Compare and Contrast the Different Perspective on the Self

Compare and contrast the different perspective on the self in Kaphagawani's article â€Å"African conceptions of a person'. Reflect on some of the challenges. Table of Content Table of Content1 Introduction2 Nature2 Principle of life2 Personhood3 Human being3 Conclusion3 References4 IntroductionIn this essay I will compare and contrast the different perspectives of self, person and personhood from various cultures across Africa, answering the age-old questions within metaphysics as well as philosophy: â€Å"What is a person? ; What elements constitute being a person? ; and â€Å"Could one be a person without personhood? † Nature The Akan philosophers Wiredu and Gyekye agree the okra (soul) is the innermost self of the person, but disagree whether the nature of the okra is a material or immaterial substance.Wiredu insist the okra is different from the Western philosophy’s perceived soul, because to the West the term soul refers to â€Å"a purely immaterial entity that somehow inhabits the body. The okra, by contrast, is quasi-physical. † (1) The okra for Gyekye has the same concept of a soul as in other metaphysical systems and proclaims that â€Å"a crucial aspect of Akan metaphysics is the existence of the world of spirits† (2a). Gyekye insists â€Å"the okra and sunsum are immaterial substances and they survive death as a â€Å"spiritual unity†(2b) where Wiredu suggests sunsum is not an entity but a manner of being, which perishes at death.Principle of life The sunsum as the â€Å"activating principle† and okra as the â€Å"principle of life† is unclear. The Yoruba’s ori, like the okra, is the determinant of personality, where the emi is the active principal of life. The Akan’s perception of okra is regarded as the active life principle supplied by the deity, as well as the bearer of destiny, where the Yoruba’s emi, which is the equivalent of okra, is not the bearer of destiny. Personhoo dThe words of John F. Kennedy, â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country† (3) sums up the road to personhood. Mbiti (4) argues that â€Å"in traditional life, the individual does not and cannot exist alone except corporately†¦. He is simply part of the whole†, and describes a social-centric view of personhood in which society creates the individual. Tempels agrees that â€Å"this concept of separate beings, of substance†¦ hich find themselves side by side, entirely independent one of another, is foreign to Bantu thought. † (5) Human being Kagame claims that humans beings are complete animals â€Å"from the moment he exist in his mother's womb†, â€Å"when a name has been given† or â€Å" from the moment he puts reason to good use† (6) but for Wiredu everyone is born a person. However personhood is something you may achieve making some more person than others on fulfilment of one's obligati ons to self, household and to community. 7) For Geykye â€Å"a human person is a being who has a moral sense and is capable of making moral judgements† (8a) and does not agree with the personhood debate because â€Å"what the individual would be striving for in all his/her exertions is some social status, not personhood. † (8b) Conclusion After colonialism Africa provided descriptions on what a person is in the African context but the authentic descriptions were lost in order to compensate for Aristotle's â€Å"man is a rational animal†.It unified African educated philosophers and created a second tier by adding the word â€Å"hood† to â€Å"person†. The English language creates translation issues because it is unable to effectively define African concepts as passed down amongst generations. The words of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech stress the essence of African culture as it emphasises the role which the community plays in order fo r a person to be able to define him-/herself. References (1) Kwasi WireduThe concept of mind with particular reference to the language and thought of the Akan Contemporary Philosophy: A new survey. Vol 5: African Philosophy, ed G. Floistad (Dordrecht: Nijhoff, 1987) pg. 161 (2a) Kwame Gyekye Concept of a person An essay on African philosophical thought, revise,d edition, ed Kwane Gyekye (Temple university press, Philadelphia, 1995) pg. 86,87 (2b) Kwame Gyekye Concept of a person An essay on African philosophical thought, revise,d edition, ed Kwane Gyekye (Temple university press, Philadelphia, 1995) pg. 98 (3) John F.Kennedy This speech was delivered by John F Kennedy at his inauguration in Washington on January 20 1961. (4) John S. Mbiti Ethnic Groups, Kinship ; the Individual African Religions and Philosophy, 2nd edition, ed. John S Mbiti (Oxford: Heineman, 1989), pg. 106. (5) Father Placide Temples Bantu Philosophy â€Å"La Philosophie Bantoue†, ed. Dr. A. Rubbens (Elizabe thville: Lovania, 1945), pg. 58. (6) Alex Kagame The Shadow Thesis Reading in contemporary African Philosophy, ed Dr P Mungwini, Dr MLJ Koeane, Mr ESN Mkhwanazi (UNISA: Pretoria, 2012) pg. 91 (7) Kwasi Wiredu An Akan perspective on human rights The African Philosophy Reader, Second Edition, ed PH Coetzee and APJ Roux (Routledge: Londen, 2003), pg 315 (8a) Kwame Gyekye Person and community in African thought Reading in contemporary African Philosophy, ed Dr P Mungwini, Dr MLJ Koeane, Mr ESN Mkhwanazi (UNISA: Pretoria, 2012) pg. 29 (8b) Kwame Gyekye Person and community in African thought Reading in contemporary African Philosophy, ed Dr P Mungwini, Dr MLJ Koeane, Mr ESN Mkhwanazi (UNISA: Pretoria, 2012) pg. 30

Dorothy and the Tree

Gonzalez, Sophie Period 6 December 3, 2012 Dorothy and the Tree: A Lesson in Epistemology Stanley Fish discusses how we in society base our lives off of assumptions. Using the example of Dorothy and the tree, Fish is able to show how with our assumptions, we as people categorize others and things into what we believe to be correct. Whether or not we have actually taken the time to figure out if we are right is irrelevant.He notes that we should just â€Å"keep trying to expand our sense of ‘us’ as far as we can†, so we can avoid judgments and isolating ourselves from the rest of society. Even though Dorothy realizes her mistake, she doesn’t realize that it is not a failure, but her consciousness assuming the classification of things in the world. Fish later on defines thought as the â€Å"structure that at once enables perception†, meaning that within categories things emerge, limiting perception and nothing can allow one to see everything because th at is God’s job.Fish uses many Bible allusions to create justification for his assertions. He uses Genesis 1:26, and Paul’s road to Damascus to show that people can be persuaded to change their placement of things in society. Despite all of his valid points, Fish states that it is nearly impossible for one to change just on realizations. He believes it takes practice to accept the fact that there are things that we cannot comprehend because there is no limit on the conceptual trappings of society.

Diagnosis and the Treatment Planning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diagnosis and the Treatment Planning - Case Study Example The full range of approaches would be based on establishment of a secure therapeutic relationship which may move gradually into formal psychoanalytic therapy. The motivation and life situations are important to understand since they extensively contribute to the development of psychosis, which in this case is manifested by delusions. Family interventions are not possible in this case. The need-adapted approach should be based on idiographic assessment of his needs and the type of treatment suited to these needs. Need-adapted approaches, although difficult to design, are more suitable since the overall therapy would depend on several interventions over time rather than a single approach. The therapy would thus not only aim towards reduction of psychotic symptomatology, but also would address a number of developmental trajectories, the deviations from which are responsible for the current symptomatology. For his alcohol dependency, counseling and psychotherapy again are important compo nents of effective treatment. Although psychosocial interventions are recommended, it would take time to arrange a supportive network for this patient. In this case given his dual diagnosis, apart from psychotherapy improved drug therapy may also be employed.

Chinese classroom culture and American classroom culture Thesis

Chinese classroom culture and American classroom culture - Thesis Example A classroom culture of trust and transparency is the foundation for creating an environment where students are empowered with correct and appropriate feedback helping in effective learning along with offering them a chance to learn from their mistakes resulting in the achievement of common goals and objectives in a planned manner. It is important to create a trusting environment as it helps students to learn along with offering learning to others through experiences. However, different countries take different approaches to design their classroom culture based on the goals and objectives formulated by the supervisory bodies. A trusting classroom environment embedded with transparency helps in winning the trust of students along with offering them a robust platform of learning and invaluable experiences through course books and personal learning and sharing (Chalker, Haynes, 1994). The next part of the discussion presents an insight over Chinese classroom culture in terms of ideas and methods used to enhance the learning of students. Chinese Classroom Culture The educational system is China is more of Socialist oriented where sharing of ideas and knowledge is considered as the prime element of learning. Chinese classrooms are often packed with up to fifty students and learning is driven by group activities and discussions that is an element of socialism. Chinese schooling is extremely competitive that means students have to compete at the grade school level by sitting in competitive exams and working hard to ensure high grades in order to het admission in best of schools. The Chinese education system can be considered as a stepping stone for the success of the economy in many ways. Students are compelled to succeed in order to serve the society and any sort of lagging behind may singled them out and thus creating extra amount of pressure that often affects their learning capabilities. The motivation for excellence is quite different in China compared to other co untries as China emphasizes on creating productive citizens who can serve the society and nation along with creating value for the nation. In Western countries, children may have individuals’ goals and dreams to become wealthy but in China, the entire focus is on enhancing the level of productivity so that the nation can be served in a productive manner. This has created extra burden on students in order to be competitive and excel in their fields. China has a large population and often space becomes an issue especially while accommodating 50-60 students in a single class. This is why classes are very near to each other separated only by walls. On the other hand, teachers share common room that mitigates hierarchies across academia and barriers to communicate with other teachers. Hansen, Childs (1998) stated that in Chinese education system, teachers can easily meet and communicate with each other and do not feel isolated as much as American School teachers. This clearly show s that the culture of sharing ideas and beliefs is the top most priority of the Chinese education system that is taken forward in classrooms in a logical way. Redding (1980) believed that Chinese students are often considered as more reverential and memory oriented. They are also very

Communication, Ethics, and Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Communication, Ethics, and Society - Assignment Example According to Forbes, in the last few years, GoDaddy.com has been a target for several unethical practices. One issue was when a CEO killed a wild elephant in Africa in 2011. Again, in 2011, GoDaddy underwent scrutiny by offering support for SOPA which was an example of people not being able to exercise a freedom of speech or what they wanted to do while online. GoDaddy pulled its support because people were going to boycott the company (Clay, K. 2012). The advertisement was simply controversial because it portrayed women as sex symbols, showing them partying in the workplace. It was an issue of sexism and since it was shown during the Super Bowl, it was a direct attempt at men that is the general demographic of people that watch football. Instead of offering an intelligent response, the company still maintains to show sexism in their ads, with one of their sexiest ads ever to appear during the 2013 Super Bowl where a â€Å"hot† model was in a deep lip lock with a nerdy man. This advertisement increased sales for GoDaddy.com tremendously (Huffington Post, 2013). It was uncomfortable to watch and still continued to use women as sexual objects that could use control over men to get what they want. In my opinion, viewers ignore it and find it humorous though the underlying message is disgusting. GoDaddy has not learned its lesson at all and seem proud to offend others. The public is desensitized to seeing women as sex symbols a nd it is a role that is reinforced through other companies such as Victoria’s Secret and Hooters. Feminists should be livid over these companies that use these examples and though Victoria’s Secret is geared at women to buy lingerie, every single one of these examples should issue an apology to women everywhere for depicting them as

Electrical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electrical - Essay Example This section explains how to measure the velocity of propagation of a signal in a transmission line. This is done by using the step response method. Also, determining the relative permittivity of the dielectric material used to construct this line, which is based on the measured velocity of propagation. This section focuses on the actions of a transmission line terminated by various resistive load impedances when voltage steps are introduced into the line. Also, checking the characteristic impedance of a line can be carried out by two different methods: (1) with a variable load resistor; or (2) through measurement of the rising edge of the launched step. The definition of attenuation and distortion is provided in this section. The causes of attenuation and distortion, and how they affect the shape of the transmitted signal are also discussed. Finally, evaluating signal quality in high-speed transmission systems by using the eye-pattern method is explained in detail. This instruction booklet gives students the necessary theory and measurement skills to implement and test transmission lines. First, students will learn the principles and operational characteristics of transmission lines. Then, they will discover how to perform transmission line measurements through step testing and a sinusoidal steady-state setting. Lastly, students will build a foundation in theory and practice of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) as well as impedance matching and transformation. Another inclusion is an exercise that focuses solely on troubleshooting. For this exercise, students must establish and recognize the nature of faults introduced by the instructor along the transmission lines through using TDR. This way, students can develop their troubleshooting skills and test what they have learned. – Detailed laboratory procedure where the student

Property Assessment Project Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Property Assessment Project - Research Paper Example t potential risks in a living area need to be carefully identified and the necessary steps taken to ensure that these threats are diminished or averted completely. Figure 1 contains an image of bottles that have not been given any labels. They have been placed at a strategic point, perhaps a table, for human use. Some of the bottles look similar in nature and have possibly been made out of the same materials. However, their contents differ depicting that they could indeed contain different items. These bottles contain something that is meant for human consumption. It is likely that various types of injuries could result if consumers gain access to such products. It is likely that should a consumer seek to consume these products, they could consume a potentially wrong product. There are consumers who are sensitive to certain products. This could be in the form of allergies, intolerances or simply aversions. Allergies could lead to potentially life threatening conditions such as anaphylaxis that require immediate medical attention. A consumer could have an allergy to some of the products used to design the items contained in these bottles making it potentially risky for them to consume (Grissinger, 2008). Intolerances and aversions can also lead to mild symptoms that could lead to mild irritation that could leave a completely bad taste in the consumers mouth. There are various regulations that have been stipulated as relates to food labeling. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, it is imperative that food companies label their products with the exact ingredients that have been used to formulate their products. In addition, any product that has been developed using a set of stipulated allergens must be labeled appropriately. This ensures that consumers are aware of the products they are consuming beforehand (Grissinger, 2008). Failure to comply with these regulations could mean a law suit. People can seek damages against the food

Comparison and Contrast of Sweeney Todd and the Lion King Films Essay - 2

Comparison and Contrast of Sweeney Todd and the Lion King Films - Essay Example A movie is defined as a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement. Movies usually have a plot that is either based on a novel such as the Harry Potter, The Devil Wears Prada, A Walk to Remember, etc.; or have an original screenplay such as the High School Musical, Cheetah Girls, etc. Some are even counterparts or representation of popular theatrical plays that have already been considered as classic. However, in other cases, it is the other way around. A movie might be very brilliant and magnificently done it has garnered so much glamour, that a theatrical play is created to re-enact it. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a theatrical play by Christopher Bond which is created in 1973. It has later become a musical thriller in 1979 with music and lyrics done by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical theater production of Sweeney Todd started at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979, and ran for almost 600 performances. It was directed by Harold Prince with musical staging by Larry Fuller. The musical tells the story of Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after 15 years deportation and prison based on false charges. He then vows revenge after learning from his former landlady, Mrs. Lovett, that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by Judge Turpin who wrongly executed him. The musical theater production was really magnificent for it has nine nominations for Tony Awards in which it won eight including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical, and Best Actor in a Musical.   And then later, the film adaptation of the theatrical play Sweeney Todd was jointly produced by DreamWorks and Warner Brothers. It was released on December 21, 2007.  

Stakeholder analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Stakeholder analysis - Essay Example Other stakeholders who worked together with Cicero were the board chairman, chief auditor, general counsel and the top real estate executives. Another stakeholder at the center of the bribery claims was the company chief executive, Eduardo Castro-Wright. Castro-Wright encouraged payments, whereby he described bribes as payments for some specific purposes, which aimed at enabling the company to build hundreds of new stores. These bribes were being recorded in the accounting records as simple legal fees (Barstow). As a result of the fast growth of the company’s outlets through bribes, Mr. Castro-Wright was promoted to a senior position and even included on the executive committee of the companys inner sanctum. The company CEO Lee Scott, Jr. is among the company’s stakeholders. He is the person who holds the top most position in Wal-Mart Company. Therefore, he was the one to create awareness the public about the bribery claims against the company. Investors or shareholders are other stakeholders of the company since their finances are for development purposes among other tasks. The government of Mexico and that of the United States are other stakeholders since the company operates in their territories. The Government of U.S and Mexico could salvage the firm from bribery claims. They should have influenced and dictated how the business of Wal-Mart was being carried out. Unfortunately, government officials accepted bribes so as to pave way for some business malpractices to be operated in their territory at the expense of other stakeholders and the general public at large. Therefore, government officials would have taken urgent steps in order to prevent the growth of business malpractices in the business fraternity of the two countries. The company CEO, H. Lee Scott Junior is another stakeholder and the company official who was very

Lack of Diversity in Prison Staff Research Paper

Lack of Diversity in Prison Staff - Research Paper Example As a result of their study, Nicholas and Mary (1993) were able to find quite a lot of likenesses and differences in the perceptions of work in prison among the staff members which were influenced by their gender. In order to enhance workers’ motivation for work, it is imperative that their gender based requirements are taken into consideration and the policies are designed accordingly. Women bring diversity in work force in terms of gender. Benefits obtained from this variation in the corrections profession can only be maximized by paying heed to the perceptions of women along with men. There are several obstacles in the way of providing jailed students with education that is effective as well as consistent with their individualistic needs. The environment within prison is a result of the strict requirements of security. Prisoners are locked up, and are monitored all time. They are counted and are carefully supervised. These traits of the culture prevalent in jails impose a lo t of difficulties in the way of learning for imprisoned students. Too many restrictions do not leave any supportive element in the environment in a jail for studies. The prison staff places much more stress on punishing the imprisoned children than encouraging them to change their habits for the better. This behavior of the prison staff plays a big role in marginalizing education in jail. This is the fundamental reason why education and learning is seen by many imprisoned students as something beyond the allowable limits. Most of the education provided to imprisoned students is of the most basic level. In a vast majority of cases, these students are provided with little to no higher education at all. Education and learning, in general, is understood by both the staff working in a prison and the imprisoned lot as an â€Å"elite† task (Watts, 2010). In his research, Watts (2010) made an attempt to explore the hindrances commonly experienced by students in the way of gaining hig her education when they are imprisoned in a conventional jail setting. The research was particularly focused on studying the various practical and organization specific limitations encountered by the educators while they tend to provide the imprisoned students with education in a completely non-conventional and dangerously absurd learning environment. Watts (2010) particularly found that one-to-one teaching method greatly enhances a student’s capacity to learn in the sort of environment that is conventionally cultivated in jails. With the changes in the demographics in United States, the programs offered in jails which are directed at the rehabilitation of the imprisoned people have been heavily affected. According to the information recorded by the US Census, the population of minority in jails would transform into a majority till 2010 (Marshal, 2001). Female inmates in prison that used to be a minority in the past are readily increasing on a yearly basis as a result of the reflection of United States in the imprisoned population. Only over the course of one decade ending 2001, the population of

Effects That Poor Airline Customer Service Has Had On Passengers Essay Example for Free

Effects That Poor Airline Customer Service Has Had On Passengers Essay Abstract The present research explores the issue of poor customer service that airline industry is said to practice with regard to their product and services. The paper examines this issue from the approach of triangulation of the data. It critically analyzes the situation from three perspectives. For the first one is the issue of customer satisfaction in accordance with recent empirical findings. The paper highlights what customer satisfaction empirically means. The next section explores the present operations and services provided by the airline industry from a number of sources. The last section examines and cross-examines the state of customer satisfaction to be found in the present day airline industry operations. At the end of the paper, findings of the research are discussed along with suggestions and recommendation for policy making and airline industry’s operation with relation to customer satisfaction. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the advent of new technology, extensive human intrusion in the mysterious space, and expedited communication in the twenty-first century, the demands, wants, and needs of the customers are said to be so finely met today as never before. With the state-of-the-art approach to any customer-related segments of today’s business world, it is claimed by the business sector in general that today’s customer is the luckiest one to have had so much ease of choice and liberty of opting from one product to another. This maxim goes from the small gadgets to the massive transaction held across countries. However, analyzing the perspective of the customer may not yield the same level of happiness and satisfaction from the side of the customer in today’s world. Airline business has seen a marvelous boom with the high-tech trend and massive investment throughout the world. As such, it becomes the point of this paper whether today’s airlines are really providing their customers the best of what is available to them. The present paper looks into the issue of the effects that poor airline customer service has had on today’s customer. The present study looks at the issue from a multifaceted approach. It aims to critically analyze the issue from a three dimensional view, that is to say, it extensively reviews current literature on customer-airline area; it goes on to investigate the point of view of the airline business itself and point out the major findings; as well as, the present paper critically analyzes the kinds of effects that the poor airline customer service has to have on the prospective customer. Customer Satisfaction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Customer satisfaction that a customer derives from a product bears enormous significance for the success or failure of a particular product. A product however technically sound and however economic in terms of use and feasibility cannot be regarded as successful unless and until the customer defines it as satisfactory to their needs and wants. As such, success of a product, we can say, is related to the level of satisfaction that a customer derives from it. Today’s situation, particularly in US business market, is alarming. According to Maier (p. 20, 2002), â€Å"Keeping the customer satisfied no longer is the mantra of American businesses, as studies show a steady decline in customer satisfaction that is projected to continue†. As such, in this section of the paper, the present writer deems it appropriate to critically examine the notion of customer satisfaction; how important is it in today’s business world; and what significance does it hold for the airline customer service? This is important with relation to the understanding of the poor customer service that is reported in today’s airline context. This section is intended to serve as scaffolding or mirror to the later research and findings of our issue of the poor airline customer service. It is important for every firm to offer a bunch of values along with the material product that is the focal point of business to that firm. Only offering the product cannot prove to be successful for a firm’s business. Henceforth, the business firm which has at its disposal superior package of services in the competitive market can certainly win the customer with greater profitability and mounting volume of market reputation. Research has revealed that even most satisfied customer can entertain to defect. According to research while examining the link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, it is known that customers, of any product whatsoever, come to feel satisfied with products at different levels and with different degrees of satisfaction. As such, the differential levels of satisfaction of the side of the customer have to give birth to a diverse range of conformity to the product of customer loyalty, â€Å"which in turn result in varying levels of behavioral disposition to patronage with a provider†. What this finding of the logical link suggests is that with regard to a product and customer satisfaction, the range of satisfaction is varied. However, another important point here is that although a customer may be satisfied with a product, they can opt for any other competitor’s product. This suggests that customer satisfaction may not necessarily bear customer loyalty. The point is that a customer opting for another competitor’s product may be allured by the services that the competitor is offering. â€Å"Therefore, firms have to strive to achieve higher levels of satisfaction than their competition by providing superior customer value†. This approach is basic to attaining what is regarded as â€Å"sustainable competitive advantage† (John, p. 07, 2003). Now the point of concern at this stage is that what kinds of business strategies are needed so that a firm can offer a bundle of service to address higher customer satisfaction that other firms in the competition cannot. The primary component here is to have a crystal clear understanding of the competitive market. John (p. 7, 2003) cites Pine and Gilmore who may regard such context of competition as â€Å"experience economy†. It is the very stage or state or level of competition â€Å"where products are quickly commoditized and firms compete on other aspects of the total offering†. According to this very researcher, there are three prime factors that contribute toward the success of higher or superior customer satisfaction oozing out of a product either material or service-related. The first is the employees of the firm that engineer the entire operation of the firm starting from the very scratch and ending it while in the front line interacting with the customer. The other is the processes that are observed by the firm both in the micro and macro level. The last one is the use of technology that the firm undertakes in order to address and meet higher customer satisfaction. All of the above must work in higher order harmony if superior customer satisfaction is needed. And, of the three, the least effective is the adoption of technology alone and depending on the use of technology alone. The author gives its reason. This is that technology can be easily replicated. A firm with required capital can do that. As far as the replication of processes and system goes, it should be noted that these two factors may also be at the disposal of any other competitors because â€Å"processes and systems can be designed appropriately to deliver customer satisfaction, but they can be relatively easily replicated†. However, what is significant in this connection is the attitude that the employees offer. A firm’s employees’ attitude is something that â€Å"less easily replicable† as such there is the entire focus of a competing firm should fall in order to meet superior level of customer satisfaction (John, p. 07, 2003). If we look at the present scenario of the services provided by the present day airline industry, one thing is to be noticed that the airline industry is giving more and more importance to technological advances which are apparent from bottom to top operations of the industry. Whether the airline industry does also offer higher customer satisfaction in connection with their employees’ attitude remains a point of concern which will be explored later in this paper. Before we move on, it is necessary to examine as to what it is that the customers in today’s context want from a product or firm so that they can derive superior level of satisfaction. In keeping with the view of John, (p. 08, 2003), it comes to our notice that there are three basic features which customers look for in order to feel highly satisfied by use of a product which can either be a service or a material product. Convenience is something that can be put on the top of the list. Customers want to be conveniently handled when it comes to opting for a product; they want ease of dealing, interaction, and productivity. Next is the matter of cost. Customers want to buy something as less costly as possible. And the last but not least is the quality of the whole product experience that remains with the customer for a considerably longer period of the former two. At this point in the present research, it has been highlighted as to what is customer satisfaction from the viewpoint of an industry as well as from the perspective of the customer themselves. Now it seems feasible to look at the present state of the airline industry so that a sound critical examination can later be made with relation to our point of examination, that is to say, it will later be explored what effects have been held by poor airline customer services on the customers; what are the causes and reasons for this poor customer service; as well as, how can these factors, causes, and reasons can be appropriately eliminated so that higher customer satisfaction can be obtained. Airline Industry in Today’s Context According to the observation of Dempsey and Goetz (1992), there are few industries that inspire the passion and rigor that the airline industry does. It is due to the cross-border voyages that airlines make letting their passengers feel the romance and allurement of the air-travel which is hardly as forcefully evident in other means of transportation as in the air travel. Henceforth, the airline industry can be viewed as â€Å"the most glamorous of industries† (p. 03). Another reason is the defiance to the law of gravity which â€Å"still gives many travelers sweaty palms on takeoff and landing†. And the highly critical issue with respect to the importance of airline industry is that â€Å"few industries are as â€Å"fundamentally important to the nations commerce, communications, and national defense as is aviation† (p. 03). Moreover, the present air travel has become an element of glamour that many people year to attach to. There are exclusive club memberships of entrepreneur power in the industry; celebrity chase of specific kinds of air travel with a bundle of exclusive services and things like that. In addition to the above, â€Å"ticket prices, route patterns, the margin of safety, and the identity of the carriers painted on the fuselages of aircraft on an unprecedented roller-coaster ride† is now a dream voiced in most of advertisement by the airline industry players. However, this very glamorous and alluring picture must be critically viewed with a magnifying-glass like examination so that hidden secrets and fallacies can be brought forward. One such is the poor customer service by the airline industry (Dempsey Goetz, p. 03-04, 1992). In today’s context of airline services, newer concepts and terms of air travel are emerging by the day which enhances the feeling of a customer to be going for an air travel. Today, global carriers, globalization, and mega carriers are catch words that may allure anyone intending to fly for any purpose. However, these terms remain without precise or definite definitions as do the agenda of customer service that the airline industry has to provide. It is note-worthy that the expanded canvas of airline industry is not something recent; in fact, it all can be chased as farther back as the 1930s. By then, Pan American airline was flaying transatlantic and transpacific; it also had a massive network in Latin America. The same time such carriers as the British and Dutch were expanding their services to (as they were known by then) their colonies at a distant location in Asia and East Indies. Moreover, â€Å"Pan American by the 1950s had a round-the-world service† (OConnor, pp. 57-59, 1995). In the present context of the twenty-fist century, however, things have taken a different stance in the business world; now market forces and competition is giving way to more and more mergers, amalgamation and business associations which may be seen as an approach toward more globalized airline industry. More foreign investment is coming to such countries as the US. Today, this all looks like so powerful an airline industry as never before. Air travel becomes more and more feasible so the services provided by the airline industry need to be critically examined with due attention so that real picture of this global trend can be taken (OConnor, pp. 57-59, 1995). Changing Trends in the Twenty-First Century Today, more than ever before, the climate for airline industry is every changing and opting to more and more uncertainty in terms of international scenario with relation to a number of waves flowing over the international scenario. The twenty-first century has experienced huge calamities like the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers which caused the airline industry to meet a sudden decline. As such uncertainty of business is more apparent today. The entire climate is wrapped in an element of fear which has given rise to issues such as what kinds of customer services do the airlines provide today to both their international and local customers? According to Doganis (2001), in this climate of continuous change and uncertain aura, the coming years for the airline industry will bring more complicated issues and critical problems and serious challenges with them. One more point here is that not only the structures of the airlines will undergo a change, â€Å"but markets too will become more unstable† (p. 211). What is essentially needed of the airlines in such a situation is that they must clearly define their corporate mission with regard to every single aspect of their operations from employees’ attitude to customer service. â€Å"The key issue which needs to be resolved is whether the airline is to be a global network carrier or a niche player† (p. 212). Moreover, the essence of this entire climate of change will put immense pressure on such areas as ticket prices, services provided by the customers, and it will be enhanced by the new entrants who will be carrying more sophisticated business strategies and tactics to destabilize the present market condition. In this very context, the issue of customer satisfaction seems to linger even more loose than every before. There is danger in the coming times that airline products will be commoditized in which the key player will be fare prices only (Doganis, p. 212, 2001). Thus now it is highly important to critically analyze what is happening in the domain of customer services and the experiences that today’s customers are having with regard to the poor customer service. Airline Industry and Customer Service   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this section of the paper, the writer highlights the pertinent issues which are regarded as the real cause for poor customer service by the airline sector. This is very significant if a through analysis of the effects is intended to be drawn. By bringing forward the issues of to the forefront attention, it will be easy to reach an empirical analysis. a) An overview Airline industry with regard to the services that are being provided by this very sector, is facing severe criticism from a number of critics from a number of areas of professional and general walks of life. For example, Reed, (usatoday.com, 2008) notes that the â€Å"shoddy service† of the airline is even coming to USA’s big airlines. In addition to this, Ramon A. Avila, professor of marketing and director of Ball State Universitys Professional Selling Institute, Muncie, Ind. makes a very clear warning about the poor quality of customer service by airlines: â€Å"When it comes to poor customer service, expect more bad experiences in the airline industry† (Avila, p. 01, 1999). There are heaps and heaps of complaints being logged by the day. If we look at the present situation, it seems that airline sector is degenerating instead of rising for a number of pluses on its credit in the twenty-first century. The things that have become commonplace in today’s airline climate are confusing fares with no predefined schemes or policies; the flights are getting more and more mismanaged; delays of flights are nothing but a routine now hinged on the practices of cancellation without regard of the passengers psychological and other troubles being suffered. Avil also notes that Expect rude treatment and expect companies to do the bare minimum because their bottom line is more important than a disappointed customer† (p. 01). The critic also maintains that it seems as if the airline industry is moving toward a fatal end due to so meager performance and stature in the overall picture. To him American airline industry is going to die. The most important point, according to Avil is that â€Å"Good customer service is the keystone to retaining and attracting consumers, and many businesses are missing the point† (p. 01). Although it is important to keep an impartial view of the entire situation, it seems equally important, as of now, whether or not the observations of Avil are up to the mark. For this very reason, a number of different sources will be analyzed to see if poor customer service has really become the norm of today’s airline industry or not. b) Airline industry in context of 9/11 terrorist attacks   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As according to Russell (2007), â€Å"Airline customer service is notoriously bad†, a very important issue with regard to poor customer services by the airlines to the customers is linked to the more recent wave of global terrorism in which the Twin Towers of World Trade Center were hit nothing but by airplanes. A number of officials blame the poverty of service and operations of the airline industry to this horrible event. However, critically examining the situation reveals something else of the position, particularly of the US airline industry. According to Whalen (p. 33, 2004), although it seems very tempting to attach the poor airline services to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it is not the case altogether. The author reveals a different picture in this regard. The author states that the prime factors for such poor service by the US airline industry are the â€Å"decades-old legal and labor laws, and the U.S. bankruptcy code [which are] at the core of what is wrong with the airline industry† (p. 33). There is, as such, no other industry in the US which is so much kept on watch. And this really creates a problem. Washington, according to author, is busy in keeping the record of each and every activity taking place everywhere in the airline operations from bottom to top. This includes the airlines, their operational nature, watching of the airports, and so on. The author reminds of the 1991-92 crisis when â€Å"five major carriers [went] through bankruptcy† but the government â€Å"did little to change the basic economics† (p. 33). These rules and regulations are influencing the services and the poor quality of the services is directly related to them. Therefore, in the entire US airline industry seems to have been locked in a known financial cycle of growth and stagnation, which if hereby followed by economic default and bankruptcies. According to the author, this entire situation is directly influencing the customers of the airlines who have to suffer a poor level of services. Moreover, â€Å"Overcapacity exerts downward pressure on ticket prices, generating fares that dont allow the airlines to cover the cost of providing service, making the average private airline look more like a public utility think of Amtrak with wings† (Whalen, p. 33, 2004). From this very viewpoint, it is very easily noticeable that there is little to go to the credit to such events as the wave of global terrorism but to the policy making and regulation of the US airline industry. According to the context discussed above, one this must be noted that the customers have yet to suffer. It seems that no attention is being paid to this very area which is both disappointing as critical both for the US authorities and the airline runners. Poor Customer Service Examined   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we wish to take examples or incidents in which poor airline customer service is intended to be reported, there is no doubt in stating that there are load and loads of such instances that would require tones of paper to be put down and which may not end as the situation continues by the very day. However, to the point of this paper, take the example of the great airline disastrous time of January 2, 1999. It was when a massive snowstorm had his Detroit the afternoon of the day. This virtually gave birth to historical crack downs in the area of customer service. It stranded many airplanes of Northwest Airline on snow-coated taxiways and tarmacs. It was not possible, then, to deplane many of the passengers mounting to more than 7000 who were then returning from New Year’s vacations. Their waiting spanned as long as eleven hours. The available food was insufficient in case of a number of planes; and what is more, many of the planes’ toilets became overflowed. Although the airport had closed, Northwest persisted to hope that the planes would take off; it was all forced in spite of the pleas that the on-site managers of the very company had recorded. This all resulted in what can be regarded as the nightmare of air travel in which the travelers had to let go of even their basic rights (Rosenthal, p. 1857, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Specifically looking at the canvas of the poor customer service by the airline in this regard purports us to look more closely at the issue. Major areas of customer dissatisfaction in this respect are quoted as of the following. These all examples that follow are caused for the Deregulation act that is the root cause of these and other possible poor customer service in which the customer does not entertain any right even to voice their genuine concerns. Delays and Cancellations of Flights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is the matter of everyday when the customers have to face delays and cancellations of flights for nothing but a number of various reasons. It is possible that in some cases the contract between the airline and the passenger may even be breached. It was the day of August 4th, and the year was 2000, when United Airline’s night-scheduled flight – destined from Washington D.C., to Paris – just stayed in the airport for countless hours only before the airline merely cancelled the en route schedule for â€Å"mechanical reasons†. However, the later published report revealed something that surprised the common and innocent citizens. The reports said that the flight cancellation had nothing to do with any mechanical reason whatsoever. It was actually that the United pilots had just turned down the idea of taking the plane off because Stephen Wolf, former United Chairman was on the flight as a passenger. This single instance is so horrible with regard to a number of passengers who had to suffer only because some people in the cockpit were playing the ego game. What is to be said to Stephen Wolf, who, whatever his past status to the United Airline was, was merely a traveler who really did buy a ticket on the flight. And the passengers were not able to hold any say due to the Deregulation Act. Inattentive Provision of Alcohol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inattentive provision of alcohol is also permitted as a service onboard to passengers. This service may be harmful in a number of reasons because of disciplinary actions caused by drunken passengers to the common citizens. In one instance, a flight attendant continued to serve alcohol to a group of inebriated passengers onboard of first-class passengers; afterwards, the drunken person insulted a fellow traveler; it was later to cause great controversy and mayhem because the passenger sued the flight attendant and the airline. However, what about a number of other innocent citizens that were also onboard the plane and could do nothing but suffer the entire scene of drunkenness and insult? The court, as such, plainly ruled the suing passenger for the same reason as the Deregulation Act (Rosenthal, p. 1857, 2002) Lost Baggage and Other Issues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A couple on the honeymoon trip was on their schedule flight to Anguilla from New York City. The couple lost one of their two suitcases en route. They made repeated phone calls to the airline’s concerned office nothing but to track down their lost bag. All that the representative of the airline did was to repeatedly tell the couple that the airline knew the exact location of the lost bad and that it is just coming along their way. So they asked the couple not to worry. However, this very effective communication by the airline came to a fiasco as the bag was never found. The enraged couple rightly went forward and sued the airline. None the less, a surprise waited to compensate their psychological sufferings, the accused fraud they the airline did with them, and the negligent behavior of the airline. The surprise was that the couple had no remedy and this was just because of the Deregulation Act (Rosenthal, p. 1857, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides these instances and incidents, there are a number of other incidents that can be quoted here. Feltner, in her article â€Å"Airline customer service ratings down, and it show† discusses at length the massive misadventure that the author had to undergo while on board of a flight. So many things happened to the author which are discussed at length. According to the author, â€Å"the Airline Quality Ratings survey showed poorer performances for 16 of 18 U.S. carriers over the year before† and â€Å"J.D. Power and Associates released the results of the 2007 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, which included similar findings† (Feltner, 2008, smartertravel.com). The author goes on to discuss the poor ratings report and lower customer satisfaction rankings. She cites that â€Å"The new report shows customer satisfaction rankings for seven out of nine major airlines, as well as low-cost carriers†¦dropped this year† (Feltner, 2008, smartertravel.com).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All this mayhem on the part of the airline industry has caused great panic and psychological distress on the part of the customers. Either it is the Deregulation Act of the legitimate law, or competition, or inappropriate rules or labor law, the entire burden is left dangling on the week shoulders of the customer who is already burden with so many other societal, social, and ethical problems. There seems to be no way out with regard to the problems that customers have to undergo on the hands of the airline poor performance and poor customer service. In the next section of the paper, the present writer discusses the requisite measures that need to be taken if poor customer service has to be eliminated or at least has to be reduced to a tolerable level. One such important point is the notion of customer relation management. This specific area and studies in this area are examined in the following section so as to reach a possible ground that leads to a healthier climate in which the ill-struck airline customer can experience better services by the airlines and breathe in fresh air. Poor Customer Service and Customer Relation Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the present day, what is required to meet higher customer satisfaction in the lucrative business of airline is known as Customer Relation Management or CRM. It was actually in the 1980s that airlines started to introduce frequent-flyer segments of their program in order to enhance the loyalty level of their prospective customers. This trend gave birth to a new approach in marketing known as CRM. In today’s context, CRM programs are used in a number of businesses with focus on customer satisfaction. However, when it comes to the airline industry, it is not very surprising to note that the situation is not very satisfactory here. According to Binggeli et al. a survey was conducted for 17 major airlines around the globe. This very survey disclosed that even the most technologically equipped and sophisticated of the airlines â€Å"have only a rudimentary understanding of who their most valuable customers are or could be, which factors affect the behavior of these customers, and which CRM levers are most effective in ensuring loyalty† (p. 06, 2002). What in subsistence was being practiced was that airlines lagged behind best practices in CRM due to the fact that they were merely self-satisfied; they, as such, gave little importance to systems which were not functional and which were non-critical; or they did not worry about grasping financial implications of getting matters in the right place. â€Å"The result: today. Airlines [sic] know only marginally more about the people who fly on their planes than they did ten years ago† (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the researchers, today, more than ever before, the airlines need to make an urgent approach toward effective implication of the CRM approach if they really want to make a difference. This is fairly for the reason that if an airline adopts the CRM approach, there is empirical evidence that such an airline can easily increase its revenue by as high as 2.4 percent growing by every coming year, â€Å"representing a bottom-line annual impact of $100 million to $250 million for a large carrier† (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the present scenario, most of the working airlines do not have sufficient feasible conditions and lack systems and other processes that are required to implement a CRM program and therefore they do not have absolute or reliable data on their customers. For example, though airlines have contact with their customers through a number of channels, such as the Internet, customer service desks, airports, and airplanes, what is simply the matter, data on these sites are not collected with a consistent pursuit or are not accurate at any of these points of customer-interaction activity. (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most of the airlines cannot recognize their most precious customers, â€Å"because their frequent-flyer programs are little more than general-ledger systems that track accrued and spent miles. Although a general correlation does exist between the tiers of a frequent-flyer program and the value of the customers enrolled in them (meaning that in most cases a frequent flyer in the elite category is the most profitable kind of customer), further analysis can prove illuminating† (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002). It must be noted in the same connection that different customers within the very tier usually hold widely differential degrees of value to different airlines, additionally, a small but noteworthy number of customers in the category of lower tiers. In this example, we can take the regular customers who let go of full fare out of their pockets. Such passengers can carry great value for the airline as compared to those customers who travel in the upper ones. (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002). One more critical problem is the reality that they scarcely know how much money their customers let go of with their competitors in the very market. For example, it is possible that a customer who travels by airline A, may also extensively travel by airline B, and â€Å"would thus be a more fruitful target for marketing than its own frequent travelers† (Binggeli et al, p. 06, 2002). Thus what is required in the overall picture to meet greater customer satisfaction is CRM approach which not only has to yield great profitability conditions and enhanced market reputation for an airline, it also goes a long way on the continuum of customer satisfaction that can definitely satisfy today’s aggrieved and frustrated customer. The Experience of Singapore International Airlines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One airline that has surprised the critics of airline customer focus is the Singapore International Airlines. According to Smith (customerservicezone.com, 2008) Singapore International Airlines (SIA) is â€Å"so superior that it leaves other carriers in its vapor trails†. The very point that the author makes here is that the entire success story of the SIA is that â€Å"It places the needs of passengers first, and offers services above and beyond the ordinary†. With this airline, even the experience in the economy class is something that a traveler forgets hard. It is simply a remark that all classes seem to enjoy benefits with equal share of customer satisfaction. â€Å"One of the primary reasons Singapore Airlines provides superior service is because they only hire people that enjoy a service roleenjoy serving others† (Smith, 2008). Thus the example of SIA should be an eye-opener for other airlines too. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be fairly stated that there a number of complex matters which give birth to poor customer service by most of the present day airlines both public and private. If customer satisfaction means superior services on the part of airlines, it can be openly calimed that most of the airlines both local and global fail to meet this criterion. Although it is a right remark to suggest that much of this is credited to the regulations and rules that a government (in this case USA and the Deregulation Act along with decades-long labor laws, for insatnce) holds, it is not right to suggest that only government rules and regulations are solely responsible for a number of dissatisfactory segments of poor customer service by the airlines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A number of airlines do not practice such important approaches as CRM due to a number of reasons. Whatever they want, one thing empirically becomes clear that today’s customers continue to suffer on the hands of the airlines. Moreover, as quoted above, the suffering customers do not find a proper channel to voice their concerns with relation to massive frustration caused by airlines. Today, â€Å"little attention is being paid to the effect poor internal customer service has on overall customer satisfaction† which is a real problem (Harrison, n.d. principledprofit.com).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now according to my personal analysis of the entire situation, the poor customer service can only be reduced to an acceptable level only if three-dimensional approach is adopted. On this triangle first come the government that need to make policies that support the customers as the most important part of any airlines related rules and regulations. Next corner of this triangle is the airlines themselves that need to make sure that their customers do not feel that their services are still poor. For this very issue they need to look more closely at the area of customer contact and gather as many data as possible and sort them out in a technically sound manner so that they can be used to make sound empirical investigations. The last corner of this triangle is the customer themselves and airlines need â€Å"information about prospective new customers† (Hagel and Rayport, p. 3, 2002), for successful operations. Unless and until the customers are not considered an integral part of any policy and regulation, no better improvement toward the present meager state of poor customer service can be carved on the canvas of airline business. For this reason the customers must be involved in the process of change and alterations of any kinds. References    Avila, A. R. (August, 1999) Customer service is bad-and getting worse! USA Today. (128) 2651. Page Number: 10. COPYRIGHT 1999 Society for the Advancement of Education; COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group Binggeli, U., Gupta, S., Poomes, C. D. (2002).CRM in the air. The McKinsey Quarterly. Page Number: 6+. COPYRIGHT 2002 McKinsey Company, Inc.; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group. Dempsey, P. S., Goetz, A. R. (1992). Airline deregulation and Laissez-faire mythology. Westport, CT.: Quorum Books, pp. 05-30. Doganis, R. (2001). The airline business in the twenty-first century. London: Routledge. pp. 200-225. Feltner, M. (2008). Airline customer service ratings down, and it shows. Retrieved on February 29th, 2008, from: http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/airline-customer-service-ratings-down-and-it-shows.html?id=2382874 Hagel III, J., Rayport, J. F. (2002). The coming battle for customer information. The McKinsey Quarterly. Issue: 3. Page Number: 64+. McKinsey Company, Inc.; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group Harrison, C. (n.d.) Turning customer service inside out! How poor Internal customer service affects external customers. Retrieved on February 29th, 2008, from: http://www.principledprofit.com/internal-customer-service.html John, J. (2003). Fundamentals of customer-focused management: competing through service. Westport, CT.: Praeger. pp. 05-30. Lindsey Russell (March, 2007). Surviving Airline Customer Service How to Cope with a Flawed System. Retrieved on February 29th, 2008, from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/166932/surviving_airline_customer_service.html Maier, T. W. (2002). Customer service is an oxymoron. Insight on the News (17) 1. Publication Date: January 1, 2001. Page Number: 20. COPYRIGHT 2001 News World Communications, Inc.; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group. OConnor, W. E. (1995). An introduction to airline economics. Westport, CT.: Praeger, pp. 25-65. Reed, D. (2008). Airlines may never fly right on customer service, experts warn. Retrieved on February 29th, 2008, from: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2007-10-16-bad-airline-service_N.htm Rosenthal, D. H. (2002). Legal turbulence: the courtss [sic.] misconstrual of the airline deregulation acts Preemption Clause and the effect on passengers rights. Duke Law Journal (51) 6. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: 1857+. COPYRIGHT 2002 Duke University, School of Law; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group Smith, G. P. (2008). Secrets of superior customer service: Singapore International Airlines. Retrieved on February 29th, 2008, from: http://customerservicezone.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=5769 Whalen, C. (March, 2004). The plane truth about airline woes; its not fallout from the 9/11 attacks that is causing the airline industry to crash, aviation experts contend but government overregulation and loose bankruptcy laws. Insight on the News. Page Number: 33. COPYRIGHT 2004 News World Communications, Inc.; COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

A Review of Literature of Erosion of Soils

A Review of Literature of Erosion of Soils Introduction Numerous work and research have been undertaken on erosion of soils for many decades. The following literature review is focusing on the relevant topics in terms of soil erosion process as well as the parameters and factors of soil erosion .Moreover, the literature reviews is primarily focusing on the management and control the soil erosion. 1 Soil Erosion by Water To perform this study, it was necessary to understand how soil erosion occurs. Usually it occurs at a low level but can become a problem when the ecological balance disturbed by humans activities or severe weather .The risk of erosion by water when soils with a high sand or silt content that exposed to heavy rainfall. (Defray 2005). It is crucial that considering rainfall and runoff factors when assessing a water erosion problem (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) .Although the soil erosion caused by long-lasting or less-intense rainfall is not as spectacular .But soil movement by rainfall is most noticeable during the short-time, high-intensity thunderstorms and the amount of soil loss can be considerably, especially when compounded over time. While the excess water on a slope that cannot be absorbed into the soil or trapped on the surface, the runoff will occur. The amount of runoff can be increased if infiltration is reduced due to soil compaction. (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) Two stages process involved in the soil erosion, which depend on water detaching and transporting soil. Rainsplash is a key determinant of detachment of soil particles in the first stage of erosion. However, if a growing crop covers the soil surface, the erosive power of rain will dramatically reduced. Once it detached, surface water run off plays a key role in the process of soil particles being transported. Surface run-off can be easily happening during the heavy storms or prolonged rainfall. (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) Tess Wynn investigated the streambank retreat. Normally it is called streambank erosion, the occurrences involved the combination of three processes, subaerial process, fluvial entrainment and mass wasting. Specifically. The term â€Å"subaerial process† is used to describe the climate- related phenomena that reduce the strength of soil .It mainly controlled by climatic conditions, and overly independent of flow. Subaerial processed are often called â€Å"preparatory processes† due to they increase the susceptibility of soil to erosion at high flows (Wolman, 1959;Lawler, 1993) Apparently. Fluvial entrainment means the direct removal of soil particles or aggregates from the streambed or banks by flowing water. (Tess Wynn 2006), but the fluvial erosion of cohesive soils is extremely complex and related to soil properties and test conditions (Grissinger, 1982). The susceptibility of a cohesive soil to erosion influenced by numerous of the parameters of soil, including grain size distribution, soil density, pore water content and chemistry (Grissinger, 1982) Mass wasting also known as bank failure, it occurs when the weight of the bank exceeds the shear strength of soil. The mass wasting can be attributed to increasing the bank height or bank angel due to fluvial erosion or the presence of tension cracks (ASCE, 1998).Research has proved that bank geometry, properties of bank materials and the density and the type of bank vegetation play the key role the occurrence of mass wasting. Hu Liu, Theodore G. Cleveland, and Keh Han Wang conducted the laboratory tests of dependence on properties of soils and. In their study, rainfall was generated by the rainfall simulator; along with flume .The rainfall simulator consist of a wooden frame and a group of PVC pipes with small holes. The soil sample was placed at one end of the flume .In the experiment, the simulator activated by the adjustment of the slope. In addition, six type of soil with different texture and classifications used in this laboratory experiments. The results show more soil erosion produced by the higher rainfall intensity. Besides, the unit soil volume loss affected by shear strength, compressive strength and rainfall intensities but less influenced by the bed slope. (Hu Liu, Theodore G. Cleveland, and Keh Han Wang, 1999) Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger conducted their research in South Africa .Their study indicated the fires are one the important factor that changes the soil properties .their study has been taken in the Western Cape,. The fieldwork focused on water repellency has detrimental influence upon the post-fire erosion Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger(2003) 2 Soil Erodibility Soil erodibility is an estimate of the ability of soils to resist erosion in term of the physical characteristics of soil. Generally, the faster infiltration rates of soil, the higher levels of organic matter and improved soil structure have a greater resistance to erosion silt, very fine sand, and certain clay textured soils tend to be more erodible than Sand, sandy loam and loam textured soils cropping practices which lower soil organic matter levels, cause poor soil structure, and result of compacted contribute to increases in soil erodibility. Compacted subsurface soil layers result in decreased infiltration and increased runoff. A formation of a soil crust, can create the decreased of infiltration, however, normally the growth of runoff water is attended by the greater soil erosion problems. (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) There is a definite link between Past erosion and soils. The original soils tend to be less erodible than the exposed subsurface soils on eroded sites were, owing to their lower organic matter or poorer structure .The lower nutrient levels usually related with subsoils contribute to lower crop yields and generally poorer crop cover, which in turn provides less crop protection for the soil. (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) Gregory J. Hanson provided the complex problem about how to predict the erodibilty of soil material by flowing water. Base on the knowledge of hydraulic characteristics and the characteristics of cohesive soils .Laboratory Jet tests were carried out on soil samples compacted at different moisture content dynamic. Jet detection apparatus and method description of the excess stress parameters determined kd and tc. An example of this is used to test the soil in the laboratory to determine the appropriate placement in the field. The flume tests and field trials were carried out to verify the plane corrosion. (Gregory J.2002) 3 Slope Gradients and Length Basically. The steeper slope areas, the greater amount of soil erosion by water.Soil erosion of water also increased with slope length due to the greater accumulation of runoff. The consolidation of small fields into larger results is often no longer the slope length of the potential for erosion, because water with an increase rate that allows a greater degree of scouring (carrying capacity of the sediment) (BC.S.Baldwin 2003) 4 Soil Deposition Soil particles of all sizes may be moved during run-off. When flow stopped, these start to settle. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), sediment is a root cause of water quality impairment (USEPA, 2002).excess Suspended sediments to reduce diversity and rich of aquatic organisms, reduce reservoir capacity, improve drinking water treatment costs, and serve as a carrier of pollutants.(Tess Wynn,2006) The erosion process of cohesive sediment was studied in Masato Sekine and Nobuaki Iizuka study .To full understand the process, they also conduct an experiment .Clay mixed with different compositions were used to test samples of the form of erosion of water pipes in a closed experimental apparatus. Specifically .Experiments carried out a square circle closed pipeline system cross-section 400 centimeters in length and 10 centimeters wide, 10 centimeters deep. 5 Vegetation The potential of soil erosion is increased, if the soil with little or no vegetation, plants and crop residues. Residue cover to protect plants and soil from rain splash, tends to slow down surface runoff flows, and ensures excess surface water infiltration. Erosion soils reducing the efficiency of the plant or residue cover depends on the category, degree and quantity of cover. Combination of vegetation and residue completely covered the soil, and to intercept all falling raindrops, and near the surface and the most effective control of soil (such as forests, permanent grassland). Part into the residue and the root is also very important because they provide the channel that allows surface water into the soil. The effectiveness of any crop, management system or protective cover also depends on how much protection can be at different times during the year, the relative amount of erosive rainfall during these periods belong to. In this aspect , the crops with food, protective cover a major part of the year (for example, alfalfa or winter cover crops) can reduce soil erosion can be far more than crops leave the soil bare for a longer period of time (such as row crops) , especially during the high erosive rainfall (spring and summer).( C.S.Baldwin 2003) I.J. Shelton also investigated tillage operations influence upon the soil erosion, which depending on the depth, direction and timing of the plowing, the types of farming equipment and a number of passes. Generally speaking, the less interference or residual vegetation cover at or near the surface, the more efficient farming practices, and reduce soil erosion (I.J. Shelton 2003) Soil erosion potential is affected by tillage operations, depending on the depth, direction and timing of plowing, the type of tillage equipment and the number of passes. Generally, the less the disturbance of vegetation or residue cover at or near the surface, the more effective the tillage practice in reducing erosion. Regarding the effects of vegetation on streambank stability , Tess Wynn examined the vegetation influences the chemical and properties of steambanks and the local micro climate .The multiple effects on subaerial process produced by riparian vegetation including the dense cover of vegetation absorbs the energy of rainfall ,reducing soil detachment by raindrop . But it should be noted that the effects of vegetation on stream hydraulic varies with the stream stage, width and season. Additionally. Distribution of energy and sediment in a stream influenced by the vegetation. (Tess Wynn 2006) Tess Wynn 2006 addressed the vegetation cover problem. Extensive erosion by wind may result from the lack of permanent vegetation cover in certain locations. Loose, dry, bare soil is the most susceptible; however, crops that produce low levels of residue also may not provide enough resistance. Besides, crops that produce a lot of residue which not protect the soil in severe conditions. Therefore, an adequate network of living windbreaks along with good tillage, residue management, and crop selection are considered to be the most effective vegetative cover for protection. (Tess Wynn 2006) South Africa is a country which lack of the water, but the Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger have described the theory of fire -induced water repellency and the following soil erosion in their study. Generally, In South Africa, alien species require more water than the indigenous one. Therefore, alien vegetation provides a poor ground cover compared to the indigenous vegetation, which could result in surface run off and soil erosion (.Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger 1996). Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger observed the Alien vegetation apparently has been considered as a key issue in the ecosystem of Western Cape. Water yield was decreased in the long term due to the alien vegetation consume a large amount of water, as a result, the biodiversity is threatened. In addition, fire in the alien vegetation for the results of erosion-prone slopes. (Jill Fernqvist and Ida Florberger, 2003) Defra (2005) summarized the Management Practices using Vegetables and Salad Crops in soil erosion Control. And offered some solutions to prevent the soil erosion when undertaking the cultivations, irrigation and harvest. (Defra 2005) 6 Soil Erosion by Wind Soil is also erosion by wind, although the effect is not noticeable like the erosion by water. C.S.Baldwin studied the rate and magnitude of soil erosion by wind is decided by many factors: Erodibility of Soil The wind suspends very fine particles and then transported great distances. Fine and medium size particles can be lifted and deposited by wind. While coarse particles can be blown along the surface (commonly known as the saltation effect). Soil Surface Roughness Soil surfaces only provide little resistance to the wind. However, ridges can be filled in and the roughness broken down by abrasion to produce a smoother surface susceptible to the wind in a long time. Excess tillage is a threat to soil, because it breakdown the soil structure and increased erosion. Climate There is a define link between the speed and duration of the wind and extent of soil erosion. The levels of Soil moisture can be very slightly low at the surface of excessively drained soils or during periods of dro ught, and releasing the particles for transport by wind. It occurs in freeze drying of the surface in winter. Adverse operating conditions maybe created by wind erosion in the field. Crops can be completely ruined so that costly delay and reseeding is necessary (C.S.Baldwin 2003) 7 Effects of Soil Erosion The negative changes from bank erosion including farmland productivity losses, damage to building structures such as bridges, roads etc. I.J. Shelton defined the on-site effects and off-site effects. On-site effects mean extension of the elimination of the impact of soil erosion of valuable topsoil. Crop emergence, growth and yield a direct impact on the loss of, natural and applied fertilizer and soil nutrients. Seeds and plants may interfere with or completely abolish the erosion site. Organic matter in soil, residues and any applicable fertilizer, a relatively light weight, can be transported off-site, especially in the spring thaw conditions. While the off-site effect is not always obvious as on-site effects, but Eroded soil, deposited down slope can inhibit or delay the emergence of the seed, bury small seedling, need to replant in the affected areas. Soil quality, structure, stability and texture can be affected by the loss of soil. The breakdown of aggregates and the removal o f smaller particles or entire layers of soil or organic matter can weaken the structure and even change the texture. Textural changes can in turn affect the water-holding capacity of the soil, making it more susceptible to extreme condition such a drought. (I.J. Shelton 2003) According to the C.S.Baldwin (2003), Sediment can contribute to road damage, accelerate bank erosion, and reduce downstream water quality. What is worse, Pesticides, and fertilizers, which contained in the soils. They frequently transported with eroded soil pollution or contamination of water downstream and entertainment district. 8 Conservation Measures While, based upon research, various conservation measures can be taken to reduce soil erosion by both water and wind. Tillage, cropping practices, and land management practices, have a direct impact on the overall soil erosion problem and solutions to a farm. When crop rotations or changing tillage practices are not enough areas where erosion control method or a combination of more extreme measures may be necessary. For example, contour plowing, strip cropping, or terracing may be considered. (C.S.Baldwin 2003) The defra (2005) advised measures about how to control the soil erosion. In their study, four categories of solution were presented. It is crucial to understand that erosion control on susceptible soil types can be successfully achieved to reduce the impact of rainfall erosion and maintain soil infiltration rate, so that the surface flow are avoided. It can be achieved by 1 To protect the soil from rainfall impact, whether it is permanent vegetation cover or land rotation, timely crop establishment and retention of surface crop residues. 2 Avoiding smooth, flat finishes to exposed field surfaces, so that good water seepage rates remain unchanged. 3 Avoiding tramlines, wheeling or cultivation features that can channel surface flow. 4 Seeking to increase the organic matter content in the means of improving the stability of the soil in the longer term. Steep slope and erosion because of increased risk, the efficiency of these measures is becoming increasingly important. When deciding on the combination of measures to apply in any particular situation, consideration should always be the serious erosion that may occur, if the case happened. In some cases, a measure aimed at controlling erosion may increase. For example, work along the contour is sometimes used to reduce runoff, but if the profile is not strictly followed, the accumulation of water at low points which might break over the cultivation features. (Defra 2005) Meanwhile, good management practices play a pivotal role in the control of soil erosion. Some examples and considerations were presented in defra (2005) study. In order to minimize the soil erosion when soil in the most vulnerable condition, the different type and timing of cultivations should be planned. Obviously, the overall aim should be the soil maintain in a less vulnerable condition as long as possible .Therefore, defra (2005) provided the good management of the farm to reduce erosion risks in terms of seedbed preparation, directions of cultivations and irrigation. 9 Conclusion Soil erosion is a natural and slow process. It has the detrimental effect on the environmental. Normally the agents of soil erosion are water and wind, the soil erosion is affected by many factors .But soil erosion could be effectively controlled and minimized by taken appropriate measures. References Abernethy, B. and I. D. Rutherfurd. 1998. Where along a rivers length will vegetation most effectively stabilize stream banks? Geomorphology. 23(1):55-75 ASCE. 1998. River width adjustment. I: Processes and mechanisms. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. 124(9):881-902. Coppin, N. J. and I. G. Richards. 1990. Use of Vegetation in Civil Engineering. Butterworths.London Department for environment food and rural affairs .2005 .Controlling soil erosion, Defra Publications, London. G.J.de Boer .2002.on the consolidation and erosion of cohesive sediments.Deflt University of Technology .Civil Engineering and Geosciences G. Wall, C.S. Baldwin and I.J. Shelton. 2003. Soil Erosion Causes and Effects .Face Sheet.Queen`s print for Ontario Jill Fernqvist, Ida Florberger 2003. Fire and post-fire soil erosion in the Western Cape, South Africa: Field observations and management practices. Committee of Tropical Ecology, Uppsala University, Sweden. Tess Wynn.2006. Streambank Retreat: A Primer. Vol. 4, No.1 January March 2006. Watershed Update Thorne, C. R. and N. K. Tovey. 1981. Stability of composite river banks. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 6(5):469-484

Death of a Salesman Analysis

Death of a Salesman Analysis The End OF American Dream Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, tells the story of Willy Loman, a salesman who reflects on the frustrations and failures of his life, which are due to his beliefs in the American dream and the experience. The general idea behind the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success requires one to work hard and to be dedicated to both their professional and family lives. People often misconstrue the concept behind the dream in thinking that wealth defines success. Failing to acknowledge the importance of hard work in achieving the American Dream is another aspect of this misconception. Willys quest for the American Dream eventually ends in failure, as he is one who has continuously been chasing the illusion, as opposed to the reality of it. His perfectionist attitude toward his dream, his obsession with success, and his constant reminiscence to the past that contribute to his defeat in the end. By ignoring the present, Willy fails to deal with reality. He has a tendency of living in the past and thinking of the future. He always thinks that if he had done something differently than this could have happened, or things will get better as time passes. His habit of distorting the past, never allows Willy to realize what is going on right then and there in the present. At one time, when Willy goes off down memory lane, he says to Biff and Happy, America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys the finest people therell be open sesame for all of us, cause one thing boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street and the cops protect it like their own. Willy makes this distortion of the past in order to make he believe that he has achieved the American Dream. At times when doing this was not possible, Willy looks to the future and thinks he can still achieve it then. For instance, he has this dream of having a big, spectacular funeral. I n the end when Willy dies, at his funeral, Linda says, Why didnt anybody come Where are all the people he knew? . All his life, he holds on to this fantasy, but he never faces the reality of how he could have made it come true. It is his vision of the people of the past that lead Willy to follow a particular path, leading to his demise in the end. By disregarding the present, Willy fails to manage reality. He has an inclination of living in the past and thinking of the future. He generally believes that in the event that he had accomplished something uniquely in contrast to this could have happened, or things will show signs of improvement over the long haul. His propensity for twisting the past, never permits Willy to acknowledge what is going on at that moment in the present. At one time, when Willy goes off through a world of fond memories, he says to Biff and Happy, America is loaded with wonderful towns and fine, upstanding individuals. Whats more, they know me, young men the finest individuals therell be open sesame for every one of us, cause one thing young men: I have companions. I can stop my auto in any road and the cops ensure it like their own. Willy makes this bending of the past keeping in mind the end goal to make he trust that he has accomplished the American Dream. Now and again while doing this was impractica l, Willy looks to the future and supposes he can even now accomplish it then. For example, he has this fantasy of having a major, fantastic burial service. At last when Willy bites the dust, at his memorial service, Linda says, Why didnt anyone come Where are every one of the general population he knew? . All his life, he clutches this dream, however he never confronts the truth of how he could have made it work out. It is his vision of the general population of the past that lead Willy to take after a specific way, prompting to his destruction at last. The success attained by Willys role models, Dave Singleman, and Ben, is what he envisions to be the American Dream. He only visualizes the end product, being successful, and not the process they may have gone through to achieve that success. Willys father sold flutes and made that his living. In an encounter with his thoughts of the past, Willy listens to Ben, his brother, who refers to Dave Singleman by saying, Great Inventor, Father. With one gadget he made more in a week than a man like you could make in a lifetime. Willy assumes that by being a salesman, like Dave Singleman is that he will automatically be guaranteed success, and that it was not something that he would have to work for. Material success, such as money, luxury, and wealth, and popularity are his goals and his definition of success. On the other hand, self-fulfilment and happiness through hard work is not. By only focusing on the outer appearance of the American Dream, Willy ignores the reality of the hard work and dedication required to obtain it. His constant preoccupation with being successful, being well-liked, and attaining that Dream with the perfect job, the perfect family, and the perfect life, never leaves his mind. The unattainable part of Willys notion of the American Dream is perfection. This illusion shadows Willy as it takes him through his life. He has this set picture in his mind of how everything should be: a good job, a high paying salary, a wonderful family with smart kids and a perfect housewife, being well-liked, being happy, and having no problems at all. Because Willy has this perception of how life should be, any entity that does not fit his viewpoint turns out as this huge ordeal. This obsession of perfection is a reason for why, in reality, he did not have a happy family. By trying to make his family fit the image of the American Dream, he actually caused their unhappiness. Failing at this attempt of perfecting his family is just one example of Willys many mistakes. Due to the fact that he is a so-called perfectionist, accomplishment is never evident to Willy. Once he reaches any goal, he never sees the good in it; instead he only sees what he could have done better. Perfection is just a figment of the imagination, an elusive illusion, just as the American Dream is in Willys mind. Willy Loman portrays a common man, who lives a life that is purely an illusion. Although Willy has good intentions, his tragic flaw is that he focuses only on the appearance of the American Dream and never on the reality, the work ethic, or how to achieve it. Willy brings about his own downfall, his defeat, because he tries to pursue this superficial idea. Miller includes this theme of the American Dream in his social criticism in an attempt to portray the deviation in the values of society. For instance, materialism and technological advances, causes the American Dream to change as times changes. The salesman is a position that has declining importance at the time. He shows that an individuals values are based on what society has established. Yet, as society changes, the values one has may not, causing conflict between the society and the individual

Danger and Hope in the Information Age :: Philosophy Religion Essays

Danger and Hope in the Information Age Where can we find hope in today’s information age? To answer this question satisfactorily one must be clear as to its presupposition. To find hope in the information society means that there appears to be something wrong with it, so that one needs to search for hope in such a society. In this paper I would like to outline some of the perils of today's information society and to point out that, though the perils are real and very strong, we nonetheless can overcome them through concerted action which I shall outline in the sections to follow. In short, I would like to show that there is a realistic, practicable hope in today’s information society, but such a hope can never come into fruit without effort. Hope does not come through a total negation of the technology, nor does it come through a blind adherence to it. Rather realistic hope can obtain only through concerted effort to understand the implications and impact of the technology. As for the cultures of the Third Word, where the potential dangers of the technology appear grave, hope can come through strengthening of local resources and searches for ways to co-opt the technology and to adapt it into the cultures’ particular life-world. Human society is increasingly characterized by an increasingly pervasive use of technologies, notably among which are the information and communication technologies (ICT’s). Today in Bangkok one could hardly fail to be giant billboards exhorting commuters to log on the Internet and visit one web site or another. Name cards increasingly carry email addresses as well as personal web sites. In Thailand, new Internet cafà ©s spring up everyday like mushrooms in rainy season. Nowadays it is estimated that there are around four million people on the Internet in the country, up from just one or two million just a few months ago. These events and numbers are just superficial indicators of a deep change that is going on throughout the world. Technologies are obviously becoming more and more important, or at least they are becoming ubiquitous. Since there is no time in human history that this kind of profound pervasiveness of technologies, especially those connected with information and communication, occurs, human beings need to reflect and think hard about what kind of life, what kind of society we as a species are creating. This thinking calls for a bold vision and an imaginative construction of possible scenarios more than ever before, since the situation we are facing is totally new and we cannot rely solely on lessons of the past. We cannot just compare the current situation to a historical event in order to

Nuclear war :: essays research papers

The Next Episode Would you like to play a game? The infamous words muttered by the WOPPER computer in the movie War Games. In this movie an amuter hacker looking for some cool games nearly sets off a nuclear war by just some simple manuevers. Although just a movie it put light on the easiness of one person to start an all out nuclear war. This movie was made in the 80’s when we didn’t rest on the power of computers to control a system and still we almost had an all out nuclear war. Now we reali on computers making us twice as vulnerable. With that in mind I feel that it is my responsibility to affirm the resolution that the possession nuclear weapons is immoral. For clarification of this round I offer the following definitions Black’s Law, 5th Edition. Possession: The detention and control of anything which may be subject of property, for one’s use and enjoyment. Nuclear: anything with radioactive materials. Weapons Something used to destroy someone or something. From the Lexicon-Webster dictionary Immoral: not conforming to accepted patterns of what is considered right and wrong behavior in a culture Nuclear weapons are a strange weapon they are one of the feew weapons that can kill long after the initial blast. The radiation emited from this blast would infect all the surrounding nations thus causing a global catastrophy. That is why I would like to adopt the value of Global Security. Along with this value I will use the criterion of Safty because Safty is the only way to obtain global security. Contention One: Nucs have no target only death. The sole purpose for nuclear weapons is to kill large amounts of people very quickly without the threat of losing men. Let me repeat to kill with out being killed. This sounds like a great strategy except it is no strategy at all. If you have a thousand nucs you are not going to target them at military bases no, you are going to inflict the most damage and that is the civilian population. People innocent of any crime put to death by a faceless weapon. Subpoint A: Nuclear war is inevitable. The only reason to create a new weapon is to use it not to have just sit around and collect dust. History has shown the minute a new weapon is invented people are standing line to use it and show its effectiveness. The bombs we dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki were only one weapon now we have unused missles and bombers that are unused wasting money.

Beowulfs Manifestation of Hrothgars Lessons :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf's Manifestation of Hrothgar's Lessons "We have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered contemptible; the rest have failed."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   --Machiavelli, The Prince            Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this statement --and in the rest of his major work, The Prince -- Machiavelli attempts to justify the cruelty of a leader; it is necessary, he seems to say, to be feared in order to succeed.   It is doubtful that the renaissance political theorist ever read the poem of Beowulf; in any case, he did not very much with its message. For if its titular hero followed the maxims of Machiavelli, Hrothgar, the leader of the Danes in the poem, contends that it will bring upon pride and, ultimately, Beowulf's downfall. Hrothgar's message is exactly contrasting to that of Machiavelli's. His political theory states that it is necessary to be good-willed to one's people and to refrain from being blinded by pride in order to be a successful leader. Fortunately for Beowulf, during his fifty-year reign as the ruler of the Geats he follows Hrothgar's sagacious lesson; consequently, he is compassionate leader who never lets his pride overcome his judgment.    Throughout his reign as the ruler of the Geats, Beowulf is a benevolent leader - bringing peace and power to his nation as Hrothgar instructs him to after the great warrior defeats Grendel's mother. Hrothgar relates to him a story about the Heremod, King of the Danes, who "brought little joy to the Danish people, only death and destruction" (1711-1712), and that "suffered in the end for having plagued his people" (1720-1721). That is, Hrothgar claims that one cannot be a successful leader unless one is virtuous ruler. Furthermore, he tells Beowulf to "learn from this and understand true value" (1723-1724). Therefore, Hrothgar's intends that this information be carried on with Beowulf. During his final moments, after he kills the treasure hording dragon, Beowulf reflects on his reign over the Geats, and those reflections demonstrate that he understands the importance of virtue and honor. He claims that he "cared for and stood by things in [his] keeping, never fomented qua rrels, never swore to a lie" (2736-2739). His goodwill and righteousness is highly regarded by the warrior, for he continues, "the Ruler of mankind need never blame me [.

Comparison of two computers Essay

The two computers I will be comparing are the Solo 1000 and the ProSentia 3000. The ProSentia is slightly more expensive than the solo at i 899 than the solo at i 589. The first computer, the solo, has an AMD Athlon 1000MHz processor but the ProSentia has a Pentium 4 processor 1. 4 GHz that is faster than the solo. The processor is the brains of the computer and carries out the tasks, so a faster computer would suite policies ‘R’ us because all tasks can be carried out quicker. The solo has a 40Gb hard drive compared to the ProSentia, which has a 20Gb hard drive, the size of the hard drive is important because this stores all of the programs and work files. The solo would have more space on it than the ProSentia, this also has a 128 Mb RDRAM which is the same as the solo, the memory isn’t as important because it is only used to run the programs, But Policies ‘R’ us will not need the memory to be to big because there programs wont be to complicated. The ProSentia comes complete with software including Microsoft Office that contains Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and Publisher. This would save the company buying it separately. It also comes with Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, an anti-virus program and other software tools. Where as the Solo comes complete with Windows Millennium Edition and Cyber link DVD playback CD creation and copy soft ware (CD-Rw systems). I advise Policies ‘R’ us to pick the ProSentia 3000 because it has certain things that would be useful to Policies ‘R’ us. The ProSentia has a larger processor at 1. 4GHz. This means that they can do things Quick so things are more efficient. It does not have as much of a hard drive as the solo but Policies ‘R’ us will not need that much hard drive because they will not need to save that many programs only ones linked to work. They both have the same amount of memory they so this does not matter any way. The ProSentia is more money but it is definitely worth it.