John Marshall Essay

â€Å"Its is emphatically, the province and duty of the judicial department, to say what the law is.† (Ducat, Craig Constitutional Interpretation p. 10) These seventeen words written two hundred years ago made the highest court in the United States supreme, and making it so, Chief Justice John Marshall’s words in that sentence continue to make an impact on every Supreme Court case thereafter. Justice Marshall laid the basic foundations to protect the Federal system that was established by the Constitution. In Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden the Supreme Court maintained the United States as a federal state. Marbury v Madison was the influential case that the Supreme Court cites as a precedent when employing judicial review. It left the power to be rested on the judicial branch when determining to uphold either the law or the Constitution. By establishing the right to judicial review, Marshall, with the support of the legislative and executive branches, made all cases before the courts subservient to the U.S. Constitution. Cases that have been heard after Marbury v. Madison, that come into question, must be interpreted through the Constitution. Uniformity of all states of the Union were established when Marshall and the Supreme Court ruled in McCulloch v. Maryland. Although the Constitution gave powers to the states under the Tenth Amendment, Marshall implemented the powers of the Federal government by exercising Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18 (necessary and proper clause) and Article 6 Section 2 (supremacy clause). Marshall explained that the Constitution gave the federal government the power to incorporate a bank if it deemed it necessary and proper not for the powers of Congress, but necessary and proper for the powers granted to Congress by the Constitution. Marshall also outlined the rights of the states by enacting Article 6 in his decision. He stated that the supremacy clause prohibited the states from having the power to tax, which would then involve the states power to destroy the powers of the Constitution to create. Gibbons v. Ogden expanded the powers of the Federal government aforementioned in the previous two influential cases. This case defined the Commerce Clause found in Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3. In his genius, Marshall defined commerce not only as an exchange of commodities, but also the means by which interstate and foreign intercourse those commodities travel. By giving the Federal government control over commerce through interpretation of the Constitution, Marshall preserved the prosperity of the country as an economic Union conducting business under national, not state, control. Chief Justice John Marshall’s decisions in all three of the cases explained previously depict the evolution of the Supreme Court. Marbury v. Madison separated the powers of the three branches of governments, McCulloch v. Maryland separated and defined the powers of the Federal and state governments, and Gibbons V. Ogden separated the commerce powers of the Federal and state governments. Marshall decided each case based on the foundations established by the U.S. Constitution, and in each of his decisions, he preserved the integrity of the Framers intentions of the United States as a Federal state.

Protect Our Mother Nature

PROTECT OUR MOTHER NATURE Repeatedly in history, conceptions of nature have served as ideological justifications for political theory. The most obvious example is the Hobbesian state of nature against which even the most oppressive government appears perfectly legitimate. Whereas in most cases of political theory, nature looks like an incompetent savage or unreliable tramp, some anarchist lines of argument instead offer versions of nature as infinite, loving, or otherwise better than the artifices to which it is implicitly opposed.Whether for or against nature, depictions of the natural world in political theory consider it in cultural units of meaning, a combination of icons and stereotypes that change not only our understanding of nature, but also of the units of meaning being referenced. In the early twentieth century journal Mother Earth, a construction of nature comes together, in a publication interested mostly in anarchist and feminist goals, that worshipped nature as a huge, consuming, feminine super being.Certain traits in the construction of nature in this journal form an account of nature as a particular type of femininity to be admired, a move laden both with direct strategic value and creeping implications for the idealizations of womanhood. In order to establish the desirability of the journal’s goal of a world without artificial systems of control, the opposition of nature and artifice is a crucial first step. While it may seem tempting to define these terms, this neglects the primary function of both as catchalls with nebulous referents and amorphous structure defined only by their opposition to one another.The process of dividing the categories begins in the very first issue of the publication, in the foundational article †Mother Earth†. The article mythologizes that â€Å"Man issued from the womb of Mother Earth †¦ out of his efforts there arose the dreary doctrine that he was not related to the Earth, that she was but a temporary resting place for his scornful feet and that she held nothing for him but temptation to degrade himself. † This creation story of the present political situation clearly opposes the natural, which was original, to the artificial, which is only an egoistic and recent edifice.Nature as mother, of course, means artifice must be opposed, and thus becomes child, making the entirety of the anarchist argument parallel to motherly chastisement. In the same issue, â€Å"Without Government† bemoans government solutions as inevitably late and insubstantial, suggesting an analogy with illness where â€Å"the symptom of the disease was hidden† and only on its appearance would the government act. In this metaphor, artificial solutions to the world’s problems are only attacks on a flurry of symptoms as they slowly manifest themselves in increasingly visible ways, thus the profound animosity the journal expresses towards ‘Comstockery’.Regulation of sexuality becomes a direct example of the child trying to limit what mother had given to her children. Volume three number five offers an analogy for group resistance of bees on a tree branch, â€Å"it is only needful that one bee spread its wings, rise and fly, and after it the second, the third, the tenth, the hundredth, for the immobile hanging mass to become a freely flying swarm of bees. † The writing makes humans already bees in a thoroughly naturalized world upon which systems of domination such as the state and religion have only been imposed in a superficial sense.All we need to do, in this account, is realize the situation, and spread our wingsto fly back into an expansive and beautiful nature. This fetishization of nature provides a clear contrast between the world of that which the anarchafeminist politics of the publication oppose and the ‘real’ world of nature that underlies and surrounds the injustices of artificial living. The question then bec omes, in order to prove the insufficiency and downright failures of artifice by comparison, what is the character of nature? To begin with, nature is big.In the first issue’s article â€Å"Mother Earth†, the history of the world seems laid out in a quasi-mythical tale. â€Å"Earth was but one of a myriad of stars floating in infinite space. † The whole of the universe, with which nature remains implicitly identified, exceeds our abilities to measure, let alone comprehend – a myriad in infinity. Even in this cosmic understanding, that which is natural and surrounded is still itself huge. In an article in the first issue called â€Å"Try Love†, the argument concludes, â€Å"Let us be broad and big. Let us not overlook vital things, because of the bulk of trifles confronting us. The natural is large; problems from artifice can be numerous, but each is only of trifling size – thousands of children surrounding one huge mother. Beyond being large to begin with, the maniacal focus in the publication on freeing nature and being freed into nature also revolves around a hope for future growth. As if ‘we’ were already failing to be â€Å"broad and big† enough, â€Å"The Tragedy of Women’s Emancipation† proclaims: â€Å"Salvation lies in an energetic march onwards towards a brighter and clearer future. We are in need of unhampered growth out of old traditions and habits† as if nature and life in nature knew no limits.The image is of not just a sprouting weed, but a whole forest growing out of a street. This rhetorical strategy of associating the concept of nature so crucial to driving the arguments of the journal with hugeness seems strangely sympathetic with and to industrializing urges of the time. The conflict between the temptations of big machines with big outputs and direct material gain versus little anarchic communities with little to offer but some vague sense of satisfaction can finally be resolved in an anarchy run by a big nature figure, a loving cow mother replaces the cruel leviathan father.This solution gives all the benefits and reassurance of something so-big-it-must-work and avoids all the downfalls readers would consider so endemic to ‘modernization’ . Beyond simple scale, nature is inescapable. While a big nature appeals to childlike demand for an oversized mother who will ensure safety and grant all desires, the journal also shows nature as generally inevitable. Relying on one of many references to scientific certainty, â€Å"Liberty†, in the second volume, issue number three, reminds us: â€Å"the natural law of a social organism is as certain as, though less known than, the force of gravity.Like the latter it antedates, and is independent of, our knowledge of its existence, or of the law of its operation. † The natural law, suggesting the order inherent in ‘free’ ways of life, does not even need to be pro ven preferable to artificial laws so long as it is inevitable, the rhetoric suggests. No matter how much one tries to fight it, they can only impede the natural order of things, but never change it. Indeed, this sentiment, in argument form, makes up the bulk of the rest of the article. The natural law not only frames what is and is not tyranny, but even ‘proves’ the futility of passing any laws through the government.And men, brought up in law-abiding communities in the deepest respect for the law, will, under the changed conditions of life, not merely condone the infliction of a penalty in excess of that provided by law, but will themselves assist, virtuously satisfied with their conduct because the society of which they form a part has decided that horse-stealing shall be so punished. On the other hand, there are numerous laws on the statute books, still unrepealed and unenforceable because the acts treated of are no longer held to be offences against morality.In othe r words, the morals of a people can be regulated only by themselves. The trick is very simple, if a law is natural there is no reason to legislate about it, and if it is not natural no one will obey it. The rhetorical construction of nature as unavoidable already renders artifice more than avoidable – it is always already avoided. Rhetorical implications become argument: it would be impossible to describe any part of government’s power as belonging to government itself, because people only act based on nature. The closest government comes to legislation in this model is to prescribe behavior people already exhibit.The gist of this construction of nature is most clear in the case of a poem in volume three, number two entitled â€Å"The King†. In it, a dead king rots in nature, covered in lizards and â€Å"vile spineless things†, literally consumed by the overpowering feminine in his afterlife. â€Å"Faith lit his pathway with her loveliness; / Fair Hopeâ €™s voice called him from his barren fen; Love vainly strove to lure him with her grace. † As a feminine entity, nature is here the omnipresent mother, she tracks down her children and is always there for them to return to.Inescapable nature not only sets up a comparison in which government and artifice can never win, but simultaneously constructs the role of a feminine presence that is ineradicable and impossible to resist. The good mother must be always present and forever accepting of even her most lost children. Also, nature has youthful beauty. In the first issue of Mother Earth, the flagship article explains the history of nature in terms that make Earth unmistakably a young mother, â€Å"she renewed herself, the good mother, and came again each Spring, radiant with youthful beauty, beckoning her children to come to her bosom and partake of her bounty. Nature’s youth not only implies a relative trait against which all human-made construction can never appear more – almost sexually – attractive. The attempt to make nature look nice is nowhere so transparent as in this attempt to cast it as actually young and beautiful. Indeed, even its temporary failings can be excused by Earth’s renewal each spring. If some part of nature is dangerous or undesirable, it will soon be corrected in the regular course of the seasons. In volume five, number six, â€Å"The Esthetic Side of Jewtown† explains,Life is too strenuous in Jewtown to preserve the bloom of youth. Among the younger ones there are some who are very beautiful beneath their coating of filth, with the clove skin and large, soft, black eyes. They give themselves a coquettish appearance. The truly horrid part of life in the Ghetto, we learn, is that it covers or takes away the natural beauty of women. Artifice cannot destroy nature, because nature is big and inescapable, but it can blemish its beauty temporarily.This identification of nature with youth and beauty combined with the opposition of nature and the state sell anarchism almost exactly the way one might sell diet soda: government is actually too ugly to appreciate, gorgeous young women prefer anarchy. In classic advertising style, Mother Earth also describes nature as saturated with love. In the first issue, when describing a budding relationship crushed by the coldness of artifice and modern living, â€Å"The Tragedy of Women’s Emancipation† explains that â€Å"poetry and the enthusiasm of love cover their blushing faces before the pure beauty of the lady. Her admirer] silences the voice of his nature and remains correct. † The article condemns his correctitude as exactly the basic problem of modern living – its disconnect from love and contact. Tragically, the beauty of the lady, just as that of the kindly mother Earth, has been tainted to block the â€Å"poetry† and â€Å"enthusiasm of love† the article considers natural. In contrast to t he authentic state of love the various ‘systems’ of which anarchism complains give us poor simulations of affection: marriage and the nuclear family.In volume 3, number five, the article â€Å"Light and Shadows in the Life of an Avant-Gard†, we learn The poor women, thousands of them, abused, insulted, and outraged by their precious husbands, must continue a life of degradation. They have no money to join the colony in Reno. No relief for them. The poor women, the slaves of the slaves, must go on prostituting themselves. They must continue to bear children in hate, in conflict, in physical horror. The marriage institution and the â€Å"sanctity of the home† are only for those who have not the money to buy themselves free from both, even as the chattel slave from his master.Nature offers real love, civilization offers a slavery titled love. These stark terms of opposition function to set up an understanding of a loving motherly nature that makes it obviousl y superior to the uncaring childlike cruelties that comprise the artificial world. As is often thought, nature is also connected with freedom. It is quite arbitrary to say that those things to which a life in ‘nature’ is conducive represent the content of freedom. For instance, in nature one is not free to vote or go to work, and yet this is considered irrelevant to questions of liberty.In volume two, number three, of Mother Earth, the article â€Å"Liberty† proclaims that â€Å"whatever may be the form of social institutions, if it does no more than to declare and enforce well-known rules of natural justice, then I am free. † The simplistic opposition between the compromises of ‘artificial’ life and the freedom of nature is best exemplified in the pithy quote â€Å"Liberty escaped into the wilderness† from the journal’s founding article. This unbounded freedom seems excessively unrealistic as a description of a mother, and yet i t is precisely the freedom that mothers lacked that the journal constructs nature as having in spades.At the same time, the infinite youth, beauty, and inescapable freedom in and of nature primarily complement its fundamentally orderly state. Perhaps in one of the most bizarre fixations of anarchist literature, the journal seems careful to point out the extreme orderliness of life in anarchy. In this kind of reconciliation of total freedom and total justice one can actually see the neurosis of liberalism tentatively suggest what it most wishes simply come true: good freedom and good order. The very first issue, in the rticle â€Å"Without Government† we are told that, there are qualities present in man, which permit the possibilities of social life, organization, and co-operative work without the application of force. Such qualities are solidarity, common action, and love of justice. To-day they are either crippled [sic] or made ineffective through the influence of compulsion ; they can hardly be fully unfolded in a society in which groups, classes, and individuals are placed in hostile, irreconcilable opposition to one anotherAgain, like an orderly housewife, nature maintains a world that works, but without even so much as a broom. Instead, nature works through qualities always already present in people, as natural beings. It is through this sort of argument that anarchism can define government into such a position that it doesn’t even make sense to consider, having already had all its greatest advantages stolen over to the side of nature. Simultaneously, nature’s great assets will be willingly sacrificed to her children in cheerful martyrdom.Like the constructed role of a ‘good mother’, nature â€Å"sees the bleeding feet of her children †¦ hears their moans, and she is ever calling to them that she is theirs† beginning in the founding article of Mother Earth. The article continues to encourage the exploitation of nature because nature is asking for it, here with increasingly vivid maternal imagery. Mother Earth keeps sources of vast wealth hidden within the folds of her ample bosom, extended her inviting and hospitable arms to all those who came to her from arbitrary and despotic lands–Mother Earth ready to give herself alike to all her children.But soon she was seized by the few, stripped of her freedom, fenced in, a prey to those who were endowed with cunning and unscrupulous shrewdness. The rapaciousness of artifice and modern civilization becomes its primary characteristic when put in the terms of a kindly mother fallen prey to vicious quasi-Oedipal domination. Here, again, the journal’s construction of nature as feminine serves the direct political function of discrediting political opponents such as the state, capitalism, and religion.However, the indirect effect of such a construction may be more historically significant, as the natural world becomes increasingly femini zed in particular ways. It is impossible to simply associate nature with feminine, because there is too much to each category. Here the generality is retained on the term of nature – to the degree that it’s distinction from artifice can be kept plausible – and specificity is given to the feminine. Mothers should, in this account, sacrifice everything to their children, no matter how abusive they may be to her.Indeed, every praised trait of Mother Earth is a thinly veiled suggestion for mothers to fulfill. That Mother Earth is huge, inescapable, free and orderly says, at some level, that all good mothers are this way. Thus we end with a political theory laid out in Mother Earth that various artificial systems are bad because they are inferior to a young, beautiful martyr of an omnipresent loving mother who provides both freedom and order.In conclusion, the journal Mother Earth deployed rhetoric in various forms to craft a particular feminine version of nature tha t explicitly worked to delegitimize particular systems of oppression and implicitly functioned to worship an ideal maternal version of womanhood. The journal’s preoccupation with issues of concern to women, such as marriage, prostitution, birth control, and sexuality coincided with its normalizing urge to encounter (some) people as children of nature who could frolic freely within the limitless provisions of their mother’s great world.However, there are actually two possible roles for a subject here, children or mother herself. Politics and men immediately appear infantilized against the mother of nature, supplying a ready-made excuse and index for predicting their actions as irresponsible yet lovable children, but for many women Mother Earth was not their mother, but to be their role model.Nature was a mother whose private sphere expanded to one large planetary home and material limitations in age and restriction were erased by scientific appeal (and pure fiat) to ren der life in nature simultaneously completely free and problem-free. As a solution to the troubles of political theory, the journal instead invented a superhero character to replace the tired images of a drudging, used up, and insensitive nature with a glossy new young, beautiful cover girl – Mother Earth. Protect Our Mother Nature PROTECT OUR MOTHER NATURE Repeatedly in history, conceptions of nature have served as ideological justifications for political theory. The most obvious example is the Hobbesian state of nature against which even the most oppressive government appears perfectly legitimate. Whereas in most cases of political theory, nature looks like an incompetent savage or unreliable tramp, some anarchist lines of argument instead offer versions of nature as infinite, loving, or otherwise better than the artifices to which it is implicitly opposed.Whether for or against nature, depictions of the natural world in political theory consider it in cultural units of meaning, a combination of icons and stereotypes that change not only our understanding of nature, but also of the units of meaning being referenced. In the early twentieth century journal Mother Earth, a construction of nature comes together, in a publication interested mostly in anarchist and feminist goals, that worshipped nature as a huge, consuming, feminine super being.Certain traits in the construction of nature in this journal form an account of nature as a particular type of femininity to be admired, a move laden both with direct strategic value and creeping implications for the idealizations of womanhood. In order to establish the desirability of the journal’s goal of a world without artificial systems of control, the opposition of nature and artifice is a crucial first step. While it may seem tempting to define these terms, this neglects the primary function of both as catchalls with nebulous referents and amorphous structure defined only by their opposition to one another.The process of dividing the categories begins in the very first issue of the publication, in the foundational article †Mother Earth†. The article mythologizes that â€Å"Man issued from the womb of Mother Earth †¦ out of his efforts there arose the dreary doctrine that he was not related to the Earth, that she was but a temporary resting place for his scornful feet and that she held nothing for him but temptation to degrade himself. † This creation story of the present political situation clearly opposes the natural, which was original, to the artificial, which is only an egoistic and recent edifice.Nature as mother, of course, means artifice must be opposed, and thus becomes child, making the entirety of the anarchist argument parallel to motherly chastisement. In the same issue, â€Å"Without Government† bemoans government solutions as inevitably late and insubstantial, suggesting an analogy with illness where â€Å"the symptom of the disease was hidden† and only on its appearance would the government act. In this metaphor, artificial solutions to the world’s problems are only attacks on a flurry of symptoms as they slowly manifest themselves in increasingly visible ways, thus the profound animosity the journal expresses towards ‘Comstockery’.Regulation of sexuality becomes a direct example of the child trying to limit what mother had given to her children. Volume three number five offers an analogy for group resistance of bees on a tree branch, â€Å"it is only needful that one bee spread its wings, rise and fly, and after it the second, the third, the tenth, the hundredth, for the immobile hanging mass to become a freely flying swarm of bees. † The writing makes humans already bees in a thoroughly naturalized world upon which systems of domination such as the state and religion have only been imposed in a superficial sense.All we need to do, in this account, is realize the situation, and spread our wingsto fly back into an expansive and beautiful nature. This fetishization of nature provides a clear contrast between the world of that which the anarchafeminist politics of the publication oppose and the ‘real’ world of nature that underlies and surrounds the injustices of artificial living. The question then bec omes, in order to prove the insufficiency and downright failures of artifice by comparison, what is the character of nature? To begin with, nature is big.In the first issue’s article â€Å"Mother Earth†, the history of the world seems laid out in a quasi-mythical tale. â€Å"Earth was but one of a myriad of stars floating in infinite space. † The whole of the universe, with which nature remains implicitly identified, exceeds our abilities to measure, let alone comprehend – a myriad in infinity. Even in this cosmic understanding, that which is natural and surrounded is still itself huge. In an article in the first issue called â€Å"Try Love†, the argument concludes, â€Å"Let us be broad and big. Let us not overlook vital things, because of the bulk of trifles confronting us. The natural is large; problems from artifice can be numerous, but each is only of trifling size – thousands of children surrounding one huge mother. Beyond being large to begin with, the maniacal focus in the publication on freeing nature and being freed into nature also revolves around a hope for future growth. As if ‘we’ were already failing to be â€Å"broad and big† enough, â€Å"The Tragedy of Women’s Emancipation† proclaims: â€Å"Salvation lies in an energetic march onwards towards a brighter and clearer future. We are in need of unhampered growth out of old traditions and habits† as if nature and life in nature knew no limits.The image is of not just a sprouting weed, but a whole forest growing out of a street. This rhetorical strategy of associating the concept of nature so crucial to driving the arguments of the journal with hugeness seems strangely sympathetic with and to industrializing urges of the time. The conflict between the temptations of big machines with big outputs and direct material gain versus little anarchic communities with little to offer but some vague sense of satisfaction can finally be resolved in an anarchy run by a big nature figure, a loving cow mother replaces the cruel leviathan father.This solution gives all the benefits and reassurance of something so-big-it-must-work and avoids all the downfalls readers would consider so endemic to ‘modernization’ . Beyond simple scale, nature is inescapable. While a big nature appeals to childlike demand for an oversized mother who will ensure safety and grant all desires, the journal also shows nature as generally inevitable. Relying on one of many references to scientific certainty, â€Å"Liberty†, in the second volume, issue number three, reminds us: â€Å"the natural law of a social organism is as certain as, though less known than, the force of gravity.Like the latter it antedates, and is independent of, our knowledge of its existence, or of the law of its operation. † The natural law, suggesting the order inherent in ‘free’ ways of life, does not even need to be pro ven preferable to artificial laws so long as it is inevitable, the rhetoric suggests. No matter how much one tries to fight it, they can only impede the natural order of things, but never change it. Indeed, this sentiment, in argument form, makes up the bulk of the rest of the article. The natural law not only frames what is and is not tyranny, but even ‘proves’ the futility of passing any laws through the government.And men, brought up in law-abiding communities in the deepest respect for the law, will, under the changed conditions of life, not merely condone the infliction of a penalty in excess of that provided by law, but will themselves assist, virtuously satisfied with their conduct because the society of which they form a part has decided that horse-stealing shall be so punished. On the other hand, there are numerous laws on the statute books, still unrepealed and unenforceable because the acts treated of are no longer held to be offences against morality.In othe r words, the morals of a people can be regulated only by themselves. The trick is very simple, if a law is natural there is no reason to legislate about it, and if it is not natural no one will obey it. The rhetorical construction of nature as unavoidable already renders artifice more than avoidable – it is always already avoided. Rhetorical implications become argument: it would be impossible to describe any part of government’s power as belonging to government itself, because people only act based on nature. The closest government comes to legislation in this model is to prescribe behavior people already exhibit.The gist of this construction of nature is most clear in the case of a poem in volume three, number two entitled â€Å"The King†. In it, a dead king rots in nature, covered in lizards and â€Å"vile spineless things†, literally consumed by the overpowering feminine in his afterlife. â€Å"Faith lit his pathway with her loveliness; / Fair Hopeâ €™s voice called him from his barren fen; Love vainly strove to lure him with her grace. † As a feminine entity, nature is here the omnipresent mother, she tracks down her children and is always there for them to return to.Inescapable nature not only sets up a comparison in which government and artifice can never win, but simultaneously constructs the role of a feminine presence that is ineradicable and impossible to resist. The good mother must be always present and forever accepting of even her most lost children. Also, nature has youthful beauty. In the first issue of Mother Earth, the flagship article explains the history of nature in terms that make Earth unmistakably a young mother, â€Å"she renewed herself, the good mother, and came again each Spring, radiant with youthful beauty, beckoning her children to come to her bosom and partake of her bounty. Nature’s youth not only implies a relative trait against which all human-made construction can never appear more – almost sexually – attractive. The attempt to make nature look nice is nowhere so transparent as in this attempt to cast it as actually young and beautiful. Indeed, even its temporary failings can be excused by Earth’s renewal each spring. If some part of nature is dangerous or undesirable, it will soon be corrected in the regular course of the seasons. In volume five, number six, â€Å"The Esthetic Side of Jewtown† explains,Life is too strenuous in Jewtown to preserve the bloom of youth. Among the younger ones there are some who are very beautiful beneath their coating of filth, with the clove skin and large, soft, black eyes. They give themselves a coquettish appearance. The truly horrid part of life in the Ghetto, we learn, is that it covers or takes away the natural beauty of women. Artifice cannot destroy nature, because nature is big and inescapable, but it can blemish its beauty temporarily.This identification of nature with youth and beauty combined with the opposition of nature and the state sell anarchism almost exactly the way one might sell diet soda: government is actually too ugly to appreciate, gorgeous young women prefer anarchy. In classic advertising style, Mother Earth also describes nature as saturated with love. In the first issue, when describing a budding relationship crushed by the coldness of artifice and modern living, â€Å"The Tragedy of Women’s Emancipation† explains that â€Å"poetry and the enthusiasm of love cover their blushing faces before the pure beauty of the lady. Her admirer] silences the voice of his nature and remains correct. † The article condemns his correctitude as exactly the basic problem of modern living – its disconnect from love and contact. Tragically, the beauty of the lady, just as that of the kindly mother Earth, has been tainted to block the â€Å"poetry† and â€Å"enthusiasm of love† the article considers natural. In contrast to t he authentic state of love the various ‘systems’ of which anarchism complains give us poor simulations of affection: marriage and the nuclear family.In volume 3, number five, the article â€Å"Light and Shadows in the Life of an Avant-Gard†, we learn The poor women, thousands of them, abused, insulted, and outraged by their precious husbands, must continue a life of degradation. They have no money to join the colony in Reno. No relief for them. The poor women, the slaves of the slaves, must go on prostituting themselves. They must continue to bear children in hate, in conflict, in physical horror. The marriage institution and the â€Å"sanctity of the home† are only for those who have not the money to buy themselves free from both, even as the chattel slave from his master.Nature offers real love, civilization offers a slavery titled love. These stark terms of opposition function to set up an understanding of a loving motherly nature that makes it obviousl y superior to the uncaring childlike cruelties that comprise the artificial world. As is often thought, nature is also connected with freedom. It is quite arbitrary to say that those things to which a life in ‘nature’ is conducive represent the content of freedom. For instance, in nature one is not free to vote or go to work, and yet this is considered irrelevant to questions of liberty.In volume two, number three, of Mother Earth, the article â€Å"Liberty† proclaims that â€Å"whatever may be the form of social institutions, if it does no more than to declare and enforce well-known rules of natural justice, then I am free. † The simplistic opposition between the compromises of ‘artificial’ life and the freedom of nature is best exemplified in the pithy quote â€Å"Liberty escaped into the wilderness† from the journal’s founding article. This unbounded freedom seems excessively unrealistic as a description of a mother, and yet i t is precisely the freedom that mothers lacked that the journal constructs nature as having in spades.At the same time, the infinite youth, beauty, and inescapable freedom in and of nature primarily complement its fundamentally orderly state. Perhaps in one of the most bizarre fixations of anarchist literature, the journal seems careful to point out the extreme orderliness of life in anarchy. In this kind of reconciliation of total freedom and total justice one can actually see the neurosis of liberalism tentatively suggest what it most wishes simply come true: good freedom and good order. The very first issue, in the rticle â€Å"Without Government† we are told that, there are qualities present in man, which permit the possibilities of social life, organization, and co-operative work without the application of force. Such qualities are solidarity, common action, and love of justice. To-day they are either crippled [sic] or made ineffective through the influence of compulsion ; they can hardly be fully unfolded in a society in which groups, classes, and individuals are placed in hostile, irreconcilable opposition to one anotherAgain, like an orderly housewife, nature maintains a world that works, but without even so much as a broom. Instead, nature works through qualities always already present in people, as natural beings. It is through this sort of argument that anarchism can define government into such a position that it doesn’t even make sense to consider, having already had all its greatest advantages stolen over to the side of nature. Simultaneously, nature’s great assets will be willingly sacrificed to her children in cheerful martyrdom.Like the constructed role of a ‘good mother’, nature â€Å"sees the bleeding feet of her children †¦ hears their moans, and she is ever calling to them that she is theirs† beginning in the founding article of Mother Earth. The article continues to encourage the exploitation of nature because nature is asking for it, here with increasingly vivid maternal imagery. Mother Earth keeps sources of vast wealth hidden within the folds of her ample bosom, extended her inviting and hospitable arms to all those who came to her from arbitrary and despotic lands–Mother Earth ready to give herself alike to all her children.But soon she was seized by the few, stripped of her freedom, fenced in, a prey to those who were endowed with cunning and unscrupulous shrewdness. The rapaciousness of artifice and modern civilization becomes its primary characteristic when put in the terms of a kindly mother fallen prey to vicious quasi-Oedipal domination. Here, again, the journal’s construction of nature as feminine serves the direct political function of discrediting political opponents such as the state, capitalism, and religion.However, the indirect effect of such a construction may be more historically significant, as the natural world becomes increasingly femini zed in particular ways. It is impossible to simply associate nature with feminine, because there is too much to each category. Here the generality is retained on the term of nature – to the degree that it’s distinction from artifice can be kept plausible – and specificity is given to the feminine. Mothers should, in this account, sacrifice everything to their children, no matter how abusive they may be to her.Indeed, every praised trait of Mother Earth is a thinly veiled suggestion for mothers to fulfill. That Mother Earth is huge, inescapable, free and orderly says, at some level, that all good mothers are this way. Thus we end with a political theory laid out in Mother Earth that various artificial systems are bad because they are inferior to a young, beautiful martyr of an omnipresent loving mother who provides both freedom and order.In conclusion, the journal Mother Earth deployed rhetoric in various forms to craft a particular feminine version of nature tha t explicitly worked to delegitimize particular systems of oppression and implicitly functioned to worship an ideal maternal version of womanhood. The journal’s preoccupation with issues of concern to women, such as marriage, prostitution, birth control, and sexuality coincided with its normalizing urge to encounter (some) people as children of nature who could frolic freely within the limitless provisions of their mother’s great world.However, there are actually two possible roles for a subject here, children or mother herself. Politics and men immediately appear infantilized against the mother of nature, supplying a ready-made excuse and index for predicting their actions as irresponsible yet lovable children, but for many women Mother Earth was not their mother, but to be their role model.Nature was a mother whose private sphere expanded to one large planetary home and material limitations in age and restriction were erased by scientific appeal (and pure fiat) to ren der life in nature simultaneously completely free and problem-free. As a solution to the troubles of political theory, the journal instead invented a superhero character to replace the tired images of a drudging, used up, and insensitive nature with a glossy new young, beautiful cover girl – Mother Earth.

The redistribution of wealth in US Military Spending Research Paper

The redistribution of wealth in US Military Spending - Research Paper Example In addition to investing in sectors such as education, health, food etc, the government also spends a fortune on funding military services, which are highly important because the overall safety of the country and its citizens rests within the hands of the military personnel. However, the present scenario puts forth a dilemma to the US government, that is, whether to decrease military spending and undertake consecutive risks involved or increase military spending and contribute further to the decline of the economy as well as the deteriorating standard of living of its citizens. Since sectors such as education and health are more productive in promoting personal development among citizens, thus in turn boosting the economy and resulting in further development of the country through lesser inequality in wealth distribution, it becomes clear that the US government should cut back its military spending and invest the wealth of the country in these productive sectors. It is a fact that th e military of any nation is responsible for protecting the citizens as well as the country from both internal and external threats. Thus, it is acknowledged that the country deploys a large number of personnel for military requirements in terms of air force, navy force as well as ground force. Moreover, in the same context, the government of the country makes huge investments in order to support various military operations, provide exceptional training to the troops, fund different endeavours that come under its programs etc. However, despite the fact that it is an absolute necessity to provide for the country’s security and the citizen’s safety, there is indeed a thing such as overspending for military, especially in the case of developed countries like the United States. Contrary to the government’s view of still supporting military expenditure in the present milieu, the American citizens have expressed in a recent nationwide survey conducted by the ‘Cen ter for Public Integrity’ that in order for the country to revive from the current deficit, the government needs to â€Å"cut the defense budget deeply† (Smith, 2012, p. 1). It is due to conspicuous wastage of the nation’s wealth through military, that the government is unable to fully contribute towards economic growth, as well as fulfil the very purpose for which it was established- safeguarding the interests of the citizens and ensuring the welfare of human beings. Furthermore, if the government funded more money for sectors dealing with aspects like education, healthcare, employment, food etc, the country could actually make a difference in its wealth distribution and gradually bridge the gap between the rich and poor sections of society. Thus, it becomes clear that the American government should focus on productive sectors rather than military and simultaneously it should decrease its military expenditure in order to redistribute wealth in the US in a more ideal way. The primary responsibility of the government should be to provide the citizens of the country with basic amenities such as food and shelter. However, the US government is intent on according the highest priority to military warfare as was revealed by its expenditure of â€Å"$737 billion on military defense†

Affiant Introduction Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Affiant Introduction - Assignment Example Lieutenant James Bryant is a Homicide Investigator for the Twin City, Wisconsin Police Department, a position he has held for ten years. At the rank of Lieutenant, Bryant is responsible and in charge of a six member homicide investigations squad. In his over twenty years with the Twin City Police, he was also a patrol officer for three years, five years as a detective on the robbery squad, and three years on the Fugitive Apprehension squad. Prior to that, he also served in the US Army as a military policeman in Frankfurt, Germany for four years. Lieutenant Bryant’s education includes the University of Wisconsin, with a degree in Criminal Justice. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Academy. The Lieutenant has received specialized Training in SWAT Training, Crisis Negotiation Training, and Latent Fingerprint Training. His professional affiliations include the National Peace Officer Association, the National Homicide Investigators Association, and the Wisconsin State Peace Officers Association. Bryant has been involved in testimony for over 150 court appearances, of which twenty times were as an expert witness. He has participated in the investigation of some 2,500 cases. In specific for Homicide Cases the officer has investigated 300 separate cases. Of those he had 200 arrests and a 96-percent solve

Role play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Role play - Essay Example As such, they have a closer look of things or a firsthand perspective of operations and services in a department. They are in a strategic position to detect any system deficiencies. As such they can report the deficiencies and propose reengineering that can be done to reverse or improve the situation. The recommendations offered by nurse leaders are based on experience and continuous research. Thus, such recommendations are highly effective and likely to be implemented. As noted, reengineering results in a leaner and efficient healthcare system. In this regard, nurse leaders can use their leadership positions to lodge formal proposals on issues that need changes in departments. As discussed, nurse leaders have a direct link to nurses and thus can collect actionable information from the nurses and patients. Nurse leaders have a direct role of assigning role and hence can identify deficiencies and fill them accordingly. There are situations that may demand more nurses than the others for optimal performance. Hence, nurse leaders can have a direct influence on health care reengineering. Ellerbe,  S., & Regen,  D. (2012). Responding to Health Care Reform by Addressing the Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Nursing. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 36(3), 210-216. Retrieved from

Business case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Business case - Essay Example Meanwhile research has shown that 70% of Americans rely on the internet for information (people-press.org, 2008). Having said that, it follows that any business that wishes to succeed and grow must employ and use the internet. Again, market issues can also be noticed in the distribution and source of stock. There is neither provision for stocks to be transported and delivered to buyers; nor expert advice on plant placing, nurturing, watering and manure. Also while the interest of Alice is on environmental issues are commendable, but environmental issues are basically social responsibility, and if a company can’t be responsible to its staff, it can not afford responsibility to the greater environment. Having customers aged 55 and over is not a good thing. This simply means that when this group retires off, no younger generation is available to replace them (Manhaimer, 2010). Alice should develop a good relationship with youths by developing marketing promotions and adverts specially targeted at this market niche. Apart from replacing the aging population, youths also influence the buying decisions of their families. Also the low stock turnover indicates poor management and marketing functions (Chukwudire, 2010). Greater attention should be paid to improve the situation. The human resources issues are highly interconnected with one leading to the other, a chain effect. First workers are not properly selected; the interview process is completely ignored, posing several problems for the organization (Chua, 2010). Employees are hired without being sure they can do the job, want to do it, and can actually fit in. These lapses create motivational problems which would have been avoided if proper interviews were properly carried out. The leadership style is identified as Patriarchal, which comes with domination, authoritarianism, and absolute power (Kanyaro, 2006). In this kind of relationship, the final answer is vested in one person who is

Starbucks Going Global Fast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Starbucks Going Global Fast - Essay Example Customers can get a cup of Starbucks right around the corner. Also, Starbucks is the first to offer free Wi-Fi to their customers and has introduced Starbucks prepaid cards to speed up check out time. These convenient and innovative services increase customers’ satisfaction. The biggest weakness for Starbucks comes with dissatisfaction among its employees. They have mainly concerned that the company’s remunerations packages are not commensurate with the amount of work considering the huge customer base that it enjoys. Their general feeling is that they are being underpaid and this could translate into poor services to customers. Therefore, Starbucks has to change their employment strategies and boost employee satisfaction levels so as to ensure quality products and services to their customers. Just like any other company in business Starbucks also has its opportunities and threats to its business. The first opportunities lie in its vastness, growth pace and brand recognition. Starbucks has opened its doors to global expansion thus creating lots of room for growth and gaining global status. It is true that the sales are vast but the threats in foreign countries are unforeseeable. For instance, there are cultural and preferences differences in foreign countries that Starbucks must cope with. Additionally, Starbucks faces competition from other companies in the ready to drink beverages market hence must ensure its service standards remain at the top in order to maintain the leadership position. The main problem facing Starbucks as it expands internationally revolves around strategy. The company has to develop several new strategies to increase sales and further expansion in the competitive beverage industry especially when it comes to new markets like in Japan. Although Starbucks has been in Japan for more than 10 years, it carries out its business as an American company.

Inquiry-Based Report (Professional Inquiry and Reflection) Essay

Inquiry-Based Report (Professional Inquiry and Reflection) - Essay Example Secondly, there is commonly a substantial distinction in classes between students who collect good marks and others who do not acquire reasonable grades. Those students who acquire low grades can be further categorized into two. One group belongs to those students who are efficient learners and understand concepts and theories which are being taught to them. Despite their efficient learning, their grades are not sufficient as compared to the other efficient learners. The other category of low grading students is consisting of those students who find it difficult to understand and reflect upon concepts and theories which are taught in class. This signifies two of most critical issues regarding the scope of education which include the role of assessment criteria and those factors which are affecting the learning capabilities of some students in a uniform environment. Regarding to these issues, the research questions for this study are: Why certain theories are emphasized in curriculums ? How assessment and evaluation criteria contribute to the issue of good learning students having lower grades? What factors are causing the distinction among students regarding the understanding of taught concepts and theories in a uniform environment? Conducting research In order to accumulate the information regarding the research question, the assessment of previous literature is essential. Kolb, Alice Y. and Kolb, David A. "Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education." Academy of management learning & education 4.2 (2005): 193-212. Print. In this article, authors are aimed draw a more enhanced implications for experiential learning. A framework of learning space has been introduced to the better understanding of the relationship between students’ learning styles and the learning environment of institution. It proposes that the concept of experiential learning must be applied of whole learning environment. The problem of studen ts with learning and understanding the concept due to any major possible reason, like inequity in race, gender or class, can be addressed through this literature. It also deals with the alterations in the curriculum by which the learning of students is highly associated. Mezirow, Jack. "A Critical Theory of Adult Learning and Education." Adult Education Quarterly 32.1 (1981): 3-24. Print. The author, in this article, illuminates the subjective perspectives of students in their learning processes in the light of Jurgen Habermas’s ideas. The intention and goals of learning and the accusition of learning process in the domain of academic learning of students play a sufficient role in the attainment of good grades. However, the research question regarding the assesment criteria also illuminates the institutional flaws in the description of certain criteria by which students can successfully acquire the information regarding the choice of learning process. Mezirow, Jack. "Transfor mative Learning: Theory to Practice." New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 1997.74 (1997): 5-12. Print. In this article, a transformative learning process has been proposed by the author in that the stress is upon critical thinking. The article presents that the thinking in order to learn must be comprised of autonomous and critical cognition instead of straight absorption of

New Public Management, Stakeholder Theory 1, Stakeholder Theory 2 Essay

New Public Management, Stakeholder Theory 1, Stakeholder Theory 2 - Essay Example This is being targeted by aiming to improve the overall performance functionality of the organization at hand. The main areas of target include eradicating the negative energies and low productivity of the organization, bringing about more advancements in terms of scientific and technological domain, creating an environment of global ambiance where decisions are taken in due consideration of outside elements involved, and finally the element of treating the citizens as customers where their demand and satisfaction is the top priority beyond anything else. Striving for improved output out of overall scenario is core function and objective of new public management scheme. Transparent operations, more participation, better results were few of the concepts and aims that were based on the idea of new public management. N.P.M’s origin can be traced back to days and decade after the Second World War. Economic prosperity and awareness towards people’s services in the developing parts of the world brought about this process and made it further speedy with the kind of opportunities and benefits it promised. Decentralization of the organization, clear roles definition, tasks accomplishment, stakeholders concerns addressing, reduction in overheads and costs of various form, better customers’ communication means, all these are the areas stressed and focused under the domain of new public management. N.P.M has largely been accepted because it gave a new dimension to the concept of people’s service and better outcomes in form of organizational operations with low inventory, low overheads and higher throughputs(HOOD 1991). N.P.M is often termed as a tool and weapon which will enable better outcome in any kind of organization with customers at back end., however the main focus is that of governmental institute with focus on reforming the pillar of bureaucracy in a holistic way by making it more effective and bringing the true value out of

Life on the Color Line Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life on the Color Line - Essay Example Their mother leaves them when faced with bankruptcy. Now the whites will not accept them, and the blacks will not accept them either. The boys, however, decide to grit out a living even in such abysmal conditions (Gregory Howard Williams). Racism happen the world over. It happened in Germany when the Nazis declared the superiority of their race. It happened in the Roman empire where Roman citizens boasted of the privileges of their status that was not available to non-Romans. These incidents took place in the past, sometimes in the distant past. However, the issue has not died down to the level where their exposure would only draw curiosity and nothing else. One of the reasons that racism has not died down is the us-and-them thinking pattern that looks upon one's neighbor cultural background with disdain and mockery. From such attitudes one can easily graduate to potentially more dangerous forms of racism that refuses to die down or be consigned to the annals of distant history. One is reminded of the horrors of the Ku Klux Klan and the beating of Rodney King by four white Los Angeles police officers in 1992. These incidents, unfortunately, do not allow the topic of racism to exit in a peaceful mortuary. The present status of Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States can serve as a bright example of racial tolerance that exists in the United States today. However, consider these facts while hailing the incident of Barak Hussein Obama being elected the first non-white president of the United States. "There is no question that the possibility of violence directed at presidential candidates, especially Obama, is the elephant in the middle of the room," says Peter Fenn, adjunct professor of political management at George Washington University, to describe the media's careful coverage of the issue. Hillary Clinton's comments about the 1968 assassination of Kennedy caused an uproar among those who believe that the candidate wanted to bring up the security issue surrounding Obama" (Marcus Baram). The security threat to Obama exists manifold more that those that existed for white presidents earlier. The issue is not only perplexing but also potential enough for the nation to be concerned about since it has to do with a president who has been elected in a fair and free manner. Conscious and Informed Awareness In the prevailing conditions, it is difficult to decide to turn a new leaf and start afresh where there will be no racial recriminations. Undoubtedly, the situation has improved from what it was earlier when it was all right for black men to serve as caddies and it was normal for black women to serve as housemaids. These are the days when a black man is the president of the United States. However, the stigma of being black in a nation where the white is predominant cannot be removed by wishful objectives. They have to be side stepped with humility and simple acknowledgment. Racial divisions will continue to make their presence felt because man is ultimately a weak entity. Every nation on earth has a race that is majority and some races in the minority. It is natural for the majority to claim dominance over the minority. Nonetheless, issues that concern law and order problems relating

Attitude Towards Women Fathers and Sons Essay Example for Free

Attitude Towards Women Fathers and Sons Essay To analyze the attitudes towards the women question and the most useful starting point would be to look at the representation of the liberated woman, Yevdoxia Kukshina, which can be contrasted with the representation of Bazarov’s mother or Nikolai Kirsanov’s wife, the women ideals of the older generation. Kukshina is clearly meant to the representative of the radicalism of the 1850s to1860s, â€Å"the progressive, advanced or educated woman : nigilistka or nihilist woman† (Richard Stites). She has ‘vowed to defend the rights of women to the last drop of my blood’ and is scornful of Sand ‘an out of date woman’. She has separated from her husband and plans to go abroad to study in Paris and Heildelberg. She thus, personifies the emergence of new objectives and tactics among the Russian emancipees of the early 1860s. However, it is also quite obvious that while much has been written about Turgenev’s attitude towards his nihilist hero, there is no doubt that the female nihilist Kukshina is an unflattering caricature and as Walter Smyrniw quotes â€Å"Turgenev has deliberately portrayed Kukshina as a ludicrous and repulsive emancipee.† Walter goes on to argue that in his portrayal of Kukshina, Turgenev lampooned only certain undesirable tendencies generated by Russian emancipees. The worst among them was a lack of genuine involvement, an inadequate commitment to the movement itself. Some merely assumed the roles of the emancipated women and hence their behaviour was both contrived and unnatural. Although many critics have argued along the same lines of Turgenev’s portrayal of Kukshina as a device for irony â€Å"the progressive louse which Turgenev combed out of Russian reality† (Dostoevsky) and that he has assumed the same sentiment in respect to Russian men who merely assumed the pose of materialists and nihilists (eg. Sitnikov), it is hard to escape that in the description of her person and household we find some of the stereotyping of radical women found in most conservative writing. He did not hesitate in expressing value judgments when ridiculing the pretentiousness and hypocrisy of Russian women who merely played the role of emancipees. She is dirty and slovenly in her habits and person, her room is scattered and dusty, her hair disheveled and her dress crumpled. Moreover, her conversation and behaviour is meant to ‘show’ us that her radicalism is shallow and unaffected. The narrator ‘tells’ us that she greets her guests with a string of questions without waiting for answers. It is important to notice here the narrator’s generalization here, which would seem to impute lack of serious concern (feminine casualness) to all women as part of their feminine nature and not to Kukshina as an individual. The narrator draws repeated attention to Kukshina’s unattractive physical appearance almost as if that were partly her fault. Kukshina is unfortunate enough to show her gums above her top teeth when she laughs and her piano playing revels her flat-cut fingernails. However, what is most significant in terms of the dominant patriarchal ideology of the mid-nineteenth century Russia is her declaration, â€Å"I’m free, I have no children.† From a conservative perspective, this would count as near sacrilegious statement. Though Bazarov himself is a serious character, its possible to read Sitnikov as a parody of the younger generation. At Madame Kukshins, the narrator tells us To Sitnikov the chance to be scathing and express contempt was the most agreeable of sensations (13.44).

Measuring Consistency Among Management of Employees

Measuring Consistency Among Management of Employees Conceptualisation, Measurement And Effects Introduction Of The Research Problem And Research Questions This research project focuses on the development and validation of a method for measuring consistency among practices in the management of employees, a field often referred to as Human Resource Management (HRM). With the increasing importance of the ‘human factor in modern organizations, HR-issues have become more salient to organizations that believe that people are their most important asset in achieving organizational goals. Different streams of HR-consistency research can be identified, often divided in the categories ‘external consistency and ‘internal consistency. Both streams of research are in development because of the notion that in the case of external consistency the alignment of HRM practices (e.g. selection, training, pay, appraisal, job security, participation) with business strategy results in positive outcomes. This research project focuses on the concept of ‘internal consistency. The idea central to internal consistency is the positive outcomes generated by consistent combinations of multiple HRM practices, where the effect of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Many authors already outline the idea that sets of consistent HRM practices can reinforce employee attitudes and behaviour (e.g. Wright McMahan, 1992; Ichniowski et al., 1996; Guest, 1997, Baron Kreps, 1999; Ostroff Bowen, 2000, Boselie, 2002), but also that inconsistent combinations can be ‘deadly (Becker, Huselid, Pickus Spratt, 1997) or create ‘double binds that drive people crazy (Schneider, 1999). Baron Kreps (1999) describe the desirability of internal consistency in terms of the desirability of messages sent out to employees being simple (by following the same principles) and supportive of the same theme. By HRM practices being internally consistent, employees know what is expected of them and what they can expect in turn. Academic research on the effects of multiple HRM practices often proclaims to study internal consistency by defining sets of congruent HRM practices as a system. More specifically, it is suggested that systems of ‘high commitment practices increase organizational effectiveness by creating conditions where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish the organizations goals (Arthur, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Whitener, 2000). However, with the exception of Whitener (2000), researchers study the effects of high commitment HR systems on measures of organizational effectiveness without investigating the relationship between high commitment HRM practices and aspects of employee commitment. Stated is that very little is known about how and through which processes HRM practices influences organizational performance (Guest, 1997; Becker, Huselid, Pickus Spratt, 1997; Ostroff Bowen, 2000). Intermediate processes that ultimately affect performance outcomes are referred to as the ‘black box of the HRM-outcome link (e.g. Wright Gardner, 2003). Unlocking the ‘black box means identifying HR-objects that are relevant to employee performance. Ostroff Bowen (2000) state that an HR system is believed to be a complex set of practices that is designed to influence employees attributes that are purported to be the mediating mechanism that links HRM practices and performance outcomes. This proposal identifies the employee attributes of development, wellbeing and motivation to be general goals of HRM activities in creating employee commitment to the organization. Following Guest (1997) and Ostroff Bowen (2000), it is expected that within the variety of HRM practices that an organization holds, different ‘bundles of HRM practices or configurations of internal consistent HRM practices are reinforcing and complementary towards these three different objects that link HRM and outcomes.: Well-being Performance Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Another focus of the research project is the conceptualisation of   different configurations of internal consistent HRM practices towards employee development, well-being and motivation. In search for a clear rationale or clear rationales for the way any one practice reinforces the effectiveness of others, no explicit theories for the combined effect of HRM practices are present. Much of the effort done to identify internal consistent practices is by seeking statistical justification for fitting practices afterwards (Guest, 1997; Youndt, Snell, Dean Lepak, 1996; Huselid, 1995). The statistical justification however raises questions on what the explanation of effects of internal consistency is. This study will concentrate on constructing a theory-driven framework for HR-consistency. Finally, the measurement of consistent HRM practices is still discussed in recent literature. Wright Gardner (2003) argue that regarding the level of analysis of HRM practices, most research has concentrated on identifying sets of HRM practices at the organizational level by using single-respondent measures of sets of HRM practices. But the assumption that HRM practices are invariable across large groups of jobs within organizations is not feasible, as Lepak Snell (2002) pointed out. This suggests that lowering the level of analysis could give a more accurate insight in the variation of sets of HRM practices within organizations and across job groups or (business) units. Additionally, gathering data by using single-responses of HR-managers on which HRM practices are in place, probably gives no accurate reflection of reality. Such single-respondent measures of sets of HRM practices are subject to, for instance, the respondents degree of accurate information. Therefore, Guest (1999) and Wright and Gardner (2003) have proposed to measure HRM practices through individual employee perceptions, since employees are the focal unit HRM practices aim at. As such, the research project will focus on the perception op employees on HRM practices. Taken together, this research project aims at the development and validation of a theory-driven method for measuring internal HR-consistency towards employee outcomes as development, well-being and motivation. Further, it examines the contribution of consistency among HRM practices to employee performance. With the notion there is little agreement among researchers on (1) what theoretical basis can be given for consistent combinations of HRM practices (MacDuffie, 1995; Guest, 1997; Ostroff Bowen, 2000), (2) also very little has been done to test internal consistency (Purcell, 1999), and (3) little is known on which consistent HRM practices lead to which outcomes (Dyer and Reeves, 1995; Becker Gerhart, 1996), this leads to the following research questions: Research Problem The research problems central to this proposal are: Which different theoretical approaches to different configurations of internal consistent HRM practices can be identified and what are the implications for the conceptualisation of HR-consistency? How to measure the consistency among HRM practices? What is the effect of internally consistent HRM practices on employee outcomes and organizational performance? Elaboration Of The Research Problems Working towards the development of an instrument for measuring   consistency among HRM practices, three studies involve conceptualisation, a pilot study and the main study testing the effect of HR consistency on performance outcomes. These studies are reviewed below. Conceptualisation Of Internal Hrconsistency Background In defining which consistent configurations of HRM practices are related to the specific objects of development, well-being and motivation, different theoretical approaches can be taken. Working towards a conceptualisation of HR-consistency, some theoretical insights with respect to the combination of HRM practices that already have been made, are described in short here. First, Guest (1997; 2001) refers to the variants of expectancy theory (e.g. Vroom, 1964) as a useful theory with respect to explaining the effects of HRM practices on employee outcomes through the enhancement of motivation. Variants of expectancy theory agree on the proposition that high performance at the individual level, depends on the motivation plus possession of the necessary skills and abilities and an appropriate role and the understanding of that role (Guest, 1997, p. 268). For the consistent combination of HRM practices Guest states there is a case for building on the variants of expectancy theory to combine three sets of practices concerned with competence (e.g. training and development practices or staffing practices), motivation (for example job security, individualized reward systems) and role utilization (for example involvement practices, job design practices). Second, Tsui, Pearce, Porter Tripoli (1997) and Tsui Wang (2002) treat several HRM practices as ‘inducements provided by the employer for expected contributions by the employee in four employment relationships approaches. For the primary conceptual foundation for the employment relationship framework Tsui et al. (1997) use exchange theories (e.g. Blau, 1964). Based on these theories HRM practices could be divided in job-focused and organization-focused HRM practices. Job-focused HRM practices (e.g. pay and short-term investments as job-related training) are consistent in a way they resemble an economic exchange that focuses employee attention on the work unit by formal goal setting, and rewarding unit performance. Organization-focused HRM practices (e.g. job security, participation, and career planning) are consistent in a way they resemble a more social exchange indicating the employers investment in employees and in return investments of employees (e.g. learning new skills, investing in social relationships, flexibility) in the organization. This shows that by building on expectancy theory or exchange theory different bundles of consistent HRM practices arise towards different objects. For the development of an instrument, more insight in different theoretical approaches is required. To review the work already done in this field, this study provides an inventory of different theoretical approaches towards HRM and its outcomes. The aim is to conceptualise this inventory of consistent HRM practices towards employee development, well-being and motivation. Methodology To determine the conceptual structure of the concept of internal consistency we make use of facet analysis. Based on different theoretical approaches, this analysis is conducted to screen topics concerning HR and work practices and their relation with development, well-being, motivation within existing (empirical) literature and instruments. For an extensive screening the following guidelines are used: Literature and instruments are used within the field of organization of labour, Human Resource Management, social policy, work governance models. Literature and instruments can also concern other aspects than only HRM practices The instruments can range from questionnaires, interview methods, to checklists For each theoretical concept of internal consistency towards the three separate objects, HRM practices listed in the various instruments will be identified. Finally, in this qualitative research consistent sets of HRM practices and measures are clustered. Product A product of this study is a first review article on the concept of consistency: Conceptualizing Consistency Among Hrm Practices Conceptual Model Study Well-being Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Facet 2 Facet 3 Facet 1 Facet X Pilot Project: Measuring Internal Consistency Background After study 1 proposes which HRM practices theoretically constitute consistent sets of HRM practices towards employee development, well-being motivation, the focus of study 2 is on the measurement of internal HR-consistency. As noted above, consistency among HRM practices towards objects as employee development, well-being and motivation could serve as theoretical framework for identifying the link between consistency and performance outcomes. But how do we measure the different HRM practices? Do employees perceive the same HRM practices to be consistent towards these three objects? Testing the reliability of different internal HR-consistency configurations towards these three objects of consistency is the main focus for the development of a measure for consistency among HRM practices. This study contains a pilot project concerned with the development and testing the reliability of an instrument and procedure to empirically grasp the concept of HR-consistency as perceived by one of the stakeholders, namely the employees affected by them. Methodology A pilot study will be conducted to develop a reliable instrument and validate the measurement of the concept of internal HR-consistency set out in study. Through self-reports, a sample of 300 employees will be studied on their perception of HRM practices in their organization. To ensure that the instrument will be applicable to a wide range of employees, we will use a stratified sample, stratified according to sex, age, job level, company size and working for a profit or non-profit organization. Employees are selected within this sampling frame. Also the objects of development, well-being and motivation at an individual level will be studied by using commonly accepted scales. When possible, these first data will be collected through data collection within master thesis projects. Internal consistency will be measured both directly and indirectly. Indirectly, by examining if theory-driven consistent configurations of HRM practices promote the objects of development, well-being and motivation. Directly, by asking employees which consistency among HRM practices promote the three proposed employee outcomes. Both methods are used to strengthen the concept of consistency. Product Measuring Internal Consistency: A Pilot Project Conceptual Model Study Well-being Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Effects Of Internal Consistency On Employee Performance Background The final step within this PhD project focuses on the performance outcomes of the way human resource practices coexist in a consistent or inconsistent manner. Predicted is that individual performance is promoted by HRM practices being consistent towards the three objects that mediate this relationship. A major question still remaining in HRM research is how HRM practices relate to performance outcomes (Ostroff Bowen, 2000; Guest, 1997). As noted earlier it is suggested that different theoretical mechanisms could serve as indicators of consistency among HRM practices that in turn affect different objects. The relationship between three HR-configurations towards development, well-being and motivation on the one hand and individual performance on the other hand will be tested to validate effective configurations of internal consistency examined in study. Methodology Results from the pilot study will be used to validate the instrument and further develop the instrument. For the main testing of effects of HR-consistency configurations on outcomes employee development, well-being, motivation and ultimately performance, two case-organizations, one profit and one nonprofit, will be selected to participate. To ensure that individual performance can be measured, the two organizations are selected on the basis of the use of formal job appraisals. In each of the selected organizations a sample 200 employees will be studied. The expectation is that by participating in the development of an instrument that can be used for own purposes concerning HR-decisionmaking, financial resources for his project could be ensured through mutual interest. The instrument could serve as a HRM scan for organizations and, as such, improve their employee policies by giving insight in the mechanism and effects of their HRM practices. Another goal is to establish long-term collaborations with interested organizations to keep track of the effectiveness of the instrument. Results Relevance The most important result of the research project is a dissertation consisting of four academic articles. The practical and societal relevance of the project is mainly to establish evidence for the importance of HR-consistency and insight in how that affects the employees as well as the organization. In this way conceptualising HR-processes and visualising their effects make a contribution. The relevance of this study lies in extending the literature on internal consistency by also taking the consistency-well-being link and the consistency-development link into account. Also relevant is linking the changing tenure to more performance-based practices to outcomes for wellbeing and development of employees. Another relevant aspect is handing out HR-professionals a theory-driven framework and instrument to asses their internal HR-policy. Other stakeholders such as unions or work councils could benefit while negotiating wages and benefits in the light of consistency with other HRM practices already present. A final point of relevance concerns the contribution to the research program of the department of Human Resource Studies (PEW) by providing tools for further research by the department. References Arthur, J.B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turn-over. Academy of management journal, 37, p.670-687. Baron , J.N. Kreps, D.M. (1999). Strategic Human Resources. New York: Wiley Sons. Becker, B. Gerhart,B. (1996). The impact of Human Resource Management on organizational Performance: Progress Prospects. Academy of Management Journal, 39, p.779-801 Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus P. Spratt, M. (1997). HR as a source of shareholder value: research and recommendations. Human Resource Management, 36, p.39-47 Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley. Boselie, P. (2002). Human resource management, work systems and performance : a theoretical-empirical approach. Amsterdam: Thela Thesis (dissertation). Dyer, L. Reeves, T. (1995). HR strategies and firm performance: what do we know and where do we need to go. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 6, p.656-670 Guest, D.E. (1997). Human resource management and performance. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8 (3), 263-275. Guest, D.E. (1999). Human resource management: The Workers Verdict. Human Resource Management Journal, 9 (3), 5-25 Guest, D.E. (2001). Human resource management: When research confronts theory. International Journal Human Resource Management, 12 (7), 10-25 Huselid, M.A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turn-over, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of management journal, 38, 635-672. Lepak, D.P. Snell, S.A. (2002). Examining the Human Resource Architecture: The relations among Human Capital, Employment and Human Resource Configurations. Journal of Management, 28 (4), 517-543. MacDuffie, J.P. (1995). Human Resource Bundles and Manufacturing Performance. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48 (2), 197-221 Ostroff, C., Bowen, D. E. (2000). Moving HR to a higher level: HR practices and organizational effectiveness. In K. J. Klein S. W. J. Koslowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations. Tsui, A.S., Pearce, J.L., Porter, L.W., Tripoli, A.M. (1997). Alternative approaches to employee-organizational relationship: Does investment in employees pay off? Academy of management journal, 40 (5), 1089-1121 Tsui, A.S., Wang (2002). Employment relationships from the employers perspective: Current Research and Future Directions. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 17, 77-114 Vroom, V. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: John Wiley and Sons Whitener, E.M. (2001). Do â€Å"high commitment† human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling. Journal of Management, 27, p.515-535. Wright, P.M. McMahan, G.C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18, 195-320. Wright, P.M. Gardner, T.M. (2003) The Human Resource-Firm Performance relationship: Methodological and Theoretical Challenges in Holman, D., Wall, T.D, Clegg, C.W., Sparrow, P. Howard, A. (Eds.) The New Workplace: A guide to the human impact of modern working practices.

Environmental Sustainability Of Shrimp Farming In Malaysia Economics Essay

Environmental Sustainability Of Shrimp Farming In Malaysia Economics Essay The world shrimp production has rapidly expanded over the last decades. The expansion is mainly attributed to technological breakthrough from innovation (Ling, Leung, Shang, 1999; Shang, Leung, Ling, 1998) and vast consumption in the global market (Oosterveer, 2006; Shang, et al., 1998). The introduction of new production technologies such as antibiotics, antimicrobial and gene transformation are able to prevent infection of diseases and reduce mortality rate. Advanced production technologies also lowers the operating costs and increases the profits of shrimp producers. However, extensive usage of antibiotics in shrimp production has raised health concerns and has resulted in the banning of imported shrimps by major European importers. Imported shrimps from China has been banned by European Council (EC) in 2002 due to the over presence of antibiotics in the products. Another issue of advanced aquaculture technology is the introduction of new species into the wild population. For in stance, gene transformation creates new species of shrimp for commercial purposes but if the new species escapes into the wild population, it could be predator for certain sea creatures and destroy the ecosystem balance (Deb, 1998). Large global demand on shrimp is mainly due to high consumption in developed countries such asà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (Describe the statistics). The increase in demand in these economy is not only due to satisfy material needs but also to related to the consumption trend in that social, culture, and political term. For instance, Japanese consumption of high quantity of seafood in daily life is one of the Japanese cultures, and policies of European Union encourage the consumer to consume high quality seafood. Moreover, in the study of (Uddin, 2009) has been mentioned about once shrimp was considered as luxury foodstuff by many people. Hence, high demand in the international provides job opportunities to the people in developing countries; and due to the currency exchange rate, exporting the local products to developed countries would bring the producer higher revenue. From these points we could explain the perception of people in Bangladesh take shrimp production activity as a tendency of quick money-making as mentioned in (Deb, 1998). This statement supported by (Ali, 2006), the author outlined that Bangladesh shrimp export revenue has grown from US$4.0 million to US$360 million, the net profit from this activity is 12 times than that of high yielding variety rice. Henceforth, they dramatically shift their production from rice paddy to shrimp farming in order to obtain the opportunity of gaining higher revenue. China is the biggest shrimp producer since 1988 until 1992 and contributed about a million metric ton of the world shrimp production in 2000 (Biao Kaijin, 2007). The recent biggest shrimp producing nation is Thailand. Since 1991, Thailand has taken over China in world shrimp production, becoming leading producer and exporter by exporting up to 90% of his production (Huitric, Folke, Kautsky, 2002; Shang, et al., 1998). The other major shrimp producing countries are Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and Ecuador by producing between 300,000 to 400,000 tons metric each (World Shrimp Market, 2004). Henceforth, those four major shrimp producing countries contributed more than 50 per cent of total world shrimp supply; in other words, Asia has competitive advantage in producing shrimp and competes in global market. Overview of Asia Shrimp Production Asia is the worlds most populous and largest continent; consist of 31,880,000 km2 and with approximately four billion people or sixty per cent of world human population. (More information) Asia is the major contributor in world shrimp market. In 1990s, Asia produced approximately 78% of world shrimp and the rest (22%) were produced by western countries(Shang, Leung et al. 1998; Ling, Leung et al. 1999). Asian cultured shrimp production mainly produces Penaeus Monodon, followed by Penaues Vannamei, to international market (Shang, Leung et al. 1998). Thailand is a leading producer and exporter; other major shrimp producing countries are China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Besides that, Japan is the world second largest in shrimp consumption. (Data of Japan shrimp C) The improvement of hatchery operation have reduced the price of hatchery-produced shrimp fry to competitive level is one of the main reasons of rapid expansion of shrimp production in Asia (Shang, Leung et al. 1998); whereas, with lower cost of fry, labor cost, and land (input), the shrimp producers are able to produce shrimp (output) to global market with lower prices. Now a day, the producer widely relies on the seed stock from shrimp hatcheries instead of wild seed stock is because of wild fry have proven limited and unreliable in supporting a rapidly expanding shrimp industry. Reference: Ling, B.-H., P. S. Leung, et al. (1999). Comparing Asian shrimp farming: the domestic resource cost approach. Aquaculture 175(1-2): 31-48. Shang, Y. C., P. Leung, et al. (1998). Comparative economics of shrimp farming in Asia. Aquaculture 164(1-4): 183-200. United Nation, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, 2008. Statistical Yearbook. New York 52 Fisheries Marine and Aquaculture. Percentage of marine and percentage of aquaculture production. Methods used for aquaculture. Work forces involved. An Overview of Malaysian Shrimp Production  [1]   The fisheries sector which included of marine capture fisheries and aquaculture produced approximately 1,650,000 tones of food fish worth RM6, 460 million in 2007. This sector recorded an increase in production by 4.17% and value by 3.65% as compared to the year 2006. Besides that, the fisheries sector contributed 1.2% to the GDP or worth RM6, 298 million. The majority fish production is produced from marine capture fisheries, contributing 83.51% to the total national fish production with a value of approximately five thousand million Riggit Malaysia; while the aquaculture sub-sector only contributing 16.23% of the total fish production with a value of RM1, 393 million  [2]  . However, aquaculture showed an increase in production by 26.64% and in value by 7.87% as compared to the year 2006. For the year of 2007, fisheries sector provided 120,904 work forces, where 21,287 of the work forces are fish culturists were involved in various aquaculture systems. Most of the freshwater aquaculture production was contributed from pond culture system, about 70% of total freshwater aquaculture products; while on-bottom culture system was main contributor for brackish water aquaculture, about 25% of total brackish water aquaculture production. Other freshwater culture systems are ex-mining pools system, cage culture system, cement tank system, pen culture system, and canvas; while other brackish water culture systems are including pond, cage, on-bottom, rank, and tank culture system. Furthermore, the top producer by using pond culture method is Perak state compared with other states with 11,427 tones worth RM131.41 million; the total pond culture area increased from 5,623.69 hectares in 2006 to 7,627.11 hectares in 2007 (or 35.62% of growth rate), but this culture system production decreased 1.6 % in 2007. In addition, Perak state produced the most aquaculture product in year 2007 with grand total 70.05 tonnes compared to second largest producer, Selangor, with 24.9 tones  [3]  . In the year 2007, production from the national aquaculture sub-sector was 268,514.21 tones worth at RM1, 393.35 million, contributed mainly by the production from brackish water aquaculture (73.91%) and the remained was contributed by freshwater aquaculture. Work force, however, was majority involved in freshwater sub-sector, which are 75.48% of the total fish culturists. Brackish water aquaculture provided only about 25% of work force over the total fish culturists; however, this culture system contributed 73.91% of the total aquaculture production with the growth rate of production was 31.97% and the value rose from RM 999.41 million in 2006 to RM1, 044 million in 2007 (or 4.45% of growth rate). Why brackish water aquaculture production can produce largest share of total aquaculture production with lesser labor input? Penaus Merguiensis (banana shrimp) and Monodon (tiger shrimp) is widely and solely produced by using brackish water pond culture method with 23,737 and 11,435 tones, respectively. The major banana shrimp producer is Perak state, and then follows with Selangor and Johore state.

The Pros and Cons of Gene Alteration Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resea

The Pros and Cons of Gene Alteration Abstract A new epidemic in human reproduction is slowly sweeping the earth, and it is known as human gene alteration. It gives parents the ability to decide their babies' sex, hair color, or even eye color. Creating these so called "designer babies" seems like the perfect way to have the child you have always dreamed of. But is this a moral way to go about reproduction? Is it fair to these children to mess with their genes just for your own satisfaction of having the perfect baby? Gene alteration can also be used in other more beneficial ways. One being to prevent and weed out disease that effects an unborn child. Gene alteration can be very beneficial, but only if used in the right way such as preventing and controlling disease. Myths of Reproduction For centuries, people have been trying to choose their babies sex through home remedies. Some of these home remedies include: diet, temperature, and the phases of the moon. For diet, researchers believe if the mother eats veggies, sweets and an excess amount of calcium she will have a girl. It is also believed that if men avoid hot tubs and wear loose clothes they will have boys. The phases of the moon are also thought to be a factor. If a baby is conceived during a full moon, it is most likely going to be a girl. If a baby is conceived on a quarter moon, it will probably be a boy (Kantrowitz, 2001, p. 51). There are thousands of these home remedies that people actually swear by. The truth about these home remedies, is that they probably don't work. If they did then every one would have their desired baby. With the advancement in today's technology, however people will no longer have to engage in these silly myths. Definition .. ... Retrieved March 11, 2004, from https://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=8f14991eb35bb87abff7d11a7daf2b98&_docunum=1&wchp=dGLbVtzzSkVb&_md5=17984652323d3c0d8bb44c1f7e551007 Lee, Ellie (2003 April). Debating designer babies. Retrieved on March 14, 2004, from http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DD57.htm Marsh, Beezy (2003 December). Mother loses designer baby planned to save her son. Retrieved March 13, 2004, from https://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=8f14991eb35bb87abff7d11a7daf2b98 &_docunum=3&wchp=dGLbVtz-zSkVb&_md5=623f346923e2f9b4d3d84c4afa17e5cd Robertson, John (1994). Children of choice. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Sofer, William (1991). Genetic engineering. Massacusettes: Butterworth-Heinemann. What is germ line therapy? (n.d.). Retrieved on March 24, 2004, from http://www.dhgp.de/info/FAQ/faqtext3_3.html

Talented teenagers: The roots of success and failure :: teenagers, learning, integration

1. Complex attentional structure is mentalities formed by habits enforced in early childhood development environment that eventually become the person natural behavior such as personality trait. Related because the perspective of the theory is defined by a process of two opposing forces that mutually combined to further an individual’s development to a higher level. Piaget thought that cognitive development was stimulated by the mind taking new information comparing or incorporates with already existing learned information. Also, that the mind adjusted to accommodate to the new information. These are the same concept applied to the theory of attentional structure that without incorporating certain parts creating a certain behavior influenced through our development the person will be delayed. 2. Integration and differentiation are systems that stand for general dialectical processes of constant and change. An integrated system is which an individual part is that cover the system true form successfully interconnected and reinforced. To integrate an item means to organize and incorporate different parts creatively breaking the rules to somehow make something that originally separate work great together. The differentiate system has a unique function that cannot be changed or molded. To differentiate is to be bias toward different parts that are unique to themselves. 3. Flow is a mindset that people feel when their mind is completely involved or focused on one specific task by losing track of time, unaware of fatigue, and oblivious to everything occurring around them except the task. Studies have that when an individual experiences flow they desire to experience the same joy again seeking after the same reasons. For the reasons that the person continues to set clear goals is flow compared to a motor for development of talent because as the person develops they must continually be actively involved in the skills they would love to develop. As the person begins to loss themselves subconsciously the person no longer stresses if they are amazing or not but more participate because of the joy felt during the activity. Lastly, the person must constantly find techniques to further their skills and continue to challenge them self or they may become bored bringing the motor to a halt or change of pace in development. 4. Flow affect adolescent talent development by experiencing flow when involved in different activities such as sport, math, games, religious practices, or anything that stimulates such feelings. When a teenager succeeds in experiencing such feelings when involved in a talent, the teen will not progress any further in learning and improving, but will enjoy the activity continually.

Flannery OConnors Revelation :: Flannery OConnor Revelation

Flannery O'Connor's background influenced her to write the short story â€Å"Revelation†. One important influence on the story is her Southern upbringing. During her lifetime, Southerners were very prejudiced towards people of other races and lifestyles. They believed that people who were less fortunate were inferior to them; therefore, people were labeled as different things and placed into different social classes. The South provided O'Connor with the images she needed for her characters. This can easily be identified in her short story â€Å"Revelation.† The characters in the story are identified by physical characteristics and some are even identified with racial terms. The main character in the story is actually prejudiced and makes many statements using racial jargon. For example, Mrs. Turpin, the main character, refers to the higher class woman as â€Å"well-dressed and pleasant†. She also labels the teenage girl as â€Å"ugly† and the poor woman as â€Å"white-trashy†. When Mrs. Turpin converses with her black workers, she often uses the word â€Å"nigger† in her thoughts. These characteristics she gives her characters definitely reveals the Southern lifestyle which the author, Flannery O'Connor, was a part of. In addition to her Southern upbringing, another influence on the story is Flannery O'Connor's illness. She battled with the lupus disease which has caused her to use a degree of violence and anger to make her stories somewhat unhappy. The illness caused a sadness inside of Flannery O'Connor, and that inner sadness flowed from her body to her paper through her pen. Although she was sick, O'Connor still felt proud to be who she was. By comparison, Mrs. Turpin in â€Å" Revelation† has a good disposition about herself. She is far from perfect, yet she is happy to be who she is. Perhaps the most important influence on the story is religion. O'Connor was not only influenced by her own Catholic heritage but by others as well. Like the other writers from France and England, she is curious about the actuality of sin and the effect that it has on the presence of mankind. Her stories and every characteristic about them was Flannery O'Connor's way of showing reality and qualities that are determiners of fate and destiny. No matter which path her stories took her readers, they mostly ended up finding social truth. This background, together with a believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary devices enables Flannery O'Connor in â€Å"Revelation† to develop the theme that sometimes people must look farther than the surface in order to understand the actions of others.