Research paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research paper - Assignment Example The greatest happiness is fulfilled when acts that produce maximum happiness for those affected-the best results-are considered morally good acts. In utilitarianism, ethical behavior implies acting in the interests of the larger group, even if one must sacrifice one’s own interests to do so. The welfare of the group matters not the individual. Higher pleasures are logical or intellectual while lower pleasures are concerned with the physical needs. The role of pleasure is to provide happiness. Showing compassion for the society helps an individual care for the community in which he or she lives. Compassion is very significant to an individual in that it makes them realize the meaning and purpose of life, which is to be happy. This is because since every person wants to be happy, they will do anything to avoid misery and suffering. Virtues are important because they help human beings to derive pleasure in their actions, have uniformity in the way they act, and act promptly which in turn will result to peaceful co-existence, thus everybody will be happy about the life they live. Posner is following the principle of act utilitarianism in that he desires to die so that he does not cause financial constrain to his family. In the early 1960s, Ford’s market position was being heavily eroded by competition from domestic and foreign manufactures of subcompacts. Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, was determined to regain Ford’s share of the market by having a new subcompact, the Pinto, in production by 1970. Then Ford engineers crash tested an early model of the Pinto. They found that when the automobile was struck from the rear at 20 miles per hour, the gas tank regularly ruptured. Stray sparks could then ignite the spraying gasoline, engulf the car in flames, and possibly burn the trapped occupants. Nonetheless, Ford management decided for several reasons to go ahead with production of the Pinto as designed. First, the design met all applicable fe deral laws and standards then in effect. Secondly, the Pinto was comparable in safety to other cars being produced by the auto industry. Third, an internal Ford study indicated that the social costs of improving the design outweighed the social benefits. According to the study, it was estimated that a maximum of 180 deaths might result if the Pinto design were not changed. For purposes of cost/benefit analysis, the Federal government at that time put a value of $200,000 on a human life. Consequently, the study reasoned, saving 180 lives was worth about a total of $36 million to society. On the other hand, improving the 11 million Pintos then being planned would cost about $11 per car for a total investment of $121 million. Since the social cost of $121 million outweighed the social benefit of $36 million, the study concluded that improving the Pinto design would not be cost-effective from a societal point of view. 1. Identify the relevant issues for decision-making In early 1960s, F ord’s market position was wearing down due to high competitions from domestic and international manufactures of subcompacts. Therefore, the Ford Motor Company, endorsed by the vice-president Lee Iacocca, came to a decision of manufacturing a new subcompact car called Pinto that was to be produced domestically at an affordable price. The decision of manufacturing Pinto was also aimed at gaining large market share for the company, the designing and development of Pinto car was therefore accelerated in order to

ECONOMICS OF warfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ECONOMICS OF warfare - Essay Example Difference-indifferences estimator is used in econometrics to investigate how changes in variables in the environment affect the macroeconomics. Armed conflict is one of the factors that affect economic growth and development. A number of studies have been carried to establish the adverse effect of armed conflict on the economy of a nation. The researchers have been using the difference-in-differences idea to try to understand the significance of armed conflict on the outcome of an economy (Wooldridge, 2009). Armed conflict has serious economic implications. Historically, wars have destroyed economies that were robust and were promising. The world wars were unfortunate occurrences that brought the world economies into an economic crisis. Although most countries recovered for the fiasco, conflicts persist especially in African countries. Rwanda is one of the countries that were worst hit by armed conflict. The enmity between the Hutu and Tutsi saw the world witness one of the deadliest genocides. The two ethnic communities fled their country to go and seek asylum in neighboring countries. Property was destroyed. Lives were lost. Consequently, the within a short period, the country’s economy was on the verge of being bedridden. Intervention from the international community and other humanitarian agencies mitigated the conflict that had threatened to escalate to uncontrollable levels. Due to the intervention, salinity was brought in the country. Development partners and non-governmen tal organizations flocked the state with an objective of aiding them recover from the aftermath of the armed conflict. Furthermore, Rwanda became a case study of economists who started investigating the implication of the War on Rwanda’s economy. The World Bank is among one those development partners that examined the impact of the event. Researchers of the study used the

Explore the class system in America. In what way does it still exist Research Paper

Explore the class system in America. In what way does it still exist Or, in what way does it really not exist - Research Paper Example Kendall defines the definition of the class system as follows (219): The class system is a stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work they do (qtd. in Rothman). Classical Perspectives on Social Class Karl Marx and Max Weber viewed class as an important factor in determining social change. According to Karl Marx, class is defined as a relationship to the means of production. In his opinion, a class can be capitalistic or it can be a working class. A capitalistic class consists of those who own the means of production. Workers in a working class are those who need to sell their labor in order to earn money. Major factor described by Marx’s theory involved in distinction between the two classes is power and authority (Kendall, 221). Weber came up with another theory as he was living in an era in which capitalism changed over time. He came up with a multidimensional approach to social stratification. He suggested there are three main fac tors wealth, power and prestige, out of which no single factor can determine the class level. Individuals can rank high in one factor and low in the other (Kendall, 221). Combining the Weberian and Marxian approaches to social class, research Dennis Gilbert (2003) developed a model of social class based on three factors: education, occupation, family income (Kendall, 223). Stratification based on education, occupation and income (Kendall, 224). ... duced that education is not a direct factor contributing in the status level, but it indirectly influences the two other dimensions, that is, occupation and income. Education also shapes cultural behavior. Statistics of 1993 confirms that education the role of education in generating America’s social division. It shows that among individuals earning more than $100,000 per year, 49 percent had postgraduate degrees (Fleishman, 57). Sajjadi in her article discusses about social class system as a description of how scarce resources are distributed in a society. Those scarce resources are wealth, income, education and occupation. She further writes that income is an important scarce resource. But, it is occupation that provides income, and it is education that determines the type of occupation. Income is also related to other life consequences such as the quality of education obtained, health care, and housing (Sajjadi, Social Stratification in United States). As mentioned above, U S individual income depends on education. In 2005, the top 15 percent of income earners were actually the ones with doctorate and professional degrees. Those who had bachelor’s degree had incomes above the national median and people with college degree had less income (Sajjadi, Social Stratification in United States). Education serves as one of the most essential class feature in US, which is directly linked in income and occupation. Level of Disparity Let us see how rich the riches are in US: (Durden, A Visual Reminder of US Social Stratification). A Harvard professor and behavioral economist asked more than 5000 Americans on their opinion on wealth distribution in US. Most of them thought its more balanced than it actually is (Durden, A Visual Reminder of US Social Stratification). (Durden,

Encouraging the Growth of a Young Artist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Encouraging the Growth of a Young Artist - Essay Example Pente (in Grauer,Irwin & Emme, 2011) contends that developmental models can guide teachers in understanding ways children make art and to understand the broad differences among the various ages, however, many other factors can influence a child’s art development such as the materials to be used, socio-cultural considerations, and contemporary contexts in the child’s life. These can either advance or hinder a child’s art development, no matter what developmental stage he belongs to. Although it is important for teachers to know the developmental level of the children they teach so they are aware of the skills they can already learn and do, it is still essential for a teacher to be a keen observer of children’s interests and learning styles. Marne-Thompson (2009) argues that this is the best way for teachers to learn how children use art to learn and express meaning into it. Eisner (2002) offers five principles that guide teachers in art education. He enumer ates: Art education should give pride of place to what is distinctive about the arts†¦ foster the growth of artistic intelligence, help students how to create satisfying visual images, help students recognize what is personal, distinctive and even unique about themselves and their work.. and make special efforts to enable students to secure aesthetic forms of experience in everyday life (Grauer,Irwin & Emme, 2011, p. 13). In following these guidelines, teachers of young children will gain enough confidence to teach Art. Teaching Art to a Six-year old Boy I had the pleasure of working one-on-one with a creative little boy of six. In observing him, I learned that he was quite adept in using some art materials, as he exhibited good fine motor skills in drawing, cutting, pasting, molding and pasting. My objectives for our art sessions were: To inspire him to express his creativity through art To engage him in the process of collage-making, clay-molding and painting as art forms To motivate him to use art as a creative expression of himself And to simply enjoy the art activities. The first activity was creating a a big black spider with different coloured thick cardboard paper. We first discussed how spiders looked and he described that it looks like a bug but with eight legs. Then, to encourage his imaginative thinking, I asked him how he would want his own spider to look if he was to design it. He said he wanted it big and scary, but happy with a lot of colors in order to â€Å"attract friends who’d think he’s scary, but when they get to know him, is actually a friendly guy†. This verbalization about his planned art work corresponds to the talk as art criticism as referred to by Feldman (1994) when he says â€Å"Art criticism has become the storytelling aspect of art and aesthetics and transforms visual experiences into verbal expressions that can be shared with others (Cromer, 1990, p. 9 as mentioned in Grauer, Irwin & Emme, 2011, p.10 9). He started to cut an oval out of thick black cardboard and eight long rectangular â€Å"legs† and attached these around the oval. He also cut a smaller oval to attach as the head. Next, he chose different colors of construction paper and began cutting them in different shapes. For some, he tore, leaving some fibers of the paper exposed at the edges. Then, he carefully pasted the different colors randomly on the big oval, covering all the

Porter's Five-Force model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Porter's Five-Force model - Essay Example It is crucial for any international business to critically study the competitive environment of the industry. The number of close substitutes, availability of resources, buying power of the consumers, threat of new entrants and the level of rivalry between existing firms must be studied closely to determine whether the industry would present the firm with a favorable and profitable environment. Porter’s Five forces model allows a firm to critically analyze each and every factor in the respective elements of industry competitiveness noted above (Swaan et al, 1999). Porter describes five forces which affect the industry’s competitiveness. The Threat of Substitute Products available in the market determines the power which a business may have in the industry. If the product is a generic one which has high substitutes in the market, the industry will be considered as highly competitive. Similarly, high level of close substitutes means that the buyers’ cost of switching is low and imposes a high threat to the firms. Besides this factor, all the factors are included in Figure 1 (Swaan et al, 1999). Likewise, if the buyers in the industry have a high negotiating power, the firms will be lead to lower their profit margins and the prices. A high negotiating power means that there would be less number of buyers as compared to the number of sellers in the market. Also, switching costs would be low and the products would be common rather than differentiated. Simultaneously, when there are fewer suppliers in the market who sell highly technical or hard to procure raw materials, they would have more negotiating power (Swaan et al, 1999). The ability and the ease of new entrants in the market also say how much competition a firm can expect in the future. With all these specifics, comes rivalry between firms. If one promotional campaign is followed aggressively by competing firms, the rivalry would be high. Similarly, the level of product

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Discussion - Essay Example There is a lot of corruption in the world which causes people to forget about the main problem, which is health. Third-world countries increasing population makes it harder for governments to focus on one major aspect which is good health and proper sanitation. Poverty, corruption and uncontrolled population are some clear reasons for the lack of a healthy life in many parts of the world. However, the notion that all is well in the First World and things are irredeemable in the Third World is an overstatement. While healthy habits and personal hygiene are better looked after in developed countries thanks to their economic stability, the fact that medical services have become extremely expensive in these countries poses a threat to common people when they are required to take prolonged treatment for their illnesses. Moreover, the after effects of recession make it difficult for people in developed countries to buy quality food in the global market, while those in the Third World are still able to have healthy food on daily basis thanks to the local markets that don’t charge exorbitant prizes for meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. It is true that in places like India, the idea of hygiene in public places have to evolve in order to mee t international standards. However, large scale pollution from industrial areas that harm the entire world comes mainly from the First World, as they move blindly towards profit. When compared to this catastrophe, a lifestyle change among common people in the Third World would be easier, with proper awareness programmes. Issues of poverty can somehow be managed, but the other two problems, of corruption and population, are to be addressed more seriously, and a farsighted approach to minimize them should be the priority of governments. 2. Providing the means of a healthy life to the world’s people is too costly. Poor decisions are made everyday when it comes to feeding our families in order to avoid such an

To What Extent Does Shift Work Contribute to the Stress of Working as Essay - 1

To What Extent Does Shift Work Contribute to the Stress of Working as a Paramedic in Adelaide - Essay Example I can also access them when working in order to observe them in their natural working environment and get the feeling of what stress they are encountering as they work in their different shifts (both night and day shifts and the difference between these two shifts).   The sampling technique will be simple random. This is convenient because I will not be biased when conducting the field research and the results will ensure diversity in conditions, the gender of the paramedics and other important factors that other sampling techniques may overlook. I will randomly choose the workstations of the paramedics and then also randomly chose the paramedics I will be observing and those I will be interviewing and minimize biases and sampling error. I will carry out 3 observations (of each shift since the shifts are of 8hours), 7 different interviews (one of the interviews will be for the supervisor and who is also the one in charge of the shifts and organizes the duty calendar), while the other six will be for the different paramedics (randomly chosen). Lastly, I will carry out a focus group discussion that will include all the available paramedics and this will be aimed at getting the general feeling about the shifts not captured in the interviews. Some of the structured interview questions will include: what shift they currently are in? How long does it take before there is a rotation of the shift? Which of the three shifts is the toughest on both the physical and mental strength? Is there a difference health wise of the shifts (this includes having headaches, fatigue, anger, over or under eating, depression or drugs and substance abuse). The rest of the questions will be unstructured in order to get more explanations. One of the ethical problems I foresee is that the interviewees may refuse to be honest due to fear of lack of confidentiality and even anonymity even though this will be assured to them. The other is on the issue of getting voluntary participants to participate in the focus group and especially if the supervisor will be around watching them.  Ã‚