Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Leadership & Change Management Essay

Transactional leadership styles are more concerned with maintaining the normal flow of operations. Transactional leadership can be described as â€Å"keeping the ship afloat. † Transactional leaders use disciplinary power and an array of incentives to motivate employees to perform at their best. The term â€Å"transactional† refers to the fact that this type of leader essentially motivates subordinates by exchanging rewards for performance. A transactional leader generally does not look ahead in strategically guiding an organization to a position of market leadership; instead, these managers are solely concerned with making sure everything flows smoothly today. Transactional leadership motivates followers by setting up social or financial transactions that persuade them to act. For example, a transactional leader might offer bonuses to her sales staff for exceeding quotas. The bonus is a form of financial transaction. Transactional leadership often is set in opposition to transformational leadership, which is a leadership style that relies on convincing followers that a particular vision of what the organization can achieve is worth working toward. Transformational leadership A transformational leader goes beyond managing day-to-day operations and crafts strategies for taking his company, department or work team to the next level of performance and success. Transformational leadership styles focus on team-building, motivation and collaboration with employees at different levels of an organization to accomplish change for the better. Transformational leaders set goals and incentives to push their subordinates to higher performance levels, while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth for each employee. Transformational leadership might sound preferable because the leader doesn’t cynically harness the self-interest of her followers, as the transactional leader does. But there’s a problem. A transformational leader might not be forthright with her followers. For example, a business owner might motivate her workforce with stirring speeches about the nobility of hard work, while her real aim is to increase production for personal gain. This type of transformational leader might be called inauthentic. Advantages Both leadership styles are needed for guiding an organization to success. Transactional leaders provide distinct advantages through their abilities to address small operational details quickly. Transactional leaders handle all the details that come together to build a strong reputation in the marketplace, while keeping employees productive on the front line. Transformational leadership styles are crucial to the strategic development of a small business. Small businesses with transformational leaders at the helm shoot for ambitious goals, and can they achieve rapid success through the vision and team-building skills of the leader. Applications Different management styles are best suited to different situations. When it comes to front-line supervisors of minimum-wage employees, for example a transactional leadership style can be more effective. Shift supervisors at a fast food restaurant will be much more effective if they are concerned with ensuring all of the various stations run smoothly, rather than spending their time thinking up better ways to serve hamburgers. On the other hand, CEOs or sales managers can be more effective if they are transformational leaders. Executive managers need the ability to design and communicate grand strategic missions, passing the missions down to transactional leaders for implementation of the details. Organizations emphasize the concept of leadership in training managers or group leaders to propel a team or the organization forward. Within leadership, the effectiveness of the transformational versus transactional leader is often debated. Transactional leadership relies more on a â€Å"give and take† understanding, whereby subordinates have a sense of duty to the leader in exchange for some reward. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, involves a committed relationship between the leader and his followers. In 1985, industrial psychologist Bernard Bass identified and wrote about four basic elements that underlie transformational leadership. Idealized Influence Transformational leaders act as role models and display a charismatic personality that influences others to want to become more like the leader. Idealized influence can be most expressed through a transformational leader’s willingness to take risks and follow a core set of values, convictions and ethical principles in the actions he takes. It is through this concept of idealized influence that the leader builds trust with his followers and the followers, in turn, develop confidence in their leader. Inspirational Motivation Inspirational motivation refers to the leader’s ability to inspire confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his followers. The transformational leader must articulate a clear vision for the future, communicate expectations of the group and demonstrate a commitment to the goals that have been laid out. This aspect of transformational leadership requires superb communication skills as the leader must convey his messages with precision, power and a sense of authority. Other important behaviors of the leader include his continued optimism, enthusiasm and ability to point out the positive. Intellectual Stimulation Transformational leadership values creativity and autonomy among the leader’s followers. The leader supports his followers by involving them in the decision-making process and stimulating their efforts to be as creative and innovative as possible to identify solutions. To this end, the transformational leader challenges assumptions and solicits ideas from followers without criticizing. She helps change the way followers think about and frame problems and obstacles. The vision the leader conveys helps followers see the big picture and succeed in their efforts. Individualized Consideration Each follower or group member has specific needs and desires. For example, some are motivated by money while others by change and excitement. The individualized consideration element of transformational leadership recognizes these needs. The leader must be able to recognize or determine through eavesdropping or observation   what motivates each individual. Through one-on-one coaching and mentoring, the transformational leader provides opportunities for customized training sessions for each team member. These activities allow team members to grow and become fulfilled in their positions. The Benefits of Transformational Leadership Motivation A transformational leader uses her belief in the vision of the company to inspire the staff to be more productive and work towards company goals. The drive behind a transformational leader is to find ways in which she can get the entire staff on board with corporate strategy and planning. When the entire company is on the same page with the corporate vision, it can make achieving that vision easier. Planning Inspirational managers do not focus their energy solely on motivating the staff. A good transformational leader has broad visions for the company’s future, and those visions can become instrumental in company planning. Whether it is refining the overall business plan or affecting individual marketing programs, the transformational manager has ideas and visions for the future of the company that he wants to share with the management team and work to turn those plans into reality. Retention The idea of transformational leadership is to reach out to each employee and bring out the best in them. An inspirational manager spends time with each employee discussing ways to make the employee’s job easier, and helping to create plans for developing the employee’s career. This individual attention that is offered by transformational leaders helps to create a strong bond between the manager and his employees that will reduce employee turnover. Growth  A manager that is not intimately involved in the growth of the company and the development of her staff can start to struggle with managing her department as the company grows. A transformational leader is constantly involved with the growth of the company and the ongoing development of employees. As the company grows, the transformational leader maintains that close contact to the company and employees and can make the process of growing a more involved experience for new and veteran employees.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Oprah’s Empire and Organizational Theory, Design and Change Essay

The Oprah Case was a brief view into the life of Oprah Winfrey and the empire she built. Born in Mississippi, Oprah had a gift for public speaking. She delved into journalism and landed her own day time TV show in Chicago. The broadcast television industry proved to be a wonderful source of revenue for Winfrey and here her empire began. Oprah then went into acting and found interest in producing. She founded Harpo, Inc. and began acquiring rights to film books. The Oprah Winfrey Show became a hit success propelling Oprah forward to be one of the world’s most influential people. She launched a website, oprah.com; a magazine, O, The Magazine; and began her own network, OWN. She organized several charitable organizations around the world and is recognized as the most generous celebrity as it relates to giving away her own money. There is a component in Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves’ book that emphasizes the need for Self Awareness. With much o f Oprah Winfrey’s success being attributed to not compromising her beliefs for society, Oprah has to continuously guard against being mislead or possibly used by others. Although her intentions may be good, Oprah Winfrey’s tendency to be hard on herself if she neglects to reach success can cloud her talent to recognize her own efforts. There are three key indicators of Self-Awareness that Oprah Winfrey utilizes in order to maintain her public image and reputation. First, Oprah exudes self-confidence in order to effectively market anything that she endorses or supports. Because of this keen awareness of her self-worth, throughout any appearance, Oprah presents her viewers with a self-assurance which enables her to voice views that her followers can assess and take into consideration. Over the years, Oprah has become a beacon for making sound decisions despite the uncertainties and pressures of the media. Next, Oprah is aware of her strengths and limits, therefore, she is able to give an accurate self-assessment and accept candid feedback. Early on in her career she was able to learn that she was not able to operate as owner, president, and CEO. Knowing this, Oprah was able to profit more in the grand scheme of things because her limit was recognized and valued. As Tim Bennett acted as the President of Oprah’s Harpo Productions, he was able to give Oprah a new perspective and aid in her self-development with his expertise. Lastly, Oprah has a self-deprecating sense of humor that shows she doesn’t take herself too seriously. This is important in the candid feedback she receives from viewers, bloggers, and other forms of news. As a person in the media, Oprah is self-aware and realizes the need to trust yourself and not let negative energy hold you back from operating at your full potential. As a steward of her brand, it’s safe to say that Oprah Winfrey pays close attention to the quality of her message and products. Oprah Winfrey has a great gift of compassion, tenderness, and kindness. For balance, Oprah Winfrey promotes mature self-obedience, self-management, and personal responsibility. In doing this, Oprah utilized four core competencies to build her personal brand. First, she discovered what she wanted her brand to convey and laid out a development plan for herself, which included where she was presently and future goals. Oprah Winfrey is most successful because she was able to merge her passion of journalism with expertise. Next, Oprah created her brand by positioning herself as extraordinary in her niche of talk show hosting. The point of this is to tell her audience what she values and the benefits of watching her show. Besides tangible incentives, Oprah gives advice and offers community awareness through her many projects. Then, Oprah uses communication to allow her to gain the visibility to be looked to as a guru of opinions. Oprah attracted her viewers and followers by becoming accessible through forums, book clubs, mail, and social media. Lastly, Oprah has been able to maintain her brand through constant revisits and updates. Constantly Oprah goes back to everything she has created; her O magazine, OWN network, book club and everything that she has endorsed to refresh it with current information and maintain its reputation. The mission for The Oprah Winfrey Show was â€Å"to be a catalyst for the transformation in people’s lives.† In keeping with core competencies, the organization was able to continue to generate revenue by using the skills and abilities in value-creation activities that allowed all of the business subunits to achieve superior quality and consumer responsiveness. Because the mission was one of empowerment, Oprah’s team made sure that anything that was done supported that mission and by doing so it increased intrinsic value. Oprah’s following knew what to expect, they enjoyed it, and they kept coming back even bringing new consumers. Oprah was known to surround herself with high performing people. The business was demanding there were constant deadlines and long hours. Many were known to work from 15-17 hours in order to keep up. They had a code of excellence and anyone who could not meet that code did not last long. The type of environment that came from this fast-paced work style is in part related to the expansion strategy. Harpo was growing rapidly due to the corporate-level strategy. Oprah had harnessed a command in the daytime TV domain and used this base to expand into new media domains through related diversification. There are so many cultural differences such as diverse communication styles, different approaches to completing task and different attitudes toward conflict. As a leader within her brand and enterprise, Oprah has mastered the art of working around cultural differences and effectively coordinating outsourcing relationships. She has conquered working with different cultures by encouraging and rewarding creativity, creating a diverse workforce and educated staff and offering support while having fun. Oprah has also effectively coordinated outsourcing relationships with her many international projects, specifically her school in Africa. Benefits of outsourcing include higher performance, a better mitigation of risk and reduced confusion and wasted time. Oprah opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007 with the goal in mind of giving children who are less fortunate the chance to better themselves with a proper and suitable education. In order to effectively accomplish this goal, it was a mission of Oprah’s to have access and acquire the best talent. Oprah has been able to enjoy the benefits of outsourcing because of her quality commitment and reputation. Throughout Oprah’s career, several conflicts within her organization have risen. Although conflict is perceived negatively, some conflict is good for an organization. Conflict can be beneficial because it can overcome organizational inertia and lead to organizational learning and change. This is extremely evident when Oprah’s Book Club introduced A Million Little Pieces by James Frey to the public. This is a great example where Pondey’s Model of Organizational Conflict is illustrated. Latent Conflict, the first stage of this model, surfaced in 2005 when Oprah introduced this book. In several ways, the work was an unconventional choice for the Book Club where potential for conflict was at a high risk. The book was a classified as a memoir, not the ordinary book for the Book Club. Frey’s memoir, an account of his descent into alcohol and drug addiction, offered a graphic, unsparing look at the consequences of his illness and at the long, difficult road to recovery. It was the first contemporary piece of writing that Winfrey had selected for the Book Club in more than two seasons. The second stage, Perceived Conflict, happen on January 8, 2006. The investigative web site The Smoking Gun delivered a devastating blow to Frey’s insistences of authenticity. The site revealed numerous instances of exaggeration in A Million Little Pieces. This brought many aware of this conflict and people began to analyze it. The conflict escalated when Oprah battled against what was being said. She stated, â€Å"that the underlying message of redemption in James Frey’s memoir still resonates with me. And I know that it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book and will continue to read this book.† In the third stage of Pondey’s Model, conflict is felt. Investigative reports showed that he had exaggerated his criminal past to the point of fancy. But he had also distorted the stories of others, including two high-school classmates who died in a car crash in 1986. Marianne Sanders, the mother of one of the deceased, called Frey’s account â€Å"flat-out lies.† What began as a small problem had now escalated into a huge conflict. On January 26, 2006, these issues came to a head when the talk-show host brought Frey back onto her show. Winfrey confessed that the facts that had come out about Frey’s past since the scandal broke had caused her to revise her opinion of his work. â€Å"I feel duped,† Winfrey told Frey. â€Å"But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers.† Conflict had manifested. This is demonstrated in the fourth stage. In the fifth and final stage, the aftermath of the conflict is present. Conflict is resol ved in a way that leaves subunits feeling combative or cooperative. In this case, Winfrey also apologized to viewers for her own role in supporting Frey’s actions and attitude toward self-representation. The truth, it turned out, mattered to many people. In the aftermath of the controversy, Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, the imprint that had published Frey’s book, also issued an apology. Winfrey’s response in particular, spurred a large-scale conversation among publishers, authors, and journalists about the state of nonfiction writing. Oprah used her power and ability to manipulate decision making. She uses two tactics that has led to her success. The first tactic she uses is her ability to control the agenda. Oprah si involved in the majority, if not all, departments and committees of her empire. She likes to be on and involved in these committees and departments so that she can control business decisions, especially if the issues affect how and when to change the organization’s strategy and structure. Bringing in an outside expert is the second tactic. The biggest mistake Oprah made in the beginning was that she did understand that she needed infrastructure and systems in order to run a business. And it wasn’t until 1994 that she actually brought in someone to be president and organize the systems. She described herself as a crazy person, trying to do it all. In 1994, Winfrey hired Tim Bennett to serve as Harpo’s president. 8. Infrastructure 9. Organizational Life Cycle Oprah has put up her $5.6 million Gold Coast Condo on the market, and moved to California to run her network OWN. Her condo that sits on top of a huge building in downtown Chicago can be rented for $15,000 a month. Rosie O’Donnell’s current OWN talk show was being taped at Harpo, but no longer. The Rosie O’Donnell show has been moved to New York. The move resulted in low ratings and the lack of obtaining special guest for the show. It was a constant challenge trying to get people to come to the show, so they decided to move to a location that was convenient for special guest. This was never a problem for Oprah. Therefore, Harpo Studios is dark and inactive. Possibilities of putting it up for sale to those buyers who want to have their own production facility, or to those who want to tear it down to build a high-rise building are beginning to surface. Despite struggles with OWN, Oprah.com is still successful. What’s next for Oprah? The future of the Oprah Empire is a topic that many people find may be threatened. Much of Oprah’s target market is the baby boomer middle class. With her target market aging and the culture of broadcast journalism changing, where does this leave Oprah? Oprah’s future relevance will heavily rely on the diversification of her current and future business developments. Currently worth $2.7 Billion, Oprah has plenty of cushion room to reinvest in new strategies or add to her current ventures. With the stability of her magazine and online presence, Oprah has made her name an international staple touching the homes of millions around the globe. Her integration of technology into her business model has transcended generations inviting the more tech savvy to join the ranks. The real question is about the future of OWN network. While it is experiencing difficulty now, expect it to make a transition into a network that is developing future leaders with the power of persuasion. In the future as Oprah ceases to have a world presence, her legacy will remain.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Profits from pornography and prostitution Assignment

Profits from pornography and prostitution - Assignment Example A survey conducted in U.S.A reveals that adult bookshops and stores offer more number of books that exhibit pornographic contents that are legally banned in the country. Though legal implications are more, pornography has not been reduced and most of these forms violate the norms and regulations specified by the government. (Pace, 1983). Another organized crime is prostitution that also reaps profit to the one who owns the business. In most of the countries children below the age of 16 are also forcibly included into this act of prostitution. (Lunde, 2006). Though it is not legally permitted in most of the countries, illegal activists continue to do this organized crime. Vice Crimes are the ones that are banned either by the legal system or by the society due to the illicit problems that they bring into the society. The common vice crimes are prostitution and pornography. (Albanese, 2011). They are considered as illegal acts that spoil the morality of the people and communities in particular. Victimless crimes do not involve any third party or a person except from the one who is directly involved in it. Usage of drugs and alcoholics that are prohibited by the government is also considered to be victimless crimes. (Monkkonen, 1992). They also fall under the category of victimless crimes that are committed by organized crime. Even procuring illegal drugs and supplying them to the people are considered to be organized

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Pro and Con about gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pro and Con about gun control - Essay Example Such a flexibility of the legislative framework of all American states is accounted for the peculiarities of the changing dangerous situation of the U.S. citizens who over and over again suffer from the lack of arms trafficking control on both markets, official and underworld ones. The issue is that numerous pros and cons of weapon possession as well as the interdependent amount of crime have significant differences standing on each specific case of different America’s states, which have a bit or radically varying laws of gun control. So let’s study and consider what for and against arguments can serve for the critical solicitude of the Americans’ status as a shooting nation in relation to its own safety. It is firstly necessary to explain that the issue of gun control manifests its relevancy through the increasing number of murders, rapes, robberies, different incidents on the back of weapon possessing by everyone from adults with mental health through dropouts to children and adolescents with divergent response to possible acts of aggression or other reasons for gun use. This applies especially to the fact that â€Å"†¦as the gun ownership rises, so does the gun homicide rate. More guns mean more gun deaths† (Harmon, 2013). Really, weapon ownership increases the risk of being killed. For that matter America’s case is extremely screaming for its almost hundred-per-cent national possession of any type of arms. â€Å"Overall, 46 percent of gun owners own some kind of gun primarily for protection against crime. The figure is 41 percent for males, and 67 percent for females† (Cook, & Ludwig, 2008). These data can confirm a greater anxiety for their safety among women, whereas in contrast men are those who much more likely to pull the trigger (according to statistics). So the primarily reason of carrying-weapons is self-defense. They say weapon doesn’t

To what extent did diplomacy effect the rise of the modern state from Essay

To what extent did diplomacy effect the rise of the modern state from 1648-1815 - Essay Example 1997). This requires a less teleological view of the emergence of the modern state by placing far more emphasis on the interrogation of the ostensible and hidden motivations of the diplomats of each era, who after all were the catalysts for change in the political arena. The ‘Westphalian’ state arose from the chaos of more than hundred years of European power struggle and it was brought about by the fiscal and military exhaustion of the participants. The need to put an end to the human, financial and environmental devastation brought the parties together in a five-year long diplomatic undertaking, with the goal of establishing collective security and a balance of power. Agreement was finally reached in 1648 on a new configuration of Europe that curtailed the power of the Holy Roman Empire and increased the number of member states substantially to allow sufficient numbers of states to form alliances that would constitute a ‘balance of power’ to avoid future c onflicts. The Peace of Westphalia also empowered diplomacy to be the first and foremost means of maintaining security. Also enshrined in the ‘Westphalian peace treaties’ was the ideal that ‘state interests’ prevailed beyond all other reasons, based on the hope that princes would not let themselves be ruled by ‘disorderly appetites’ (Nathan J., 2002). It was thus firmly established that from then on, secular state interests were to be of primary importance and they were to be guarded by loyal, professional servants of this state, who were skilled in states craft and diplomacy. The underlying aim was to achieve that no one state could ever again gain supremacy. Many of the theories underlying the negotiations of Westphalia, had their origin in the politics of the Italian city-states but it was in Munster and Osnabruck that they were consolidated and shaped into rules and regulations, which from then on occupied politicians and theoreticians alike (Cruz, L. 1997). The value the Italians had placed on diplomacy had depended on ‘balance of power’, counteracting the dominance of Venice with the alliance of the remaining four states, under the watchful eyes of Lorenzo de Medici and Ferdinand of Naples, whose vigilance acted as ‘preventative diplomacy’ (Rucellai and Guicciardini in Sheehan, M., 2002). There were, however flaws in the system set up in 1648 that were not present in the Venetian, particularly in relation to diplomacy and the concept of ‘balance of power’, which in the much larger European theatre lacked clear definition and prominence. Most importantly, however, there was no diplomatic mechanism in place during peace times and no watchful group of sovereigns as there were in Venice (Treasure, M., 2003). This effectively meant that every act of aggression could directly lead to war, in the absence of a diplomatic charter that would prescribe arbitration and despite the fact that ‘recourse to arms was outlawed’, (Nathan, J., 2002) The treaties of Westphalia called for ‘great conferences’ in the case of impending conflict (Grotius cited in Nathan, J., 2002), but the ‘collective response’ was to prove problematic in the coming decades, as few states

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Housing Prices in Australia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Housing Prices in Australia - Research Paper Example The headline says: "Government policies, charges 'stifling' housing growth." The report says that "the Property Council of Australia is warning of a looming housing shortfall as prices and taxes increase." The surge in median house prices in the last seven years has shut many people out of the market, ABC News quoted the Council as saying. The report however is on Western Australia and not on the whole of Australia, but still there has to be concern to avoid a possible downturn. From a stable property market, there is a trend of slowing down due to circumstances or causes that are the primary focus of this study. However, the situation may not be serious. The causes will be enumerated in the literature review. Property market in Australia is a major source of wealth creation for investors, contributing to the socio-economic well being of all Australians. The Real Estate Institute of Australia states that in the financial year 2005/2006, property sales totaled $186.1 billion. The Institute further said that 67% of Australians owned their houses and 28% rented on the private market. Property affects everybody in Australia. Those who are renting their houses and those who own their houses are a subject of surveys by the prominent institutions in Australia and even from outside Australia. Over the pa The Real Estate Institute of Australia follows and conducts studies and trends in the real estate business in Australia. It is the national professional association for the real estate industry. Over the past years, right after the 1991-1992 economic recession, there has been a stable residential property market in Australia. But there is a growing defect that the Property Council of Australia has warned in its latest press release. This pertains to the higher taxes imposed by the government. 3.0 Purpose and Objectives This study will examine the underlying growth on the property market of Australia and the impact of the higher taxes. Surveys conducted by prestigious organizations like Standard and Poor's and Real Estate Institute of Australia and other similar organizations that have stakes in the property market have revealed a steady growth. This was recorded over the past 35 years by Standard & Poor's and the years preceding the 1991-1992 economic crisis. We will also study the present policies of government over real estate and their imposition of charges and taxes, whether these taxes or fees are bearable by the general public. The people who are at stake here are those who own or rent their houses. Following are the questions to be answered in the study: 1. Is the stable growth registered by the property

Friday, July 26, 2019

Agency and Partnership Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Agency and Partnership Law - Essay Example ADC Ltd is a company needs 20 sets of Model XXP computers by Christmas 2009 by spending no more than  £20,000. Dan is the sales assistant from PC Express, who offers Andrew 20 sets of the new Model XXP Plus computer at a discount price of  £30,000. Andrew is sure that ADC Ltd would want the new model of computer rather than the old model and asked Dan to wait for an hour so he can speak to ADC Ltd in order to get the permission. He discloses that this order would be beyond his power and he is only acting as the agent. When Andrew rings Dan back to confirm the order he is asked specifically whether he received consent from ADC Ltd, Dan is told that it has all been sorted and that permission has been given, the order is made and the goods are delivered. However, Andrew did not in fact seek permission from ADC Ltd, he did ring but no one answered the phone call. Considering he had to contact Dan from PC Express in an hour, he concluded the deal before the written or oral permission from ADC Ltd.  After Christmas, ADC Ltd asked Andrew to buy another 35 sets of Model XXP computers due to the expansion of the business. James owns a company involved in the production of computers and his business is mainly on importing computers from China and reselling them to the customers in the UK. James has just imported some Model XXP Computers from China. Knowing that Andrew often works as an agent for many companies in the computer business he contacted him with the purpose of concluding a contract.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Should everyone allow to own gun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Should everyone allow to own gun - Essay Example The Founders knew that by ensuring the right to own arms, citizens would have the ability to protect themselves from that which might endanger their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. This could include bodily protection from persons and animals or from an oppressive government that threatened the freedoms outlined in the Constitution. â€Å"The Second Amendment reflects the founders’ belief that an armed citizenry, called the ‘general militia’ was a necessary precaution against tyranny by our own government and its army† (Krouse, 2002). Most American’s agree that the Second Amendment does allow law-abiding citizens to own guns for protection and hunting. Gun ownership ranks high among these political ideologies and to attempt to ban all guns would make these feelings even stronger. To make the case for upholding the widely perceived ‘right’ to bear arms by allowing rifles and shotguns of a certain length while banning handguns seems the sensible solution and a fight that could be won. This tact has proven effective in other countries such as Britain and many other European nations. Those countries that ban handgun use have a much lower homicide rate than does the U.S. (Reynolds, Caruth, 1992) In the year 2002, more than 3000 American children died as a result of guns, mostly handguns. Compare this with Britain where 19 children were killed by guns in 2005 and Japan where none were killed. Both if these countries have enacted strict gun control laws. The children of America are dying every day so that those who insist they have a right to own an arsenal of weapons and misconstrue the Constitution to justify this desire. (â€Å"Statistics† 2005). Gun enthusiasts mimic the concept that more guns will lead to less violence, that if everyone were carrying a gun, criminals would be too scared to commit crimes. The more is less philosophy. This doesn’t square with reasonable logic or the facts.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Global currency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global currency - Essay Example From the chart above, there are signs that the Rand attempts to gain against the US Dollar periodically by moving down to around 6.5 to a Dollar. However, in most of the times, it fluctuates and reaches highs of about 7.3 against the Dollar. Over the past month or so though, the Rand has really lost grounds to the US Dollar and has risen to highs of about 8.4 per Dollar. This indicates that there is potential for further escalations in the value of the Dollar against the Rand. The Rand can therefore be seen as a weaker currency in relation to the US Dollar and on the global markets. Figure 2 above shows the relationship between the South African Rand and the European common currency, the Euro. It is also seen that the Euro is stronger than the Rand. On the average, the Rand trades at about 9.5 to the Euro. Although there were times that the Rand gained and got to almost 8.5 to the Euro, most of the time, the Rand remains above the 9.5 mark. However, in the past three months, the Euro has strengthened further at levels over R10 per Euro. It is currently trading at 11 Rands per Euro. This shows that there is room for further appreciation of the Euro against the Rands. Aliber stated in 1970 that â€Å"the stronger a countrys currency, the more likely it is to invest in another country and the weaker the currency, the less likely it is to invest in another country† (Goldstein,1991 p1976). This assumption Aliber made is tried and tested in numerous empirical tests. Aliber & Click (1993, p97) identifies that there is a capital market bias towards businesses from a stronger currency nation. In this case, it will be better for a US based business to operate in South Africa. Sharan (2002, p70) explains that the reason why businesses from countries with stronger currencies succeed in weaker currency nation is that it is much more easier to capitalize income in a weaker

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Hybrid Brand Strategy Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hybrid Brand Strategy Report - Research Paper Example Horticultural products, therefore, demand quick marketing and a relatively short supply chain (Tollens et al. 2000). Branding has for a long time been known to be a rather effective instrument in creating consumer loyalty for new and existing products. A branded product has 65% chance of fetching high market in the prime market and 78% in restaurants (Brakus et al. 2009). For a product with a strong brand name, consumers tend to pull towards it. The low-grade horticultural products can be distributed to hotels and institutions (Sprott et al. 2009). There is, therefore, the need to develop a brand for horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables. This is because with the target market involving the five-star hotels, and prime shopping centers, having branded products is more profitable that having unbranded commodities (He et al. 2012). Auxiliary brand affiliation is characterized as interfacing a brand with some other business that may influence the production of new brand relationship with the organizations additionally impact existing affiliations (French & Smith 2013). It is more like a component of showcasing marking. Brand picture, brand mindfulness, and brand importance have their immediate effects on brand value. Brand affiliation transmits the value of different organizations to the brand in thought. Customers judge the brand esteem on the premise of brand components that are related straightforwardly and principally with the hidden item, for the case, physical highlights, bundling and hues, and instrumental qualities (Severi & Ling 2013). Be that as it may, these judgments can likewise be taking into account auxiliary or aberrant affiliations, which allude to affiliations identified with organizations instead of specifically associated with judge an item. These organizations incorporate different organiza tions, their nations of the root, circulation channels, representative, and brands (Chen 2001). The association of brand to the

Monday, July 22, 2019

Written Assignment Essay Example for Free

Written Assignment Essay Answer all of the following questions. Title your assignment Written Assignment 4, unless your mentor directs otherwise. This assignment covers text chapters 18 through 23. 1. Explain the relationship among savings, investment, and net capital outflow. Savings are equal to domestic investment + net capital outflow. In an open economy, both net capital outflow ( which is the purchase of foreign assets by domestic investors minus the purchase of domestic investments by foreigners) and savings and domestic investments are both ways of saving, and are both used to get the full picture of total saving. 2. Describe the economic logic behind the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP). What factors might prevent PPP from holding true? The purchasing power parity tells us the a unit of any given currency should be able to buy the same quantity of goods in all countries. This principle is based on the fact that prices should remain constant for goods no matter where the goods are purchased, otherwise there is an opportunity for profit that was left un-exploited. The theory has 2 holes in it. Firstly, some goods are not easily traded, and secondly, some goods cannot easily be substituted for another. 3. Describe supply and demand in the market for loanable funds and the market for foreign currency exchange. How are these markets linked? Supply and demand of loanable funds is determined by the real interest rate. A higher interest rate causes people to save and raises supply where a lower real interest rate does the opposite. In the market for foreign currency exchange, the real exchange rate balances out supply and demand. A higher U.S. real exchange rate increases U.S. goods compared to foreign goods, and exports fall. These 2 markets are linked because between the 2 of them, they determine national saving, domestic investment, net capital exports and net exports. 4. What is capital flight? When a country experiences capital flight, what is the effect on the countrys interest rate and exchange rate? Capital flight is a large and sudden reduction in the demand for assets located in a country. The currency of the country depreciates in value and the interest rate rises. 5. List and explain the three theories for why the short-run aggregate-supply curve is upward sloping. Sticky wages. Wages are slow to adjust and may not be able to be changed. Steady wages can be harmful to a company and cause them to have lower production levels. Nominal wages are based on expected prices and are slow to respond when the actual prices ends up being different. Sticky price. Prices for some goods and services also are â€Å"sticky† and take time to adjust. This is due in part to â€Å"menu costs†, or the administrative costs incurred by changing the prices of a product in a firm. Misperceptions. Different businesses read the market different ways. A misperception in the trend of the market can cause suppliers to supply more product, even when the demand is not truly there. 6. What might shift the aggregate-demand curve to the left? Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to trace through the short-run and long-run effects of such a shift on output and the price level. Use the following diagram to help explain your answer. Point A is the short-run equilibrium point whereas Point C is the long run equilibrium point. Higher prices lower costs and shift demand to the left (lower). If for say, the current market price of this item is at Point C, and the market price drops, the demand for the item will rise, shifting the curve to the left. 7. Suppose the Fed expands the money supply, but because the public expects this Fed action, it simultaneously raises its expectation of the price level. What will happen to output and the price level in the short run? Compare this result to the outcome if the Fed expanded the money supply but the public didn’t change its expectation of the price level? Use the diagram below to explain your answer. The output should remain constant if the FED had raised its expectation of the price level over time, but immediately, the raise is price would cause in increase in production. The equilibrium point should shift from point a, to point c temporarily, then up to point out as it balances out. If the FED did not change it’s expectations in the price levels, than the equilibrium should move to pint c from pint a, and stay there. 8. What is the theory of liquidity preference? How does it help explain the downward slope of the aggregate-demand curve? This is the theory that the interest rate adjust to bring the money supply and demand into equilibrium. A higher price level increases the demand for money, as people will carry more to pay the higher prices. Higher prices in turn causes a higher interest rate. The higher interest rate reduces goods demanded, and supply will also shift downward. 9. Suppose that survey measures of consumer confidence indicate a wave of pessimism is sweeping the country. If policymakers do nothing, what will happen to aggregate demand? Explain what the Fed should do if it wants to stabilize aggregate demand. If the Fed does nothing, explain what Congress might do to stabilize aggregate demand. If policy makers do nothing, demand will fall, so will production and employment. Eventually, recession and possible depression afterwards. The Fed can do things such as lowering the interest rate to help stimulate the economy. Congress may decide to cut taxes in an attempt to simulate the economy, but they can also increase government spending to stabilize the economy. 10. What is natural about the natural rate of unemployment? Explain why the natural rate of unemployment might differ across countries. The natural means that it is beyond the influence of monetary policy. Different countries have different abilities, laws and demand for employment. For instance, the country may not be able to organize in the same fashion as a union shop here is the US. might. 11. What causes the lags in the effect of monetary and fiscal policy on aggregate demand? What are the implications of these lags for the debate over active versus passive policy? Aggregate demand has lags in policy due to the time it takes for the policy to take affect. Additionally, the spending plans are set in advance so it also takes time for changes to affect spending. The biggest issue is the ability to time the policy correctly, since it takes time for everything to adjust. 12. Some economists say that the government can continue running a budget deficit forever. How is that possible? Since population and technological progress grow over time, so do a nation’s ability to repay the interest on it’s debt. As long as the debt grows slower than the nation’s income, this is possible. Reference: Mankiw, N. G. (2008). Principles of Macroeconomics. Fifth Edition. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

E-commerce innovation Essay Example for Free

E-commerce innovation Essay Abstract The 21st century has been an era of technological development. Life has been a huge success it is possible to get almost anything that you want. Business done through the aid of an internet is called electronic commerce. This kind of business has boomed in the 21st century with the massive availability of personal computers and laptops. Anyone who has been into shopping online will not miss e-bay. E-bay is one shopping center online that has recently been a favorite of those who loves to do shopping without a hassle. E-bay has been in the business for twelve years. This study embark upon the organizational framework of e-bay that aid them in generating more than they have imagined and the organizational strategies of e-bay. Anyone who gets into business has only one thing in mind, success. Success for one business depends on a lot of factors. Apart from its product, the management and the team behind it matters most. This holds true especially for the e-commerce business because this needs a lot of effort on the part of the management to make it appealing to online customers and to make it worthy of trust of many to believe and give their credit card numbers and trust it with money matters. eBay offers more than just a place for auction; they have numerous programs that cater to the need of its client. E-bay has not only conquered North America but also Asia and Europe. The analysis of the organizational strategies of e-bay was done by doing a content analysis of the documents released regarding their system of management. Introduction The 21st century has been an era of technological development. Life has been a huge success it is possible to get almost anything that you want. Development has been continuous and this is not going to stop. Each tries to adapt to the changes that happens in his life and he has to deal with it. Everything happens in the internet, anything that one could think of. There is internet shopping, online education and internet banking and so many more. Since the time internet came into being; information gathering has never been easy. Nowadays, we can get all information that we need with just one snap of the finger. Name the service that you want and the internet has it. You need to study? The web has a site for online education. Need help on money matters? There’s online banking. You would like to shop but have no time to stand up from your work? Even shopping can be done online. Doing business online is termed as e-commerce or e-business. Examples of internet websites that cater to e-commerce business would be commercial sites like Amazon.com, Buy.com, and eBay (Sharpened, 2002). Within these sites, one could do online shopping. Business done through the aid of an internet is called electronic commerce. This kind of business has boomed in the 21st century with the massive availability of personal computers and laptops. Forrester research has recorded total of $12.2 billion sales in 2003 contributed by e-commerce industry (Wikipedia). E-commerce was introduce in the seventies and has evolved in its use since. In the seventies it was only use for transferring of funds and data electronically to aid companies. Then in the eighties the growth of automated teller machines and online banking was because of e-commerce as well. In the nineties, shopping online was the other kind of e-commerce that was introduced in the business (Wikipedia). Anyone who has been into shopping online will not miss e-bay. E-bay is one shopping center online that has recently been a favorite of those who loves to do shopping without a hassle. E-bay has been in the business for twelve years. This company has been a fruit of a trial and error of three prominent people in the business now. The three icons of e-bay are Pierre Omidyar, Meg Whitman and Jim Griffith. These three have made a beautiful outcome of a trial business that has been a very good decision. If to be compared to its contemporary e-commerce websites that were born the same time that they were, their capitalization is twenty five percent more than that of its counterpart (Maney, 2005). What is the secret behind e-bay’s success? What is the organizational framework of e-bay that aid them in generating more than they have imagined in a business that some has notes as skeptical? What could be the organizational strategies of e-bay? Literature Review Anyone who gets into business has only one thing in mind, success. Success for one business depends on a lot of factors. Apart from its product, the management and the team behind it matters most. This holds true especially for the e-commerce business because this needs a lot of effort on the part of the management to make it appealing to online customers and to make it worthy of trust of many to believe and give their credit card numbers and trust it with money matters. Companies try to always to check their management system is helping flourish their business. Business strategies are needed to make sure that one stays in the market long. To make sure that everything is in order, one needs to check if its employees are able to meet up the standards set by the company. The development of the use of corporate code of conducts to govern the behavior of employees has flourished since the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977. Back then this code of conducts or corporate social responsibility (CSR) was seen as explicit directives for the employees but today employers were able to understand that these are helpful tools in handling their employees and making their work advantageous for the company. Culture set the business behavior that surrounds a corporations code of conduct. Factors that are included are the way we comprehend the environment, how we use time and power, how we perceive space and structures. Also included is our perception of collective and individual task or relationships. If manage properly, CSR can help in fulfilling economic, social and environmental ambitions. Vital part of corporate governance will include the way codes of conduct are integrated in their operations. To make sure that a global company is competing ethically and effectively, one needs to make sure that the company’s code of conduct are made known to their employees so that they could incorporate it in their way of working (Wozniak, 1997). HSBC is one organization that provides banking and financial services that is doing its best to make up for all the losses and is giving a promising return to its consumers. They might not be the largest company but they have been awarded a couple of excellence award because of their great customer relation and promising return of investments. HSBC has now what a strategic plan they named Managing for Growth. HSBC has lay down their ways for achieving their objective of having an accelerated their rate of revenue. They still have to develop their brand strategy and improve their productivity at the same time maintaining strong position regarding management risk and financial aspect. Employees are also part of those that needs enhancing to make sure that they will be successful in achieving their goals. Part of the company’s plan is giving good rewards to those employees who will achieve the criteria that they have set (HSBC fact sheet, 2006). Every company has their own strategy but the burden lies in properly executing this strategies. Chapman (2004) has concluded that almost ninety percent of companies fail in properly executing their strategies. Studies show that when CEO’s who have failed have been interviewed said that the thing that led them to downfall was the bad execution of strategies that they have formulated. Only fourteen percent of those included in Times 1000 companies have commented that they are implementing good strategies. (Chapman, 2004) Proper management of business and financial risk is needed in order to ensure that an industry like the online shopping and any traditional company associated with it is here to stay. It is easy to acquire a debt but maintaining its positive impact in one company needs a lot of effort and planning. Business risk should be managed well and risk should be realigned in a way to cut costs; Optimized firm’s operating and financing costs; Trade off fixed charge and variable charge costs; Risk management; and when to increase and decrease risk. (Brackers, 2004) Methodology Analysis of the organizational strategies of e-bay by doing a content analysis of the documents released regarding their system of management. Findings / Results E-bay is a phenomenal hit when it comes to online shopping. Their organizational structure is just the same with other big companies. Reports shows that executives of this big company has still the traditional job titles but with a little modification with their job descriptions. To make an organizational structure of an online shopping business advantageous one needs to put more emphasis on its account management and customer relationship manpower (Keen and Qureshiï€ ª, 2006). Most of e-bays top ranking officials are graduates of good international universities and they have satisfactory working experiences as well. Most of them have taken a degree from Stanford University. E-bay has not only conquered North America but also Asia and Europe. There were twelve countries included in the Asian region, thirteen in the European region, greater part of Canada and United States (http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/thecompany/companyoverview.html). eBay offers more than just a place for auction; they have numerous programs that cater to the need of its client. These services include The eBay Marketplace, this is where customers could buy and sell their products; PayPal, aids in online monetary transactions of companies and individuals; Skype, is the program of e-bay that is focus on internet communication; Shopping.com, as name implies this is a site for shopping and more shopping that is; Rent.com, is the online apartment listing of eBay in the United States; and Online Classifieds, is a part of the eBay program that is an aid on the communication on a local level. (http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/thecompany/companyoverview.html). As recorded, the total number of eBay users worldwide has reach one hundred eighty one million. This total number of users has given eBay total revenue of $44.3 billion in 2005. The good quality of the developer of eBay is that they never loose hope despite all the adversities that they had. They wee also well in choosing in whom to put in specific spots that they needed. Pierre Omidyar, the chairman of eBay, has made a good choice when he chose Meg Whitman to handle his company. Advertisements play a major role in the success of one company as they help in creating public awareness. The first PR Manager of eBay has shown her passion for her work by creating a very good â€Å"myth† about the company. She has used every advertisement techniques to make a good reputation for the company. This good reputation of the company has been a collaboration of good advertisement techniques and good feedback of the services that they provide (Maney, 2005). Customer relationship is an important aspect in retaining customers; this could be achieved by providing a fast and reliable service. Omidyar has commented that aside from carefully managing their employees, the success of e-bay could be attributed to the right decision prowess of its CEO, Whitman. She was able to understand well that an online auction web also needs guiding and understanding the growing community of eBay sellers. Whitman’s strategy in managing the organization was being flexible and keeping in phase with the fast movement of the business (Maney, 2005). The total crash of the eBay sites that happened last June 10, 1999 has humbled the company and has teach the company on some pints regarding taking care of their system and clients as well. The system has crashed for a total of twenty-two hours. They had contacted all those affected by the system crash and this has made a direct impact on the customers, making them feel like they were really an important element of the organization. eBay has let the customers help themselves by providing a framework of a self-serve site. eBay has been an icon in the online business that even school try to use the site to teach students about e-commerce (Johnston, 2002). Conclusions/ Recommendations Any business needs an amount of risk and determination to succeed. The capital is one important factor that determines the future of one industry that is why it is important that the amount invested in any given company or business is carefully monitored if it is being use to the fullest and if it will augment to all the needs needed to make it. The capital of one company could be handled well if they have the right organizational strategies. In electronic business the common problems that may arise will be rejection of service attacks, viruses, obliteration, and theft of their intellectual property. These problems could be prevented if the organization has good managerial considerations and technical options. There should be a balance between internal and external security management (Greiger and Wegman., 2002). Each component contributes to the behavior of the system. No component has an independent effect on the system. The behavior of the system is changed if any component is removed or changed. The system has an outside an environment which provides inputs into the system and receives outputs from the system. All customers want a company that would work to their advantage without any surprises regarding deals made between him and the financial company. They would love someone who could provide them and first-rate service and a bank that has security that they could provide service for a long time. Money matter is one issue among the working citizens that requires them to think a hundred times before getting the service of any financial company. There are a lot of companies that tries to persuade them to invest in their company and that they will be getting their money’s value. Assessing one program’s effectiveness is crucial to its success. Evaluations of the advertisements and marketing strategy could guide the company if there adjustments are needed. Evaluation of the trend of existing customers would be one way of checking if objectives are being met. This could be on the form of surveys and questionnaires regarding how they foresee the services being provided. The key to a successful partnership is inter-dependency. In choosing an e-commerce site that would provide the services needed by one person, they must make sure that they are dealing with the best in the field. A customer must make sure that they are entrusting their money with the correct organization, whenever it is the traditional way or online. Reference Brackers, Kevin. (2004). Chapter 13: Capital Restructure. Pittsburg State University. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.pittstate.edu/econ/ch12326.html Chapman, Alan. (2004). Strategy Implementation and Realization. Farsight Leadership Ltd. Businessball.com. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.businessballs.com/businessstrategyimplementation.htm Greiger, Joseph and Jerry Wegman. (2002). Small Business and E-Commerce: Strategic and Legal Concerns. University of Idaho. Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://www.cbe.uidaho.edu/wegman/geiger-wegman%202002%20website.htm HSBC fact sheet. 2006. HSBC Global Site. Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://www.hsbc.com/hsbc/investor_centre/fast-facts Johnston, Timothy C. (2002). Using E-bay to teach E-commerce. The University of Tennessee at Martin. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.utm.edu/staff/johnston/papers/ebayteachec.doc Keen, Peter and Sajda Qureshiï€ ª. (2006). Organizational Transformation through Business Models: A Framework for Business Model Design. Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/HICSS39/Best%20Papers/OS/08-14 05.pdf#search=organizational%20framework%20of%20ebay Maney, Kevin. (2005). 10 years ago, eBay changed the world. USA Today. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-21-ebay-cover_x.htm Miner, John B. (2005) Organizational Behavior I: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership. HF5549 2005-003746 0-7656-1523-1 Sharpe, Inc. Reference Research Book News. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/search?tb=artqt=Organizational+behavior+/+Analysis Sharpened Productions. (2006). Definition of E-commerce. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/definition.php?ecommerce The Ebay company. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/thecompany/companyoverview.html Wikipedia. (2006) E-commerce. Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce Wozniak, Lynne. (1997) International Business Ethics: When a Corporate Code of Conduct is Not Enough.. Relocation Journal Real Estate News. Retrieved September 17, 2006 from http://www.relojournal.com/july97/ethics.htm

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Attitudes towards homosexuality among university students

Attitudes towards homosexuality among university students In 2006, Answers Corporation explained that homosexuality is a term created by 19th century. The meaning of homosexual is, having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex (The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, 2006). Homosexuality includes two groups, which are female homosexuality and male homosexuality. Female homosexuality is described as lesbianism and the male homosexuality is described as gay (Answers Corporation, 2006). At the beginning, some of the psychologists said that homosexuality is a mental illness and put it into the list of mental disorder. However, after some of the studies, they realized that homosexuality is not a mental disorder because it is related to psychological disturbance and is in no sense of mental problem as well. So, homosexuality removed from the list of mental disorders (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). The factors that lead to homosexuality are critical and discuss by many specialist fields such as psychologists and psychiatrists. View of Psychologists toward Reason of Homosexuality In Robinson study (as cited in Facts about Homosexuality and Mental Health, n.d.), early of the twentieth century, Ellis (1901) argued that homosexuality was inborn and it was not immoral, not a disease, and that many homosexuals made outstanding contributions to society. Sigmund Freud has a different theory of human sexuality from Ellis. He believed that all human beings were innately bisexual. Human beings become heterosexual or homosexual as a result of what they have experiences with other people or environment that surrounding of them. Freud also agreed with Ellis that homosexual orientation should not be viewed as a form of pathology (Facts about Homosexuality and Mental Health, n.d.). He wrote a letter to an American mother in 1935. He said that, people cant get any advantages from their homosexual orientation. But, they were always blamed, discriminated by other people. Actually, homosexuality is not a sin, not an illness as well. He also said that, we need to see it as a sexual function produced by certain sexual development. There are many individuals of ancient and modern times that were respect by us are homosexuality. According to him, it is injustice and cruelty to describe that homosexuality is a crime and sin. He told the American mother that, analysis may let her son feel harmony, peace and full efficiency when her son in the time of unhappy, neurotic, torn by conflicts, and inhibited in the social life whether he remains a homosexual or gets changed (Facts about Homosexuality and Mental Health, n.d.). View of Reincarnation Researchers toward Reason of Homosexuality According to Dr. Ian Stevenson, he concludes that homosexuality is a natural human trait that results from the reincarnation of a person of one gender as a person of the opposite gender. Such people must adjust to their new gender and sexuality at an early age. The difficulty of adjusting relating to the sex change and lead to homosexuality later on in their lives (as cited in Williams, 2006). Reincarnation means the soul occupation a new body after the death of the former body (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2006). The classic form of the reincarnation doctrine was formulated in India, but certainly not earlier than the 9th century BC, when the Brahmana writings were composed. After the Upanishads clearly defined the concept between the 7th and the 5th century BC, it was adopted by the other important Eastern religions which originated in India, Buddhism and Jainism. Due to the spread of Buddhism in Asia, reincarnation was later adopted by Chinese Taoism, but not earlier than the 3rd century BC (Reincarnation, its meaning and consequences, n.d.). Former girls who are reborn as boys may wish to dress as girls or prefer to play with girls rather than boys. Former boys who are reborn as girls may wish to dress as boys or prefer to play with boys rather than girls. Former men who are reborn as women will be attracted to women and will therefore be lesbian. Former women who are reborn as men will be attracted to men and will therefore be gay (as cited in Williams, 2006). Former means past-life or previous life and reborn mean present lifetime. In many cases the person begins talking about his or her life or lives before the present lifetime, about their previous death and about the time between lives including the planning of the present lifetime (as cited in Williams, 2006). So, Dr. Ian Stevenson concludes that, homosexuality is the stem of reincarnation. Beside of the factors to cause homosexuality, the factors that influence people attitudes towards homosexuality are also very controversial. Different people may bring out different of attitudes, thinking, feeling and behaviors towards homosexuality. The differences can be considered contribute to some of the factors such as personal and social factors. Personal Factors that Influence Attitudes towards Homosexual Age. Have a measure of tolerance of homosexual behaviors from attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, such as the nations of Australia, USA, Norway, and others indicated that the higher points of tolerance scored as 100 and the lowest point as 0. The higher the tolerance scored the higher the acceptance of homosexuality. The predicted level of tolerances for young people age 20 would be 53 points. People in middle age have tolerance scores of 43 points by age 40. At age 60, the tolerance scored is about 33 and with 23 points at age 80. It showed that, as the age increasing, the tolerance scored of homosexual was decreasing. The tolerance point of elder was low compare to younger people (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). Beside of the factors of age, the attitudes also influences by religion. Religion background. Different religious will makes a large difference to tolerance of homosexuality. According to a test of measure of homosexual behaviors tolerance, the higher points of tolerance scored as 100 and the lowest point as 0. The higher the tolerance scored the higher acceptance of homosexuality. Ardent believers in a personal God would rate homosexual behavior at 28 points. But, staunch atheists who are totally reject the idea of personal God rate homosexuality at 59 points (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). It obviously showed that, Ardent believers in a personal God was less accepting to homosexuality which rate 28 points compare to staunch atheists who totally reject the idea of personal God which rate 59 points (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). Beside that, church goers are less tolerant of homosexuality than those who are never darken a churchs door. People who are regular going to church rate 32 points, and those who are shunning the church were rating 48 points (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). It is because according to Christians, homosexuality violating some of Gods most basic commandments for humanity. Christians belief in Gods condemnation of homosexuality is claimed to be so important that forcing them to treat gays equally means forcing them to violate their religious beliefs (Cline, n.d.). In nearly all societies throughout human history, religion offers answers to fundamental questions concerning the origin and meaning of things. Religious systems of explanation offer accounts of the creation of the world, as well as specifying the rules for proper behavior-and the consequences for infractions-that have been imposed by the Creator (Gross, 2005). Christianity traditionally forbid sexual relations between people of the same sex and teaches that such behavior is sinful (Gross, 2005). So, religious belief and church attendance have strongly influence on attitudes towards homosexuality in almost 29 nations. Beside of the factors of religion, the attitudes toward homosexuality also influences by faculty of study among students (Societal Attitudes towards Homosexuality, 2006). Faculty of study. Students who studied faculties of Arts or Social Science had more positive attitudes toward gay man compared to Science or Business students. The result revealed that students in the faculties of Arts and Social Science had more positive attitudes towards homosexual compare with students in faculties Business and Science (Schellenberg, Hirt and Sears, 1999). It shows that there are two possible reasons that determined these results. First, students who value traditional sex roles may be the most likely to select programs in faculties of business and sciences where political attitudes are conservative. Second, students with less value traditional sex roles may be the most likely to select programs in faculties of Art and Social Science. It is because they thought the departments are more liberal (Schellenberg, Hirt and Sears, 1999). In academic field, beside the factor of different faculty of study, the educational level also plays a very important role to determine the attitudes towards homosexuality. Educational level. The higher years of education people involve, the higher scored of tolerances people have. The higher points of tolerance scored as 100 and the lowest point as 0. The higher of tolerance scored sign that it is more acceptance of homosexuality (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). The point of tolerances was 34 out of 100 rating by people who with 8 years of education. Those with 10 years of education were rating 38 points and people who have complete 2 years masters degree after 4 year bachelors degree was rating 51 points. So, the gap between the least educated and the most educated is 17 points. (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). This tolerance-enhancing effect of education actually is link to other forces which importantly depend on the independent of age, so the lesser censure of homosexuality among the highly educated cannot be attributed to a changing social climate. The age effects themselves suggest that there is a changing social climate, but the education effects are in addition to that (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). Other than that, gender also likely to have strongly influences on the attitudes towards homosexuality. Many researchers conducted researches that related to gender differences and their attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. Gender. Gender belief system is the pattern of masculine or feminine behavior of an individual that is defined by a particular culture and that is largely determined by a childs upbringing (Answers.com, 2006). Kite and Whitley suggested that men rating the gay men more negative than women, but they were same in the rating of lesbians. Within the male and female, women made approximately equal rating of lesbians and gay men, but mens rating of lesbians were more positive than rating of gay men (as cited in Louiderback Whitley, 1997). According to Kite and Whitley study, it is because people who have strong gender belief system have more negative attitudes towards homosexual because homosexuality violates the norms of that belief system. Also, men held more traditional sex-role attitudes than women. So, in the perspective of men, male should be act more masculine and aggressive. They also strongly hold the traditional sexual orientation which is heterosexuality (as cited in Louiderback Whitley, 1997). Beside that, a study (as cited in Schellenberg, Hirt and Sears 1999.), it also showed that male hold more negative attitudes towards gay men than lesbians, and, they also hold more negative attitudes to homosexual compare with female. Different attitude towards homosexuality is the impact of personal factors. But, the social factors also have certain level of impact on the attitudes towards homosexuality. Social Factors that Influence Attitudes towards Homosexual Media. Dissemination of information about homosexuality in marketing, television shows, and public opinion polls, will affect the attitudes of public toward homosexuals no matter it is accurate or inaccurate. The information of homosexuals will lead to AIDS has strong impact on attitudes towards homosexuality. The perpetuation of homophobic attitudes such as the treatment of people with HIV, moralistic interpretations of people with AIDS, certain conceptions about the methods of HIV transmitted, media representation of AIDS, and even the way in which medicines objectivity reinforces a moral view inimical to gay men, lesbians and bisexuals (Anderson, Fakhfakh, Kondylis, 1999). Many of the researches have approved that some of the factors influence attitudes towards homosexuality. There are also some of the researches conducted by researchers to approve whether the stereotypes of people towards homosexuality is correct or not. Social differences. Social differences in the tolerance of homosexuality are quite large. This can help to explain why people living in different social circles have different perceptions of what the average Australian thinks. For example, 70 years old had left school at the end of year 10, and who holds strong religious beliefs and attends church regularly would rate homosexual behaviors at just 1 point out of 100 or always wrong (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). Stereotypes towards Homosexuality Characteristics. Normally, people would like to believe that gay men are effeminate and lesbians are tomboys while there are some homosexual people who fit these stereotypes. But, actually they are not representative of all homosexual people. So, the stereotypes of characteristics of homosexual people are not correct at all (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). Duration of relationship. Studies indicate that people would have the stereotypes that homosexual person will not involve in long-term, stable and close relationship with their partners. But, it is not unusual to find homosexuality couples who had been together for over twenty years (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). Homosexual parents. Some people believe that children of gay or lesbian people are more likely to grow up to be homosexual as their parents. Beside that, people also believe that these children will grow up without appropriate ethical values. In fact, homosexual parents would like to teach their children the values of kindness and charity because they are the victims of hate and discrimination in society (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). According to Family Research Report (2001), children who have homosexual parents would be expected to do less well than kids in general in school, on the job, in marriage, raising their own kids, and others. Normally, children of homosexual parents cannot do well in sex identity, language skills and mathematics fields compare to children of heterosexual parents. But, children of homosexual parents hold strongly social study than children of heterosexual parents. However, they have tries to be successful in life. So not every child with homosexual parents would be expected to be a failure, nor would every child raised by a homosexual parent be expected to fail. Likewise, not every child rose by a married mother and father would be expected to succeed (Family Research Report, 2001). Religion. The vast majority of the worlds churches take the stance that homosexual acts are a sin. To cite an example of a religious viewpoint, the Roman Catholic Church in a passage from its Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, states, As in every moral disorder, homosexual activity prevents ones own fulfillment and happiness by acting contrary to the creative wisdom of God. Homosexuality is labeled as a moral disorder; it is not regular or acceptable (The Scientific Debate on Homosexuality, n.d.). People believe that Christians are disagreeing homosexuality. Some religious groups interpret certain biblical passages as injunctions against homosexuality, while others view these passages in the light of historical context, much like slavery. Actually, many Christians were condemning discrimination and prejudice. They welcome and affirm homosexual Christians into the body of Christ, with unique gifts to offer (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). Beside to conduct researches to reveal the stereotypes of people towards homosexuality is correct or not, there also a research on how the public opinion towards homosexuality among different nations. Public Opinion toward Homosexual among Different Nations In study of Societal Attitudes towards Homosexuality (2006), it showed that the result of acceptance homosexuality in Africa and the Middle East are tend to strongly disagree. But, major Latin American countries such as Mexico and Brazil accept homosexuality. At Australia 1999, the result showed that 28% of people think that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are not wrong at all, 15 % think that it is wrong only sometimes, 9 % think that it is almost always wrong, and 48% think that it is always wrong (Attitude towards homosexuality in 29 nations, n.d.). According to Robinson (2003), Apoll by the Gallup Organization from United State has conducted a research of acceptable of homosexuality in the public. The result showed the percentage of the survey result: do you personally believe that it is acceptable or not acceptable for gays and lesbians to engage in same-sex behavior? as in 1982-JUN, there was 34% people accept homosexuality and by 1992-JUN, there was an increasing percentage which is 38%. In 1992-MAR, there was 44% and by 1997-APR, there was 42%. In 1999-FEB, there was 50 % and by 2001-MAY, there was 52%. There was 51% in 2002-MAY and 54% in 2003-MAY. It showed that the percentage of acceptable towards homosexuality in the United State is increasing by year of 1982 to 2003. The Pew Research Centers 2003 Global Attitudes Survey found that, people in Africa and the Middle East strongly object to societal acceptance of homosexuality. But there is far greater tolerance for homosexuality in major Latin American countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Opinion in Europe is split between West and East. Majorities in every Western European nation surveyed say homosexuality should be accepted by society, while most Russians, Poles and Ukrainians disagree. 51% of Americans believes homosexuality should be accepted, while 42% disagree (as cited in Societal Attitudes towards Homosexuality, 2006). Significant of This Study Based on the above introduction, one can see the important of understanding of students attitude to homosexuality. Firstly, according to Lisa Lamar and Mary Kite (1998), it said that males have more negative attitudes towards gay men and this is due to gender roles factor. However, Schellenberg, Hirt Sears (1999), found that males who study in Arts and Social Sciences have more positive attitudes towards gay men. So, this study want to know UTAR Psychology course students attitudes towards gay men is affected by gender roles or the faculties that they have chose. Second, according to research of Brownell, he found that religions are related to negative attitudes towards lesbian and gay men. Malaysia have many types of religions include Islamic, Buddhist, Indian, and others. This study wants to know are there having differences of attitudes between religions in Malaysia or not. This will make us know more about how the attitudes of different religions people towards lesbian and gay men. This can reduce conflict or make different religions people can communicate easily. Third, Many students have confused or varying opinions on homosexuality. It is important for all students to come to terms with what they currently think and feel about homosexuality (Tozeland, Loewen, Monteith, n.d.). This study want to let them conscious about their attitudes towards homosexual and let them decide they want to change it or not. Beside that, through this study, students of psychology course can more concern about issue of homosexuality and conduct or do further research on it. The further research can help public know about homosexual such as why homosexual, what reason to make them become homosexual, and others. Once public know more about the homosexual group, they might change their attitudes towards homosexual as well as reduce their discrimination perception towards homosexual. This study will determine whether the result of this study same with the result of previous researches or not. For this study, it should make a clear distinction of attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women with divide the homosexual to lesbian and gay men. For example, many of previous research conducted research by using the term homosexual but do not divide the term homosexual into gay men and lesbian women. Research Questions For this study, it will explore the gender influences on attitudes towards homosexuality among university students. We would like to understand more about the gender differences of acceptance of homosexuality among university students. Beside that, this study will determine whether the result is same with the result of previous researches or not. The research questions in this study are as follows. First, are there any gender differences in the attitudes towards lesbian and homosexual? Second, is there any gender difference in their knowledge of homosexual? Third, are there any religion differences in their attitude towards lesbian and homosexual? Fourth, is there any religion difference in their knowledge of homosexual? CHAPTER II METHOD Participants 118 Psychology students from year 1 to year 3 in University Tunku Abdul Rahman were selected as the sample of this study. Simple random method was used in the selection. There are 82 females and 36 females. All of the students who participated in the survey are simple random sampling. Materials Questionnaire. The survey conducted using questionnaire (see Appendix 1). All participants completed a 4 pages questionnaire consisting of two sections. Instructions accompanying the questionnaire guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality. The first part is about the respondents demographic such as gender, age, year, race, and religion. The second part is about respondents attitudes toward lesbian and gay. There are 32 questions in this test. In this test, the first 4 questions are asked about the general attitudes towards homosexuality such as a) I know about homosexuals, and b) Sexual orientation is caused by genes, but not the environment (see appendix 1). Question 5 to 18 is asked about the attitudes towards lesbians such as a) Lesbians just cant fit into our society, b) exual relations between two female is wrong, c) Female homosexuality is a sin and, d) Lesbians are sick (see appendix 1). Question 19 to 32 is asked about the attitudes towards gay men such as a) I think male homosexuals are disgusting, b) Male homosexuality is a perversion, c) Sexual relations between two male is wrong and, d) Homosexual behavior between two men is just plain wrong (see appendix 1). Participants had to rate on the Likert Scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree) according to their attitudes towards homosexual which include lesbian and gay man. Software. SPSS for Windows (12.0) was used for all statistical analyses. Procedures The survey was conducted by using simple random sampling design. A sampling frame, which is the numbered name lists of students from Year One to Year Three Psychology class at UTAR was obtained from the Faculty General Office. All the name of the students were mixed and came out with a new name list (see Appendix 2). A sample size of 118 was selected. The simple random sampling was conducted as follows: A starting point in the table of Random Numbers in the Appendix 4 was chosen using a finger stab. The stab came down at column 6, row 15 at the entry 13916. As the sampling frame ranged from 1 to 301, the left three numbers in each set of five were used when drawing the sample. The number 0 was ignored if that number over 301. The numbers to be included in sampling were been identified by moving across the table from left to right every alternate line started from up and down. The numbers got were highline in yellow color (see Appendix 3). We distributed the questionnaire to the samples that have been selected by simple random method through UTAR lecturers. The survey took between ten to five-teen minutes to complete and then collected back by lecturers after the respondents completed it in the same day. Instructions accompanying the questionnaire guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality. CHAPTER III RESULT Reliability Test There were five dimensions in the questionnaire. First, the dimension of Negative Attitudes toward Lesbians, it consisted by 10 questions which is from question 5 to question 14. The Cronbachs Alpha was 0.81 after questions 5, 7, 9, 13 were deleted (Table 1, pg 16). Therefore, the mean of these 6 items was calculated to represent the respondents negative attitudes toward lesbians. Second, for the dimension of Positive Attitudes toward Lesbians, it consisted by 4 questions which is from question 15 to question 18. There were 0.49 alphas when question 16 was deleted (Table 1, pg 16). For the dimension of Negative Attitudes toward Gay Men, it consisted by 10 questions which is from question 19 to question 28. There were 0.87 alphas when question 20 was deleted (Table 1, pg 16). For the dimension of Positive Attitudes toward Gay Men, it consisted by 4 questions which is from question 29 to question 32. There were 0.64 alphas and none of the questions being deleted (Table 1, pg 16). The reliability alpha of the question 1 to 4 was 0.01 alphas. So, these 4 questions cannot compute as one dimension and will be analyzed individually (see Table 1, pg 16). Table 1 Reliability test Dimension Cronbachs Alpha N of Items Items Negative Attitudes toward Lesbians 0.81 6 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 Positive Attitudes toward Lesbians 0.49 3 15, 17, 18 Negative Attitudes toward Gay Men 0.87 9 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Positive Attitudes toward Gay Men 0.64 4 29, 30, 31, 32 I know about homosexual Sexual orientation is caused by genes, but not the environment I have ever thought to myself when I found that an attractive person of the sex was homosexual-what a waste 0.01 4 1, 2, 3, 4 I have ever said, I dont mind homosexuals, as long as I dont have to see it or something similar Gender Differences toward Homosexual Negative attitudes toward lesbians. The results of Independent t- Tests showed that there was no significant difference between gender negative attitudes towards the lesbian, t (118) = 0.08, n.s. , where the mean for the negative attitudes toward lesbian for male students is 2.60 ( SD = 0.81), and 2.59 (SD = 0.71) for female students (Table 2, pg 19). Positive attitudes toward lesbians. The results of Independent t- Tests showed that there was no significant difference between gender positive attitudes toward the lesbians, t (118) = 0.31, n.s., where the mean for the positive attitudes toward lesbians for male students is 3.29 (SD = 0.66), and 3.32 (SD = 0.54) for female students (Table 2, pg 19). Negative attitudes toward gay men. The results of Independent t- Tests showed that there was a significant difference between gender negative attitudes toward gay men, t (118) = 2.24, p Positive attitudes toward gay men. The results of Independent t- Tests showed that there was no significant difference between gender positive attitudes toward gay men, t (118) = -1.520, n.s., where the mean for the positive attitudes toward gay men for male students is 3.11 (SD = 0.80), and 3.30 (SD = 0.52) for female students (Table 2, pg 19). Knowledge towards homosexuality. The results of Independent t- revealed that there was no significant difference between genders in their knowledge towards homosexuality. For the I know about homosexual, t (118) = 0.82, n.s., where the mean for the knowledge towards homosexuality for male students is 2.31 (SD=0.82), and 2.17 (SD=0.83) for female students. For the Sexual orientation is caused by genes, but not the environment, t (118) = -0.890, n.s., where the mean for the knowledge towards homosexuality for male students is 3.28 (SD=1.19), and 4.85 (SD=10.57) for female students. For the I have ever thought to myself when I found that an attractive person of the sex was homosexual-what a waste , t (118) = 0.921, n.s., where the mean for the knowledge towards homosexuality for male students is 2.83 (SD=0.97), and 2.65 (SD=1.03) for female students. For the I have ever said, I dont mind homosexuals, as long as I dont have to see it or something similar, t (118) = 0.403, n.s., where the mean for the knowledge towards homosexuality for male students is 3.97 (SD=0.61), and 3.92 (SD=0.76) for female students (see Table 2, pg 19). Table 2 Gender differences Dimension Mean t-Value p-Value Males Females Negative Attitudes toward Lesbians 2.60 (SD=0.81) 2.59 (SD=0.71) 0.080 0.94 Positive Attitudes toward Lesbians 3.29 (SD=0.66) 3.32 (SD=0.54) -0.31 0.76 Negative Attitudes toward Gay Men 3.03 (SD=0.83) 2.72 (SD=0.63) 2.24 0.027* Positive Attitudes toward Gay Men 3.11 (SD=0.80) 3.30 (SD=0.52) -1.520 0.13 I know about homosexual Sexual orientation is caused by genes, but not the environment I have ever thought to myself when I found that an attractive person of the sex was homosexual-what a waste I have ever said, I dont mind homosexuals, as long as I dont have to see it or something similar 2.31 (SD=0.82) 3.28 (SD=1.19) 2.83 (SD=0.97) 3.97 (SD=0.61) 2.17 (SD=0.83) 4.85 (SD=10.57) 2.65 (SD=1.03) 3.91 (SD=0.76) 0.82 -0.89 0.92 0.403 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.69 Note: * p Religion Differences toward Homosexual Negative attitudes toward lesbians. The results of Independent t- Tests showed that there was no significant difference between religions have negative attitudes towards lesbian, t (118) = 1.46, n.s., where the mean for negative attitudes toward lesbian for Buddhist is 2.65 (SD=0.76), and 2.42 (SD=0.67) for Chris

Saturday, July 20, 2019

tiger :: essays research papers

Class Overall, class was enjoyable. I learned many new things about the game of golf. The discussions of the history of the game and of the layout of the course allowed me to, in the period of one day, create a greater appreciation and understanding of the game of golf. I was interested and learned much about the history and development of golf and how certain ecological aspects of the course affect game play. Assigned Readings   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many of Updike’s articles were easy for me to relate to. Updike seems to me to be a very intent golfer who is very easily distracted and easily frustrated. He seems to love the game but finds it difficult to get good now that he is aging.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I especially like the way he writes the novel. Although at times he is difficult to follow, his wording makes the story interesting. My favorite aspect of the novel is the descriptive scenes he gives and how he develops them into extremely problematic situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the book, my favorite section is the â€Å"Golf Dreams† section. This is because of several reasons. Firstly, as I have mentioned, I like his style and descriptiveness of the scene. I also find it easy to relate to his situation where he makes everything seem much more difficult than it really is. Overall I enjoyed the first readings. Day 2 (May 14, 2002) Class   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today was a fairly relaxed class. Since I knew most of what was discussed, time seemed to pass quickly. The discussion over Golf Dreams was interesting and it caused me to think about the readings more than I had already done. Assigned Readings   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new Updike readings were not as interesting to me a the first readings were. I liked â€Å"The Pro† but that was about it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I noticed that his disgust with the way he was playing the game slowly depreciated and that he became more relaxed. He eventually makes himself a hypocrite in the fact that he just plays the game for fun and that he eventually accepts the gimmes and similar things he did not usually do. The Game of Golf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I thought that since this is a journal about golf it wouldn’t hurt to write about golf. Today I shot a 69 at our golf match. The worst part is I cheated. I told my opponent that I did cheat so that he could disqualify me but he didn’t believe me. The truth is I realized that golf really isn’t that important and that it is only fun when I really want to go to the course and play.

Self Destructive Behavior and Role of the I function Essay -- Biology

Self Destructive Behavior and Role of the I function The I function describes all behavior associated with the notion of self. Is there really a specific I function and what is its role exactly? Because the I function is linked to the self, one would think that it would prevent harmful behaviors. However, there are cases where the I function does not intervene to terminate detrimental actions for example addiction and a mental disorder called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. In both cases, a person is harming themselves and can not seem to stop. Does the I function play a role in self-destructive behavior? By researching addiction, more specifically alcoholism, and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, it is clear that the I function can be overruled by other structures of the brain even when harm to the body is one of the final outcomes. Addiction is defined as a physical and psychological dependence on a substance or behavior (1). Initially the behavior simply satisfies the person but turns into addiction when strong urges accompany the behavior and the person feels that it is needed to avoid painful feelings. What is causing the urges? The brain can be divided into two parts, the primitive brain and the new brain or the neocortex (2). The primitive or beast brain is responsible for survival appetites which are associated with physical pleasure. However, in order to satisfy the urges, the beast brain must communicate to the neocortex and cause the necessary motions to get the drug or exhibit the behavior. According to Rational Recovery (2), the neocortex, or you can overcome the beast brain. Is this alluding to the I function? If this is true, why did the behavior become an addiction in the first place? Where was the I function during that first d... ... the desires of the limbic system, but when necessary the limbic system can ignore the inhibition. There are three structures previously mentioned, the neocortex, the limbic system and the I function. Certainly the first two exist and have specific locations. The I function is only a hypothetical at this point. It fits conveniently into hypotheses. It has not yet been proven wrong but at the same time more evidence is found indicating that the I function can not be included in the same category as structures like the limbic system or the neocortex. It does not have a definite location or a definite purpose. Does the I function exist or is it just wishful thinking that somewhere in the brain is the self or the soul which has some control over our actions whether or not the influence is beneficial. Internet Sources: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC06/Gilman1.htm Self Destructive Behavior and Role of the I function Essay -- Biology Self Destructive Behavior and Role of the I function The I function describes all behavior associated with the notion of self. Is there really a specific I function and what is its role exactly? Because the I function is linked to the self, one would think that it would prevent harmful behaviors. However, there are cases where the I function does not intervene to terminate detrimental actions for example addiction and a mental disorder called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. In both cases, a person is harming themselves and can not seem to stop. Does the I function play a role in self-destructive behavior? By researching addiction, more specifically alcoholism, and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, it is clear that the I function can be overruled by other structures of the brain even when harm to the body is one of the final outcomes. Addiction is defined as a physical and psychological dependence on a substance or behavior (1). Initially the behavior simply satisfies the person but turns into addiction when strong urges accompany the behavior and the person feels that it is needed to avoid painful feelings. What is causing the urges? The brain can be divided into two parts, the primitive brain and the new brain or the neocortex (2). The primitive or beast brain is responsible for survival appetites which are associated with physical pleasure. However, in order to satisfy the urges, the beast brain must communicate to the neocortex and cause the necessary motions to get the drug or exhibit the behavior. According to Rational Recovery (2), the neocortex, or you can overcome the beast brain. Is this alluding to the I function? If this is true, why did the behavior become an addiction in the first place? Where was the I function during that first d... ... the desires of the limbic system, but when necessary the limbic system can ignore the inhibition. There are three structures previously mentioned, the neocortex, the limbic system and the I function. Certainly the first two exist and have specific locations. The I function is only a hypothetical at this point. It fits conveniently into hypotheses. It has not yet been proven wrong but at the same time more evidence is found indicating that the I function can not be included in the same category as structures like the limbic system or the neocortex. It does not have a definite location or a definite purpose. Does the I function exist or is it just wishful thinking that somewhere in the brain is the self or the soul which has some control over our actions whether or not the influence is beneficial. Internet Sources: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC06/Gilman1.htm