Alcohol Summary Essay Example for Free

Alcohol Summary Essay In 2001 spirit makers ended a long standing volunteer policy against aggressive alcohol advertising (Steiner and Steiner, 2009). Since that time, there has been an unprecedented shift toward increased alcoholic advertisements in an effort to increase market share and raise profits. This shift brings into light the challenge alcoholic companies face in balancing their fiduciary duties to their shareholders and their corporate and social responsibility to society. This report focuses on the issues surrounding Anheuser Busch’s Spykes beverage and the corporate and social issues similarly faced by other alcoholic beverage companies. Introduction There is growing public pressure for alcoholic beverage companies to meet their social and ethical duties to balance efforts to increase profits to their shareholders whilst protecting society from the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Anheuser Busch (AB) is one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in the world. In 2005 AB manufactured an alcoholic beverage called Spykes It is a spirit based beverage that was intended to target their 21-30 year old legal age drinkers. Following a successful soft launch, AB was hopeful that Spykes would help increase market share and profits. Unfortunately, growing public pressure forced AB to stop selling Spykes (Steiner and Steiner, 2009). This report looks at specific issues surrounding Spykes and its potential harm to society, considers AB’s ethical duties to society, discusses the affect of alcoholic advertising in society and addresses potential reforms to help ensure alcoholic beverage companies fulfil their ethical duties to protect society of undue harm. Is Spykes Bad? Spykes could be considered bad in the sense that it was likely targeted at underage drinkers. It is well accepted that alcoholic beverages are no ordinary commodity (Babor et al, 2003) and Spykes could be classified as part of the Alcopops group of beverages which are primarily consumed by underage or young drinkers. These Alcopops negatively affect the health and well being of young people (Robinson and Kenyon, 2009). Accordingly, Spykes may be considered bad for the health and well being of underage drinkers and society in general. The World Health Organisation believes that alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of death among young people (World Health Organisation, 2002). AB elected to stop selling Spykes in response to negative public pressure. This negative pressure primarily came from Center for Science in the Public Interest who believed Spykes was being marketed and consumed by underage drinkers. This belief was formed on the basis that AB used strategic marketing incorporating the latest technology to produce interactive arenas with impressive graphics, eye catching animation and a fancy website (Riley, 2005). This online content is generally appealing to a young audience. As Riley (2005) stated that young people are the biggest users of the internet and of advanced mobile phone technology. The alcohol industry has been quick to grasp the resulting marketing opportunities. Accordingly, stopping the sale of Spykes was the right thing to do in the context of reducing harm to underage drinkers as well as right thing to do in the context of protecting AB’s brand and public relations efforts as a socially responsible corporation. Anheuser Busch’s Ethical Duties. Ethics refers to the concept of judgment; what is right and wrong, moral and immoral in society. It is ethically accepted that organisations run to make a profit (Steiner and Steiner 2009). Alcoholic beverage companies would argue that advertising is a promotional activity used to enhance their profit, not to attract under age drinkers to consume alcohol. Anderson (2009) argued that alcohol advertising influences young people to consume more alcohol, especially teenagers due to the sexually arousing images in the advertisements. Jones (2005) acknowledged that alcoholic beverage companies who don’t provide correct information or hide information in their advertisements are acting unethically. From society’s perspective, any activities conducted by the alcohol beverage companies to remove alcohol related problems like violence, decreased morality and intoxication related problems like drinking driving are seldom advertised and marketed. In this sense, society is only seeing advertisements related to increased consumption leading to increased profits. Accordingly alcohol industries fail to fulfill their ethical duty to be informative and truthful in their advertising efforts. At present, alcohol beverage companies create a brand image by sponsoring sports and cultural activities that attract drinkers, first starting as a social drinker and then becoming regular drinkers (Munro De Wever, 2008). The current alcohol advertising regulatory system in Australia should aim to minimize exposure and appeal to children (VAADA, 2010). In Australia, advertising activities are regulated by legislation and a code of practice such as the Advertiser Code of Ethics and Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC). This code is based on a voluntary system of self-regulation which is funded and administered by the alcohol beverage companies. Currently there are no penalties for non-compliance (Jones, Hall Munro 2008). Additionally, the organisation is partly funded by alcoholic beverage companies. This presents a conflict of interest as in most instances, their fiduciary duties are act in the best interests of their shareholders and not necessarily society at large. In order to offset this conflict of interest, it is necessary for an Australian Federal regulatory body to be established to independently control alcohol advertising in society in the hopes of minimising the attraction of alcohol to underage drinkers. Misleading Advertisements Studies have proved that there is a strong relationship between alcohol advertising and consumption rates among under age drinkers (Snyder, Milici, Slater, Sun and Strizhakova, 2006; Collins, Ellickson, McCaffrey and Hambarsoomians, 2007). In addition, evidence suggests that alcohol ads influence youth perceptions of drinking. Some advertisements contain misleading messages that drinking alcohol will make consumers more sociable and outgoing; help them have a great time; help them feel more confident and less nervous; succeed with the opposite sex or it would make them feel more attractive (Jones and Gregory, 2007). These messages are highly attractive to today’s youth. Some ads portray drinking as distinctive and prestigious. These ads suggest that by drinking their product you will enjoy the finer things in life. As an example some beer ads depict attractive people on yachts, in luxury restaurants or luxury establishments (Fig 1, 2 and 3). Other ads propagate that drinking increases your status and differentiates you from others (Fig 4). Whilst other ads imply that sports and alcohol go together (Fig 5, 6). These ads are commonly aired during sporting events and through alcoholic beverage company sponsorship of such events. Wealth, happiness and sex tied to drinking are also common themes portrayed in ads (Fig 7 and 8). In some measure, each of these images appeal to under age drinkers and the investment in advertisements is on the rise. Table 1 shows the substantial investment by alcoholic companies in magazines alone. According to The Center on Alcohol, alcohol companies spent $2billion on alcoholic advertisement in magazines alone between 2001 and 2006 (The center on alcohol marketing and youth, 2008). In Australia during 2008, alcoholic beverage companies spent in $109million on advertisements (Nielsen Australia, 2008). Many of these messages are appealing to under age drinkers. Accordingly, alcohol companies should attempt to market their products in such a way that ensures their ads do not convey misleading messages. One way is to focus the ad on the product rather than the misleading images of wealth, sex and status. In addition, local governments should also promote responsible drinking and spread awareness in society adopting similar advertisements strategies. Regulating Alcohol Advertising The need for further regulation depends upon weather it can be proven that advertising alcohol increases consumption. In 2006 Teinowitz (2006) undertook a study of randomly sampled 15-26 year olds. The study found they drank more after seeing alcohol ads, and that each additional ad viewed increased the number of drinks consumed by 1%. The study also established that in markets with more alcohol ads, spending on alcohol was up over markets with fewer ads (Teinowitz, 2006). Accordingly, there is further need for regulation of alcoholic advertising. Further regulation could be in the form of the creation of a regulator body that enforced restrictions against alcoholic beverage companies adopting marketing strategies that primarily appeal to young persons. In AB’s case, they admittedly targeted young people with a brightly colored web site allowing visitors to download music mixes, ring tones, screen savers, and instant messaging icons (Steiner Steiner, 2009). These activities catered around youth culture. Regulators could determine that such marketing strategies, directed at young persons, could constitute advertisements that appeal to under age drinkers and therefore ban such ads. This ban could extend to bans on advertisements in public places and bans against alcoholic companies sponsoring public or sporting events. In order to determine if the suggested restrictions above meet The Central Hudson guidelines, a four part test may be applied as follows (Steiner and Steiner, 2009):- (a) the ad in question should promote a lawful product: (b) the government interest in restricting the particular commercial speech must be substantial; (c) the restriction must directly further the interest of the government; and (d) the restriction should not be more extensive than is necessary to achieve the government’s purpose. As outlined above, young people are influenced by alcohol advertising (Teinowitz, 2006). This interest is therefore substantial and the suggested bans will further protect the interest of the government. Although the suggested restriction may seem excessive, industries need to appreciate that a â€Å"business firm is more likely to gain public approval and social legitimacy if it adheres to basic ethical principles and society’s laws† (Post, Lawrence and Weber, 2002). Accordingly, the suggested restriction would meet the purposes of the Central Hudson guidelines. Conclusion Anheuser Busch is a good example of an alcohol beverage company that struggled to find a balance between increasing market share and profit whilst fulfilling its ethical duty to be a socially responsible corporation. As a result of this case, the information and ideas presented in this report suggests there is much needed reform and the establishment of a regulatory body to deal with alcohol advertisements. This need is driven by the significant interest in protecting young people from harm. Alcohol beverage companies and government should work together and do all they can to reduce harm to young people by restricting marketing and advertisements that appeal to young people. * Appendix A * Table 1 * Appendix B * Figures Fig 1: Skyy Blue, Entertainment Weekly, Apr 11, 2003| Fig 2 : Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky, Sports Illustrated, Nov 15, 2004, Nov 29, 2004, Feb 14, 2005| Fig3 : Captain Morgan Parrot Bay, Stuff, Aug 2002| Fig 4 : http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1P2-18802608. html, www. whiskyfun. com/archivemay05-2. html| Fig 5: www. funkydragon. org/en/fe/page. asp? n1=950n2=2207| Fig 6: http://www. swimmingworldmagazine. com/media/Michelob_Ad4. JPG| Fig 7 : Molson Canadian, FHM, Aug 2005| Fig 8 : http://katiehann. wordpress. com/2008/11/06/advertising-alcohol/| References Babor, T, Caetano, B, Casswell, S, Edwards, G, Giesbrecht, P, Graham, K, Grube, J, Grveneward, P, Hill, L, Holder, G, Homel, R, Osterberg, E, Rehm, J, Room, R and Rossow, I (eds), 2003, Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodit, Research and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Brian, J. (2000) Youth, Alcohol, and the Emergence of the Post-modern Alcohol Order, Occasional Paper No. 1 New Series, Institute of Alcohol Studies, London. Riley, L. (2005) ‘Drinking It In: Finding of the Valencia Meeting on Marketing and Promotion of Alcohol to Young People’ in G Marcus J O’Connor (eds), Corporate Social responsibility and Alcohol: The Need and Potential for Partnership, Guilford Press, Hoboken. Robertson, S and Kenyon, A, 2009, Ethics in the Alcohol Industry, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. World Health Organisation (WHO), (2002) The World Health Report 2002: Reducing risk, promoting healthy life, Geneva. Anderson, P. (2009) ‘Is it time to ban alcohol advertising? ’, Clinical Medicine, 9, 2 April 2009: 121-124 Jones, S. C. , Hall, D. Munro, G. (2008) ‘How effective is the revised regulatory code for alcohol advertising in Australia? ’, Drug and Alcohol Review, 27: 29-38 Munro, G. and De Wever, J. (2008) ‘Culture clash: alcohol marketing and public health aspirations’, Drug and Alcohol Review, 27(2): 204-211 Steiner, J. F, Steiner, G. A. (2009) ‘Business, Government, and Society’ McGraw-Hill Irwin, 12ED Sandra C. Jones (2005) ‘Beer, Boats and Breasts: Responses to a controversial alcohol advertising campaign’ ANZMAC Conference, University of Western Australia, P 77-81 Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, 2010, Position Paper: Alcohol advertising, marketing and promotion, viewed 16 June 2010, http://www. vaada. org. au/resources/items/314236-upload-00001.pdf. Post. J. E. , Lawrence. A. T. and Weber. J. , (2002) Business Society: Corporate Strategy, Public Policy, Ethics, Tenth Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston. Teinowitz. I. (2006) Do booze ads drive youth to drink? Advertising Age (Midwest Region Edition) Chicago. Vol 77, Iss 35, p8. viewed 24/06/10 http://0-proquest. umi. com. library. newcastle. edu. au/pqdweb? index=28did=1118136211SrchMode=1sid=1Fmt=3VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277385716clientId=29744.

Character Sketch Of Mark Zuckerberg Film Studies Essay

Character Sketch Of Mark Zuckerberg Film Studies Essay After watching the movie The Social Network, there was one thing quite sure; which was basically that we had just seen the movie of the year. It was a highly well directed movie which shows all the characters of the movie in a vibrant way. It was an inspirational story about how one must give up almost everything to get what one wants. Inspired by this movie which was based on true events which chose to make our character sketch on the protagonist of the movie, which was Mark Zuckerberg. He was born in New York and went to Harvard where he founded Facebook. He started programming at a very early age and clearly considers himself as a hacker. He comes from a Jewish family but considers himself as an atheist. His traits, throughout the movie, are highly complex and do make himself hard to understand. He was blunt, open-minded and would be highly influential to the world. Mark Zuckerberg: The worlds youngest Billionaire: Since Facebook has become a worldwide phenomenon, it has made Zuckerberg and its co-founders billions. Which begs the question, how does one become the worlds youngest billionaire? What does it take to go out there and earn so much, at such a young ago? After analyzing the character and personality of Mark Zuckerberg, we would clearly say that to achieve as much as he has, one need to sacrifice a great deal. Right away from the beginning of the movie, you realize that Mark Zuckerberg is highly interested in accomplishing success in his life. His passion towards becoming what he wants to become is remarkable. But along with that it is also know that he undermines his personal relationships along with his need of success. Zuckerberg shows an amazing part of his character when after breaking up with his girlfriend; he converts the negativity to positive outcome by creating facemash. Ignoring the fact that facemash was morally wrong and also offensive to many women, the situation shows u s that in moments like that when weak individuals might bring out their worst due to the grief or anger, Zuckerberg did what he was best at. Zuckerberg was influenced by The Winklevoss brothers idea about creating a social network for Harvard. Later they do blame him, saying that Zuckerberg stole their idea but Mark claims that he had a better idea than what they had. Basically, here we see that how Zuckerberg converted a small simple idea into a great one of his own. This was his strong ability to innovate. These character traits are a small part of his personality and the major traits are shown later once he had decided to make his idea a reality. After become sure about creating Facebook, he was highly committed to his mission. He believed in what wanted to do and didnt get distracted. During the movie, it is shown that he was always looking for better idea to improve Facebook. An example of this trait was clearly shown in the scene where he comes up with the idea of relationship status feature of Facebook. Extremely motivated and focused at his job. On a whole, Mark shows that once motivated he would be revolutionary. He believed in coming up with a socializing solution for college students. Zuckerberg was intelligent and knew how to play the smart move. Initially, he shares his idea only with Eduardo Saverin, who was his close friend. He did tell him about Facebook first because he was his closest friend, but it was mainly because he needed someone to financially support his project. It was after that he informs his room-mates who were programmers like him. Zuckerberg was never seduced by money. Facebook was being really popular among Harvard and other colleges. But Zuckerberg did not support the idea of advertising in Facebook which was put forward by Eduardo. This shows us that Mark had made Facebook for reasons other than money. He didnt give up this principle of his, when he had the opportunities to earn money off Facebook. In the second half of the movie, after the introduction of Sean Parker, we see another side of Mark. He was highly influenced by the success of Sean Parker. Later this leads to motivate him more towards expanding Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg always looked at Sean Parker as his role model. It was seen in many parts of the movie that he did compare himself to him. It was quite obvious as they both went through almost the same thing. Sean Parker was innovator of Napster which was a major success over the internet. Hence, it was something that Mark found influential about Sean. His idea did chance at the end of the movie though. Now to concentrate on the negative traits on Mark Zuckerberg, the biggest of all was that he under-rated the personal relationships he had. As we mentioned earlier also, he was so passionate about success that his girlfriend leave him because of that. Later during the movie, he allows Eduardo to be removed from Facebook also. It was never really shown clearly but th e truth was that Eduardo was only a financial member and once money was not an issue, Zuckerberg had to let him go. The shocking situation was that he doesnt think from a best friends point of view before making this decision, but from the point of view of the creator of Facebook. Eduardo was not a programmers and he never did help in enhancing Facebook and this was good enough reason for Zuckerberg to remove him from Facebook. Zuckerberg showed us that he was so engrossed in becoming successful that he had no option but to let go off his friend. But to give him some credit, we did see in some parts where he did show regret and still had some mankind left inside him. This trait of his could be blamed on his highly professional attitude. Throughout the movie, you can notice that he keeps things as professional as possible. He was slowly and slowly becoming a workaholic. He was proud of his achievements, once Facebook became highly popular. That made him quite proud as well. He was no t too proud as well which becomes a negative point but that let to him being even more disliked by people. Since the beginning, when he was first question at the outbreak of facemash till the end where he was being sued by Eduardo, he was never afraid of anyone. He was proud of his achievements and knew he was going to be admired by many. Sarcasm was a trait of his, which he fed on. After watching this movie, one cant deny the fact Zuckerberg was good at his sarcasm. We notice this in the scene when he wanted to tell Eduardo, that money wasnt the thing he cared about. We would quote his line; Money or the ability to make it doesnt impress anybody around here. Mark Zuckerberg: Type A or Type B: Hence, when asked what personality type would Zuckerberg fall in; one would undoubtedly say Type A. People who are considered to be in Type A personality type are always impatient. Zuckerberg was always inpatient to convert even a simple idea for Facebook into reality. They are aggressive and controlling. Zuckerberg can easily be called a leader personality. In the movie he leads his friends like troops in the creation and success of Facebook. His aggression was shown when we learn the process by which he interviews his programmers. The game of hacking and taking shots of alcohol was made to see who can work the fastest. In reality, it is a known fact that this method is still used by Zuckerberg whenever he employs his employees. He picks people who know how to understand and respond to command. This shows us his controlling nature. Type A personality people are time-conscious, professional and concerned about their status. The idea of other calling themselves the creators of Faceboo k was unbearable by Zuckerberg. He shows this trait all throughout the trials. The professional attitude of Zuckerberg, like we already discussed was his major trait and always influenced him. Zuckerberg also was competitive and Facebook to him was the ultimate difference. He never got to show his competitive attitude during the movie because his innovation was very strong. But this trait can be noticed in him before he had got the idea of Facebook, especially in the beginning when he was talking to his girlfriend about what he wants to achieve. Mark Zuckerberg was no doubt ambitious. To achieve what he achieved, one needs to be highly ambitious along with being hard-working. This is a common trait of Type A people. Type A people are considered to be stress junkies. They drive themselves with deadlines, and are miserable about delays. To notify another essential feature about Zuckerberg was his Blunt nature. He believed to saying what he felt like to anyone he felt like. Some might say he had complete disregard about others feelings. But he would say whatever he felt like. He many parts of the movie he is disrespectful to people who are older than him or even of better status than him. This trait was mainly seen as very rude nature of Zuckerberg, throughout the movie. Along with that he was brave. During his trials he speaks whatever he wanted and didnt think of the consequences. We would quote the example; I had to swear an oath before we began this deposition, and I dont want to perjure myself, so I have a legal obligation to say no and another one was I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try but theres no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. Both of these quotes were maybe the most memorable moments of the movie. Over-all after comparing him to the characteristics of a person of personality Type A, it is quite clear that he is a great example of this persona lity. Other Characters and their personality types: Focusing on the other characters in the movie, we did see personalities of both Types A and B. Eduardo Saverin was a clear candidate for Type B personality. Even though, he wasnt all that easy going person but he was always relaxed and patient. He never had any urgency of success and was loyal to Mark at all times. He cared about Facebook a lot and at many times he corrected Mark whenever he said I in place of We. This did show us that he was not competitive in nature. Sean Parker could be considered as a mixture of both Type A and B personality types. This was mainly because he wasnt all that workaholic and professional like a typical Type A. He believed in enjoying life. He did care about his status a lot and was passionate about success as well. But he did bring along a very casual attitude and was always relaxed. He plays a major part in the movie in influencing Zuckerberg and influential he was as well. This quote from the movie shows his influential trait; We lived in farms, th en we lived in cities, and now were gonna live on the internet! The brothers Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss were mainly of Type A personality. Except the brother Tyler was a little more patient that the other but eventually both were highly competitive. They could not accept the fact that Zuckerberg had created Facebook which was lot similar to their college network idea but better. Basically on a whole, the movie had a good number of Type A personality characters but of which Mark Zuckerberg was the most outstanding. The movie shows how all these Type A personality characters fight amongst each other and show the major trait of competiveness. They all show how success became the sole achievement in life for them. Conclusion: One major feature about the movie which was worth noticing is the fact that, like the other classic tales of deception, this was not driven by the hunger of money. Facebook was never first up, made to generate money. It was maybe thats why it became an internet site which is now worth $25 billion. Mark Zuckerberg own 24% of the shares of Facebook and is the CEO of Facebook. He earns up to $6.9 billion annually. Facebook currently has up to 500 million active members. Since 2005, Facebook has become the biggest social networking site ever. Zuckerberg was the brains behind this idea, but he did step on some people to become what he is. On a whole, through this sketch about this character and his personality, we understand that one need a really strong mental and emotional moral fiber. Not once do we see a weak side of Zuckerberg throughout the movie. He was arrogant and condescending. He believed in no one but himself and that seemed to be enough for him, to become what he wanted to. W e would say it is hard not to be influenced by a personality like his. And not just on the basis of his success, but the simple idea in which he chose to stand out from the crowd and get himself noticed. It takes great statures that he possessed which lead him towards world-wide fame. The fame that lead to us, university students to learn through his exam and realize what life exactly is and what it will cost us to learn the ultimate dream. The dream which might differ from people to people, but is similar in its own simple way.

Essay --

In the past, only the physical aspects of cancer were recognized. An individual’s body was only treated and the person within that body went unnoticed. Cancer, which was commonly known as the â€Å"C word†, was considered a death sentence. The patient was often not told the diagnosis as family and physicians felt that the patient was unable to handle this diagnosis. In early years there was a stigma to having cancer and people did not talk about it. In the late 70s, psychiatrist Limmie Holland was the first health care professional that began speaking about the human side of cancer. She began the initial permanent psychiatric service in a cancer research hospital in 1977 and this produced the field psycho-oncology. However people were often confused as to what psychiatrists were doing with cancer patients and they frequently questioned it. Even today, there is confusion about the need for psycho-oncology services in the medical community and occasionally even resistance from patients(Inman, 2010). When one is diagnosed with cancer, it is ego shattering. The secure, predictable place where one felt in control is no more - their world as they once knew it no longer exists. The changes they go through can be extremely challenging. Cancer influences every aspect of life: one’s body, mind, spirit; family; friends; job; relationship with God and future. The diagnosis often leaves them feeling physically, mentally, emotionally and cognitively out of control. Physically, treatment can produce exhaustion, pain, and irritability. Emotionally, feelings may become intense at times. Cognitive changes involve patients having difficulty with memory and concentration. The emotions one goes through may continue after treatment finishes. There are no... ...onjunction with the parent’s over-protectiveness. Social Effects Children with cancer may experience some social effects due to the illness. School-going children with cancer have limited time available for normal activities as they are preoccupied with hospitalizations, treatments, laboratory tests and radiology scans. They are also limited in terms of the types of activities they can engage in as they become easily fatigued, have limited mobility and have a higher risk of injury than other children. Some of the social effects of cancer and its treatment include feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety, depression, fear, frustration, and a poor self concept (Spinelli, 2004). Psychological Effects Children with cancer may also experience psychological side effects such as social isolation, peer rejection, tendency to withdrawal and embarrassment (Spinelli, 2004).

Business Ethics Essay -- Philosophy Ethics Morality essays research pa

Business Ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy that inquires into the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong (â€Å"ethics,† Collegiate). Ethics is not primarily concerned with the description of moral systems in societies. That task, which remains on the level of description, is one for anthropology or sociology. In contrast, ethics deals with the justification of moral principles. A Brief History of the Study of Ethics Ethics has been studied since ancient times. In the oldest of the Indian writings, ethics is an integral aspect of philosophical and religious speculation about the nature of reality. These writings date from about 1500 BC. They have been described as â€Å"the oldest philosophical literature in the world, and what they say about how people ought to live may therefore be the first philosophical ethics† (Everson 5). In ancient China, he humane teaching of Confucius and his followers, the peaceful wisdom of Lao-zi, and the universal love of Mo-zi offered alternatives to frequent wars. Early Greece was the birthplace of Western philosophical ethics. In the poetic literature of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, there were ethical precepts but no real attempts to formulate a coherent overall ethical position. The Greeks were later to refer to the most prominent of these poets and early philosophers as the seven sages, and they are frequently quoted with respect by Plato and Aristotle. During the Classical Period of Greek ethics, three great philosophers – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle – flourished in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Their ideas have served ever since as the cornerstone for the Western ethics. In the later Greek and Roman periods, the two dominant schools of thought, Stoicism and Epicureanism, represent important approaches to the question of how one ought to live. The Middle Ages did not give birth to any major new ethical theories. It is worth mentioning that Christian ethics is distinguished from the philosophical discipline of ethics, which relies upon the authority of reason. Christian ethics, also called moral theology, appeals to the authority of revelation, specifically as found in the preaching and activity of Jesus Christ. The significance of Renaissance for ethics lies in a change of focus. For the first time since the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, ... ... Conclusion Conflicts of interest are fundamental to the nature of business. Although society wants companies to create many well-paying jobs, those same organizations want to limit compensation costs and raise productivity levels. Customers want to purchase goods and services at low prices, but businesses want to maximize profits. Society wants to reduce pollution levels, but businesses want to minimize the cost that environmental regulations add to their operations. Managers must continuously and consciously balance the needs of the organization and its stockholders with the needs of other stakeholders, including workers, customers, and the larger community. Managers must also balance their personal needs and desires against those of their organizations. Works Cited Ashby, W. Allen, Warren Ashby. A Comprehensive History of Western Ethics: What Do We Believe? Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1997 Becker, Lawrence C., and Charlotte B. Becker, ed. A History of Western Ethics. New York : Routledge, 2003. â€Å"ethics.† Collegiate Encyclopà ¦dia. 2005. Collegiate Encyclopà ¦dia. 4 June 2005 . Everson, Stephen, ed. Ethics. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

rainforest destruction Essay -- essays research papers

Rainforest Destruction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rainforests cover less than two percent of the Earth’s surface yet they are home to some forty to fifty percent of all life forms on our planet: as many as 30 million species of plants, animals and insects. The Rainforests are quite simply, the richest, oldest most productive and most complex ecosystems on earth. As biologist Norman Myers says, â€Å"Rainforests are the finest celebration of nature ever known on the planet and never before has nature’s greatest orchestration been so threatened.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Rainforests are very important to the world for many reasons, most of them being very simple. One of the major reasons is that the plants in the forest turn carbon dioxide into clean air, which helps us, fight pollution. Also, by absorbing carbon dioxide, the rainforests help deter the greenhouse effect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plants and animals of the rainforest also provide us with food, fuel, wood, shelter, jobs and medicine. â€Å"Imagine losing the potential cure for cancer or AIDS that might have been found in an undiscovered plant from the rainforest.† (Tropical Rainforest Coalition, 1996) â€Å"The vine Aucistrocladus koropensis may be effective in treating AIDS; we can only guess what other beneficial plants may be destroyed before we find them.† (Allo, 1996) It is repeated often that the rainforest contains important plants that will cure the worst diseases of today. Although there is scientific proof of its value, the rainforest continues to disappear. â€Å"In every sense, a standing rainforest supplies more economic wealth then if it were cleared†¦yet deforestation continues at an alarming rate.† (Tropical Rainforest Coalition, 1996)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tropical rainforests are found in eighty-five countries around the world. â€Å"Ninety percent of these forests are concentrated into fifteen countries, each country containing over ten million hectares each.† (Malaysian Timber Council, 1995) Tropical rainforests are located around the equator, where temperatures stay above eighty degrees Fahrenheit year round. These forests are very dense and damp. â€Å"Although tropical rainforests cover just seven percent of the Earth’s surface, they can provide habitat for between fifty to ninety percent of its plant and animal species. In 1990, tropical rainforests totaled some 1.7 billio... ...ese rainforest species have never even been seen. â€Å"Scientist estimates an average of 137 species of life forms are driven into extinction everyday or 50,000 each year.† (Myers) While extinction is supposed to be a natural selection this is purely human induced. Quite simply when habitat is reduces, species disappear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All in all, the tropical rainforests are one of the Earth’s greatest assets. We need to preserve this valuable resource. It could provide the cure for cancer or AIDS but we’ll never know if we continue to deforest it. There are now ways to fight back against the destruction of our rainforests. Many people now boycott; for example not eating fast food because the meat come from rainforest cattle because they are cheap, or by not buying furniture made from rosewood, mahogany, ebony, and teakwood, because they most likely came from the rainforest as well. People can also adopt an acre of tropical rainforest for only 45 dollars. Rainforests are very complex ecosystems and have many untapped resources which we have barely scratched the surface on. Preservation of the rainforest is essential for our well being and the well being of the future.

The History of Semantics

You are just going to encounter a piece of prose as you browse through the next few lines. Yes, prose is any written matter that is expressed in ordinary language as opposed to poetry that uses rhymes, meters, and imagery to convey ideas and emotions. Derived from the Latin word ‘prosa’, prose literally transforms into ‘straight-forward’. Hence, you would always find prose articles to be descriptive, narrative, or explanatory. Any spoken and writing language that is expressed in a sentence without any regular rhythmic pattern is termed as prose.Say, for instance, any article that you find in a magazine is a prose narrative. Further, the latest science fiction you read is a prose. In fact, prose can be a novel, essay, short story, drama, fable, fiction, folk tale, legend, biography, hagiography, literature, myth, saga, theme, or tragedy. Learn about some of these kinds of prose writing  in detail by navigating through the following lines. Different Types Of Prose Writing Short Story A prose narrative limited to a certain word limit is defined as a short story. It generally includes descriptions, dialogues, and commentaries.However, one characteristic that distinguishes a short story from the other kinds of prose is the concentration on a compact narrative with detailed character drawing. In general, short stories are believed to have existed decades back, even before the art of writing was known to man. The oldest recorded example of a short story is considered to be the Egyptian tale of â€Å"The Two Brothers† dated around 3200 BC. Novel Similar to a short story, a novel includes uncertain information since it centers on different types and possibilities.However, the length of a novel is highly undecided due to the numerous characters and situations included in it. In short, a novel is a comprehensive narrative on a large scale, in particular. Just like short stories, novels, too, have known to exist ever since literature came into existence. Amongst all the prose kinds, the novel dominates the industry, both in terms of quality and quantity. However, considering its quantity, its only rival is the magazine short story. Prose is a form of language which applies ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure (as in traditional poetry).While there are critical debates on the construction of prose, its simplicity and loosely defined structure has led to its adoption for the majority of spoken dialogue, factual discourse as well as topical and fictional writing. It is commonly used, for example, in literature, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, broadcasting, film, history, philosophy, law and many other forms of communication. A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. The English word â€Å"novella† derives from the Italian word â€Å"novella†, feminine of â€Å"novello†, wh ich means â€Å"new†. 1] The novella is a common literary genre in several European languages. A novella generally features fewer conflicts than a novel, yet more complicated ones than a short story. The conflicts also have more time to develop than in short stories. They have endings that are located at the brink of change. Unlike novels, they are usually not divided into chapters, and are often intended to be read at a single sitting, as the short story, although white space is often used to divide the sections. They maintain, therefore, a single effect

Into The Wild: Test Essay

McCandless was brave enough to do things most people would not even think about doing. â€Å"He was looking for more adventure and freedom than today’s society gives people,† comments one of Chris’s friends† (Krakauer 174). What modern society offers did not appeal to Chris McCandless; he wanted a different life that most people had themselves. He saw the influences society puts on our lives and decided he did not want to live that way. â€Å"No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny† (23). McCandless, now known as Alexander Supertramp, did not want to be held back in any way; to insure he would get full freedom he changed his name so he was able to start fresh. McCandless took charge of his new life and was brave to be able to just leave everything he knew and was comfortable with to start new. Whatever makes you happy you should pursue, McCandless did just that even with all the negati ve people telling him it was a bad idea. People find happiness in multiple ways; through relationships, nature, religion, and many more ways. In a letter to Franz, Alex writes, â€Å"You are wrong if you think joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us† (57). McCandless knew that although it is nice to have relationships you can find happiness in nature and that is where he found true happiness. â€Å"He is smiling in the picture, and there is no mistaking the look in his eyes: Chris McCandless was at peace, serene as a monk gone to God† (199). Before McCandless’s death he took a picture and in the picture he was at peace and happy even though he was alone and going through the pain of starvation. He was happy because he finally found true happiness. McCandless found happiness in ways most did not, once he found what made him happy he pursued in no matter what the consequences were. â€Å"In the final postcard he sent to Wayne Westerberg, McCandless had  written, if this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild† (133). He wrote this to acknowledge the chance that he might not survive. He does not want to die but he knows that he is embarking on a dangerous adventure. McCandless also feels that the whole adventure is worth it, however, for the real experience of living completely independently and freely, and his excitement was expressed at the end of the final postcard to Westerberg. People called McCandless foolish for his mistakes but everyone makes mistakes. â€Å"Instead of feeling distraught over this turn of events, moreover, McCandless was exhilarated: He saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage† (29). Although he made a mistake of sleeping in an area where there are flash floods and lost his car, he accepted it and used it as a way to get further into his adventure by just living off what he needed. â€Å"Chastity and moral purity were qualities McCandless mulled over long and often† (65). Although Chris made fatal mistakes he knew what was right and wrong and would think about it a lot. McCandless overall had respect and good morals but made fatal mistakes which led to his death. â€Å"Awkwardly, s tiff with fear, I started working my way back down. The rime gradually thickened. After descending about eighty feet, I got back on reasonably solid ground. I stopped for a long time to let my nerves settle, then leaned back from my tools and stared up at the face above, searching for a hint of solid ice, for some variation in the underlying rock strata, for anything that would allow passage over the frosted slabs. (137)† That quote really explains what a brave man he is and how he can overcome obstacles that the others like Rosellini, McCunn, and Waterman couldn’t. People who did not think McCandless was courageous thought he was a young foolish man who caused many pain with his leaving and death. Chris did make mistakes but so did others and that does not mean he is foolish. He did not want to cause others pain but he needed to start fresh and away from everyone he knew. â€Å"Alex is a nut in my book,† wrote a resident of Healy, the hamlet at the head of the Stampede Trail. â€Å"The author describes a man who has given away a small fortune , forsaken a living family, abandoned his car, watch and map and burned the last of his money before traipsing off into the ‘wilderness’ west of Healy†(71). Although McCandless did all of those things, he did it to have a fresh  start. He did not want to be held back from anything and in the end it made him happy. A reader of the Outside magazine asked, â€Å"Why would any son cause his parents and family such permanent and perplexing pain?†(71) McCandless did not want to cause his loved ones pain but ended up causing them pain since the only way he could find true happiness was to leave everyone he loved. Although some may not be able to see the reasons McCandless left all his opportunities and loved ones behind to go on an adventure that caused him his death, he only did it because that was what made him happy. Chris McCandless was a young man that went against society and found happiness in things most people would be afraid to try. He had the bravery it took to go against society to find his happiness and although he made mistakes he did what he enjoyed even if people thought he was foolish. People should not judge others for what they do that makes them happy and being brave enough to do something diffe rent than what most do.