Dionaea Muscipula As A Carnivorous Plant Research Paper

Dionaea Muscipula As A Carnivorous Plant - Research Paper Example This gives the plant a small boost of nutrients hence promoting growth. Like any other plant that exists, the Venus flytrap also performs photosynthesis. The Venus flytrap’s leaves perform photosynthesis. The plants make use of the sunlight’s energy in creating sugar for fueling the plant. The broad leaves that are just below the traps act as the solar collectors. There is a very close relationship that is in existence between the plants’ activities of insect trapping and the plant’s rate of photosynthesis. The rate of photosynthesis on the Venus flytrap plants tends to slow down during as well as after the closure of the trap. Although the Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant, photosynthesis is essential for the survival of this plant. The above discussion gives an analysis of how the bio system of the Venus flytrap works. It is a plant with unique characters. It is evident that its carnivorous status acts as an adaptive feature of this plant in its boggy environment. It grows in an environment that lacks very crucial nutrients. Digestion of the insects helps the plant to extract these nutrients hence supplementing the deficiency of these nutrients in the plants. These nutrients include nitrogen and phosphorous. The plant requires these nutrients so as to survive. It is hence evident that the plant has to trap insects and feed on them so as to survive. The electrical properties of the Venus flytrap are essential in the built environment as they help in responding to stress, which might be experienced in the environment.

Eddie Carbone Essay Example for Free

Eddie Carbone Essay Whats more, this would make Marcos purpose of the journey, to build a future, pointless. In addition, Eddie cruelly implies that Rodolfo is an inexperienced longshoreman. I seen greenhorns sometimes get in trouble that way. By saying this, Eddie aims to hurt Rodolfos feelings and perhaps make him feel like an unwanted boy. Soon afterwards, Eddie tries to explain how American girls are also strict and that Catherine shouldnt arrive home late at night, till he came here she was never out on the street twelve oclock at night. In affect, both Rodolfo and Marco try to understand Eddies point of view, as if he were a father to them. Eventually, Marco comes to a decision and tells Rodolfo to arrive back home earlier. But the audience knows that Eddie fails to express whats really on his mind. Essentially, Eddie understands that if Catherine is seen with Rodolfo by any of Eddies friends, Eddies reputation would be ruined and hell be the joke just like Rodolfo. It is this urge to protect Catherine, to keep her from discovering her independence which makes him increasingly sensitive to the presence of Beatrices cousins and to Rodolfo in particular, to whom Catherine rapidly becomes attracted. Later on in the scene, Catherine and Rodolfo begin to dance. When they come to an end, Eddie subconsciously twists the newspaper in his hands into a tight roll. The other characters are aware of what he is thinking, but they wait for his answer. Unsurprisingly, Eddie fails to clearly express his thoughts on Rodolfo; during his attempt to mock Rodolfos femininity and expose him as weak, he manages only to tell everybody that with Rodolfos abilities, he wouldnt be on the waterfront he would be someplace else like in a dress store. Here, Miller has explored Eddies prejudice against Rodolfo, who is different. Furthermore, Eddie uses repetition to reinforce his points, He can cook. He can sing. He can make dresses. Seeing that language proved unsuccessful for Eddie and even he cant understand what hes saying anymore, he tears the paper in two and decides to utilize physical action, a skill where he knows he can beat Rodolfo. Miller uses such gestures and stage directions as the tearing of the paper to dramatize the feelings of Eddie. Eddies obsession with Catherine is something he is not able to recognize or understand for himself. Instead he focuses his anger and frustration upon Rodolfo, who has a frivolous and light-hearted attitude to life. It is this that Catherine finds attractive and Eddie finds repulsive and unmanly. Eddie is also suspicious of Rodolfos interest in Catherine, believing that he seeks her hand in marriage in order to gain an American passport. While a degree of realism is appropriate in the design of the Carbone family home, the street itself should also be indicated. Accordingly, throughout the boxing match, the table lamp may well collapse, leaving the room gloomy and obscure. To compensate for the illumination, a red MOTEL light featuring outside the window could remain pulsing on and off. Nonetheless, the men will continue boxing, whilst Catherine switches the main light back on. I assume that merely a few seconds would allow the radiance to take full effect. The word motel indicates the cheap accommodation immigrants require in Brooklyn. In addition, while Catherine and Rodolfo dance, the main light could dim and the motel light could appear flashing on and off to the rhythm of the music. It may encourage the passionate mood set by the music. While the fight occurs on stage, I would recommend that Marco stay solitary in the corner. By separating Marco from the rest of the characters, who are supposedly in the centre of the stage, the audience recognizes his presence, without him having to do anything. Marco has cleverly kept quiet throughout the scene unless asked a question, as he may be embarrassed to display his weak language skills. But when Eddie cracks a punch at Rodolfo, Marco suddenly gets involved. Marco challenges Eddie by inviting him to raise a chair from its leg. Eddie has underestimated his opponent and his false sense of confidence about his own strength has led Marco to win the test of strength. Clearly Marco knows his adversarys well and is smart enough to avoid talking, but he prevails in a physical battle. You may think of the chair struggle as a battle for primate dominance, whereby both challengers are fighting to become Alpha male. Nonetheless, in both contests Eddies authority is undermined and in his own living room. In brief, I believe that Marco is in control of the situation, even though he stepped in half way through the scene. Eddie considers the challenge and presence of other men to be a threat to his authority. Eddies fear of losing his authority and masculinity serves as a prime motivating force, for him to assert his power. It is Eddies reluctance to compromise with the other characters and Catherines ever increasing appeal to Rodolfo that causes Eddie to fight for his control. Here, the vision Alfieri foresaw at the beginning of the play is in reaching distance. In the final scene, the act of betrayal of members of Eddies own family brings about the final bloody tragedy which Alfieri foresaw at his first interview with Eddie. Despite Alfieris efforts, Marco is intent upon revenge for his betrayal, while Eddie is determined to maintain his reputation and his honour. During the last scene of the play, Marco and Eddie come face to face in full view of the neighborhood. This theatrical scene holds the climax to the play and even though the audience is well aware of what is to happen, they are more curious as to how the other characters will react. In this scene Eddies reputation is at stake and he is prepared to stake his life on the line. By Catherine finding work and her growing attraction to Rodolfo, which leads to their planned marriage brings out an increasingly aggressive reaction in Eddie that starts to break the family apart. Eddie is trying to defend his own innocence so that, when his wife says, You cant have her, he is genuinely disgusted that she could think of him that way. He defends himself against the sexual allegation to the end. But if there is a sexual guilt operating here, it is combined with the social situation he is in. Basically, there is noting more horrifying to the general public than betrayal. It destroys the protection of their society. There is also the political side; because Miller was in the middle of the McCarthy period, the so-called Congressional investigation in America. When Eddie yells I want my name! he implies that he wants his reputation back from Marco. When Eddie handed Marco over to the authorities, Eddie squealed He killed my children. That one stole the food from my children. Eddie believes that Marco is to blame for tarnishing his reputation with this lie. On the other hand, Marco was partially correct for what he had said for the reason that, without Marco earning money for his children, they will be unable to purchase food and could ultimately die. In reality, Eddie cannot face the fact that the reason he lost his name was because he betrayed Rodolfos and Eddies trust; and treachery was considered the worst act in a Sicilian society. Marco refers to Eddie as Animal, which suggests that Eddie was a suck up` to the American law. Resembling an animal, Eddie did anything to get his just rewards. Likewise a dog would do anything when offered a bone. Finally, after realizing what he has done, Eddie is prepared to risk his life in order to save his reputation, his name. Eventually, Eddie dies in the arms of his wife, after Marco had killed him in self defence. In the closing speech by Alfeiri, he declares we settle for half, in which case he is referring to Eddies attitude towards the American and Sicilian law. Eddie has followed the American law, by reporting the illegal immigrants to the authorities. However, he has also pursued Sicilian concepts; such as the last moment, when he was prepared to die for his reputation. This shows that he is half American and half Sicilian. Alfieri recognizes that the death of Eddie Carbone should serve as a reminder to those who must carry on, and to the audience, that it is better to settle for half, it must be. Yet as Alfieri admits, this represents a compromise of peoples hopes, desires and sense of justice which he ultimately regards with alarm. The chorus, Alfieri, is the law. He has the ability to move in and out of the play. He knows the Sicilian way, but understands that the Sicilian way is something you outgrow when you come to America. I suspect that Eddie wants to be more like Alfieri than any other character. He wants to have a foot in both camps. He wants to be defined by his job. Miller implies that Eddie is a tragic hero, since the one virtue Eddie lacks is not being able to settle for half. Eddie cannot accept the presence of other men being something other than a threat to his authority. It was obvious from the beginning that Eddie would get into trouble if he continued what he was doing, but his obsession with not being able to settle for half brought about the event that Alfieri foresaw and which he was powerless to prevent, despite his best efforts. The play is a Greek tragedy because Eddie is led by fate towards a destiny he cannot escape. Through his death, the audience is involved, purged of their emotions by a tragic ending, leaving the theatre sadder but wiser. In conclusion, Eddie is Millers solution that he set himself about trying to write a Greek tragedy in Brooklyn. Shezad Chowdhury 10P Page 1 of 6 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Scientist :: essays research papers

Scientists and the products of their work are far from ‘neutral.’ Rather than embodying neutrality, scientists are inextricably connected to the existing distribution of interests and power. White, male scientists over the centuries have attempted to use science as a medium for all their findings, which inevitably support their personal beliefs. In my experience, scientists are extremely intelligent, but particularly one-sided. Hearing the words ‘scientist’ and ‘neutral’ in the same sentence disturbs me--after all, scientists have tried to ‘prove’ an unlimited amount of times that blacks are innately less intelligent then whites, and that women are innately weaker and possess less natural ability in math and science than men do . Ruth Hubbard, in her essay â€Å"Science, Facts and Feminism,† explains that, â€Å"as scientists, our job is to generate facts that help people understand nature. † Webster’s dictionary defines the word scientist as one who studies natural science. Scientists seek knowledge from Mother Nature, which David Barash views as sexist, to understand many things including the certain roles genders play in society. Similar to these science critics, I believe trying to figure out and define roles based on our biological make-up is immoral. It causes conflicts and biases that account for the separation between genders.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hubbard argues that the ideology of woman’s nature that is invoked at these times would have us believe that a woman’s capacity to become pregnant leaves her always physically disabled in comparison with men. This ideology, supported by male scientists, has affected the roles of women in society and the workplace. It hinders women’s access to employment and influences some to believe that their place in society is at home (based on nature). Other scientists have also tried to prove that women’s disproportionate contributions to childcare and homecare are biologically programmed because women have a greater biological ‘investment’ in children then men do. My view on this assumption is that the cause of the disproportionate contributions is psychologically, rather than biologically, determined. Fathers might be more sensitive to their children than mothers, and vice versa, proving that scientists’ point about biological ‘investmentà ¢â‚¬â„¢ is not only obscure, but also invalid. I find no neutrality in that argument, nor in most of their cases. Scientists could be more neutral if they actually tried to provide conclusive evidence for some of their findings. Keller stated, â€Å"The net result is that scientists are probably less reflective of the ‘tacit assumption’ that guide their reasoning than any other intellectuals of the modern age.

Impact of AIDS on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Economy

Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world most terribly influenced by AIDS.   By the end of 2004 it was estimated that twenty-six million inhabitants in Sub-Saharan Africa were suffering from AIDS. Approximately seven to eight per cent of the grown population is affected, with occurrence rates getting as high as forty per cent in a few countries.Females are strangely infected, with adolescent girls five times more prone than teenage boys to catch AIDS. In 2004 only, two million people expired of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.However the epidemic has far stretched from its peak, since infectivity rates are still exceeded casualties from AIDS. Due to the gap between infectivity and successive death, we have until now to see the full impact of AIDS on Sub-Saharan Africa’s society as a whole.There have been differing opinions over how AIDS has affected the economic future of the African continent. Mixed messages on the true economic repercussions of the spread of the disease have contributed to a limited response, despite the inclusion of combating AIDS in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).One of the least studied but most significant areas of the epidemic's impact is rural agriculture. Though long de-prioritized, rural agriculture is a source of livelihood for millions on the African continent and is now again being perceived as a crucial contributor to economic growth and development by such organizations as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).Hunger, food aid and agricultural subsidies are all key elements of the current discourse on Africa in policy circles and in the media, but few studies have assessed the impact of AIDS on agriculture to push for specific interventions to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on rural agriculture.This disease has affected millions of people and since many of them are farmers therefore it has indirectly affected agriculture also. Since agriculture is a major source of capital for individuals and t he country therefore it has affected the economy of Africa also. It seems clear that such high levels of illness and mortality will severely hamper economic performance in the most heavily affected countries.Yet over the last decade, a number of macroeconomic studies have declared that AIDS is not having a significant impact on GDP growth. These analyses are important because they provide ammunition that allows statesmen and scholars to dismiss the epidemic as not worthy of action and funding.In circles of power around the world, it is money that drives policy initiatives. The claim that AIDS is not impacting economic performance speaks loudly and prevents aggressive intervention.( n5)This paper will start with an assessment of a number of the macroeconomic studies that aim to measure the impact of AIDS on GDP growth, and which contribute to the justification of a limited international response to the disease.Macroeconomic Analysis Of The Impact Of AIDSThe assessments of the macroec onomic impact of AIDS have been largely dismissive due to the unique character of the epidemic. AIDS affects the poorest of the poor: those who are not recognized or measured by traditional macroeconomic indicators. (Ruxin, 2004)As a UN report on â€Å"The Impact of AIDS† notes, â€Å"those rural people whose activities are not counted by standard measurements of economic performance and productivity are among the most vulnerable to the impact of AIDS.†( Bloom,   Mahal, 1997, 108)By not fully accounting for the informal sector, the rural economy and small-scale agriculture are largely dismissed, and women, who play a large role in the informal economy and agricultural sector, are marginalized. While the macroeconomic studies assessing the impact of AIDS disregard them, in fact it is the poor, the rural and women who are most affected by the disease.After decades of neglect by governments and abandonment by structural adjustment programs, there is a renewed focus on a griculture by international organizations and groups such as the World Bank and NEPAD. Agriculture is once again being seen as a driving force for growth in Africa.The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) released in July 2003 states that â€Å"the high economic growth rates envisaged by NEPAD cannot be realized unless farm production is significantly increased. Higher output will directly reduce hunger and bring down the cost of food imports.It will also have wider economic benefits, from stimulating rural incomes to providing raw materials for African industry.†(Harsch, 2004, 13) However, the rural areas are where AIDS is having its most devastating impact.At a time when population growth is high relative to other emerging economies, the amount of arable land is stable, the quality of land is degrading, and output per hectare stagnant, the rural areas are under increased pressure.Adding the AIDS epidemic into an already precarious mix of factors fo rces the agricultural sector into a dangerous downward spiral and threatens hopes for economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa.Few of the macroeconomic studies specifically address rural livelihoods and agriculture. They also assess the impact of AIDS without acknowledging that, from an economic point of view, the primary impact of the disease manifests mainly among individual economic agents, i.e. individuals and households. (Booysen, Bachmann, 2002)As a result, these macroeconomic models often fail to allow for the effects of a number of important microeconomic impacts which are endogenous to such models. (Booysen, Bachmann, 2002)Though the death of an individual might only represent a minor change in GDP, the macroeconomists fail to understand the ripple effect chronic illness and death has on communities. The impoverishment of communities cascades upwards and impacts macroeconomic measures. The traditional macroeconomic research approach is not sufficient in the face of the widespr ead devastation of AIDS.Microeconomic Analysis Of The Impact Of AIDSIt is vital for researchers to conduct microeconomic household-level studies on the impact of AIDS. Such analyses document the economic choices that households and individuals are forced to make in the face of the epidemic in terms of household composition, labor, productivity, savings and coping strategies.It is these behaviors that will inform observers of the real impact the epidemic is having on sub-Saharan Africa and will thus serve as the basis for understanding the effect of AIDS on families, communities and the nation.Rural Household StudiesIt is clear from existing microeconomic household-level analyses that AIDS is devastating and will continue to devastate Sub-Saharan Africa's rural agricultural sector and, through it, undermines the agricultural and rural revival that many see as the basis of Africa's recovery.As Carolyn Baylies notes, â€Å"AIDS is having a profound effect, undermining rural household production, contributing to declining agricultural output and affecting the very integrity of families and their sustainability as viable units.†(Baylies, 2002, 12)This paper will now delve into a number of the microeconomic studies, with a focus on rural agricultural household studies, to assess the house hold level impact of the epidemic and to investigate the effects that the macroeconomic analyses have largely missed.A 2002 household impact study conducted in South Africa by Frederick Booysen and Max Bachmann explores the impact of AIDS on families in the Free State province. Researchers note that deaths in the households due to AIDS mostly occurred in individuals in their 20s and 30s.A Rwandan study revealed that, for those that died, the average period of illness before death was 23 months: a long period during which care had to be provided and medicines sought. (Donovan, 2003) Household illness dramatically increases the dependency ratio in the home.Booysen and Bachmann note that the households affected by AIDS in fact have a smaller supply of labor than non-affected households, with a larger proportion of the household consisting of children and elderly persons. (Booysen, Bachmann, 2002) Furthermore, dependency is exacerbated by the fact that many individuals return to their rural homes to receive terminal care after becoming ill. (Jayne, 2002)The South African study also assesses the impact of AIDS on household income. The authors note that â€Å"per capita and adult equivalent income in affected households represents only between 50% and 60% of the levels of income in non-affected households.†(Booysen, Bachmann, 2002)This dramatic drop results not only from the loss of labor of the infected individual but also from the burden of care that falls on family members. Importantly, Booysen and Bachmann also explore the impact of the disease on expenditure levels.AIDS significantly alters the consumption patterns of households: â€Å"per capit a and adult equivalent expenditure is between 60% and 70% of the levels of expenditure in non-affected households.† (Booysen, Bachmann, 2002) Notably, affected households spend less on food than non-affected households, which has a negative impact on the health of household members.

Artistic Behavior in the Human Female Essay

The passage above comes from the article, â€Å"Artistic Behavior in the Human Female,† by Jean Robertson (2003, p. 24). Robertson (2003) argued that female artists define and interpret female sexuality in diverse and conflicting ways, and by using different artistic strategies. Robertson makes assumptions about the woman’s body as a contested terrain, wherein being a woman continues to be a subject of heated debate. For him, how female artists view themselves as women, and as artists, shape their depiction of â€Å"femininity† and â€Å"female sexuality† in their artworks. One of the quotes that Robertson mentioned in his text comes from Simon de Beauvoir. In her seminal book, â€Å"The Second Sex,† she stressed that: â€Å"One is not born a woman, but, rather, becomes one. † I want to reflect on de Beauvoir’s statement and Robertson’s belief about the woman’s body. I agree with de Beauvoir that social experiences and political conditions impact the construction of â€Å"being a woman. † Society shapes how women and men see femininity and gender roles through establishing gender roles and expectations. An example is when a girl is â€Å"conditioned† by her mother to be a â€Å"woman,† by telling her how she should act as a â€Å"woman. This includes educating her about the toys she can and cannot use, and the games she can and cannot play. The girl learns that she should act and think a certain way, in order to be â€Å"feminine. † She learns that she cannot be boisterous or get involved in sports, because that would be too â€Å"manly† for her. This girl is the perfect example of â€Å"becoming† a woman. On the other hand, I also agree that being a woman is a biological and individual construct. A woman is a product of her biology, whether she likes it or not. This is why women are also defined by their sexual organs. Their biology also determines their sex, as well as their gender. Furthermore, being a woman is a product of individual desires and needs. Any woman can define her womanhood the way she also wants it to. Robertson indicated the existence of the pluralities of femininity. It is true that a woman’s body is a contested terrain, and for me, what is wrong with that? Is it not also possible to have multiple femininities, instead of having only one approach to define and to interpret what it means to be a woman? There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, of having different ways of being a woman, because to deny one approach to womanhood undermines the very essence of being a free woman. Journal entry 2 In â€Å"A conversation about race and class,† Childers and Hooks (1990) argued that gender should be expanded to include issues of race and class. They said that: â€Å"†¦we should begin by talking about how we experienced the struggle to challenge and expand the category of gender† (pp. 61-62). For them, people cannot understand gender in its whole sense, if racial and class issues are overlooked in gender analysis. This reading challenged my view of gender, by asking me to see gender through a much broader lens. I have not considered that gender issues also intersect racial and class issues. On the other hand, Childers and Hooks (1990) compelled me to think about the politics of gender. This is related to our discussions about gender as a political object. The politics of gender demonstrate that there are hierarchies to the feminine gender that are experienced by many women. Power is also affected by one’s class and race. If white female women feel that there is a glass ceiling at the workplace, lower-class black and Hispanic women face a greater and heavier glass ceiling in society. Because of their class and race, they feel and experience multiple glass ceilings- the ceiling of racial discrimination, the ceiling of class discrimination, and the ceiling of gender discrimination. These ceilings, on top of one another, represent something more than just a hindrance to economic development, but resemble ceilings that are directly pressed on these women’s bodies. They could hardly breathe, because there are just too many ceilings that make it difficult for them to even survive. Now, I look gender as an amalgam of issues that women bring to gender discourse. As a result, race and issue not only expand gender discourse, but considering them has also broadened my understanding of gender and its diverse conflicts. Journal entry 3 When feminists speak about feminism, they mostly see the opposition between the feminine and the masculine- the yin and the yang. We also discussed the binary opposition in class, which heightened my knowledge of how women are reduced to the lower spectrum of the opposition. The binary opposition also exists in differentiating mothers from fathers. Mothers are put in pedestals, while fathers are forgotten and scorned. Laqueur (1990) complained about this binary opposition in â€Å"The Facts of Fatherhood. † This is an interesting article that argued about the repression of the history of fatherhood. Laqueur (1990) posited that while women enjoyed being the â€Å"natural† parent, fathers were regarded as mere providers, or even as a backdrop to the family. He stressed that it is time for fathers to reclaim their right to be part of the parenting history, wherein their contributions to the formation of society are recognized and respected. This polemical article amuses and interests me significantly. It amuses me because at the back of my mind, I felt gender discrimination in reverse. I believe that mothers have specials bonds with their children, but this belief, however, is marked by sexism. Do not fathers also share special bonds with their children? Laqueur (1990) challenged the notion of motherhood, because it undermined the importance of fatherhood. In my mind, it is better to not differentiate mothers from fathers, which is the same as stopping ourselves from differentiating women and men. Women and men have their own strengths and weaknesses and none is more superior. In the same line of thought, mothers and fathers are also equal. Let us just call motherhood and fatherhood as parenthood and give fathers their rightful place in the history and the practice of nurturing human society. Furthermore, this is also an interesting article, because it challenged me to talk about being a woman in relation to being a man. Being a woman has its multiplicities, and now, being a man has its pluralism too. For me, these multiplicities, acknowledged as part of gender analysis, render two steps forward for true gender equality. Journal entry 4 In â€Å"Criticizing Feminist Criticism,† Gallop, Hirsch, and Miller (1990) debated on the purposes and development of feminine criticism. Their main point is that feminist criticism writers have gone to the extreme, by pulverizing each other’s feminist views. They believe that this process is futile in understanding and improving the development of gender discourse and feminism. They asserted that feminism can be criticized in a more comprehensive manner, wherein there is no right or wrong feminism. I chose this article because it threads on sensitive issues, wherein the personal versus the collective idea of feminism clashes. Feminists have different worldviews about gender roles, sexuality, and femininity, and they criticize each other in different ways. I have never thought that feminist criticism has become too unconstructive. This is not my idea of criticism at all. I think about my own criticism of feminist criticism and I cannot help but agree that criticism is not about â€Å"thrashing† feminist theories (p. 350). Criticism is also about adding something to existing theories, in ways that can benefit the understanding of what it means to be a woman and how different understandings contribute to a wide range of feminism discourse. I earnestly believe also that feminists cannot define feminism in one way or several ways alone. Feminism should be viewed as a huge mess of ideas and values, different and special to women and groups, who fight for and because of different issues. Yes, it is a mess alright, because being a woman is a dynamic process that is also a part of being an individual and being a member of one’s race, class, and so on. Being a woman cannot ever be a tidy place, wherein women think the same and act the same. I would rather have it as a mess- wherein women are free to think and re-think feminism, in relation to their personal experiences and values. References Childers, M. & Hooks, B. (1990). A conversation about race and class. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 60-81). New York, NY: Routledge. Gallop, J. , Hirsch, M. , & Miller, N. K. (1990). Criticizing feminist criticism. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 349-369). New York, NY: Routledge. Laqueur, T. W. (1990). The facts of fatherhood. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 205-221). New York, NY: Routledge. Robertson, J. (2003). Artistic behavior in the human female. In B. Stirratt & C. Johnson (Eds. ), Feminine persuasion: art and essays on sexuality (pp. 23-38). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Aristotle and Modern Work Relationships

Aristotle and Modern Work Relationships Introduction Human beings are constantly in search of ways to realize a good life. Since people are social creatures who must interact with each other, achieving happiness in life requires establishing good and civil relationships with others. One area in life where relationships play a significant role is in the workplace.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aristotle and Modern Work Relationships specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In modern society, the workplace is a crucial area since most people spend a significant amount of their time in this environment. Achieving good relationships in this setting is directly linked to the level of satisfaction that a person has in his/her life. Good relationships in the work setting also contribute to the productivity of the organization. As such, the notion of best places to work can be viewed through the lens of civic relationships. Many philosophers have covered the subject of interpersonal relationships over the centuries. Aristotle, who is considered one of the most influential philosophers, came up with some enlightening ideas on civic relationships, happiness, the virtues, deliberation, justice and friendship that might provide some insight on modern work relationships. This paper will set out to present Aristotle’s ideas on civic relationships and analyze how they compare and contrast with contemporary notions of best places to work. Aristotle’s Ideas The renowned Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, developed some ideas that have continued to be influential on the subject of civic relationships to the present time. Aristotle addressed happiness, which is a quality that all people seek to achieve for themselves. By definition, happiness is the overall satisfaction with life and a high level of enjoyment achieved by a person. A number of external factors contribute to the happiness of a person. According to Aristotle, a necessary condition for happiness was active participation in the discussion of what civic goods the society should pursue. As such, happiness could not be achieved if the individual was not allowed to voice his/her opinion on what was to be done. In Aristotles definition of happiness, this value is centered on exercising virtue meaning that a person cannot be truly happy if he is not virtuous. Aristotle offered elaborate ethical principles of virtue that if properly applied, could lead to the attainment of happiness by people in the society. For Aristotle, happiness is invariably linked to virtue as is evident from his assertion that happiness is activity of soul in accordance with virtue exercised over a long life and supported by additional goods such as money and health. Aristotle contends that cultivating virtue is necessary for happiness to be achieved since virtue promotes individual happiness as well as that of others. According to him, virtues are a means through which further happiness can be ach ieved by the individual.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Aristotle also introduced the idea of civic virtues, which he describes as the dispositions that people in the society should strive to exhibit. This dispositions result in people being moral or achieving some level of excellence in their dealings with others. The civic virtues are mutually agreed-on and rationally justifiable actions that sustain the quest for the good. The civic virtues also highlight the modes of conduct that may be detrimental to the achievement of the common good. Another quality that is essential for ideal civic relationships is justice. Justice is important since it ensures that all individuals are given the opportunity to enjoy their lives and achieve happiness and success. Aristotle considered justice to be the thing that tended to promote the common interest of the people. The indiv iduals in the society share in the pursuit of this common interest and they benefit from their efforts. Aristotle observed that Justice is a very important aspect of happiness is injustice prevents people from realizing the human good. For Aristotle, injustice is caused by the greed for external material such as money or psychological things such as power and honor. Aristotle introduced some ideas of friendship that have continued to influence modern Western thought on the subject. According to Aristotle, friendship is the attribute that holds the society together since when men are friends; they treat each other with consideration and avoid acts of injustice against each other. In addition to this, friendship encourages selfless acts by individuals and this produces happiness. This claim by Aristotle is supported by studies that review that virtues of altruism in helping others tend to make individuals happier. Aristotle defined three types of friendship that might exist in the soc iety. The first is a friendship that is based on virtue and in this case, there exists a bond between individuals who are alike in excellence or virtue. In this form of friendship, the individuals increase the happiness of each other for the sake of it. The relationship in this case is altruistic and therefore of a perfect nature. The second type of friendship is one that is based on the utility. In this case, the individuals feel affection towards each other because of their usefulness to each other. The third friendship is grounded on pleasure and it is typically driven by emotions. This form of friendship is most prevalent among young people and it is not lasting in nature. Aristotle holds friendship in high regard since without friendship, other virtues such as justice could not exist. Traits of the Best Places to Work All employees would like to be part of organizations that are best places to work in. The Great Place to Work Institute asserts that while generous compensation p ackages and good policies and practices play a role in creating a work environment that the employees appreciate, this are not the only things that employees consider. Some additional desirable traits must be present for a work place is considered by the employees.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aristotle and Modern Work Relationships specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While the traits might vary from organization to organization, the Best Places to Work Institute has come up with a number of traits that are common in all employee friendly organizations. The first common trait is an environment of trust. The employees are able to demonstrate trust for their employers and this trust springs from the credibility of the companys management. This trust arises when the employees perceive that they are treated in a fair manner and with respect. The second trait is a high level of pride by the employees in what they are doi ng in the organization. Employees are hired by the organization to carry out certain specified tasks. The employee needs to be proud of their work and experience a sense of delight in his/her activities. The pride leads to a sense of satisfaction by the workers and it produces a feeling of happiness in the employee. Another trait of the great workplace is a high sense of camaraderie among the employees. The workers need to experience genuine connection with their fellow workmates. They have to exhibit a level of enjoyment working with each other. The Great Place to Work institute contends that the employees should be able to work together as a family. The Great Place to Work institute declares that the degree of human touch is crucial to the development of an ideal work place. The institute observes that without a high degree of human touch, employees are unlikely to demonstrate the high level of commitment necessary to bring about high levels of success to the company. In addition to this, another trait is the provision of opportunities for the employees to contribute their talents to the organization. Great Place to Work Institute declares that the best work environment provides inspiration for the employees and motivates them to foster their creativity and talents. Each employee is given the chance to make a positive contribution to the growth and development of the organization. Comparing Aristotle’s Ideas and Contemporary Notions There are a number of evident similarities between Aristotle’s ideas on civic relationships and the notions of the best work place as articulated by the Great Place to Work institute. The first similarity is in the importance of active participation by the individual in the affairs of the society or organization. For Aristotle, participation in public affairs is crucial for the happiness of the person. The Great Place to Work institute also deems participation in organizational matters as an important component for happiness. The institute declares that a great place to work is one where the employees are given the opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity. Management includes the workers in the decision-making process and shows consideration to their suggestions.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is agreement between Aristotle and the contemporary notions that certain physical and psychological factors contribute to the positive assessment of the workplace. Aristotle admits that happiness requires some external goods such as wealth, power, and health. He states that a certain level of power and honor leads to the increase in happiness by the individual. The Great Place to Work institute declares that employees must have some level of pride in their work. It then proposes that employees want to feel respected and appreciated by their employers and colleagues. This suggests that power and honor are important in the best work place. When addressing the issue of human happiness, Aristotle declares that all human activities seek to accomplish some particular good as the goal. This observation is true in contemporary work places where the employees seek to achieve some predetermined goals and objectives. Another similarity is in the importance of friendship bonds between ind ividuals working together. In the great place to work, the employees experience a form of friendship with each other as they do things both with each other and for their fellow workers. The employees have a level of authentic connection and camaraderie with each other. This results in greater enjoyment of the work environment as the workers operate as a family. The friendships formed in the best places of work conform to the second type of friendship highlighted by Aristotle. These workplace friendships are often grounded in utility. The employees feel affection not necessarily for one another but in terms of their usefulness to each other. The workers will therefore have a bond based on the value they add to the workplace. Aristotle and the Great Place to Work institute agree on the importance of virtue in human interactions. From Aristotles teachings on ethics and virtues, one can deduce that virtue tends to promote happiness while vice tends to promote unhappiness. These ideas ar e compatible with the modern work setting where virtuous acts tend to produce good results for the employees and the company while vices tend to promote negative results for all the individuals involved. A significant difference between Aristotle’s ideas and those of the contemporary work place is with regard to happiness. Aristotle’s definition of happiness is strongly tied to morality since he asserts that individuals have to act in morally desirable ways in order to promote happiness. In the modern workplace, the definition of happiness is morally neutral and subjective in nature. The moral neutrality of happiness is partly due to the diversity of moral views by individuals in the workplace. The heterogeneous nature of the modern workplace makes it undesirable to impose uniform moral values on all employees. The Great Place to Work institute favors the adoption of policies that are all inclusive. Workers are able to attain ideal civic relationships and a high level of happiness in the morally neutral environment. There is also a major difference between Aristotle’s ideas and contemporary notions on how happiness can be derived from work. Aristotle suggests that an employee can derive happiness from undertaking his given task according to the highest standards. He argues that the activity that the employee engages in brings about the highest good. This is not the case in the contemporary work place where a myriad of factors contribute to the happiness of the employees. In most cases, the individual does not derive joy from engaging in his designated task. On the contrary, most employees find their work repetitive and boring. It is therefore unlikely that absolute happiness can be achieved by carrying out these uninspiring activities every day. Aristotle’s ideas of justice are not compatible with the contemporary notions of the good work place. The high levels of individualization and personal ambition for success in the modern soc iety differ from Aristotles teachings on justice. In all work places, employees strive to achieve the maximum benefit for themselves. The employer on the other hand aims to increase the productivity of the employees in order to increase profits. In this setting, all individuals have a desire to gain more external and psychological goods for themselves. In most instances, these goods are not shared in an equitable manner among the individuals working in the organization. Conclusion This paper set out to discuss Aristotles understanding of ethics and virtues and compare these ideas with contemporary notions of best places to work. It began by noting that happiness is an important attribute in human life. It then discussed Aristotle’s ideas of civic relationship and expounded on his concepts of civic relationships. The paper then provided a concise review of the traits of the best places to work as articulated by the Best Places to Work institute. It noted that trust, pride, and a sense of camaraderie are some of the most important traits from the employee’s perspective. The paper has shown that the ideas of friendship, virtue, and respect are agree on by Aristotle and the contemporary notions of best places to work. However, there is a significant difference in the concept of happiness and justice as articulated by Aristotle and as it is applied in the contemporary work place. On the whole, it can be concluded that Aristotle’s ideas on civic relationship are by the large applicable to modern work relationships.

DB Reply Example

DB Reply Example DB Reply – Coursework Example Employees’ welfare Affiliation Introduction As a business owner the welfare of the employees is a majorpart in their affairs. It involves providing various benefits to the employees. While this may increase the business expenses and negatively affect the bottom line, looking after the employees will eventually benefit the company. This could lead to increased returns as the employees are in a happy environment hence, are in a position to work diligently.Employee benefitsThese are packages given to employees to keep them motivated at their workplace. These packages are sometimes viewed to be more important than the salary by a potential employee. These packages include Christmas bonuses, paid leaves, health insurances, retirement benefits, paid off days, etc.Employee benefits differ depending on the employees status. Married employees have benefits differing from those of the single. Benefits also differ for people of the two genders. The availability of employee benefits help s attract and retain eligible employees. This ensures they will also work and give their best to ensure the continuity of the organization. It helps maintain a good relationship between the employee and the employer Compensation surveyThis is an exercise in which a surveys looks into the various compensations given to employees in their work environments. This exercise ensures that the employee compensations are fair. Apart from that it ensures that they are not paid excessively to a point it hurts the organizations financial status. Various bodies have been put up for such surveys. These are such as the NCS (National Compensation Survey). These surveys can be done semi-annually or annually or biennially. Compensation surveys fall in either of into of two groups: custom and standard.Employment Laws that Influence Compensation Tactics There are various laws involved in employee compensation. These laws are used to ensure that neither part undermines the other party (employers or empl oyees). These laws are such as: FLSA (Fair Labor Standard Act) – It prescribes wages and overtime pay. This law is administered by the wage and hour divisionThe Federal Employees Compensation Act –it establishes a comprehensive and exclusive workers compensation program.The Employees Compensation Act (FECA) -This law establishes a comprehensive and exclusive workers compensation for the disability or death of a federal employee resulting from personal injury sustained while on duty.ConclusionEmployees are a major part of the economy of a country. Their welfare is usually a major factor for the employees to take in for employees. The federal government has devised various laws that govern this. The government requires all employees to ensure that their employees are well taken care of. This involves ensuring their satisfaction while working. Several bodies have also been set up to ensure that even while taking care of the employees one does not end up hurting their busi ness such as the compensation survey bodies. ReferencesDebbie Lovewell, (2011) Employee benefits/ Towers Watson flexible Benefits, Employee benefit magazine.Burn, M (2011). What Does It Cost To Replace An Employee. Abenity. Retrieved 23 March, 2015 from abenity.com/celebrate/employee-engagement-cost-to-replace-an-employee/ Bill Coleman, Compensation Survey, Givology. Retrieved 23 March, 2015 from www.salary.com/compensation-surveys.com Trevor, C. and Graham, M., (2000). Deriving the market wage: Three Decisions Area in the Compensation Survey Process. World of Work Journal, Vol. 9: 4 Lesia W (2011). How New Laws, Regulations Affect Compensation and Benefits plan. CBIA-Government Affairs. Retrieved 23 March, 2015 from http://gov.cbia.com/issues_policies/article/how-new-laws-regulations-affect-ct-compensation-and-benefits-plans