Daughter of Kami: Shinto and Christian themes in ‘Nausica of the Valley of the Wind’

Religion has affected art for centuries, because human responses to art and religion involve similar processes: imagination and emotional involvement (Beit-Hallami, 1983). It seems natural for religion to continue its influence on popular culture, especially film, because of its wide reach. However, looking at Japan, is it possible for a â€Å"non-Japanese† religion like Christianity to exert influence its popular culture, and to what extent? To answer this question, we look at the 1984 animated film of Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa). Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is said to be the quintessential Miyazaki film (Osmond, 1998) and it earned 740 million yen, with almost a million viewers. It owes its popularity to the incorporation of universal themes like religion, the environment and industrialisation. It contains so many themes, both Japanese (feudalism, Shinto) and non-Japanese (Greek Mythology, Christianity, European medievalism). It is interesting to note that Miyazaki is often described as a humanist, following no particular religion, yet Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ contains an almost equal amount of references to Shinto and Christianity in the film. There are many English versions of the various terms and names of the characters in the film, partly because there is a more complex manga of the same name. For ease of reference to the film, I use names and terms as they appear in the English-dubbed version of Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ released in 2005, to convey the Shinto and Christian elements found in the film, looking at broad themes as well as symbols. Film synopsis The story in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ takes place a thousand years after a global war, the â€Å"Seven Days of Fire.† Great Warriors, biological weapons with nuclear capabilities, destroyed everything. However, enclaves of surviving human colonies exist throughout the Fukai, or the Sea of Decay. ,The Fukai is a new ecosystem consisting of a vast toxic forest of giant fungi and giant insects with the Ohmu as guardians. The main protagonist is Princess Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, daughter of the ruler of the Valley, a feudal community protected from toxic spores by strong sea winds. She is a nature-loving pacifist with a gift for communicating with insects and animals. Lord Yupa, a wandering mentor, inspires her to find a way to stop the spread of the Fukai. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ often explores the Fukai to obtain plant samples and cultivate them in her secret room. One day, an airship carrying a Great Warrior embryo crashes into the Valley. This embryo was first unearthed by the Pejites, but it was stolen by the imperialistic Tolmekians. These two states intend to use the Great Warrior to destroy the Fukai and the insects. In the struggle for the Great Warrior, Tolmekia invades the Valley. The Fukai and the insects are assaulted in this struggle, and the Ohmu are baited to the Valley to destroy it. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sacrifices herself before the Ohmu, thereby calming their rage. They bring her back to life and heal her wounds, and then return to the Fukai, leaving life to return to normal in the Valley. Now we will look at two religions that are referred to extensively in the film: Shinto and Christianity. Shinto Traditional Japanese religiosity is a mixture of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and folk religions. â€Å"Shinto†, meaning â€Å"the way of the kami†, refers to the ancient native Japanese religious practices and sentiments. Shinto has four general tenets: worshipping and honouring the kami; love of nature; tradition and the family; and cleanliness (Picken, 1994, as cited in Wright, 2004). Muraoka Tsunetsugu (1964) distinguishes philosophical and ethical distinctive characteristics of Shinto: 1) accepting life and death, good and evil, as inevitable parts of the world we live in, and 2) reverence for the â€Å"bright† and â€Å"pure†, in all matter and thought, endeavoring to overcome physical pollution with rites of exorcism and bad thoughts with a â€Å"pure and bright heart†. The close link between humans, kami and nature, and the significance of purification and rituals are two themes in Japanese religion that carry on even to Japanese contempor ary religions today (Earhart, 1982). For the scope of this essay, I will look at the Shinto themes of harmony with nature, reverence for nature and life, and instance of purification and rituals found in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Wa, or harmony with nature is seen to be of utmost importance. One accepts the good and bad with nature, and tries to make peace with it. Miyazaki explains that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is based on a Phoenician princess in Homer's Odyssey and a Japanese heroine, a â€Å"princess who loved insects†1. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ believes that humans and the Fukai can live together in peace. She embodies the â€Å"relational resonance with humanity and the natural world† suggested by Tucker (1999). At any rate, the surviving humans have to learn to live with the Fukai or risk destruction by insects. The telepathic Ohmu and other insects can be seen as kami, animistic spirits with powers. The Ohmu went â€Å"blind with rage† when Pejites speared a baby Ohmu in order to bait the Ohmu towards the Valley and destroy the Tolmekians. Disharmony with nature is seen to have damaging consequences. In Japan, nature is still venerated and exalted, even though the actual state of nature may be the opposite. Shinto is associated with reverence for nature and all forms of life. In the first few minutes of the film, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is shown flying on her aircraft into the Fukai. The toxic jungle is rendered beautifully, with glittering poisonous plants, translucent flying insects and serene music in the background. Here we see the unconditional beauty of nature, be it harmless or poisonous. In a following scene Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ comes across a shell of an Ohmu. It takes up almost the whole frame and Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is miniscule in comparison. She pronounces the shell to be â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"amazing†. Embellished with vivid music, an image of a nature revered for its sacredness and perfection is projected. Reverence for nature also comes from seeing it as sacred, and from knowing its power. In the film, humans fear the lethal spores of the Fukai, and its constant spread. At the same time, as the viewer discovers later on, the Fukai actually has restorative powers. It is in fact cleansing the Earth of mankind's waste left behind from the Great War. Similarly, the Ohmu possess benevolent telepathic powers (although they can only communicate with Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) as well as the power to destroy humans and civilisation. In another scene, Kushana, commander of the Tolmekian army, announces her plan to burn the Fukai. In response, the Valley people exclaim in hushed tones, â€Å"Burn the Toxic Jungle?†, â€Å"Is it possible?† showing that they consider the Fukai indestructible. These powers of the Fukai and the Ohmu cause humans to fear and respect nature at the same time. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ reveres the life of both humans and insects. She implores countless times to the warring Pejites and Tolmekians, â€Å"Please, no more killing!† and â€Å"I can't bear to have anyone else die†. Instead of killing insects that attack humans, she uses an insect charm to calm them down and coax them back to the jungle. This was the case with an Ohmu who was chasing Lord Yupa, and a giant insect that caused the crash of a Tolmekian airship. When two Pejites captured a baby Ohmu to use as bait, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ risked injury and her life to try and return the baby Ohmu back to its herd. Being part of nature, both humans and insects are seen as equally important and worthy of preservation. Hence, we can see the importance of harmony with nature, because of its sanctity, power, and its inclusion of all forms of life. Another main theme in Shinto is the importance of purity and the use of rituals to overcome a state of contamination. In Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, the Earth has been polluted by mankind, the worst being the nuclear-like Great Warriors which ultimately resulted in the Earth's destruction. Nausicaa realises the toxic Fukai is actually purifying the world: wastes are absorbed by the trees, which turn into stone, crystallizing the poison into harmless sand. The Fukai symbolises a purifying ritual, comparable to how a â€Å"bright heart† would continuously purify itself by ridding itself of bad thoughts, or wastes. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is an example of a â€Å"pure and bright heart† (Tsunetsugu, 1964) who in her mission for peace, tries to purify the hearts of humans from their lust for war and bloodshed against each other and the Fukai. However, she does not have any clear â€Å"rituals† that she uses to achieve this purification except perhaps, her repeated self-sacrifice. In comparison, Kushana also has a purification ritual of her own. She wants to clear Earth of the Fukai by burning it and destroying it completely in order to build a â€Å"world of prosperity†. This idea of sacrifice brings us to the other religion alluded to repeatedly throughout the film: Christianity. Although Christianity is not native to Japan, and not very well-received throughout the years, its prophetic and theistic messages do have some universal value and some Japanese can relate to them as they are something different from the animistic elements of Shinto. Christianity In many ways, the appearance of strong elements of Christianity, a ‘foreign' religion, is not surprising. Miyazaki's work is strongly Western-influenced due to his education (Osmond, 1998). Christianity still has a relatively small following in Japan, because Shinto and Buddhist rituals are still a major part of Japanese life what it means to be ‘Japanese'. The Christian themes in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ constitute one of many foreign elements that Miyazaki has appropriated into this film. Here we will look at three doctrines of Christianity: redemption, original sin, and resurrection. Throughout the film, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ repeatedly saves people. When Lord Yupa, the samurai-like wanderer, returns to the Valley, he praises Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ by saying â€Å"Who else would rescue me when I'm in trouble?† In another scene, the barge carrying Valley hostages comes loose and is about to crash into the Fukai. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ cries out to them â€Å"Everybody! I'll save you for certain!† These examples show the Messianic nature of Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. To further cement her image as a prophet-like being, in another scene Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is speeding back to the Valley after escaping from a Tolmekian ship and in desperation she implores â€Å"Please dear God, please hear this prayer! You must protect the people of the Valley!† Obaba, the wise old woman of the valley, realises this explicitly for the benefit of viewers. At the beginning of the film, Obaba, or Grandmother, recounts the ancient legend of the saviour clad in blue who will come to save mankind and â€Å"guide the people†¦at last to a land of purity†. At the end of the film, she realises that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is the saviour spoken of in the legend. The theme of redemption is clearly portrayed in the film. However, why does mankind need to be saved? The doctrine of redemption comes hand in hand with the doctrine of the original sin. In the concept of the original sin, mankind is born in a state of sinfulness and is doomed to hell unless he is ‘saved' by accepting Christian beliefs. Lord Yupa explains that he wanders to find out â€Å"if mankind is truly fated to be swallowed up by (the Fukai), or if there is still some hope†. Obaba teases him, claiming that he is in fact looking for the blue-clad Saviour. The film addresses mankind's inevitable doom and the search for a saviour. Symbols play an important part in portraying the doctrine of resurrection. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ appears twice with her arms outstretched – reminiscent of Jesus being crucified on the cross – when trying to stop Asbel and the Pejites from shooting. Here we see that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ adopted such a gesture as a symbol of righteous fearlessness (she was determined to stop the killing that she felt was wrong) and surrender (she put herself at the Pejites' mercy). In trying to save her people from an attack by the Ohmus, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is shot twice, burned by acid and finally dies facing the Ohmu stampede. The Ohmus, however, revived Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Her death and resurrection mirrors that of Jesus' after his death and burial. At the end of the film, a chiko plant grows in the pure sand in the Fukai, symbolising the resurrection of nature at last. We see that it is not only Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, but also nature, that is brought back to life. Conclusion In this essay, we have seen that Christianity can indeed influence a Japanese anime, however, the Shinto elements in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ are far more extensive. The Shinto themes mainly stress mankind's relationship with nature while the Christian themes focus on mankind's destiny. Apparently Miyazaki did not intend to have such religious overtones in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. However, in the spirit of symbolic interactionism, these religious themes nevertheless have meaning for those who ascribe meanings to them. Viewers (like me) interpret the images and scenes in the film and make sense of them in different frameworks, such as religion. Did Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ manage to truly unite mankind with nature? Perhaps through the medium of popular cultures, she serves as a â€Å"female Japanese prophet† to remind us to strive towards peace and harmony with nature and mankind.

Hofstede analysis Essay

1. Power distance: the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. 2. Individualism- the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. 3. Masculinity / Femininity-The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).†¨ 4. Uncertainty avoidance – The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these †¨ 5. Long term orientation- the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view. Power distance Thailand scores 64 on PDI index, slightly lower than the average Asian countries (71). It is a society in which inequalities are accepted; a strict chain of command and protocol are observed. Each rank has its privileges and employees show loyalty, respect and deference for their superiors in return for protection and guidance. This may lead to paternalistic management.†¨Thus, the attitude towards managers are more formal, the information flow is hierarchical and controlled. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Individualism With a score of 20 Thailand is a highly collectivist country. This is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’ (a family, extended family, or extended relationships). Loyalty to the in-group in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.†¨In order to preserve the in-group, Thai are not confrontational and in there communication a â€Å"Yes† may not mean an acceptance or agreement. An offence leads to loss of face and Thai are very sensitive not to feel shamed in front of their group. Personal relationship is key to conducting business and it takes time to build such relations thus patience is necessary as well as not openly discuss business on first occasions. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Masculinity / Femininity Thailand scores 34 on this dimension and is thus considered a feminine society. Thailand has the lowest Masculinity ranking among the average Asian countries of 53 and the World average of 50. This lower level is indicative of a society with less assertiveness and competitiveness, as compared to one where these values are considered more important and significant. This situation also reinforces more traditional male and female roles within the population.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Uncertainty avoidance Thailand scores 64 on this dimension indicating a preference for avoiding uncertainty. †¨In order to minimize or reduce this level of uncertainty, strict rules, laws, policies, and regulations are adopted and implemented. The ultimate goal of this population is to control everything in order to eliminate or avoid the unexpected. As a result of this high Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the society does not readily accept change and is very risk adverse. Change has to be seen for the greater good of the in-group. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Long term orientation With a score of 56 Thailand is a Long Term Oriented culture though not as much as for most Asian countries. †¨LTO is manifest on their respect for tradition and inequality between people. †¨Amongst the values that are praised, working hard and having a sense of moderation are dominant. The investment in personal relationships and network is paramount. Protecting one’s face is key and a protocol in their non confrontational behavior.†¨Their concern is not to look for one truth which helps them be flexible and pragmatic in negotiations.†¨Thai favor long term oriented perspective and thus Thailand deadlines and timescales are fluid.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 32

Letter #3-November 18, 2006 Dear Nikki, As soon as I read your letter, I had my mother check out The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the Collingswood Public Library. Eager to enjoy a literary book with a happy ending, I read the entire work in one sitting, which required me to forgo sleep for an evening. I don't know if Tiffany read you the parts in my diary about my black friend Danny, but this book would make him go wild, as Twain uses the n-word more than 200 times. I know this because after reading the first few chapters, I started over and kept a running tally. Every time Twain used the n-word, I made a mark on a piece of paper, and when I finished the book, there were more than 200 marks! Danny says that only black people can use the n-word, which is sort of a universal truth nowadays, so I am surprised the school board allows you to teach such a book. But I did like the book very much. Even though Tom Sawyer should have told Jim he was free right away, I was so happy for Jim at the end of the novel when he gained his freedom. Also, the way that Huck and Jim stuck together through bad times reminded me of Danny and Pat getting each other's backs in the bad place. What really struck me was how Huck kept struggling with the idea that God did not want him to help Jim run away, because Jim was a slave. I realize people had different values back then, and that the church and government approved of slavery, but Huck really impressed me when he said if helping free Jim meant going to hell, he would go to hell. When I read your letter, I cried for a long time. I know I was a bad husband, and I am not mad at you for cheating on me or leaving me or even remarrying. You deserve to be happy. And if you are married now, your getting back together with me would be a sin, because it would mean that we would be committing adultery, even though I still think of you as my wife. These thoughts make me feel dizzy, as if I am spinning out of control. These thoughts make me want to bang my fist against the little white scar above my right eyebrow, which itches every time I get confused or agitated. To use your metaphor †¦ since I can remember, I have been driving on a dark highway, passing endless dashes and lines. Everything else has only been a pit stop – family, Eagles, dancing, my workouts. I have been driving toward you the whole time, only desiring one thing – our reunion. And now I finally realize I'm trying to woo a married woman, which I know is a sin. But I don't think you un derstand how hard I worked for this happy ending. I am very fit, and am now practicing being kind rather than right. I am not the man you were married to for all those lonely years. I am a better man. A man who will take you dancing and will give up sports entirely – coaching and Eagles – if that makes you happy. My conscience tells me that I should not continue to pursue these feelings, but your telling me to read Twain's novel made me think that maybe you were giving me a sign. Huck thought he shouldn't help Jim escape, but he followed his heart, he freed Jim, and that is what led to the happy ending. So maybe you are telling me in an indirect way that I should follow my heart? Why else would you specifically recommend The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to me? Also, our time together wasn't all bad. Maybe the end was grim, but remember the beginning? Remember college? Remember when we drove to Massachusetts in the middle of the night? It was the Friday after midterms and we were watching one of those travel shows on PBS, because we both thought we would travel back then. All our friends had gone to the rugby house for a party, but we stayed in together for a night of pizza and wine on the couch of my town house. We were watching that show about whale watching off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, and you asked me if they made wine in Martha's Vineyard. I said the New England growing season would be too short to get the proper types of grapes, but you insisted that there must be a vineyard there if the island was called Martha's Vineyard. We had this really heated fake argument – laughing and hitting each other with pillows – and then suddenly we were in my old Taurus, driving north. I'm sure you didn't think I was really going to drive you all the way to Massachusetts without a change of clothes or toiletries, but soon we were over the Tappan Zee Bridge, and you were smiling, and I was holding your hand. We never made it to Martha's Vineyard, but we spent a pretty wild weekend in an economy motel just outside of Cape Cod. Do you remember walking on the beach in March? Our lovemaking smelling like decades' worth other people's cigarette smoke as we enjoyed each other over and over in that motel room? Remember how when we jumped on the mattress, smoke seemed to leak out the sides? The lobster dinner we splurged for at that cheesy restaurant called Captain Bob's, where the waiters wore eye patches? We always said we were going to return to Massachusetts, take the ferry, and see if Martha's Vineyard actually had vineyards. Why didn't we do this then? Probably because we had class on Monday morning. But I wish we had taken that ferry when we had the chance. What was the worst thing that could have happened? We would have missed class. It seems so silly now to drive all the way to Cape Cod with the intention of taking the ferry to Martha's Vineyard only to spend the weekend in an economy motel on the mainland. What I'm trying to say is that maybe we can still take the ferry, Nikki. Maybe it's not too late. I know this is all so complicated right now. But there must be a reason that we are in contact again. There must be a reason that I lost my memory and then was filled with a vicious need to improve myself. There must be a reason if Tiffany was able to arrange this letter exchange. All I'm asking is that you keep the possibility of a reunion open as we continue to communicate through our liaison. My therapist Cliff says he feels as though I am poised for a breakthrough, and he feels he has stabilized my violent tendencies with medications. I know that in my writings I mentioned spitting out many of my meds when I first came home, but I am taking all my pills now and can feel my mental health stabilizing. Every day I feel as though I am getting closer to regaining my memory of our demise. And no matter what I remember – no matter what really happened between us – it will not change how I feel about you. You are living with another man, you are remarried – what could be worse? I still love you. I will always love you and am only now ready to prove my love for you. I hope this note was concise enough, as I tried very hard to keep it under five pages and was successful. I miss you so much, Nikki. Every freckle on your beautiful nose. Love, Pat, Your Sexy Stud Muffin (Remember that from the wedding video?)

Salamander Surgery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

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Consumer Values Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Consumer Values - Research Paper Example This research examines how hedonic versus utilitarian consumption can vary in typical purchase situations, depending on the decision context, and the manners in which consumers justify their purchases with their own values of time, money and method. Babin and Darden's article "Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value" focuses on the dimensions of hedonic and utilitarian consumer purchases, with the "shopping as work" and the "shopping as fun" consumer experiences. The shopping experience is an activity in which both the utilitarian based need and the hedonic based desire are important dimensions of the consumer's shopping experience because shopping involves more than the economics of supply and demand, there is also the social and psychological aspect. These dual dimensions are scaleable to recognize "formally that a shopping experience can be valuable, or valueless, in more than one way" (Babin and Darden p 644 1994). The statement 'in more than one way,' as it approaches the valuation of consumption is the theoretical view that consumers have scaleable utilitarian and hedonic desires in a psychological and physical sense, as well as the fact that customers have behavioral responses to these senses. Hedonic and Utilitarian Concepts The traditional concepts of cost and benefit values are perceived as having characteristics of exclusively product and price, the standard economics of supply and demand where the consumers experience is exclusively based on the products quality and price evaluations to control consumption choices and demands, and yet this does not define the reasoning of consumers emotional connections, where "A fourth definition equates value with an overall assessment of subjective worth considering all relevant evaluative criteria" (Babin and Darden p 645 1994), in a sense the overall assessment is the consumers emotional constructs, the sociological and psychological desire to feel rewarded in more than the physical sense of achievement. Babin and Darden analyze that shopping has both utilitarian and hedonic traits, where a methodology only encompasses the consumable and its dimensional and monetary values lacks the ability to fully measure the shoppers' experience, a concept expressed as having importance in other research, although "Far less research has been conducted to examine whether contrast effects occur among hedonic experiences (i.e., experiences of pleasure or pain)" (Novemsky and Rattner p 507 2003). Babin and Darden's research recognizes the empirical and "experiential perspective," with the value of the experience being the key outcome variable as described by Holbrook. The researchers reveal Holbrook statement on value as having "an interactive relativistic preference experience," meaning that the experience and value are relative to one another in the sense of importance the consumer places on those as well as on the actual purchase. The initial conclusion is that both utilitarian

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International Production and Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Production and Trade - Essay Example The author in the chapter sought to identify the basic features and issues forming the international production and trade structure. While discussing the changes taking place in the production of goods, the author uses the case of Thomas Friedman to explain the post-world war II changes that have taken place. Technology is arguably one of the most significant steps that man has discovered so far. As such, it has revolutionized both the production process and the communication channel. While the internet connects people in a previously un-imaginable way, new products such as cars and clothes go through mass production. Another notable change in the production process is the level of fragmentation and specialization taking place. With the increased level of interdependence between different countries and regions around the world, production methods have spread in all parts of the globe. Statically, the World Bank demonstrated the effects of this growth and increase in production throug h the 2005 world’s gross domestic product, which was approximately $44.3 trillion. Of this, 78% came from the developed countries, while the middle and low income, countries contributed only 22 percent. Five years earlier, the level of production was fives lower as it was in 2005. McGrew, an expert observes that there have been changes in the trends of FDIs, which have subsequently contributed to the capital mobility. In this mobility, firms now migrate from the industrialized countries and set up production plants in less developed countries due to labor issues as well as environmental issues. International trade, which is trade that takes place between different countries, help in the unification of countries. Since trade ties countries together, it generates significant political, economic, as well as social interdependence between countries. As such, many states use it as a means of gathering income, opting to regulate it in an effort to safeguard their interests. The int ernational trade structure, by pulling international leaders, IO and the NGO officials, pulls three perspectives of trade at the same time. Despite their conflicting arguments, these perspectives have contributed to the understanding of the development of trade in the international front. International trade rules came into effect in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Tariffs and quotas existed back then, as there was a restriction of importing intermediate goods. This aimed at protecting local industries from unfair competition. One of the international trade policies launched in the eighteenth century advocated for a laissez-faire type of policies. Proposed by Adman Smith and David Ricardo, the liberal trade policy still applies in the case of the Britain markets. These were the developers of the comparative theory, which advocated for opportunity cost of production. Proponents of opportunity cost theory pointed out that for a country to produce a particular commodity ; it had to forego a particular commodity that was rather expensive to produce. As such, introducing trade restrictions was an unjust way of treating other nations. However, the mercantilists challenge the arguments of comparative advantage, even currently. They argue that states can

Can adult models for CBT be used with children & adolescents with PTSD Essay

Can adult models for CBT be used with children & adolescents with PTSD a critical evaluation - Essay Example A child’s response to a given trauma may vary according to the age, nature, duration and type of stressor, gender or any other previous history of exposure. Children have the capacity to link the traumatic event with any other event with similar features. This capacity leads to the psychological, emotional and behavioral symptoms that develop after a traumatic event (Perry and Pollard, 1998). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a clinical syndrome that is usually developed after experiencing an extreme traumatic stress (DSM IV). Following is the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD in children. A child is said to have Acute Stress Disorder (DSM IV) when the above criteria is met during the month after the traumatic experience. Further characterization of PTSD shows a child in acute stage when the symptoms develop in less than three months, Chronic in more than three months and Delayed Onset when initial symptoms develop six months or more after the traumatic event (Perry, 1999). The diagnosis of PTSD in very young children is difficult due to the inability of the children to report the traumatic event and symptoms (Scheeringa et al. 1995). Lifetime incidence of PTSD ranges from 3-14 % (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1994). Various studies have been carried out to examine the prevalence of PTSD in adolescents. The studies showed that 3% of females and 1% of males met the DSM IV criteria of PTSD (Cuffe et al. 1998). Greater female adolescent population met the criteria for PTSD than males. Higher prevalence rates for PTSD were reported among children who have been exposed to traumatic events and was even were higher in high-risk groups. 35% of the adolescents diagnosed with cancer met the criteria for lifetime PTSD (Pfefferbaum, 1997). 15% of young cancer patients had moderate to severe PTSS (Stuber et al. 1997); 93% of children exposed to domestic violence had PTSS (Kilpatrick, Williams, 1998); 80% of Kuwaiti youth exposed to the

Hotel Revenue Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 153

Hotel Revenue Management - Essay Example The assessment should be done from different perspectives, which include customers, organisation, and from the human resource point of view. Evaluation strategy enhances acceptability of the changes and has the potential of improving a quality of services offered. Hotel revenue management is fundamental to success in the competitive hospitality industry. Hotels revenue management implies selling the appropriate room to the best client at the most competitive price on the right supply channel. Hotel rooms are considered as perishable products owing to their limited number. Hence, the satisfaction of customer needs and settling for the right price are the main variables to be considered. Revenue management will strive to achieve equilibrium of demand and capacity by predicting and setting prices that ably maximise the utility of all the resources in the hotel (LegoheÃŒ rel, Poutier and Fyall 2013: 96) Emphasis has to be placed on two very important concepts in hotel revenue management. These are rooms’ revenue per available room (RevPAR) and gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR). RevPAR is used in analysis as a reflection of revenue accrued per available room. The parameter is got from dividing the net revenue collected from a hotel room and the total number of rooms present in the particular hotel. Besides, the value can be arrived at by multiplication of the daily average room rate (ADR) the occupancy of the room. It is, therefore, able to monitor the performance of the system inventory management of the hotel room. Maximisation of RevPAR is the main objective of hotel managements, thus the trade-off between average rate and occupancy. It is very evident that revenue collected from rooms in the hotel constitutes a large portion of the overall revenue generated. Thus, more emphasis should be placed on revenue management in regards to rooms.

Phenomenon Assignment 2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Phenomenon Assignment 2 - Research Paper Example Managing pain presents itself as a very important challenge to the critical care nurse. Statement of the Phenomenon Pain brings much discomfort to critical care patients and its alleviation is a critical element of critical care nursing. It is, therefore, important that pain is managed effectively. Effective pain management starts with pain assessment (Gelinas, Fillion, Puntillo, Viens & Fortier, 2006). Gelinas (2007) maintained that a patient’s self report is the most reliable and valid measure for identifying pain. Critical care health professionals, however, face the greatest challenge when a patient in the critical care unit is unconscious because of trauma or is unable to talk or move because of the severity of the illness. The phenomenon, therefore, is pain assessment for critically ill patients who are unable to orally communicate, provide a self-report of the pain they are experiencing, or are unable to move and interact with the hospital staff even with just gestures or nods. Pain and Unconsciousness Personally, this author has always wondered if unconscious patients experience physical pain.

Black studies 1019--opinion paper--choosing two topics and describing Essay - 1

Black studies 1019--opinion paper--choosing two topics and describing their ideas and how they affected african americans in the - Essay Example The Sharing of Culture The exposure of one African ethnic group to the other had resulted to the sharing of cultures and traditions. As claimed by Michael Angelo Gomez, during the slavery period in America, the Africans coming from different cultural backgrounds had assembled themselves to form a single society of African Americans (88). It is contended that their cultural formation was not triggered by any form of racial discrimination but by the realization that they are different from the other people within the American society. What made them different is not just the color of their skin but their social status. So as to have a unified foundation for the expression of their common interest, the different ethnic groups decided to fuse their various traditions. It is in this sense that the Africans appreciated the advantages of creating a community. Nonetheless, it is worthy to emphasize that the fusion of the different beliefs and practices had not been easy for the different eth nic groups. Actually, the traditional people in Africa did not view the members of the other ethnic groups as belonging to their own (Freeman 25). They even had the propensity of seeing their ethnic group as more influential than the others. This suggests that during the process of cultural integration, the various African ethnic groups were struggling to make their beliefs and practices part of the new identity. Nevertheless, due to their slavery experience, these ethnic groups could have considered to be submissive to whatever way that could serve the best interest of all the Africans in America. The African American Music The formation of African-American music is one of the products of the cultural integration that the different ethnic groups had experienced and embraced during the slave era in America. After the abolition of slave trade in America, there had been many African-American singers and songwriters who became part of the American entertainment and music industry. As m embers of the African-American community, the African-American music artists are expected to express their cultural identity in their musical compositions and even in their everyday dealing. Their way of expressing the cultural identity of African-Americans has caught the public’s attention. The African-American music artists living in America have been subjected to a very controversial question, that is, whether they view themselves primarily as individuals of African descent who happened to be in the American soil or primarily as Americans who happened to be of African descent. A Discussion of the Distinction It is claimed that the new generation of African-Americans could consider themselves belonging to the second option. In a way, since they have been part of modern America, they have the tendency to behave in the American way. This connotes that for them, their American identity weighs more than their African ancestry. Their ancestral root has become a second or subsidi ary identity. Nonetheless, they still recognize the fact that they have a unique cultural origin. It is in this sense that they have the tendency to reshape and improvise a musical composition or simply â€Å"to blackenize† it, giving it an African-American touch (Maynard-Reid 71). Examples of African-American singers born during the post-slavery era are Michael Jackson and

Strategic Cost Management (SCM) GPBL Trimester Essay Example for Free

Strategic Cost Management (SCM) GPBL Trimester Essay Strategic Variance Analysis of a Firm Growth,Price, Profitability, Productivity Elements affecting its Profits and consequent Cash Flow. Max. Word Count 3000 words This is a study on a Strategic Variance Analysis for the profitability as well as the Operating Cash flow. In this context you need to take some critical assumptions if you are unable to procure the relevant quantitative details. The quantitative details you will need are as follows: 1. Industry aggregates of the Units Produced and Sold 2. Chosen Firm level details of the Units Produced and Sold. 3. Input Output Ratio. This will need assumptions and perhaps be restricted only to the materials. You need to perform a reasonable amount of research to obtain these numbers. Quantitative details may be provided in Annual Reports of the firms constituting the industry you have considered. Check sources such as the Capitaline. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, RBI, Planning commission, some publications such as the statistical outline of India etc etc. You need to examine the following: a) Select an Industry, use an appropriate justification of having defined the industry by using the ITC code, HSN or SIC classification or any other that will have some universal acceptability. b) Choose a Firm you would want to analyze that constitutes the Industry you have chosen. c) If industry aggregates are not available define the industry by identifying the major industry players and then aggregate their quantitative details to make this a proxy for the Industry or the market you would want t o consider. d) Perform a Strategic Variance Analysis to demarcate the impact of Growth, Price and Productivity elements in explaining the impact on the changes in the profits of the firm you have chosen for the year with its subsequent year. Therefore if you are analyzing the Year 2011 compare this with 2012 for the firm and the industry. e) Perform a strategic variance analysis on the operating cash flow for the firm chosen. f) Conclude on strategy you believe the firm is adopting given the financial analysis you have done. Marking Parameters: 1. Choice of the Industry and the firm and its justification. -[10 Marks] 2. Demonstrated evidence of the research done in obtaining information for points (a), (b) and (c). [30 Marks] 3. Critical Analysis of Points (d) and (e).[50 Marks] 4. Conclusion[10 Marks]

Do Endogenic Processes Influence Global Climate Systems Environmental Sciences Essay

Do Endogenic Processes Influence Global Climate Systems Environmental Sciences Essay All processes that take place inside  Earth  (and other  planets) are considered endogenous. They make the  continents  migrate, push the  mountains  up, and trigger  earthquakes  and  volcanism. Endogenous processes are driven by the warmth that is produced in the core of Earth by  radioactivity  and  gravity. The geography and movement of tectonic plates is a key influence on global climate as it determines the form of the ocean basins, Patterns of heat ransfer in the oceans, large scale atmospheric circulation and the geometry of mountain chains. The movement and geometry of the lithospheric plates is a key long term influence on global climate and hea transfer and plae movements can be both vertical e.g the formation of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau or horizontal e.g sea floor spreading or the closing of the panama seaway and the development of the north atlantic gulf stream. Internal energy drives endogenic processes such as plate tectonics, volcanic activity, seismicity. The geography of the tectonic plates is a key influence on a global climate, this influences: the form and size of the ocean basins and land masses, patterns of heat transfer in the oceans thermohaline circulation, large scale atmospheric circulation and vertical heat exchange, the location and elevation of mountain chains and plateaus, the amount of elevated crust. The formation of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau that began 52 to 44ma key events that led to a step change in the climate system and long term global cooling. Horizontal crustal movement the closing of the panama seaway around 4 ma and the development of the north atlantic gulf stream taking warm water to higher latitudes a key factor in the formation of ice sheets in the northern hemisphere. The closing of the panama seaway around 4ma and the development of the north atlantic gulf stream taking warm water to higher latitudes. The movement and geometry of the lithospheric plates is a key longterm influence on global climate and heat transfer, vertical crustal movements are most rapid at plate boundaries and we will be exploring their potential impact on weathering rates and carbon cycle. Location and elevation of mountain chains and high plateau landscapes across the earths surface is a key influence on climate over a range of timescales. The essay is about the last 65 million years, so the Big Bang theory is not really relevant. You need a nice range of examples to show how endogenic processes can influence global climate (long and short term). We covered some in the lectures (i.e. vertical and horizonatal crustal movements). We did not really look at volcanic processes, but you need to mention them too (short and longterm impacts) we mentioned other controls too (not related to endogenic processes) so you can mention them briefly to round things off. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines June 15, 1991, an estimated 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide and ash particles blasted more than 12 miles (20 km) high into the atmosphere. The eruption caused widespread destruction and loss of human life. Gases and solids injected into the stratosphere circled the globe for three weeks. Volcanic eruptions of this magnitude can impact global climate, reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earths surface, lowering temperatures in the troposphere, and changing atmospheric circulation patterns. The extent to which this occurs is an ongoing debate.  Large-scale volcanic activity may last only a few days, but the massive outpouring of gases and ash can influence climate patterns for years. Sulfuric gases convert to sulfate aerosols, sub-micron droplets containing about 75 percent sulfuric acid. Following eruptions, these aerosol particles can linger as long as three to four years in the stratosphere. Major eruptions alter the Earths radiative balance because volcanic aerosol clouds absorb terrestrial radiation, and scatter a significant amount of the incoming solar radiation, an effect known as radiative forcing that can last from two to three years following a volcanic eruption. Volcanic eruptions cause short-term climate changes and contribute to natural climate variability, says Georgiy Stenchikov, a research professor with the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. Exploring effects of volcanic eruption allows us to better understand important physical mechanisms in the climate system that are initiated by volcanic forcing. Stenchikov and Professor Alan Robock of Rutgers University with Hans Graf and Ingo Kirchner of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology performed a series of climate simulations that combined volcanic aerosol observations from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) available from the Langley DAAC, with Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) data from the Goddard Space Flight Center DAAC. The research team ran a general circulation model developed at the Max Planck Institute with and without Pinatubo aerosols for the two years following the Pinatubo eruption. To study the sensitivity of climate response to sea surface temperature, using data from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory DAAC, they conducted calculations with climatologically mean sea surface temperature, as well as with those observed during particular El Nià ±o and La Nià ±a periods. By comparing the climate simulations from the Pinatubo eruption, with and without aerosols, the researchers found that the climate model calculated a general cooling of the global troposphere, but yielded a clear winter warming pattern of surface air temperature over Northern Hemisphere continents. The temperature of the tropical lower stratosphere increased by 4 Kelvin (4 °C) because of aerosol absorption of terrestrial longwave and solar near-infrared radiation. The model demonstrated that the direct radiative effect of volcanic aerosols causes general stratospheric heating and tropospheric cooling, with a tropospheric warming pattern in the winter. The modeled temperature change is consistent with the temperature anomalies observed after the eruption, Stenchikov says. The pattern of winter warming following the volcanic eruption is practically identical to a pattern of winter surface temperature change caused by global warming. It shows that volcanic aerosols force fundamental climate mechanisms that play an important role in the global change process. This temperature pattern is consistent with the existence of a strong phase of the Arctic Oscillation, a natural pattern of circulation in which atmospheric pressure at polar and middle latitudes fluctuates, bringing higher-than-normal pressure over the polar region and lower-than-normal pressure at about 45 degrees north latitude. It is forced by the aerosol radiative effect, and circulation in winter is stronger than the aerosol radiative cooling that dominates in summer. Man-made, or anthropogenic emissions can make the consequences of volcanic eruptions on the global climate system more severe, Stenchikov says. For instance, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere start a chain of chemical reactions on aerosol surfaces that destroy ozone molecules in the mid-latitude stratosphere, intensifying observed stratospheric ozone depletion. While we have no observations, the 1963 Agung eruption on the island of Bali probably did not deplete ozone as there was little atmospheric chlorine in the stratosphere. In 1991 after the Pinatubo eruption, when the amount of CFCs in the stratosphere increased, the ozone content in the mid-latitudes decreased by 5 percent to 8 percent, affecting highly populated regions, says Stenchikov. NASA and the National Science Foundation have funded Robock and Stenchikov to study the Pinatubo eruption in more detail, and to conduct another model comparison with the volcanic aerosol data set. They plan to combine SAGE II data with available lidar and satellite data from various DAACs to improve their existing data set. By understanding the impact of large volcanic eruptions on Earths climate system in more detail, perhaps scientists will be in a better position to suggest measures to lessen their effects on people and natural resources. Both technological change and economic growth are seen as major determinants of future global energy demand levels, the associated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and global climate impacts Until recently, however, the modelling of energy-economy-climate interactions has largely regarded technological progress as an exogenous process, rather than as endogenous technological change. Energy Economics Volume 24, Issue 1, January 2002, Pages 1-19 a momentary glance at a map of the world today to realise that the disposition of the continents has a marked effect on both local and global climate. Not the least of these effects results from the difference in the thermal properties of land versus ocean a continental region will be colder in winter and warmer in summer than an oceanic region at any given latitude. Moreover mountain belts formed as a consequence of plate tectonic activity dramatically modify rainfall through the effects of  orography   the development of a rain shadow on the leeward side of mountain belts. Global climate is also strongly controlled by ocean currents. For example, northwestern Europe is significantly warmer than other regions at similar latitudes because of the warming effects of the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift. The reversal of oceanic currents in the equatorial Pacific a phenomenon known as El Nià ±o has a far-reaching effect on climate around the Pacific. Ocean currents depend on the geometry of the oceans and this is controlled by plate tectonics. Hence, over geological timescales the movement of plates and continents has a profound effect on the distribution of land masses, mountain ranges and the connectivity of the oceans. As a consequence, plate tectonics has a very direct and fundamental influence on global climate. http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=172207 The climate of modern Antarctica is extreme. Located over the South Pole and in total darkness for six months of the year, the continent is covered by glacial ice to depths in excess of 3 km in places. Yet this has not always been the case. 50 Ma ago, even though Antarctica was in more or less the same position over the pole, the climate was much more temperate there were no glaciers and the continent was covered with lush vegetation and forests. So how did this extreme change come about? The modern climate of Antarctica depends upon its complete isolation from the rest of the planet as a consequence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that completely encircles Antarctica and gives rise to the stormy region of the Southern Ocean known as the roaring forties. The onset of this current is related to the opening of seaways between obstructing continents. Antarctica and South America were once joined together as part of Gondwana and were the last parts of this original supercontinent to separate. By reconstructing continental positions from magnetic and other features of the sea floor in this region, geologists have shown that the Drake Passage opened in three phases between 50 Ma and 20 Ma, as illustrated in Figure 32. At 50 Ma there was possibly a shallow seaway between Antarctica and South America, but both continents were moving together. At 34 Ma the seaway was still narrow, but differential movement between the Antarctic and South American Plates created a deeper c hannel between the two continents that began to allow deep ocean water to circulate around the continent. Finally, at 20 Ma there was a major shift in local plate boundaries that allowed the rapid development of a deep-water channel between the two continental masses. The coincidence of the change in motion of the Pacific Plate with changes in plate motions between S. America and Antarctica shows how the motions of all the plates are interconnected a change in the true motion of one plate leads to changes in the true motions of many others. While these plate motions were taking place the effect on Antarctica was profound. By 34 Ma the climate cooled from the temperate conditions that previously existed. This was sufficient for glaciers to begin their advance, and was followed by a period of continued cooling until at about 20 Ma, glaciation was complete. Even though the Drake Passage first opened at 50 Ma it was not until it opened to deep water at 34 Ma that glaciation really took hold Today, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the strongest deep ocean current and its strength is responsible for the icehouse climate that grips the planet. The opening of the Drake Passage had both a local and a global effect, initially cooling the climate of Antarctica from temperate to cold and ultimately playing an important role in the change from global greenhouse conditions 50 Ma ago to the global icehouse of today. This example shows how plate tectonics, continental drift and the opening and closing of seaways can have a profound influence on both local and global climate. Throughout the Phanerozoic there were long periods when the Earth was much warmer than today often called a greenhouse climate and other times when it was cold called an icehouse climate. These cycles, like the Wilson cycle, occur over periods of 100 Ma, reflecting the timescale of plate movements and the growth and destruction of oceans. Given the clear link between ocean circulation and climate, and the similar timescales of global climate change and plate motions, it is inescapable that one of the chief controls on long-term changes in the global climate must be plate tectonics. Every two to seven years a climatic disturbance brings floods to California, droughts to Australia, and famine to Africa . Known as El Nino, it is essentially a warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific near the equator. Although scientists understand the mechanics of El Nino, its origins have yet to be determined. Most believe that the interaction between the atmosphere and the sea somehow generates this climatic disturbance that wreaks havoc upon those regions of the world that lie in its path. But now a new theory on the origins of El Nino has been proposed and, surprisingly, it has very little to do with the atmosphere or the sea. The new theory suggests that the primary mover behind El Nino is hot magma welling up between tectonic plates on the Pacific sea-floor. The upwelling magma heats the overlying waters enough to affect the ocean surface, initiating the cascade of events that brings on the wrath of El Nino. Volcanic Ash Eruptions, like that pictured above, throw tons of ash into the atmosphere, and have short term affects of the climate. If the eruption is potent enough, the ash will stop some of the shortwave radiation coming in from the Sun. This, in turn, will lead to a decrease in the global temperature. The reason for this is that the shortwave radiation that comes in from the Sun and reaches the Earths surface, gets absorbed in the the Earth. About 4 to 6 hours later, the Earth reradiates that energy in the form of longwave radiation. This is where the temperature comes from. So if some of the sunlight is shut off, then this will lead to a decrease the global temperature. With the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 (image above), about 22 million tons of ash was thrown into the atmosphere. This was enough to block a fraction of the sunlight from reaching the Earths surface, which cooled the global temperature on Earth by as much as 0.5 degrees C. The most powerful eruption in recorded his tory, the eruption of the Tambora Volcano in Indonesia in April of 1815, threw up so much ash that the global temperature on Earth fell by as much as 3 degrees C. Europe and North America know this time as the year without a summer. The volcanic ash does not keep the temperatures down for a very long period of time geologically speaking, so its impacts are on a short term basis. Rain-Shadow Effect The long term impacts of volcanoes come from a look at simple geography. Volcanoes are gigantic mountains, so their affect on climate is the same as a normal mountain. This leads to the rain-shadow effect (explained in the  Continental Movement  section), which comes into play with volcanoes just as it does with mountain building. Until that volcano can be eroded away, it will continue to have some sort of impact on climate. This can last for thousands of years. Volcanoes have quite a bit of affect on climate. And this affect can be rather short term (volcanic ash) or long term (rain-shadow effect) in nature. Again biology can be affected by this too. For example, a desert area may quickly develop on the leeward side of a new volcano. If life is not able to adjust, extinction will become a significant threat. http://www.djburnette.com/projects/volcanoes.html

Five Functions of Management: Advantages and Disadvantages

Five Functions of Management: Advantages and Disadvantages Henri Fayol is widely acknowledged as the earliest pioneer and advocate of the task of management Parker and Ritson, 2005 His management theories were first proposed in the early 1900s. Despite many criticisms, Fayols theories still form the basis of management practices and teachings in the 21st century. Taking some articles for reference, this essay will mainly analyse the advantages and disadvantages of Fayols concept of five functions of management in modern enterprises by some examples. There are about three main parts in this essay beginning with the introduction. And in the main body of this article, based on some academic researches, there are about seven parts discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Fayols concept of five functions of management. A conclusion will be made at last. There is no doubt that Fayol is best known for a three-fold contribution to management theory. Among his contributions, the concept of five functions of management is worth discussing all the time. Fayol identified five key functions of management and these functions of managerial activity are: forecasting and planning, organizing, coordination, command and control. According to Fayol, forecasting involves analyzing the future and drawing a plan of action (Pugh ad Hichson, 2007). And as for organizing, Fayol believed that an organizations structure was important, as it can facilitate the optimum conduct of its business activities (Pugh and Hichson, 2007). According to Pugh and Hichson (2007), in his original writing, Fayol used the term command to illustrate a managers responsibility to lead and direct employees towards the achievement of organizational goals and strategies. About the function of coordination, Fayol made a suggestion that managers should bind together, unify and harm onize all the organizations activities and efforts. In contemporary management practice, this can be explained into that the managers should be responsible for making sure that all the organizational business activities are coordinated to make the employees can unify together within one department or among different departments. The last not the least function of management is control. Fayol recognized the importance of control within an organization and support that it ensures everything occurs in conformity with established rules and expressed command. In the article of Fayol-standing the test of time, McLean (2011) firstly introduced the contents of the five functions of management and stated that in contemporary society, there are some advantages of these functions to development of the enterprises. First, McLean (2011) stated that with the development of globalized knowledge economy, the abilities of forecasting and planning can gain success in the competition. Second, organizing can ask the managers to carry out an appropriate infrastructure, which will optimize the organizations system, resources, procedures, processes and services and enable knowledge to be disseminated to those who need it, when they need it. Third, McLean (2011) also stated that control is one of the most important responsibilities of a manager and under the control of the managers. Under control of the managers, the policies and strategies can be implemented according to plan and within budget, set timescales and allocated resources. Fourth, under the func tion of command, the managers can develop a thorough knowledge of their employees, which can generate a positive psychological contract that engages employees with their jobs and the organization. Whats more, Fayols managerial functions are frequently cited as the inspiration for the contemporary practice of dividing managerial activity (and management textbooks) into the functions of planning, leading, organizing and controlling (Davidson and Griffin, 2000; Lewis, Goodmand and Fandt ,1995). As for the organizing, Fayol believed that an organizations structure was important, as it facilitated the optimum conduct of its business. Whether there are advantages of this concept or not remains an open question, In the article of Fayol-standing the test of time, Miss Jacqueline McLean stated that in contemporary society, organizing can ask the managers to carry out an appropriate infrastructure, which will optimise the organizations system, resources, procedures, processes and services and enable knowledge to be disseminated to those who need it, when they need it. Meanwhile, organizing also can integrate all kinds of resources of the companies, including human resources, financial and material resources. So there are some advantages about the concept. And this concept is also influencing the structure of the companies and most of organizations pay more attention to the building of the organizational structure. The KFCà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’one of the most famous and important fast food chain restaurants, is always paying its attention to the building of the structure all the time. In 2004, with the AIV spreading quickly in Asia, most of the KFC consumers quitted the line of waiting for KFC, never eating chicken. Especially in Vietnam, the most AIV-hit country, KFC business was confronted with a crisis. But KFC then changed its organizational structure, replacing the Fried Chicken with Fried Fish. So, finally it regained a big success. Under the guidance of Fayols concept about the organizing, many organizations know about the importance of the structure and pay attention to building their organizational chart and thus gain success. In fact, the building of the organizational structure should fit the development of the organization. As the saying goes, preparedness ensures success and unpreparedness spells failure. So does the development of one organization. According to Fayol, forecasting involves analysis of the future and drawing up a plan of action. About this Fayols concept, some authors viewed that there are some advantages. In the article of Fayol-standing the test of time, McLean (2011) stated that with the development of globalized knowledge economy, the abilities of forecasting and planning can gain success in the competition. In the article of The foundation of Henri Fayols administrative theory, Mr. Wren, Mr. Bedeeian and Mr. Breeze stated that the most important of the means which one must use to ensure business success was planning. To create a business, the founders need capital manpower and time and should have outlets for the products or service. To forecast these needs and providing for them is the main responsible of the managers. So Fayols concept about planning has its own advantages. And i t also improves the development of the companies in contemporary times. Due to the loss of electronic mail, Morgan Stanley paid out more than billions of dollars. But this event is just one tip of the iceberg of the suffering a great number of cost which is caused by the inappropriate information management. Confronted with this problem, British Airway made plan and forecasting and declared its commercial goal: to automate more and more function and try their best to develop customers self-help service system , such as electronic ticket, and even that customers can printed their tickets in their own home. This strategy made British Airway protocol the development lifeline of the companies designedly. Although there are lots of advantages of Fayols concept of the five functions of management, there are some disadvantages of them. As for the forecasting and planning, if a business made a good planning, it will get a great success. If not, there will be a big failure, just as the saying goes Changes always go beyond plans. As McLean (2011) stated in the article of Fayol-standing the test of time that the globalised knowledge economy and the presence of ubiquitous change and competition make forecasting, planning and strategising key managerial activities, forecasting and planning are at the same time the main cause of an organization failure. HP, a big technological products supplier of the world, is always encouraging its employees to go forward to their goals, which are planned by the organization. According to HP official Website, in 2010à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’in accordance with its plan, HP purchased Palm company with the Web-based Operating System to get itself to a higher level. But as a result, the new product with the WebOS could not compete with ipad and was not popular with the consumers. In 2011, HP declared to cease the research of WebOS. So to purchase Palm with a whole $1.2 Billion is really not a wise choice. Many other organizations in the world are also always following the rules of forecasting and planning concept in Fayols management theory, but only a good plan is far from enough in contemporary competitive context. The other disadvantage comes from the function of command and control in Fayols theory. According to Wren, Bedeian and Breeze (2002), the command made by the higher authority and which, be it direct or through successive levels in the organization, should reach all parts of the organization, and the responses should return in the reverse sense, either directly or through the levels, to the central authority. Thus an organization can operate smoothly. But there are also counterviews, who consider that the excessive command and control will harm personal satisfaction and their self-respect. In the article of Fayols 14 principles of management then and now: a framework for managing todays organizations, Rodrigues stated that if the managers can separate their managerial work from the actual work clearly, they can have energy to focus on the target of the development of their own enterprises and deal with the public relations outside the companies. In the article Henri Fayol as strategie s: a nineteenth century corporate turnaround, Wren stated that due to the hierarchy, the managers can conduct the enterprise toward its objective. The branches of Nokia in China adhere to the principle of the former, the strict command and control. Under this circumstance, the managers cannot handle the managerial work since they have to help employees to deal with lots of trivial problems. After discussion, they changed the operation strategies and set up the system of hierarchical transmission of orders, in which the employees in the lower class should report their work to his/her own managers. Whats more, as McLean (2011) stated, although Fayol had a great contribution to management theory, he has been accused of the romanticism of management and presented an almost unrealizable approach to management theorisation. He gave a clear definition to each of the functions of his management theory and some principles to carry out them, but in concrete circumstances, some of them can not be realized. As Pryor and Taneja (2010) stated that in practically Mintzberg vehemently disagreed when he went on to say that if you observe managers at work you will find what they do is quite different. According to Lamond, Fayol gave us management as we would like it to be and Mintzberg gave us management as it is (Pryor and Taneja, 2010). Therefore, today many managers favour the important role of practice and experience. They think that practice and experience are the only way to get a management qualification. In conclusion, Henri Fayol, as a founding father of what has become known as the administration school of management, made some contributions to the management theories. This essay mainly aimed to discuss some statement about Henri Fayols contributions to management today and criticism of any of his contributions under the topic of Discussion on Advantages and Disadvantages of Fayols Concept of Five Functions of Management in Modern Enterprises and then to learn about the influence of Fayols management theories to the management practices and teachings in the 21st century. It focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of forecasting and planning, the disadvantages of excessive command and control and the impracticability of the theory in the main body by taking some articles for reference. All in all, Fayols theories are valuable and relevant for organizational leaders on the one hand and debatable on the other hand.

Salvador Dali’ Essay -- essays papers

Salvador Dali’ Domenech was born on May 11, 1904 in the small farming town of Figueres in the Catalonian region of Spain. It was here in the foothills of the Pyrenees where Dali spent his youth, that many of the ideas, inspirations, and images repeated in his paintings have their roots. As a young boy Dali attended the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. At the academy Dali studied many different painting styles and became quite proficient at them. Many of his earlier works include impressionist, cubist, and realist techniques. As Dali matured, these interests were transformed into his own surrealistic style. The first recognition of Dali’s talents came with his first show held in Barcelona in 1925. He became known globally when three of his paintings, including The Basket of Bread were on display at the 3rd annual Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh in 1928. It was also this year that Dali joined a group of painters led by Andre Breton known as the surrealists. Soon after this Dali met Gala Eluard when she was on a trip with her husband Paul Eluard. Gala became Dali’s lover, business manager, and primary inspiration. Dali soon became the leader of the Surrealist movement, until he was expelled from the group during a trial in 1934 due to political clashes during WWII. After this expulsion Dali slowly moved away from his surrealistic style and moved into his classic period. His new interests in the Catholic Church, science, and history are evident in these works. Some of his most well known works from this period are The Hallucinogenic Toreador, The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, The Sacrament of the Last Supper, and The Ecumenical Council. Many of these classical works were done on large canvases 14 feet high. In order to paint these huge canvases, Dali removed a section of his floor and set up a system of pulleys so he could raise and lower the canvases between the two floors. Dali’s wife Gala died in 1982 and he was faced with a deteriorating health in his own life shortly after. In 1984 Dali was injured in a fire in his home in Pubol, Spain. In 1986 a pacemaker was implanted into Dali, and he died from heart failure on January 23, 1989. During his life, Dali was responsible for thousands of works, which varied from oils, watercolors, drawings, graphics, sculptures, jewels, and fashion designs to ... ... a woman in a yellow boat located close to the bottom center of the painting represents this invasion. The large flies flying past this bay are symbolic of Dali’s common joke that even the notorious flies of the region could not drive away the tourists. Just above the bay, the bull appears. Dali painted the bull using the tentacle of an octopus. In the seats is a glowing bust of his wife Gala. The frown on her face is because she hates bullfights. In the back of the arena are many doors around the perimeter. Every door but one has a statue standing near it. These statues give the doors manmade and earthly qualities. The one door in center without the statues actually has an angel at each side. These angels represent a passage to heaven. This is where the bull or the toreador exits when one of the two is killed in the fight. In the bottom right corner is boy standing with a whip behind his back. This is Dali himself watching over the scene. The images in this painting are very different from the melting figures and objects from his surrealistic period. This classic period brought about much more realistic figures, while still having that twist that Dali is famous for.

Abortion Can Never Be Justified :: Papers

Abortion Can Never Be Justified Christians all react differently to the issue of abortion. Some would say that abortion is murder because they would believe that life starts from the moment of conception. This follows a Roman Catholic Church view but not all Roman Catholics would agree. The mainstream Roman Catholic view is that life is sacred. They would say that life is God given and the only person who has the right to take life is the one who created it (God). If God has created all life then God is the only person who can take it away. So if a woman was raped then the Roman Catholic view would be to raise the child by "loving her enemies" Mark 12:29-31. This would mean that she would be loving her enemy, which would be the baby from her oppressor and love the child to give it a healthy way of life. Roman Catholics would support giving her help and aid to raise the child by giving the mother money and if needed a secure living environment. Even if she could not look after it herself most Roman Catholics would accept her putting the child into adoption, that way the child is not murdered and can be loved and cared for. But not all Roman Catholics as I mentioned before have this opinion on abortion. Some would adopt their own opinions or those of other churches. The Church of England say that abortion is wrong unless having the child is putting anybody's life in danger. They see that life does not begin until birth. Anything before that is only potential life, therefore to have an abortion is not murder but it is still not acceptable to have one for any other reasons. They would explain in the case of rape that abortion of the oppressor's child would be seen as the lesser of two evils and should be accepted. The Church of England still recognise that human life is valuable as it is created in the image of God but they would argue that life does not start at

The nature versus nurture debate Essay

The nature versus nurture debate was founded by Francis Galton in the 19th century. It basically states that all of your attributes are either hereditary or environmentally. There are many theories that have challenges the nature versus nurture theory. For example; some of the theories state that there are different kinds of attributes such as life experiences, how our parents raise us, what we are taught at school and our cultural backgrounds. It is obvious that we are born with some of our parents attributes, for example your parents may both have long legs that you inherited, but things like perhaps a love of poetry or your sexual preference weren’t inherited, and have influenced your personality from your surroundings. There are lots of identical twins separated at birth that reunite as adults to find they had been using the same brand of toothpaste or have named their dogs the same names. This proves the nature theory, proving that attributes are founded at birth. But other scientists are taking this further and into ethical questions such as â€Å"what if serial killers were born to commit their crimes?† The most current nature versus nurture debate is whether the â€Å"gay gene† exists or not. This would suggest that homosexuality is no more a choice than eye colour. There are also attributes that are a mixture of nature and nurture, such as: Personality: Nurture – often there are similarities and differences that come from your parents. Nature – Children develop personalities and lean towards certain behaviours such as shyness and anger. It sometimes cannot be explained because the parents sometimes don’t have these traits. Homosexuality: Nurture – It’s widely seen that it is a humans choice to be a homosexual, where as some people believe that it’s to do with someone’s upbringing. Nature – People believe that homosexuality is genetic, like your foot size or eye colour. The argument for this is the perspective that nature being responsible for the individual development in life. Intelligence: Nurture – This could be based on the childs educational background as well as how the individuals parents had raised them. Nature – Someones ability to achieve and someone who picks up on their parents level of intelligence and tries to match it. To conclude the nature versus nurture debate, It shows that the physical and mental aspects can be queried by an individual to show how a person can develop through their parents or nature. What’s most likely is that both nature and nurture play some role in how we all turn out. But no one really knows with certainty. The true answer as to which side tips the scale remains to be seen. How this affects Samora: Samora’s Early childhood- Physical – Samora would have inherited her average height and weight from her parents meaning that her parents must also be of average height and weight. This physical attribute is nature, and will affect Samora by making her less vulnerable to diseases like obesity and diet related issues. She had all the normal childhood diseases, meaning she was quite an average child. Mental – Samora’s development at this life stage would be brief. Her childhood is the most important part of her mental development as this is the time she would be nurtured to start moulding her personality. She is averagely intelligent, leaving school with a decent amount of A-C GCSE’s, and having good A level grades allowing her to go to university, This was nurtured in to her since she was a child as her parents must be clever as they both have quite well paid jobs, and her brother and sister do also. Emotional – At this age Samora would have become stubborn or angry when change occurred, as she doesn’t have full control over her emotions. As her early childhood progresses, she should have been nurtured to gain more control over her emotions and learn right from wrong. Social – At the beginning of Samora’s childhood she would have been the centre of attention, which her older siblings may not have liked. This could of affected her relationship with her siblings as the youngest child is always the most vulnerable to sibling jealousy. How nature/nurture affects early childhood – I believe that nature is obviously a very important part of a person’s early childhood, as  it is the attributes they are born with, and will live with for the rest of their lives. However, nurture plays an extremely important part in a person’s overall development. For example, if both of a person’s parents smoke, the person is more likely to smoke in the future, as they are nurtured in to believing that is the correct thing to do. Samora’s Adolescence- Physical – As Samora is of average height and weight, her physical attributes should develop averagely. For example, during adolescence Samora’s breast would start to develop, she would have started body hair, her weight should increase and she may develop acne. This is nature, as they are things that Samora can’t change. Samora started smoking at the age of 15, which is very young and could have shunted her full lung development. She also does dancing and netball, which would have helped her going through puberty, as she wouldn’t gain as much weight as she was active. Mental – This is where Samora decided her career. She is a qualified primary school teacher, which she would have had to of decided on when she started college. This could have been a stressful time for Samora as she had to decide the rest of her future at such a young age. She may have started smoking due to a false safety net, believing that bad things cant happen to her. For exampl e, she could have believed that she wouldn’t get addicted to cigarettes because she believed she was untouchable. Emotional – Adolescence is where you develop your identity, This could have been when Samora decided she was a lesbian. I believe that Samora wasn’t a troubled teenager as she isn’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, and she had good GCSE grades. This is due to the nurture of Samora. Social – It says that Samora is sociable meaning that she must have friends. During adolescence, teenagers may struggle making and maintaining friends as they will act out at anyone and everyone, This is nurture as you aren’t born with friends. How nature/nurture affects adolescence – Nature affects adolescence as they have to go through a lot of physical changes (puberty) which is a very important part of development. Nurture is also important as a person starts to develop their identity, and their surroundings could have an important influence on this.

Hotel Management Documentation

` USER MANUAL CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Getting Started 3. Main Menu 4. Master file Maintenance 5. Payroll Reports 6. Payroll data Backup and Restore INTRODUCTION Confide payroll system is a windows payroll software written in Microsoft Visual Basic (VB. NET). Although confide pay system is extremely powerful it is in no way difficult to use. The payroll software includes many new features that enable the user to do your work easier and faster. In this windows version, user will improve productivity with time saving windows feature.All command bars and drop menus are logically organised in systematic manner that will enable user to operate smoothly. Confide payroll is highly respected because of its high performance, user friendly and data integrity. We therefore strive for the best improvement to support customers in terms of quality. These notes, together with the practical you will do during the day, will ensure that learning to use the system is an informative and useful experi ence for you. GETTING STARTED After installation procedure a shortcut icon is created on the desktop to provide easy access to your program.Double click the shortcut icon to gain access to your Confide payroll system. When you see the log in main screen appears, you have to type in the correct information so that you can successfully enter into the system. 1) Enter your User name in the text box provided. Press Tab to move to the next box. 2) Enter your password. The password is case sensitive so ensure that your Caps lock key is on or off as required. MAIN MENU Once you have entered your password and selected the payroll required you will find yourself in the Opening menu.Features include: – 1) A drop down list of all the chief program options. Like the drop down lists in other Windows menus, if a folder has a + in the box beside it, when you click the + 2) A list of the options included in that folder will drop down, while the + changes to a – COMPANY SETUP Before at tempting to store any employees, you have to enter your company details. Go to MAIN MENU select FILE and then click on the NEW COMPANY tab the following window appears Enter all your company details and press the Save button on menubar. PAYROLL STANDARDSTo setup the payroll standards you go on the SETUP Menu, SELECT Payroll Standards then set your standard hours and days. PAYROLL CALENDAR Under the main menu select SETUP go to PAYROLL CALENDAR then in the textbox enter the 12 runs per year. Set your calendar from January to December. MASTERFILE MAINTAINACE The section enables the user to add, update, delete and view employees in the master file. Employee details such as Name, Date of Birth, ID Number, Medical aid scheme and number of dependents are stored in the Employee File. ENTERING A NEW EMPLOYEE 1.Select Employees from the Confide Navigation bar and double click ALL employees, click the new employee Button. 2. The employee data entry screen offers a series of tabs each correspo nding to a Page of information about the employee. . 3. Click on the tab with the details you need to enter and enter the details about the employee in the form presented – see example overleaf. PAYROLL RUN To run the payroll, go onto the Payroll menu select Payroll Run. The following form appears select the Process button. You will be asked to backup your data for payroll pre run .Specify your data backup name and SQL path and press OK. PAYROLL REPORTS PAYROLL SUMMARY To view the payroll summary select the + sign on the REPORTS icon on the payroll navigation bar types of reports are shown as shown on the screen below: Double click on the payroll summary icon and the payroll summary for the month is displayed. PAYSLIPS To view and print pay slips on the reports menu double click the pay slip icon and you will be asked to enter the date to be printed on the pay slip and also to select the number of pay slips you want to print and then press OK.The pay slips will be generated a utomatically. DATA BACKUP Backup – A backup is a compressed copy of your data at the moment when you make the backup. Work that you do after a backup is lost if the backup is restored, so that we recommend that a backup is done every 30mins when working on the payroll. Clicking on the payroll on the menu bar and select payroll data backup button will bring up a screen that allows you to back up your data as shown below:Specify your backup name, the path where you want to store your backup and select OK a message is shown for notification that your payroll data had been successful saved. RESTORE The option to restore is found under payroll on the main menu, as shown in Fig 2g below. Selecting this option brings up the Data Restore screen 1) Select the path on which source database is stored 2) Select the SQL Server Data Path 3) Select one of the two buttons shown and your data will be successfully restored.

What’s Stifling Creativity at Coolburst

Everyday the world is changing around us. It is an essential part of growth, maturity and effectiveness. Everything from the change in weather, an age, government, or religion affect the way people view, think and perform in certain situations and as a whole in society. History has proven that creative minds can ultimately change an outcome for the better or even the worst. From telegraphs to cellular phones, McIntosh computers to IPODs and IPADs, it was the organizations of these products that took a major risk in investing into someone’s creative idea that affect our society as a whole. These companies have seen their fair share of profits lows and highs through the toughest economy eras, but they continued to persevere and prosper through such times by thinking out the realm of possibility and making their possibilities into reality. However, what happens when an organization suppresses the thought of reinventing themselves to adapt to changes in society and even the world? Coolburst is experiencing a major organizational struggle between what worked for them to get them where they are today and what it takes to continue to strive in the future. Coolburst is located in Miami, Florida. The drink products that they serve are sold in schools and restaurants. The traditional views of during business have forwarded them much success from their beginnings. They have experience great growth through the years, but recently, they profit margin has remained steadily with no boosting sales. Director of Marketing Sam Jenkins has challenged Coolburst’s view and management on changing their way of thinking and opening their mind to new ideas under former CEO Garth LaRoue. Jenkins’s new ideas of productivity and innovation were considered unorthodox within the organization. Ultimately, Jenkins left the Coolburst to go with a company that was very more innovated and creativity. Witnessing these differences of opinions between Coolburst and Jenkins is new CEO Luisa Roberado. Now, Roberado is facing one of biggest challenges yet for Coolburst, what changes can be made to make Coolburst more profitable and more creativity to keep up or even surpassed the demand of an ever changing society. Was Jenkins’s new idea that far fetched with the organization or was he on to something that can change the way Coolburst does business to compete with potential competitor? This case study will explore why Coolburst had a hard time accepting Jenkins’s idea on making Coolburst better in the future, what the organization can do to keep with social changes, and how Roberado can implement and even changed the current ideology of Coolburst and help the company tapped into their resources and flourish the company to the top in innovation, creativity, and in profit margins.

Hippa Violations Essay

A staff nurse working at a medical clinic looked up a patient file in order to weaken a lawsuit case the patient had against the nurse’s husband. She gave the information to her husband who then called the patient and made it known that he had medical information which he believed weakened the man’s case. He suggested that the man consider dropping the lawsuit. The patient called and informed the clinic what the nurse had done. He also called the district attorney and within a month both the husband and the nurse was indicted. The nurse was also fired the day after the she gave the information to her husband. The nurse pleaded out and is awaiting sentencing. She faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of as much as $250,000, and up to three years of supervised probation. The state nursing board is seeking to revoke her license. The nurse had no right to look up the patient information and she certainly had no right to share the information with her husband. She effectively ruined her life along with her husband’s. If she was worried about the lawsuit, there were other ways to go about getting help. They could have hired a good lawyer to help. She put her entire clinic in jeopardy for selfish reasons. The clinic handled the situation perfectly. They fired the nurse on the spot as soon as the breach was brought to light and held a meeting to educate employees on the importance of HIPAA and what could happen if it is violated. I do feel sorry for the nurse because she was dealing with so much stress but she deserves what she gets. She had other options available to her and shouldn’t have looked up that information.

Pros and Cons of Vivisecton

Scholastic Essay â€Å"Animals are people too? † This is a question that might be asked by an inquisitive person. Literally speaking, animals are not people. However, animals have feelings too and should be treated the way people are treated. In today's modern society, vivisection is a free practice. This is due to the fact that animals are not protected by humans and are free to be caught and used in mankind's experiments in a pursue of knowledge. One might ask : What is vivisection?Well, so to speak, vivisection is the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research. In my opinion, there are pros and cons to this practice. First and foremost, I would like to say that one of the pros of vivisection is for medical advancement. More specifically, vivisection is used for medical experimentation. The best way to test potentially new medicines is by using animals. If the test is successful, then the medicine will be teste d on humans. Read more about Pros and Cons Of ReligionThe reason vivisection is carried out is because the lifespan of an animal is shorter than the lifespan of a human. Therefore, the lifespan of an animal is considered to be less valuable than humans. Any breakthrough in medicine does not only benefit humans, but it might also benefit animals as well as plants. Medical Advancement: Additionally, new medicines can also help animals too, so this falls under the philosophy of the needs of the many (animals) outweigh the needs of the few (animals).Meaning the few animals that are sacrificed or tested upon is worth less than the many animals that are potentially saved or helped, thus helping the greater good is more morale. Of course, this opinion is subjective to each person. Product Safety: Another popular reason for animal testing is for determining the safety of products, such as cosmetics testing. In theory, animals used for safety testing are typically not killed and remain healthy, however th ey are often maltreated.Again, it is commonly considered that the safety of people outweighs the safety of animals, thus animal testing for safety is common. Scientific Knowledge: Animal testing and experimentation is an excellent source to increase scientific knowledge. No one knows what knowledge that will be attained through animal testing, so the value of such animal testing cannot be ascertained ahead of time or even guessed. The most common examples of animal experimentation for scientific knowledge are animal biopsies and vivisections in schools to teach children biology and medical procedures.While this type of animal testing might not yield immediate useful results, it has been helpful in the long term of helping science. Accuracy: Finally, the biggest reason for animal testing is because it works better than any other alternative. Why animal testing can yield results different than human testing, the similarities between animals and humans is staggering and thus helpful to mankind. Reasons Against Animal Testing Torture and Suffering: Animals undergoing testing can be subjected to torture and suffering.Alternatively in some cases, some animals may be even cured of their ailments and diseases during the process of animal testing. Death: Animals can, and sometimes often, die in the process of animal testing. Ethics/Morality: The ethics and morality of testing on animals is often debated. A large number of people do not believe animal testing is ethical, however they often concede that it is necessary. Choice: Since animals cannot volunteer for animal testing, then some people believe animal testing is not ethical.These people believe that it is only ethical to test on subjects who willingly give their consent for self testing. Accuracy: As mentioned before, animals are different than people, thus their testing results are not always useful or practical for human comparisons. Therefore, if the usefulness of animal testing is in question, then animal tes ting should be reconsidered. Price: Finally, the price of keeping and disposing of animals can be quite high. That is why testing, on computer simulations, has increased recently. However, the accuracy of computer simulations is less than animal testing.