharge of their jobs. The commission is expected to standardize their function and offer a sense of uniformity in their investigation and experimentation procedures. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences reported that â€Å"much of the â€Å"science† used in crime labs lacks any form of peer review or validation – fundamental requirements for sound science. Such questionable forensic methods include long-established and accepted techniques such as fingerprint comparison, hair and fiber analysis, and bullet matching† (Clarke, â€Å"Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions†). The creation of this commission will then make the forensic labs answerable to the commission and prevent the failure of the justice system by sending an innocent person to prison or releasing a guilty person back into the general

TWELFTH NIGHT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TWELFTH NIGHT - Assignment Example Twelfth Night highlights numerous love triangles and the intricacies of emotions as the characters struggle to find and experience love. As a result, most of the characters are tightly tangled in love webs, which blind their eyes from experiencing the reality of their feelings towards others, resulting into falsified love emotions. In a number of cases, Shakespeare portrayed the characters to be in deceit about themselves or others around them, making the love emotions untrue. All the same, there existed strong love emotions that were true. In such cases, two characters were strongly bound to one another by strong emotions and feelings that gave real meaning to romantic love. One case of true love involved Viola’s love for Orsino. Viola was unknown in Illyria and in fact pretended to be a man fighting to win the Duke’s love. Moreover, in the fourth scene, Viola again illustrated her true feelings for Cesario. â€Å"†¦..Whoever I woo, myself would be his wife (1)â €  as Viola finally revealed her identity, the audience was invited to reflect on the good friendship that existed between Viola and Orsino and the romantic switch where Viola finally becomes Orsino’s wife. Importantly, Shakespeare utilized this scenario to illustrate the possibility of defying traditions and norms in the society to achieve one’s goals. Viola had indeed pretended to be a man and pursued Orsino with determination, a case of defying traditions as would have been expected. At the end, Viola attained her sweet end of the romantic love intrigues by becoming Orsino’s wife. Similarly, a different love scenario involving Viola illustrated a case of true love and romance, though the case was not successful. Though interesting to have a woman fall for another woman dressed as a man in the case of Olivia and Viola, Viola’s romantic tricks attracted Olivia,

Time and Form Essay Example for Free

Time and Form Essay Introduction While the English language has past and present tenses, it does not have a future tense because there is no particle for it. To say what will happen in the future, you can use the modal auxiliary will (plus the base form of the main verb), the verb phrase be going to (plus the base form of the main verb, the present simple or the present progressive, etc†¦ But, be careful! There are times when one is preferred over the others. We can accept that there are 7 main ways of this. Take a look at the following examples: The first five of these are commonly used in both speech and writing: 1. Emma is seeing Luke tomorrow – the present progressive, also known as the present continuous. 2. Emma is going to see Luke tomorrow – BE + going to, sometimes referred to as the â€Å"(BE) going to future†. 3. Emma sees Luke tomorrow – the present simple. 4. Emma will see Luke tomorrow this modal form is sometimes, unhelpfully, called the â€Å"future simple†. 5. Emma will be seeing Luke tomorrow – this modal progressive (or continuous) form is sometimes, unhelpfully, called the â€Å"future progressive/continuous†. The last two are used in more restricted contexts: 6. Emma is to see Luke tomorrow – BE + to + infinitive. 7. Emma to see Luke tomorrow – to- infinitive. There are also some so-called ‘future perfect’ constructions, which we will consider at the end of these notes: 8. Emma will have seen Luke †¦ 9. Emma will have been seeing Luke †¦ 10. Emma is going to have seen Luke †¦ Details: 1. The present progressive (also known as the present continuous – planned action) In English, we often use the present progressive (be + verb + ing) to talk about future events which have already been planned. Time words in the sentence, such as next week, next year, tomorrow, etc. , make it clear that the action is not happening at this moment. This form usually refers to a situation that began before the moment of speaking, continues at or around, and after, the present moment, and into the future, and is of limited duration: I am writing these notes on the future. (At this moment). Lindsay is driving to work this week. (She normally goes by bus). The present progressive can refer to a future situation that has been arranged before the present time. The arrangement continues through the present until the situation occurs: Emma is seeing Luke tomorrow, (They arranged this meeting yesterday) Note that only the context or co-text (in the last example the word tomorrow) can tell us which time-period a present progressive verb form refers to. Also note that it is simply not possible to make arrangements for some future situations. It is therefore not normally possible to say It is raining tomorrow. Watch out: Verbs that describe states rather than actions are not used in the progressive form. These include words like know, believe, hear, love, seem, own and need. Study the examples below. Im playing golf with some friends on Saturday. (correct) Im needing a ride to work tomorrow. (incorrect) In the first example, the speaker is talking about an action that has been planned. The use of the words on Saturday tell us that the action is not happening right now. The use of the verb need in the second example is incorrect. Need is used to show a state or condition rather than an action. Therefore, it is wrong to use it in the progressive form. The chart below shows more words that are not used in the progressive form. Verbs Not Used in the Progressive (a) Verbs describing feelings or attitude like, prefer, appear, seem, want, look, love, hate, appreciate, dislike, need (b) Verbs showing ownership possess, belong, own, have (c) Verbs associated with the senses smell, see, hear, taste (d) Verbs concerning mental activity forget, remember, understand, know, believe, mean, recognize, think Note: Some of these words can be used in the progressive form with changes in meaning. I have been meaning to write her. (The speaker was intending to write to her. ) Im sorry. Miss Jones is seeing a client at the moment. Would you mind waiting? (Miss Jones is with a client. ) You will be hearing from my attorney! (My attorney will be contacting you. ) 2. The modal structure: BE + going to Although you may hear or read that this form indicates ‘present intention’, this is not always true. It is hard to imagine any intention in this sentence: â€Å"Look at those black clouds; it is going to rain soon. † BE + going to refers to a future situation for which there is present evidence. In the previous example, the present evidence is the black clouds. In the following example, the present evidence may simply be the speaker’s knowledge that Emma and Luke have arranged the meeting: Emma is going to see Luke tomorrow. When the present evidence is an arrangement, then there is, practically speaking, no real difference in meaning between the present progressive and BE + going to. 3. The modal will + bare infinitive The modal auxiliary verb will has a number of possible meanings. Four of the more common are: a. certainty – John left an hour ago, so he will be home by now. (The speaker is certain that John is home) b.habitual characteristic: Andrea will sit at her desk for hours without saying a word. (This is what she often does. ) c. volition (willingness): I’ll carry your bag for you. (The speaker is offering to carry the bag. ) Fred will carry your bag for you. (The speaker is offering Fred’s services. ) d. instant decision: What will I do tomorrow? I know! I’ll go to the zoo. (The speaker decides to go to the zoo at the very moment of speaking – no plans had been made for this visit. ) Context tells us whether the certainty (a) is about the present, as in the example above, or the future: Prince Charles will become King when the present Queen dies. Habitual characteristic (b) is something that is shown regularly. It was observed in the past, can be observed in the present, and will presumably be observed in the future. It is not possible to know of a future habitual characteristic, so we do not use this form for purely future reference. Volition (c), denoting an offer, can refer only to a future situation. Will is normally contracted to ‘ll. Instant decisions (d) can be made only about a future situation and, usually, only reported by the person making the decision. We therefore usually encounter this meaning only with I or we as the subject. Will is normally contracted to ‘ll. The word tomorrow in the following sentence tells us that the seeing (meeting) is in the future: Emma will see Luke tomorrow. Only context can tell us whether the speaker is certain of the occurrence of the future meeting, or reporting that Emma is willing to see Luke. Note that other modals, which have different meanings, can also can also refer to future situations, for example: Peter might come over next week. (It is possible that this will happen) You must finish the report before you go home tonight. (You are obliged to finish the report.) ) You may read in some books that shall is used instead of will when the subject is I or we. Only a small minority of native speakers use shall other than in questions, and then only for certainty and instant decision, never for volition or habitual characteristic. Shall is used commonly in questions: e) making a suggestion: Shall we go to the pub this evening? f) asking if the person addressed wants the speaker to do something: Shall I arrange the publicity? BIG NOTES: Will or Be Going To? When English speakers predict what they think will happen or become true in the future, they can use either will or be going to. Look at the example sentences below. Wed better cancel the picnic. The weather person says we will have heavy rain on the weekend. Wed better cancel the picnic. The weather person says we are going to have heavy rain on the weekend. In both cases, the speakers are making predictions about the weather on the weekend. There is no difference in meaning between the first example and the second. However, there are a number of situations when it is better to use will than be going to, and vice versa. Expressing Future Events with Will We use will + the base form of the main verb in these situations. Use â€Å"Will† Example Explanation To talk about things that we think will happen (In such cases we often use words such as â€Å"I think† or â€Å"probably†. ) James will probably study history at university. I know James is interested in history. Therefore I guess or predict that he will study history in the future. For official or formal announcements concerning future events The graduation dinner will take place on June 3rd of this year. Any type of ceremony, including a graduation ceremony, is a formal or important event. Therefore, the use of will is appropriate here. For promises or offers related to the future (In such cases, we are expressing willingness. ) You forgot your wallet. Dont worry. Ill lend you some money. The phone is ringing. Dont get up. Ill answer it. In each case, the speaker is expressing a willingness to help the listener. For decisions concerning future events that are made while talking Person A: The car is very dirty. Person B: Youre right. Ill wash it after lunch. Before this conversation, Person B was not planning to wash the car after lunch. He decided to do so because of something Person A said. In other words, he made his decision to wash the car during the conversation. When making serious promises Dont worry. I wont forget to pay you back the money. Ill take care of your house while youre out of the country. Dont worry about a thing. Ill never forgive him! In each case, the speaker is expressing a promise to do something in the future. Shall Shall was used in the past for the affirmative will. Today however, the forms I will or we will are preferred. Nevertheless, shall is still used in questions about the future that make offers and suggestions or ask for advice. What shall we do if they dont come soon? (asking for advice. ) Its hot in here. Shall I open a window? (making an offer) Shall we try to finish the project today? (making a suggestion) Using Be Going To We use be going to + the base form of the main verb in these situations. Use â€Å"Be Going To† Example Explanation For prediction — We use be going to + the base form of the main verb to make a prediction about the future based on our sense of sight, smell, taste, hearing or touch. In other words, something about the present causes us to think an action will happen very soon or immediately. Something smells good. Dinner is going to be delicious. The speaker is making a prediction about a future meal based on what his sense of smell tells him in the present. The sun is shining and theres not a single cloud in the sky. Its going to be a nice day. The speaker is making a prediction based on what (s)he sees. For a plan — We use be going to + the base form of the main verb to talk about future events which have already been planned. Last year we went to Hawaii for our vacation. This year we are going to take a cruise to Alaska. After work Im going to play squash with a friend. The speaker is talking about a planned event. For informal situations — We use be going to + the base form of the main verb when we talk about informal situations involving future actions. Mom and Dad are going to be angry when they see the mess youve made. Youd better clean it up before they get home. This is an informal situation between two siblings. 4. The present simple The present simple tense is used to talk about future events that have been scheduled. Examples would be meetings, timetables, airline schedules, etc†¦ The present simple is also used for situations that often or regularly happen. It can therefore be used for a future situation that is part of a regular series of happenings: The train for Berlin leaves at midnight tonight. It is also used for something that is seen as part of a fixed timetable: The sun rises at 07. 34 tomorrow. (We can imagine the speaker thinking of a table of sunrise and sunset times. ) Emma sees Luke tomorrow. (We can imagine the speaker mentally looking at Emma’s diary). Hurry up! I dont want to miss any of the game. It starts at 1:00. The meeting is in the boardroom. It begins at 10:00. Hell be here soon. His plane arrives at 6:45. 5. The modal will + be + -ing form Progressive forms usually refer to a situation that began before a time point continues through and after that time point, and into the future, and is of limited duration. The combination of this idea with the modal will, expressing certainty, leads to the modal will + be + -ing form referring to a situation beginning before a future time point and continuing through that time point: Sally’s plane takes off from Heathrow at 9 o’clock tomorrow, so by about midday she will be flying over Istanbul. It is also possible that the speaker is more concerned with the pure certainty of the action happening than with volitional aspect that might be implied by the use of WILL by itself: Emma will be seeing Luke tomorrow. Some writers claim, with some justification, that this use of modal will + a progressive implies, by its lack of reference to intention, volition or arrangement, a casual future. Depending on the context and co-text, the speaker may be intending a ‘casual’ futurity, or may be indicating a situation in progress at a particular time. 6. BE + to + infinitive. This form is not common in informal conversation. It refers to something that is to happen in the future as a plan or decree, normally by some authority other than the subject of the sentence, and is common in television and radio news reports Thus we are unlikely to hear the first of the following examples (unless Emma and Luke are the names of well-known singers, actors, etc) . We might well hear the second: Emma is to see Luke tomorrow. Downing Street announced this morning that the Prime Minister is to fly to Washington this evening for urgent talks about the current crisis. 7. to- infinitive This form is common only in newspaper headlines, where editors want to announce the news as briefly as possible. Once again, we are unlikely to see the first of the following examples (unless Emma and Luke are the names of well-known singers, actors, etc). We might well see the second: Emma to see Luke tomorrow. PM to fly to US. 8. will + have + past participle (third form) When we refer to a future action completed before a later future time, or a future state continuing up to that later future time, we use will + have + a past participle (third form). This is sometimes known as the ‘future perfect’: I will have lived here for just over thirteen years when I celebrate my 66th birthday next March. (At the moment of speaking, six months before ‘next March’, the speaker has lived ‘here’ for twelve and a half years. ) By the time she leaves Paris tomorrow, Emma will have seen Luke and told him the news. (When Emma leaves Paris tomorrow, the seeing and telling will be, for her, in the past. ) This form is sometimes known as the ‘future perfect’. 9. BE + going to + have + past participle (third form). It is possible, though not very common, for a speaker to suggest that there is present evidence of a future action completed before a later future time, or a future state continuing up to that later future time, using BE + going to + have + a past participle form (third form): By the time Emma leaves Paris tomorrow, She is going to have seen Luke and told him the news. Learners may see/hear this usage, but are recommended to use only 8. will + have + a past participle (third form), which has practically the same meaning, and is far more commonly used. 10. will + have + been + -ing form. When we refer to a future action begun before a later future time and continuing through that later future time, we use will + have + been + -ing form. By the end of next week, Emma will have been seeing Luke for three months. (She has now, one week before ‘the end of next week’ been seeing him for a week less than three months. ) This form is sometimes known as the ‘future perfect continuous’. Look at this example to be clearer between â€Å"will + inf†, â€Å"be going to†, and â€Å"be + V-ing† When you feel you’ve got a terrible headache, you say (right away at this moment) that: I’ll visit doctor tomorrow. When your mother asks about your problem, you say that: I am going to visit doctor tomorrow. When you make a phone call to your family doctor to fix an appointment, you say: I am visiting doctor tomorrow. Important Note. In many sentences, several of the forms can be used perfectly naturally. The final subconscious choice of form is made by speakers at the moment of speaking, and depends on the context of situation as they see it at that moment. Do not think that there is one, and only one, ‘correct’ form in any given situation.

Daisy Miller a Hero Essay Example for Free

Daisy Miller a Hero Essay A hero is a person, whom no matter what the situation is, always seems to be able to approach situation with a fearless and courageous attitude, and can is often admired by many. The novel Daisy Miller by Henry James is a fictional story about the life of an American girl in Europe and the situations that she experiences. Daisy reacts to these situations with a fearless and courageous approach. Her actions seem to affect every character in the story and are misperceived by many. Daisy consistently had the courage to stand up to the other Americans, the characters who adapted to the European culture, even though they continued to pressure her, and prevailed by not conforming to European society. Daisy is a hero in this story because of the way she approached and handled situations. A major conflict in the story is the clash of American culture and European culture. Daisy is constantly thrown into situations where she is pressured to conform to some traditional European way of doing things. Daisy does not let this pressure get to her. She instead continues to act without fear of what might happen to her. The text shows many examples of this. A major cultural conflict that happened in the novel is when Daisy is walking around the Pinchio with Mr. Winterbourne and Mr. Giovanelli. Mrs. Walker comes up in her carriage and begs Daisy to get in because of what her reputation might become since she was walking around with two men ( ). After Daisy refuses, Mrs. Walker says â€Å"should you prefer being thought a very reckless girls? and even gets Mr Winterbourne involved by having him give his opinion which lined up with Mrs. Walker’s( ). After examining the text, the reader sees that Daisy responds with a very fearless and courageous way, which in a way can also be compared to a quote from Emerson’s Self Reliance, â€Å"to be great, is to be misunderstood. † â€Å"â€Å"If this is improper, Mrs Walker,† she persued, â€Å"then I am all improper, and you must give me up†Ã¢â‚¬  is a quote that beautifully illustrates Daisy’s heroic personally by not being intimidated from the pressures of society. Another conflict in the novel was that at certain places at certain times, the chances of getting malaria were very high. While many of the locals decided to stay away from these areas, Daisy chose to not live fear. This fearlessness that Daisy displayed, led to Mr. Winterbourne confronting her and Mr. Giovanelli at the coliseum late at night about her catching the Roman fever (). Giovanelli responded to Winterbourne by saying he informed Daisy it was a â€Å"grave indiscretion† which Daisy responded with prudence (). Even now that Daisy was severely warned about the disease she still showed no fear and showed how she could be an inspiration to other women by saying she had a lovely time seeing the coliseum by moonlight and if she felt any danger she would take some pills (). â€Å"I don’t care,† said Daisy in a little strange tone, â€Å"whether I have Roman fever or not† shows how Daisy would not let fear dictate her life( ). Daisy Miller was a hero because of the fearless qualities that she displayed in the novel Daisy Miller. She may not display the common stereotypes of other fictionalized heroes such as flying or x-ray vision, but she does have influence on people, especially women, on how they can act regardless of what culture they are from. This view on life is very important because it shows young women, that they are empowered to handle situations anyway they like. Even when she died, many people showed up to her funeral and admired her. Giovanelli even stated at her funeral that out of all the women she was the â€Å"most innocent † ( ).

Mill Compared To Plato, Locke, Marx And Machiavelli

Mill Compared To Plato, Locke, Marx And Machiavelli In this paper, I will argue that John Stuart Mills theories are the most reasonable compared to Plato, Marx, Locke, and Machiavelli. Moreover, Mills theories allow mankind to exercise individual rights to a greater extent than the theories of the other mentioned philosophers. More than those of Plato, Marx, Locke, or Machiavelli, John Stuart Mills theories are compelling because they are the most logically sensible and provide for the welfare of the people. As mentioned, my standard for judging these theories is the extent to which they make logical sense and promote the welfare of the people. A good political system promotes the welfare of the people, so it follows that a political theory would also support this same goal. As far as making logical sense is concerned, a political theory that is logically constructed with sound reasoning is more likely than not to be well thought, feasible, and true. I will start with explaining why I do not find the other theorists compelling, and end with explaining why I find Mill the most compelling in the bounds of the criteria just explained. The philosophies of Marx and of Plato are inherently idealistic, which in itself does not necessarily discredit the theories. Idealistic visions of the most perfect type of government are helpful in testing the efficacy of a political theory in the theoretical realm. Moreover, political philosophies are not created with direct implementation in mind. It is wrong to expect a political theory to be intended for direct application in politics. A discourse on political theory is intentionally distinct from a law or a constitution. It is wrong to confuse a law or constitution, which is intended for immediate implementation in politics, with a political theory, which is intended usually to influence opinion and real political policies. Although I have offered this argument that suggests the theories of Plato and Marx are not to be judged by their implementation, it is worthwhile to note that their implementation would depend on an evolved type of human nature, one that would recognize ones place in society and the benefit to society of fulfilling ones duty. This evolved human nature simply does not exist even today, much less to mention during the time of Plato. Plato maintains that democracy is one of the lowest forms of government, and that it can decay into despotism is fairly clear (Plato 288). Plato thinks the best government is aristocracy (Plato 267). Part of my criteria for judging these theories is how well it provides for the welfare of the people. Granted, Plato has a somewhat valid argument that a great amount of freedom in a democracy may lead to undisciplined behavior. But an aristocracy is much less likely to have the welfare of the people in mind than a democracy. While democracy is not perfect, it by nature follows the will of the greatest number of people. Assuming that the majority of people act in their own best interest, then at least the majority is ensured its own welfare. With an aristocracy, there is no such insurance of general welfare. The only thing that is certain is that the aristocrats will rule, presumably according to their own interests. Additionally, Plato is willing to censor artistic materials. This assum es infallibility in the republics ability to discern whether works are beneficial to the state. I will discuss later in this paper about this concept, in reference to Mill. Most of the autocratic elements of Platos philosophy depend on a fundamental assumption that the governments judgments are infallible, which is logically incorrect. Marx maintains that everything in society is based on economics and production. This also forms the theoretical basis for many of his other theories. But this is a generalization that has many exceptions. The religious and charitable elements of society are not driven by capitalist economy; they are based on unrelated concepts of giving and kindness. Granted, religious houses and charitable institutions are fueled by monetary donations, but the fact that people are willing to relinquish their capitalist earnings for which they have toiled demonstrates even further the existence of a charitable or non-selfish motive. Additionally, as briefly mentioned earlier, both Plato and Marx have twisted views of human nature that dont correlate with reality to the extent that Mill does. Platos theories depend on the idea that people will somehow fall into their duty in society, and if they dare overstep their bounds, they are committing an injustice. Marxs theories depend on the assumption that people will not be disheartened by the prospect of never owning property. Mill formulated his theories with a view of human nature that seems more accurate. Mill believed that humans were individuals and respected the inherent individual nature of man. In his discussion on the fallacy of custom, he noted that man is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing (Mill 114). This is most in contrast to Plato and Marx, whose theories r est on the assumption that people will fall into their positions in life without following any inward forces that may motivate them to want more. Mill said that impulses are equally a part of human nature as are restraints (115). This is a true statement of human nature; one cannot ignore the existence of human impulses and emphasize restraints. Lockes ideas are not very realistic. There are issues with Lockes theory of property, namely the labor theory of property, and there are issues with Lockes natural rights theory. With the labor theory of property, which states that man makes something his property only when he has used his labor to take it out of nature (Locke 11), there is an issue that arises from the fact that the majority of the labor today uses machinery, factories, and various means of production. Someone must own these means of production. Lockes labor theory of property does not account for ownership of the means of production. Locke championed the theory of natural rights, rights endowed by God that are inalienable. The whole concept of natural rights is, as Jeremy Bentham said, rhetorical nonsense (Anarchical Fallacies). Natural rights never truly existed in the first place. Natural rights are imaginary, so it is impossible for an imaginary object to be taken away. The notion of natural rights may be useful to society, but the apparent usefulness of an idea is never enough reason to overlook the truth value of the idea. A political theory based on these unrealistic concepts are difficult to take seriously in political situations that affect many people. Machiavellis Prince was meant for distribution to those in positions of power. Accordingly, it deals exclusively with the interests of a single powerful person. Whereas the theories of Marx, Plato, Aristotle, Locke, and Mill dealt with the welfare of all society, Machiavellis ideas have but one persons welfare in mind. Granted, Machiavelli did advocate the prince to care for the welfare of the people, but Machiavelli makes it clear that this is a self-interested tactic aimed at perpetuating the Princes leadership. Caring for the welfare of the people in The Prince is about avoiding hatred of the Prince and maintaining good relations with the people (Machiavelli 64). Indeed, The Prince seems to be an accurate and probably very useful handbook for the autocrat. Benito Mussolini praised The Prince as the statesmans supreme guide (Arditti). Although The Prince supports the welfare of the people, it only supports the welfare of the citizens as an auxiliary tactic for keeping the prince in power. The welfare of the people is not a primary objective of the prince. Therefore, as a mere tactic, the emphasis on the welfare of the people may be easily disposed of and replaced with another tactic. An ideal system of government would revolve around the welfare of the people as a matter of necessity. The first part of my criteria for judging these theories is how much logical sense it makes. In this section, I will look at how John Stuart Mills theories make sense logically. Mills comments about the flaws of democracy and republics are logical. A paradox of republics is that although they are often commonly referred to as exercises in self-government or government by the people for the people, the government does not always reflect the wishes of all the people. There are a few reasons for this that Mill wisely points out. Firstly, what seems to be the will of the majority is truly the will of only the most active part of society (Mill 66). These people are simply those who succeed in making themselves accepted as a majority (66). What is perceived as the majority, particularly concerning certain ideas about which people feel strongly, is often a false majority. Secondly, in a republic, those who exercise the power are not those over whom the power is exercised (65). Looking at the workings of a republic, this point becomes obvious as we see the political class making decisions that affect the rest of the public, without necessarily requiring the permissi on of those their decisions affect. Moreover, a democratic republic may give rise to a new kind of tyranny, which is what it was adopted to avoid. Democracies are apt to give way to a tyranny of the majority, a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville and repeated by Mill. This special kind of tyranny is practiced not by an authority acting independently, but by society itself. Although less threatening in terms of penalties than a dictatorial tyranny, the tyranny of the majority is more dangerous because it is the more difficult to escape. In this case, the party imposing tyranny does not live in a castle far away, but rather is your neighbors. Toppling this kind of tyranny would be more complex than assassinating a single dictator. Mills harm principle as the basis for society taking action over the individual makes logical sense. We can start with a brief explanation of the harm principle. Society has jurisdiction over individual conduct only in so far as it affects the welfare of others. Accordingly, society can legitimately punish offenders after the fact, or place necessary restrictions on individual freedom as a preventative measure. But this does not apply to circumstances when a persons conduct affects the interests of no persons besides himself, or needs not affect them unless they like (130). This is the essence of the harm principle. The harm principle generally relates to the justice system, a governments institution for punishing people. The purpose of a criminal justice system is to prevent or at least minimize damage done to society. Damage done to an individual by the same individual, self-harm, is not within the scope of duty for a justice system; harm inflicted upon oneself is, under most pract ical circumstances, not harm inflicted upon society. Punishing the activities one does to oneself would require a separate institution from the justice system, and adding such a duty to the responsibility of a justice system would be a perversion of the justice system. In order for a governments justice system to accomplish its goal of regulating harm upon society, it almost by definition has to follow the harm principle. Issues regarding the harm principle necessarily arise when one thinks about how it may be applied. Mills answers to these issues are logical and consistent with his original theory. One issue is that there are some bad social institutions that necessarily involve harm being done to some party, such as in a contest, an overcrowded profession, or a competitive examination (Mill 148). Mill says the suffering these social institutions bring is unavoidable. When, however, the competition is won by cheating or force, is the only circumstance that allows for society to interfere (148). This view on necessary harm makes logical sense; there are no ways to mitigate the suffering of the loser without diminishing the prospect of reward in competition which brought the loser into the game in the first place, only ways to keep the competition fair. Mill has an answer to another issue that concerns the harm principle as it relates to restraint on trade of certain commodities. This also relates to that which is only potentially harmful to society, namely how far liberty may legitimately be invaded for the prevention of crime, or of accident (149). Although it is likely for the government to abuse their preventative role, it is a necessary one. It is within the governments power to regulate, but not ban, the sale of poison. It is also within the governments power to prevent accidents, such as by enforcing fire precautions. Mill notes that the governments preventative measures against accidents do not infringe upon liberty. Liberty is the right to do what one pleases, and falling upon an accident most unlikely to be something one would wish to do (149). In regard to goods or services which can cause harm or evil, such as prostitution, gambling, or alcohol, Mill believes that the end users should not be punished, but instead the sellers, or those who profit from the activity perceived as evil. The profiteer has a vested interest in people committing this evil. Unlike the user, w ho is only harming himself, the profiteer might as well be instigating the harm upon others, making the actions of the profiteer under the jurisdiction of society. Mill is also in favor of sin taxes, because they limit the availability of an evil product to the very few without enacting full-fledged prohibition (153). In describing various applications of his harm principle, he brings the theoretical harm principle to life and clarifies common questions. They also logically follow from his original theory, so they make logical sense. It is never appropriate to assume infallibility. This is a theory of Mill that is well founded and rational. Here is the line of logic that rationalizes the notion that we must always assume fallibility. Few will deny that they are immune to mistakes, that their judgment is absolutely impeccable (Mill 78). If one is liable to make an error in judgment, then it is reasonable to say that all of their judgments are equally liable to this possibility for error; that is, every opinion held to be true has a probability, however small, to be false. Consequently, it is never correct to maintain an opinion or an idea to be absolutely true with no possibility for it to be false. To say that ones opinion can be absolutely true is to say that ones judgment is absolutely infallible. So this leads us to the conclusion that we can never be absolutely sure that an apparently false idea is indeed false. Besides, as a further proof of the subjectivity of opinions, people in different geographic region s of the world hold starkly different views on the same matters. It is the same accident which makes one a Churchman in London [that] would have made him a Buddhist or a Confucian in Peking (78). Thus we have the sound basis for assuming infallibility. Following from the notion of assuming fallibility, it is equally wrong to assume a particular way of life as wrong. In so far as it does not affect others, the right to individuality of action is just as important as the right to individuality of thought. People should be permitted to try various modes of life and various experiments of living (Mill 112). Diversity, in contrast to homogenous adherence to custom, is good for society. Diversity is especially beneficial because mankind is imperfect and incapable of fully realizing all sides of the truth (112). In the absence of a superhuman ability to recognize truth, it is necessary for there to be a broad pool of choices in ways to conduct ones life, gathered through experimentation. For there to be such a pool of choices, needless to say, there must be liberty of action. The second part of my criteria for judging these theories is the extent to which it promotes the welfare of the people. In this section, I will show that Mills theories are more likely to lead to a high level of human welfare. Mills harm principle is the antidote to tyranny. If government is permitted to interfere with individual rights only in cases where harm to others is involved, then under such a doctrine, it would be hard for a would-be tyrant to justify infringing upon the rights of the citizens. Assuming that the harm principle is enforced in its truest form, all incidents of government interference would be justified. So Mills harm principle naturally gives way to individual rights. Individual rights is inextricably tied to well-being of the citizens, because individual rights allows people the freedom to carry out the activities associated with happiness. Consequently, the harm principle leads to the welfare of the people, making it a very beneficial political theory. Moreover, the harm principle directly benefits the welfare of people by preventing people from being harmed by a persons actions. This is a benefit of Mills harm principle, although it is not exclusive to Mill since punishment of offenders was a practice long before Mill wrote down this theory. To be precise, the harm principle was intended to place limits on the punishment system already in place. Nevertheless, the harm principle sets a rather specific and appropriate standard for the use of punishment-for the purpose of preventing damage and thus promoting the welfare of general society. Mills theory that infallibility should never be assumed is conducive to liberty. It allows for liberty of thought, liberty of discussion, and all other liberties which follow from these two. When a government never assumes infallibility in opinions, then it will permit free discussion of all topics, even of its policies. A society that understands the fallibility of its opinions would tolerate opinions to the contrary of the established opinions. In this ideal state, the government and society at large would necessarily grant equal rights to all opinions in terms of their permission to be voiced. If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind (Mill 77). So a consequence of assuming infallibility is to never stifle an opinion, however false it may appear. Since one may never truly be confident about the t ruth value of an opinion, the truth or falsity of that opinion is equally likely. Every opinion has a likelihood of being either true or false, so no opinion is exempt. If one stifles a true opinion, then the damage is obvious: one loses an opportunity for truth (Mill 77). If one stifles a false opinion, then one loses something just as important: the opportunity to illuminate the truth by its contrast with error (Mill 77). Thus an adherence to the constant assumption of infallibility would insure liberties to free thought and discussion. A great part of the welfare of a people is securing their liberties to free expression, so this theory is beneficial to the welfare of the people. All of Mills arguments are further strengthened by his apparent rigorous evaluation of his arguments. Fitting with his philosophy which discusses this point itself, Mill carefully examines all sides of his statements and arguments. He even makes strong arguments for the opposing side that are nearly as convincing as his own side of the argument. The discipline with which he examines his arguments makes them seem highly likely to be true. Almost all, if not all, of the major points that Mill makes in On Liberty are preceded or followed by a counter argument. Neither Plato, Locke, Machiavelli, or Marx use this extent of rigorous detail in their arguments. Mill also explains various aspects of his arguments at great length, although he isnt the only theorist among this group to do so. In conclusion, Mills theories are the most compelling compared to those of Plato, Locke, Marx, and Machiavelli. Mills theories make logical sense and provide for the welfare and individual liberty of the people. The theories of Plato, Marx, Locke, and Machiavelli either do not make logical sense or do not provide adequately for the welfare of the people. Thus the theories of Mill prevail as the most compelling according to this criteria for judging the theories.

Re-Identifying God in Experience Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Rel

Re-Identifying God in Experience ABSTRACT: If an alleged experience of God can constitute evidence for God’s existence, then it must be possible for God to be a perceptual particular, that is, a substantive, enduring object of perception. Furthermore, if several such experiences are to be cumulative evidence for God’s existence, then it must be possible to reidentify God from experience to experience. I examine both a "conceptual" and an "epistemological" argument against these possibilities that is derived from the work of Richard Gale. I argue that neither of these arguments is successful. For God to be a perceptual particular, he must have an inner life; for God to be reidentified across experiences, he need not exist in dimensions analogous to the spatiotemporal. If an alleged experience of God is to provide evidence for God's existence, it must be possible for God to be a perceptual particular: a substantive, enduring object of perception. If several such experiences are to be cumulative evidence for God's existence, it must be possible to re-identify God from experience to experience. I want to examine arguments against each of these possibilities. These arguments are, respectively, a "conceptual" and an "epistemological" argument embedded in the writings of Richard Gale.(1) On Gale's conceptual argument, for us to have a coherent concept of an object, O, as a perceptual particular: (1) We must know what it means for O to exist when not perceived. (2) O must be able to be the common object of different experiences, and (3) We must be able to understand the distinction between numerical and qualitative identity with regard to O. We need these requirements to distinguish perceptual from "phenomenal p... ...1) Richard Gale, On the Nature and Existence of God (Cambridge University Press), pp. 326-343, and Richard Gale, "Why Alston's Mystical Doxastic Practice is Subjective," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 54 (1994), 869-875. (2) 'Why Alston's," p. 872. (3) P. F. Strawson, Individuals, An Essay in Descriptive Metaphysics (London: Methuen, 1964), p. 37. (4) Individuals, p. 81. (5) Individuals, p. 77. (6) Gareth Evans, "Things Without the Mind - A Commentary upon Chapter Two of Strawson's Individuals, in Zak Van Straaten, ed., Philosophical Subjects, Essays Presented to P.F. Strawson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980), pp. 76-116. (7) See Jonathan Bennett, Kant's Analytic (Cambridge: 1966), p. 37 (8) See Evans, "Things Without the Mind," pp. 81-82. (9) See Merold Westphal, God, Guilt, and Death (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984).

Essay --

â€Å"Demaryius Thomas is at the 20, the 10, TOUCHDOWN! The crowd goes wild! The Denver Broncos are going to the Super Bowl!† exclaimed, the newscaster. This wonderful image has been in the dreams of every Denver Broncos’ fans for over a decade. It has now become reality, for the Denver Broncos are participating in Super Bowl XLVIII. This paper’s main focus is to provide information on the Denver Broncos history, players, coaches, its super charged offense, and the Broncos’ road to the Super Bowl. According to Broncos history, the Denver Broncos first joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1960 with a dismal season winning only four out of the 14 games under the helm of Head Coach Frank Filchock. It took 17 years until the Denver Broncos made it to their first Super Bowl XII. Colorado embraced this team and nicknamed them the â€Å"Orange Crush† named after their perilous defense. Led by head coach Red Miller and quarterback Craig Morton, unfortunately they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in a 27 to 10 game. The Denver Broncos fans had to wait another 9 years for the next three Super Bowls under the direction of Head Coach Dan Reeves and with Colorado’s most iconic quarterback, John Elway in 1986, 87, and 89. Quite surprisingly, the Broncos lost all three Super Bowls (XXI, XXII, and XXIV) in the 80’s. Finally in the late 90’s John Elway near retirement led the 1997 and 1998 Broncos to their first two consecutive Super Bowl wins (XXXII and XXX III) under Head Coach Mike Shanahan. Presently, the Denver Broncos are the American Football Conference (AFC) Champions winning the game against the New England Patriots on January 19th, 2014. John Fox the 14th head coach of the Denver Broncos with a 24-year coaching career has won 112 gam... ...chdowns, nearly 4,000 receiving yards. This is his first Super Bowl appearance. Minnesotan, Eric Decker number 87 in his 4th year with the Denver Broncos scored 33 touchdowns, and 3,000 receiving yards. In week, 13 of the 2013-2014 season Decker earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring four touchdowns in a single game. To summarize, the Denver Broncos are on pace to becoming the best team in the history of the NFL. Consequently, on February 2nd, 2014 the Denver Broncos must face off against the Seattle Seahawks, the best team in the NFC at Super Bowl XLVIII. This highly anticipated game will decide the fate of which team can claim they are the World Champions. It will take the entire Denver Broncos team, coaches, players, and fans to conquer the mighty Seahawks and claim their prize in the history books as the best team in the world.

Robert E. Lee Essay -- Army American History Mexican War Essays

Robert E. Lee In 1861, on the eve of civil war, President Abraham Lincoln tapped I, Robert E. Lee to take command of the United States Army. being The fifty-five year old silver-haired veteran that had graduated second in my class at West Point, served valiantly during the Mexican War under General Winfield Scott, and had, with his forces, put down the insurrection at Harper’s Ferry, capturing abolitionist John Brown. By all accounts, i was the man to lead the Army, as renowned for his gentlemanly character as for his military skill and sense of duty. It came as no surprise however, that following the secession of his home state, Virginia, Lee declined the Appointment and resigned. He had written to his family, .With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen; I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home... Although opposed to secession, he would .return to [his] native state and shares the miseries of [his] people, and saves in defense. Draw [his] sword on none. His home, his relatives, and his children, all were rooted in a Virginia that had grown strong from the seeds planted by the American Revolution. Two of his ancestors had signed the Declaration of Independence. His father had eulogized George Washington as .first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen... (The actions of both men left indelible marks on Lee’s character. His debtor Father embodied the traits he would shun; Washington. Duty bound, disciplined, and humble.he sought to imitate.) On April 9, 1865, Lee and his men faced certain defeat in the misty dawn at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. He had commanded the Army of Northern Virginia since the beginning of the war. He had been appointed General in Chief of the Confederate States Army in February. His ragtag veterans, depleted corps once 70,000 strong, had tenaciously held. And at points, advanced. The line for four years against Union forces. Lee refused a persistently defensive posture. They had waged a bold, scrappy, underdog war, exacting victories at Seven Days, Chancellors Ville, Fredericksburg, and Cold Harbor. There had been staggering losses on both sides. Gettysburg handed them their most devastating defeat. (.It was my Fault, Lee humbly declared in the aftermath.) Now, they were hunkered down an... ...red rations. It was a generous and gentlemanly agreement, one that would allow agnation ravaged by war to begin to bind up its wounds. Lee stayed in Appomattox for the laying down of arms. He stayed long enough to commend his army’s unsurpassed courage and fortitude, and explain his desire to .avoid the useless sacrifice. Of more confederate lives. He bid an .affectionate farewell... With great weariness and sadness he was escorted part of the way back to Richmond. He received a hero’s welcome along the way. Later indicted for treason (a charge that was never pursued), and passed over for a pardon during his lifetime, Lee nevertheless remained a great man in the eyes of both the North and South. By deciding to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee had single-handedly set in motion the events that would signal the end of the war, the end of his military career, and the beginning of peace andreunification.Many years later, Woodrow Wilson voiced the widely-held view: .We use the word .great. Indiscriminately. But we reserve the word .noble. Carefully for those whose greatness is not spent in their own interest. That was the characteristic of General Lee’s life...

Exxon Mobil Essay

Company Description Exxon mobile also know as Xom in the New York Stock Exchange is on of the largest producers of fossil fuels. Exxon engages in oil and gas exploration, production, supply, transportation and marketing in a global economy (Bloomberg). They hold over 13 billion barrels of oil in reserve. Exxon also has thirty eight refineries spread over 21 countries (Annual Report). The company also has a thought put capacity of 6. 3 million barrels of oil daily. Target MarketExxon has a huge target market in today’s economy. They not only provide to anyone driving a commercial motor vehicle but also to larger wholesalers. These wholesalers consist of smaller independent gas and service stations that do not have their own refineries. Xom also provides six hundred airports and two hundred seaports with fuel (Annual Report). These two markets consume a tremendous amount of fuel each year. This is a niche market for Xom because these airports and seaports can not use alternative energy in their endeavors. CompetitionAlthough Exxon is the largest fossil fuel producer they do have some competition with British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. These companies’s do not have the same output as Xom, but some might say they are ahead in many ways. British petroleum (BP) has been doing a lot with alternative energy for the future unlike Exxon which has mainly focused on gasoline. Shell has also made some large landmarks in alternative energy like the use of sugar cane for fuels (Bloomberg). Competitive AdvantagesExxon Mobile conducts oil and gasoline exploration in every major accessible area in the world (Integrated Solutions). They also have the largest amount of financial capital for new research and exploration. Exxon is also the largest publically traded energy company in the world and serves over two hundred countries (Annual Report). They also have discipline and consistency which means that they continue to grow in the areas they feel necessary while holding back in others like alternative energy. Current ChallengesOne of the biggest challenges that Exxon faces is the huge increase in energy by new developing nations. By 2030 there is an estimated forty percent increase in energy. This poses a problem because Xom must learn to boost efficiency, develop new supplies while still managing environmental risks. That is the next challenge that they face managing environmental risks like mitigating global co2 emissions. They have started to face this problem already by investing in CO2Remove project. This project is set to develop ways to lower co2 emission and create new guidelines for the industry (Integrated Solutions). Exxon also faces challenges with alternative energy like wind power, ethanol and solar power. The last challenge is with nuclear power and its high cost particularly in the U. S. In the U. S the cost of nuclear energy highly exceeds the cost of coal and gas. There is also the problem of how to properly dispose of radioactive waste and safe control of nuclear material. Exxon also is having trouble opening new facilities because no one wants nuclear plants near them. Part II Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, providing energy that helps underpin growing economies and improve living standards around the world. To be successful, ExxonMobil must be at the leading edge of competition in every aspect of our business. This requires that the Corporation’s substantial resources, including financial, operational, technological, and human, be employed wisely and evaluated regularly. The success of the company depends mainly on customer satisfaction. For this reason, it is good for a company like Exxon Mobil to have solid mission and vision statements to act as a guideline for the sales and services to be implemented by the company. The mission statement and vision statement are as follows: Mission Statement Exxon Mobil Corporation is committed to being the world’s premier petroleum and petrochemical company. To that end, we must continuously achieve superior financial and operating results while adhering to the highest standards of business conduct. These unwavering expectations provide the foundation for our commitments to those with whom we interact (Annual Report). Vision Statement -providing reliable, affordable energy supplies in a reasonable manner. -safely and reliably producing oil, natural gas, and hydrocarbon -finding and developing new supplies and products to bring to the market – maximizing resource and asset value -improving energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts -developing the next generation of scientists and engineers Strengths: The size of the Corporation is the most obvious strength for Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil is affiliated with over 200 countries and territories (Annual Report). There are 6. 1 billion shares and over 2. 5 million shareholders. Another strength of the company is the diverse workforce that allows them to achieve superior results. Exxon Mobil benefits from the cultural differences, knowledge, and skills of our employees who represent the diverse communities of the world. Weaknesses: There were three employee fatalities and five contractor fatalities since 2005. However, the company has learned from these incidents and is working hard at preventing such incidents in the future. Also, replacing the oil that is extracted from the locations is another weakness. They also face the challenge of continuing their pace of significant energy efficiency improvements year after year. Opportunities: ExxonMobil has a list of significant Arctic opportunities, with ongoing studies spanning the range of exploration, project assessment and planning, and technology development. We recognize that energy is vital to economic progress. Exxon Mobil is drilling in some of these areas, which helps boost their economy. Other such opportunities include the Canadian Beaufort Sea, West Greenland, and the Orphan Basin. Threats: Threats to Exxon Mobil include drilling restrictions, other independent companies, global warming. Managing the risks from increases in global greenhouse gas emissions is an important concern for ExxonMobil, industry and governments around the world. Exxon Mobil is living up to its vision and mission. They are the premiere gas and oil supplier of the world and do so while staying energy efficient and have very high standards of the functions of business. The company reaches out to its customers and strives to be as helpful and satisfying as possible. They are reliable and for the most part affordable. They continue to develop next generation technology and scientific practices. The company grows stronger each year. Part III Financial AnalysisThe financial analysis for Exxon Mobil Corporation seems to be in very strong financial position overall and when compared to the competition. The revenue for 2007 was reported at 404,552,000 with a net income of 40,610. When compared to BP, Shell, and Marathon it seems to dominate the market and the competition by a gross margin of 20. 8%, which was at least 5% above the nearest competitor and closest to the industry average of 25%. Exxon Mobil’s current ratio was 1. and was highest of the competition. The industry average is 1. 2, the higher the ratio number, and the better the ability to repay current loans. The debt to equity ratio of . 08 is considered extremely low and looked at as being very safe, and was the lowest of the competition. With such a strong performing company and profits come strong earnings, at $7. 35 per share earnings was one of the highest of the industry. Company comparisonWhen Exxon Mobil is compared to the competition it seems to be out performing the rest of the industry and is proven with the financial statements and ratios. This is definitely a great long term company to invest in, when compared to the competition in this industry. Part IV Strategy to Competitive Advantage- As global warming increases Exxon needs to go green. One strategy they need to have is a renewable energy producer, such as electricity from a carbon emitting utility. There are tons of opportunities to gain a competitive advantage by understanding the carbon constraints. First, Exxon needs to minimize the additional costs more effectively than competitors. Second, differentiate their product by binding carbon credits into their offering. Then, Exxon needs to turn their capacity to supply carbon credits into a profit centre (Energy-Edge). Expand or Reduce Operations- Exxon is ramping up its oil exploration and drilling, and even worse, is looking to expand its leadership in exploiting Canada’s tar sands. They need to stop expanding and start reducing its operations. An expansion is increasing production capacity by 40 percent. But, the mining and processing of tar sands is highly destructive to the local environment and is an enormous generator of greenhouse gas emissions (Coop America). New Products or Services- Exxon has launched a new service called the fleet card program. The program offers a number of valuable features including: greater control over driver’s expenses, money-saving rebates on fuel purchases, special discounts on business-related products and services, innovative technology and the convenience of more than 16,000 Exxon and Mobil branded locations nationwide (All Business). Environmental Factors that Influence the Operation- The main environment factor is the climate change on the business from greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions. Exxon Mobile needs to view â€Å"carbon exposure† as more than just a key factor in future corporate competitiveness (Energy-edge). They need to use their profit money towards renewable energy research and development, to break individuals’ oil addiction and create a secure and green energy future for the US. (Coop America) Work at or Investing in Exxon- People should invest rather than work at Exxon Mobile. One reason is that Exxon is ranked number two in the Fortune 500. The world’s energy need, will increase in the near future. Growth in developing countries will drive most of this increase, but energy demand is expected to increase in the United States, too. (ExxonMobil) Exxon spends about $80billion to invest in future energy development.