English literature Essay Example for Free

English literature Essay For Locke, all knowledge comes exclusively through experience. He argues that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that humans fill with ideas as they experience the world through the five senses. Locke defines knowledge as the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy, of the ideas humans form. From this definition it follows that our knowledge does not extend beyond the scope of human ideas. In fact, it would mean that our knowledge is even narrower than this description implies, because the connection between most simple human ideas is unknown. Because ideas are limited by experience, and we cannot possibly experience everything that exists in the world, our knowledge is further compromised. However, Locke asserts that though our knowledge is necessarily limited in these ways, we can still be certain of some things. For example, we have an intuitive and immediate knowledge of our own existence, even if we are ignorant of the metaphysical essence of our souls. We also have a demonstrative knowledge of God’s existence, though our understanding cannot fully comprehend who or what he is. We know other things through sensation. We know that our ideas correspond to external realities because the mind cannot invent such things without experience. A blind man, for example, would not be able to form a concept of colour. Therefore, those of us who have sight can reason that since we do perceive colours, they must exist.

Gender Differences in Body Image

Gender Differences in Body Image Body Image and Gender Difference: A Study of Epic Proportions Introduction Body image is defined as â€Å"The subjective picture or mental image of one’s own body†, with a statement as broad as this it is easy to see how there are discrepancies when it comes to how one chooses to view themselves. The constant input of ideal body types from the media and outside sources bombards one’s mind and can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and a longing for change. This study aimed to closely examine body image, gender differences, and confidence to perform physical activity in relation to students attending their first-year program at university. This correlation is important to study because it addresses topics such as body image and the role physical activity plays in the lives of individuals which can be applied to everyday life. Predicting that females will have a stronger relationship with negative body image than males is a valid expectation when it is formed on the basis that women have a biological predisposition to higher body fat percentages, along with societies idealized standard of beauty which increasingly insists on women being thin (Cash, Morrow, Hrabosky & Perry, 2004). The study Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First-Year College Students (Lowery et al., 2005) supports this prediction. Men displayed more positive body image than women, which may be influenced by societal expectations for women being more extreme than those for men. These findings are consistent with other studies (Silberstein, Striegel-Moore, Timko, & Rodin, 1988) where despite the majority of both male and female participants selecting an ideal body that differed from their perceived figures, twice as many females had chosen an ideal figure that was two or more figures apart from thei r perceived figure.   Compared to men, women reported more body surveillance, greater body shame, a greater discrepancy between their ideal and real body figures, and more dissatisfaction with their weight and physical appearance (Lowery et al., 2005). Evidence in studies also suggests that there is a positive relationship between physical activity and body image (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000) (Campbell & Hausenblas, 2009). A six-month exercise program composed of 24 males and 24 females, compared to a control group, produced results that showed that the exercise group improved in physical self-concept significantly in comparison to the control group. Further analysis determined that the only variable that differed considerably between males and females was perceived physical fitness (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000). All other dependent variables were similar between participants of both sexes at the beginning of the study. Therefore, while both males and females increased in positive body image consistently with each other throughout the study, the difference in body image between men and women also remained consistent throughout the study. Another similar study (Sà ¡nchez-Miguel, Leo, Amado, Pulido, & Sà ¡nchez-Oliva, 2017) showed that not only did females have a more negative body image than males, regardless of the effects of physical activity, but that intrinsic motivation towards exercise was greater in males while amotivation was more prominent in females. Research suggests that this may be explained due to women’s tendency to associate body dissatisfaction with the concept of self-esteem (Furnham, Badmin & Sneade, 2002), which could potentially discourage women from exercising, while male self-esteem seemed to have no correlation with body dissatisfaction, thus had no effect on motivation to exercise. Additional research can be used to associate poor self-esteem adversely influencing women’s lower levels of motivation to exercise with the consensus that females have a more negative body image.   A relevant study showed patterns that indicated that those with a higher positive body image were more likely to engage in physical activity in comparison to those with a predominantly negative body image (Kruger, Lee, Ainsworth & Marcera, 2008). Dr. Kruger’s study, Body Size Satisfaction, and Physical Activity Levels Among Men and Women, tested the correlation between body image and physical exercise. The results of this study found that 55.8% of men and 53.3% of women with positive body image exercised regularly. Regardless of participants actual weight, those who were satisfied with their body had a higher probability of engaging in physical activity than those less satisfied. The main questions this study is looking to answer are; how satisfied are students with their bodies, are confidence to manage and perform physical activity, body mass index (BMI) or actual physical activity levels related to body-image satisfaction in this population and lastly, do men have more positive body-image satisfaction than women. It is also predicted that females will have lower body satisfaction and overall body image scores than males based off prior results from other similar studies. Methods Participants The sample for this study consisted of 112 first year students, with 73 females and 39 males. Ranging in ages from 18-24, the average age for females was 18.5 and the average age for males was 18.7, with an overall average age of 18.6 years. Measures The approach used for this study was a one-time qualitative online questionnaire filled out by the first year students enrolled in the course. The questionnaire assessed the psychological variables by using a modified version of the self-efficacy measures (Shields & Brawley, 2007) to look at confidence to manage and perform physical activity. It also uses The Adult Body Satisfaction Questionnaire based on the body-cathexis scale (Secord & Jourard, 1953) to measure body image, and The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin, 2011) to measure physical activity. Finally, it calculates BMI (measured by weight in kg/height in meters squared) and individual demographics such as age and sex. The results were then combined into a spreadsheet that compiled all of the given information (sex, age, height, weight, level of physical activity, years in sport, confidence levels and individual physical appearance satisfaction). This method of data collection is seen as an accessible way of composing a large set of data quickly and easily. Procedures The study conducted was cross-sectional involving first-year students completing a one-time, anonymous, online questionnaire specific to body image, confidence, physical activity, body mass index and demographics such as age and gender. The participants were asked to rank their satisfaction on a scale of 1-7 relating to specific questions. Some of the questions included; In the past 4 weeks how satisfied have you been with your overall level of physical fitness? In the past 4 weeks, how satisfied have you been with your physical ability to do what you want or need to do? In the past 4 weeks, how satisfied have you been with your overall physical appearance? The dependent variable was the students completing the online questionnaire. The independent variable was the questionnaire that was created for the study, this is because the questions did not change at any point, therefore, staying consistent throughout the study no matter whether the students completed the questionnaire or not.    Results Table 1 shows the total number of students enrolled in first-yearthat completed the survey. The table has been separated by gender as well as combined to give an overall view. Demographics such as age, height, weight, and body mass index have also been included to give background information as to who is representing the population. In general, there is an observable difference in the number of females versus males that participated in the study as can be seen in Table 1. Table 1: General Population Information Table 2 represents the male, female and overall average involvement in sport and physical activity, as well as reported confidence levels and body satisfaction. On average with regard to the population, females had a slightly lower body satisfaction score when compared to males, as well as a significantly lower reported confidence than the males. Overall females scored lower than males in each category. This data shows that students had an overall body satisfaction of 64.29%, with males averaging 73.29% and females averaging 59.57%. This shows that in the population males have a 13.72% higher body satisfaction than females and an overall more positive body image. Table 2: Physical Activity and Body Image Scores Both male and female students were represented as different populations in this study, using a two-sample equal variance T-test with a two-tail distribution the average body satisfaction of male and female students at Acadia University was calculated. The test had an alpha value of 0.05 (probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when the hypothesis is true) and a p-value of 0.0002 (the result of the T-test). The null hypothesis (Ho) should be rejected because the p-value is less than the alpha value, also represented as 0.0002 ≠¤ 0.05. The null hypothesis is that neither male or female students will have any difference in body satisfaction when compared to each other. The Pearsons correlation (represented by r) was used to calculate the strength of a relationship between two variables. Average body satisfaction and total physical activity for the entire population presented a moderate, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.22). For males, the relationship is weak, negative, linear (r= -0.1) and with females, the relationship is moderate, positive, linear (r= 0.38). Average body satisfaction and BMI overall shows a moderate, negative, linear correlation (r= -0.19), males presented a moderate, positive, linear correlation (r= 0.24) and females presented a strong, negative, linear correlation (r= -0.39). Average body image satisfaction and confidence to manage PA (physical activity) presented an overall strong, positive, linear correlation (r=0.48), males presented a weak, positive, linear correlation (r= 0.13) and females presented a strong, positive, linear correlation (r= 0.48). The correlation between body image satisfaction and confidence to perform PA (physical activity) presented an overall moderate, positive, linear correlation (r=0.3) men presented a weak, negative, linear correlation (r= -0.11) and females presented a strong, positive, linear correlation (r= 0.32). In addition, average body satisfaction and total MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) presented a moderate, positive linear relationship (r= 0.38). When the population was split into male and female it showed that males have a weak, negative, linear relationship (r= 0.09) and females have a strong, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.54). Overall average body satisfaction and confidence presented a strong, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.44) when the population was split into male and female, however, the results change slightly. Males presented a weak, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.045) and females present a strong, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.46). These results indicate that the relationship between average body satisfaction and reported confidence is a much stronger correlation for females than males. Average confidence to manage PA (physical activity) and years in sport is a moderate, positive, linear relationship (r=0.37). The correlation between confidence to perform PA (physical activity) and years in sport have a moderate, positive, linear relationship (r= 0.22), with very little difference when the population was split into male and female. The correlation scale is based on r≠¤ 0.2 representing a weak correlation, 0.2 ≠¤ r >0.4 representing a moderate correlation and r >0.4 being a strong correlation. As shown in Graph 1 females tend to decrease in body satisfaction as BMI increases. Graph 1 As shown in Graph 2 males tend to increase in body satisfaction as BMI increases. Graph 2 Discussion The overall findings showed that first-year students have an overall body satisfaction of 64.29%, where males tend to score 73.29% in contrast to females who average 59.57%. This shows that in the population males have a 13.72% higher body satisfaction than females and an overall more positive body image. This supports the original hypothesis that females will have a lower body satisfaction and overall body image scores than males. When looking at the relationship between average body satisfaction and total physical activity there was a moderate positive relationship for the overall population. Looking at the men, the relationship was weak and negative and for the females, it was similar to the overall population with a moderate positive relationship. This means that for women there is a connection between how they feel about their bodies and the amount of physical activity they do in a week, the opposite can be said for men. Looking at the correlation between body satisfaction and body mass index shows that on average there is a moderate negative relationship. Meaning that the lower the BMI the higher the body satisfaction, this is especially true for females. Body image satisfaction and confidence to manage physical activity had an overall strong relationship but when the population was split up into men and women it showed that the correlation was much stronger for females than it was for males. Meaning that for women the more comfortable they are in their bodies the more comfortable they are managing physical activity. Similar to the last findings when looking at body image and confidence to perform instead of managing physical activity females had a much stronger correlation between the two variables than men did. As predicted, this study found that women tend to have more negative body image than men. These findings are consistent with several studies that also concluded that males displayed higher body satisfaction than females (Lowery et al., 2005; Alfermann & Stoll, 2000; Kruger et al., 2008). The results of this study also suggest that societal expectations for women to be thin could be a factor in why females exhibit negative body image more than men. The findings of this study show that when BMI increases, average body satisfaction decreases in females, but increases in males or is unaffected by BMI. This directly corresponds with the findings of (Lowery et al., 2005) who found the same correlations. Additionally, our results which found a lower average confidence to perform in females (72.60) than in males (86.15) coincide with those of (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000) which stated that when there were no sex differences in dependent variables, they found a significant difference in perceived physical fitness where in females were much lower than males. Another similarity between our study and the one of (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000) is that of increased body satisfaction in those who are more physically active regardless of gender. Alfermann explains, â€Å"†¦exercise intervention conditions had improved body image compared to control conditions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000) which can be translated in to our study, which takes place in day-to-day life, by concluding that those who exercise more regularly would similarly resemble that of those partaking in the exercise and those who exercise less would closer resemble the control group. Due to the fact that these findings are similar to the results from other studies, it is not hard to believe these results. With that, these findings can be applied to real-world scenarios focusing on body image in general for both men and women or looking more closely at the effects (positive and negative) physical activity has on women. Due to the fact that this study was conducted on first-year students ranging from ages 18-24, it would be easy to apply these principles to others of the same age range or close to it. It would also be possible to use these findings to try and proactively educate girls about these findings at a young age. This could potentially help them learn to be more satisfied with their bodies throughout their lives, which would hopefully pass on to future generations. It is important to note that even though this study follows the trend of other similar studies there are always discrepancies, and due to the fact that this data is based solely on a one-time survey there is definitely room for error. Meaning that there is no way to draw a final conclusion, simply use this information as an additional source. A next step to build off of this study could be to add 2nd, 3rd and 4th-year students, which would expand the population giving a broader understanding of the results.   References Alfermann, D., & Stoll, O. (2000). Effects of physical exercise on self-concept and well-being.   Ã‚  Ã‚   International Journal of Sport Psychology, 31(1), 47-65 Campbell, A., & Hausenblas, H. A. (2009). Effects of Exercise Interventions on Body Image. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(6), 780-793. doi:10.1177/1359105309338977   Cash, T. F., Morrow, J. A., Hrabosky, J. I., & Perry, A. A. (2004). How Has Body Image Changed? A Cross-Sectional Investigation of College Women and Men From 1983 to    2001. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(6), 10811089.doi:10.1037/0022-006x.72.6.1081 Furnham, A., Badmin, N., & Sneade, I. (2002). Body Image Dissatisfaction: Gender Differences  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   in Eating Attitudes, Self-Esteem, and Reasons for Exercise. The Journal of Psychology,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   136(6), 581-596. doi:10.1080/00223980209604820   Kirkcaldy, B. D., Shephard, R. J., & Siefen, R. G. (2002). The relationship between physical   activity and self-image and problem behaviour among adolescents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37(11), 544-550. doi:10.1007/s00127-002-0554-7 Kruger, J., Lee, C., Ainsworth, B. E., & Macera, C. A. (2008). Body Size Satisfaction and Physical Activity Levels Among Men and Women. Obesity, 16(8), 1976-1979. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.311 Lowery, S. E., Kurpius, S. E., Befort, C., Blanks, E. H., Sollenberger, S., Nicpon, M. F., & Huser, L. (2005). Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 612 623. doi:10.1353/csd.2005.0062   Sà ¡nchez-Miguel, P. A., Leo, F. M., Amado, D., Pulido, J. J., & Sà ¡nchez-Oliva, D. (2017). Relationships Between Physical Activity Levels, Self-Identity, Body Dissatisfaction and Motivation Among Spanish High School Students. Journal of Human Kinetics, 59(1).    doi:10.1515/hukin-2017-0145   Silberstein, L. R., Striegel-Moore, R. H., Timko, C., & Rodin, J. (1988). Behavioral and psychological implications of body dissatisfaction: Do men and women differ? Sex Roles, 19(3-4), 219-232. doi:10.1007/bf00290156

Elie Wiesel Holocaust Survivor Essay -- Essays Papers

Elie Wiesel Holocaust Survivor As war broke out in Europe during 1939, no one could either imagine or believe the terror that Adolf Hitler would soon bring to the lives of Jewish people. Drawing from his paranoia and a drive for a world Nazi power, Hitler singled out the Jews as the cause for problems in Germany and began to carry out his plan for the destruction of a part of humanity. Hitler not only persecuted the Jews of Germany, but he also targeted the Jews in Poland and other parts of Europe, such as Transylvania, which was the home of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Breaking his self-imposed vow of silence in 1958, Elie Wiesel published Night which details his horrific experiences at the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps during World War II. Deported from his home in Sighet, Transylvania when just a teenager, Wiesel along with many others struggled through bitter cold, inadequate meals, excruciating labor, and long journeys in overcrowded, filthy train cars. In Night, Wiesel not only details his horrific experiences, but also shows how the Jews first denied the Holocaust, next rejected God, and finally how fathers and sons struggled against each other for survival. Wiesel begins his story in 1944 with memories of his idol, Moesh the Beadle. Moesh talked for long hours with Wiesel about prayer, God, and Jewish books. Suddenly, one day all foreign Jews were removed from Sighet and since Moesh was a foreigner, he was crammed into the overcrowded trains by the Hungarian police. As the train pulled away one Jew said,"What can we expect? It's war."1 This comment displays the beginning of the denial by the Jews. The community of Sighet talked of how well the deportees were doing as workers i... .... Frangsmyr, 1 23. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc., Danbury, CT. Bibliography - Arad, Yitzhak, Yisrael Gutman, and Abraham Margaliot. Documents on The Holocaust. Jerusalem, Israel: Ahva Cooperative Press, 1981. - Frangsmyr, Tore. Biography of Elie Wiesel-Nobel Peace Prize-1986. Les Prix Nobel. http://nobel.sdsc.edu/laureates/peace-1986-1-bio.html (25 October 1998) - Grace, Richard A. Elie Wiesel Ellis Island Medals of Honor. http://www.neco.org/e.wiesel.html (25 October 1998) - Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc. , Danbury, CT. - Holmstrom, David. conversations with Outstanding Americans: Elie Wiesel The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com (15 October 1998) - Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Hill & Wang Publishing, 1982.

causes of life :: essays research papers

For biologists, x-ray crystallography has always been a tricky technology. Harder than getting a good beam was growing large crystals of biological molecules-a task that's been compared to building regular structures from wiggly bits of Jello. Today, synchrotron light from facilities such as Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source may make it possible to use protein crystals as small as 50 microns (50 millionths of a meter) in length. The crystals themselves may also become easier to grow, thanks to a unique robotic system designed and built by Joseph Jaklevic, head of Engineering Sciences, and his colleagues in the Engineering Division's Bioinstrumentation Department. "The idea for a high-throughput combinatorial approach to crystal growth came from Peter Schultz," says Jaklevic. "The basic idea is that, instead of having to plod through all the hundreds of ways you might get a protein to crystallize, you more or less try 'em all at once." Schultz pioneered combinatorial methods as a member of the Lab's Materials Sciences Division; he recently became head of the Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics in La Jolla, California. He and his colleague Raymond Stevens of the Lab's Physical Biosciences Division saw the combinatorial approach as a natural solution to the challenge of growing protein crystals. That's because "biologists really have no idea what the best conditions are for growing crystals of a new protein," says Derek Yegian, a member of the team that built the new robotic system. "Different proteins precipitate out of solution and grow at different rates-or don't grow at all-depending on the solution's acidity, temperature, concentrations of salts, and lots of other variables. " The innovative robot above, designed and built by Joe Jaklevic and his colleagues in the Engineering Division's Bioinstrumentation Department, can automatically grow crystals of a novel protein by screening 480 different growth solutions at once. Only the very purest proteins will crystallize, and pure protein is expensive; even common commercial proteins can cost hundreds of dollars a gram. Often hundreds of combinations of variables must be tried before a novel protein can be crystallized from solution. Most trial solutions are prepared by hand at the rate of about 30 an hour, typically requiring one to 10 microliters of pure protein for 50 to 100 "coarse-screening" trials; whether a particular solution yields a crystal is apparent only days or weeks later. "Manual methods are slow and error-prone," says Yegian, and although some steps have been automated within the past few years, "commercial robots are not much better.

Notes on John Locke :: Second Treatise on Civil Government

Notes on John Locke (1632-1704), selections from The Second Treatise of Government (1690) As we will examine it, a defining theme of the American experience from Thomas Jefferson through Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Martin Luther King, Jr. is democratic revolution: these and other major figures seek to change the existing social structure, in order to expand the circle of democracy - to encompass ever larger groups of people within a democratic framework which recognizes the basic equality and rights of each member. Using Jefferson as the starting point, the circle of democratic rights initially includes white males over the age of 41 who meet certain property requirements. Elizabeth Cady Stanton seeks to enlarge this circle to include women - as Martin Luther King, Jr., seeks to enlarge the circle to include people of color. How do you argue for revolutionary change? The American experience is striking not only for its theme of revolutionary change: more fundamentally, these diverse calls for revolution all rest on a shared, central argument. This argument begins from certain premises, and uses those premises to support a specific conclusion - the conclusion that democratic revolution, radical social change in the direction of increasing equality with regard to rights and standing before the law, is justified. The shared argument looks like this: [P1] Governments (Jefferson, Cady Stanton) and laws (Martin Luther King, Jr.) are legitimate only if they rest on the consent of the governed and protect basic rights. [P2] If governments and laws lack this consent, and/or fail to protect these rights, then [C1] such governments are no longer legitimate, and/or such laws are unjust. [P3] Illegitimate governments and/or unjust laws require no allegiance. Therefore, [C2] Illegitimate governments and/or unjust laws must be dissolved and replaced with legitimate governments and/or just laws i.e., governments and/or laws which rest on the consent of the governed and protect basic rights (i.e., which meet the conditions of [P1]). While Jefferson first articulates this argument as the central justification for the American Revolution, we will see this argument used to support the struggle for women's suffrage (Cady Stanton) and the struggle for civil rights for American blacks (Martin Luther King, Jr.). But Jefferson did not invent this argument or its underlying assumptions. Among other sources, Jefferson was deeply influenced by Locke's views on human nature and the political arrangements befitting that nature - especially as Locke articulated his political philosophy in Two Treatistes of Government (1690).

Life Meaning Essay

The definition of life is very difficult. Although dictionaries and encyclopedias say in general is the intermediate state between birth and death, I think it goes far beyond, is something deeper and we all want to know. By asking this question we faced is as if we ourselves, as research is about something I’ve always lived, after much thought and analysis that is life, in my point of view I think is that although many try to define life as commonly defined other terms, in my position, life is not a thing, but rather as a process. To truly know that life is all we can do is live and this is the only way and how life is lived? Maybe it’s the question we should ask ourselves, what can say to that is this: being alive, flowing, running with her, walking with her. Life is now, is now, life is what is happening to us, life is not something or someone or somewhere that we have to look, life is a gift that we already have. lama you can feel in your breathing, your blood circulation in the beating of your heart. What you are now, that’s your life what happened to you, what is to befall and what not, that’s your life. While humans try to find different meanings to what life is and try to give the concept deeper, scientific, philosophical or theological response will never be enough to describe the life, and while people look the concept of life are missing what it is, they have forgotten the real and have been replaced by concepts and explanations that my term, to take advantage of anything. We see what is actually already here, we rationalizations. Nobody can give you the meaning of your life. It’s your life and you have to give it meaning only you. No one but you can find it. It’s your life and only accessible to you. Only by living the mystery will be revealed. Life is not looking at other people or writings or intelligent explanations, these are only justifications that ultimately explain nothing. Life is already bubbling within. Only if you want her there. The temple is on the outside, you are his sanctuary. So the first thing we must remember to define ourselves is life is never look outside or try to discover somebody. And the second thing to remember is that when you finally discover in yourself that is life, you will find that is death. At the beginning I mentioned that life is a process, well, death is part of that process. Humans usually think that death is the enemy of life, which is the grand finale, which is the enemy to be feared but in reality it is not, death is not the enemy, and if you consider death as the enemy that just shows you have not been able to know what life is. Although it seems absurd, death and life have many things in common, both have the same energy is a phenomenon like day and night, as cold and heat, and summer and winter, life and death are rivals, not polar opposites, are not separated and are not contrary, quite the contrary, they are complementary. Death is not the end of life is actually a culmination of a life, the summit of life, the climax, the great final stage. And once you know your life and your process, then you understand what death is. Death is a part harmony, full of life and is very friendly with her. Without it life can not exist. Death is a renewal process. And death happens every moment. The instant you inhale and exhale the moment, life and death are passing, both are given. By inspiring, life goes; upon expiry death comes. So when a child is born the first thing he does is breathe life begins there, however when the old man dies the last thing you do is breathe, there is life. The exhale is death, life is inspiring. They are like the two wheels of a cart. Lives that inspire and breathe out, is part of the inhale exhale, you can not breathe if you stop inhaling, the exhaling is part of breathing. You can not breathe if you stop exhaling. You can not live if you stop dying. The man who has understood what is your life, let death happen, welcomes you. Dies every minute and every moment to life. LIFE is a process, a process in which the past is dying every moment and born again and again into the future. If you look at what life is like you know what death is. If you understand what death is, only then will you be able to understand what life is. Life is a gift, a gift of God, and have certain scents that make it magical, like love, like friends or family, life is full of little moments that make your story and each of these moments is good live them with people you love and who love you, life without love is like a box that looks beautiful on the outside but when you open it and find it completely empty with nothing of value, that’s love, which gives value to your life. Maybe we’ve heard many times the phrase â€Å"living dead† for my concept that is the perfect definition, a life without love makes us dead in life. When we say â€Å"live life†, we mean that, to love, that gives meaning to life, to love somebody to love many or love everyone, to love God and to love nature. Life is real is what is in you is what queeres, there are things unreal, superficial exterior such as money, money is something that absorbs life unreal how many times we have not worried about getting money and is scientifically proven that concerns cause disease and alters the body of people altering the normal functioning of this, while we worry about things more unreal wears more life and go to becoming a plant that interest only superficial things, fine work and make money, which is not right that this will become the center of your life and everything in you turn around money. If we look at the birds of the sky and see how they survive only with his life, feed and have the best clothes that anyone ever could have, with all those colors and how they sing every morning, the birds live their lives, not care about anything and are inferior to us. We should take example from them. Finally we can say that life does not have to investigate it or try to define it or worry about understanding it, life must be lived and enjoyed.

Business Ethics in Bangladesh Essay

Social responsibility requires individuals engaging in business endeavors to behave in an ethical manner. Ethics are principles of behavior that distinguish between right and wrong. Ethical conduct conforms to what a group or society as a whole considers right behavior. People working in business frequently face ethical questions. Business ethics is the evaluation of business activities and behavior as right or wrong. Ethical standards in business are based on commonly accepted principles of behavior established by the expectations of society, the firm, the industry, and an individual’s personal values. Critically, â€Å"Business Ethics† can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people & institutions should behave in the world of commerce. In particular, it involves examining appropriate constraints on the pursuit of self-interest, or (for firms) profits, when the actions of individuals or firms affects others. (9) With unethical business practices o ften receiving publicity, the public sometimes believe that people in business are less ethical than others in society. But ethical problems challenge all segments of our society, including government, churches, and higher education. Most business leaders realize their firms cannot succeed without the trust of customers and the goodwill of society. A violation of ethics makes trust and goodwill difficult to maintain. In thousands of companies, executives and employees act according to the highest ethical standards. Unfortunately managers in some firms behave unethically, and these instances are often highly publicized. Personnel executive say the major reason managers behave unethically is to obtain power and money. Business ethics is a wider term that includes many other sub ethics that are relevant to the respective field. For example there is marketing ethics for marketing, ethics in HR for Human Resource Department and the like. Business ethics itself is a part of applied ethics; the latter takes care of ethical questions in the technical, social, legal and business ethics. Origin of Business Ethics When we trace the origin of business ethics we start with a period where profit maximization was seen as the only purpose of existence for a business. There was no consideration whatsoever for non-economic values, be  it the people who worked with organizations or the society that allowed the business to flourish. It was only in late 1980’s and 1990’s that both intelligentsia and the academics as well as the corporate began to show interest in the same. Nowadays almost all organizations lay due emphasis on their responsibilities towards the society and the nature and they call it by different names like corporate social responsibility, corporate governance or social responsibility charter. Primary and Important Sources of Business ethics Ethics in general refers to a system of good and bad, moral and immoral, fair and unfair. It is a code of conduct that is supposed to align behaviors within an organization and the social framework. But the question that remains is, where and when did business ethics come into being? Primarily ethics in business is affected by the following sources – family, religion, culture, legal system, codes of conduct, and personal experience. It is for this reason we do not have uniform or completely similar standards across the globe. These factors exert influences to varying degrees on humans which ultimately get reflected in the ethics of the organization. For example, ethics followed by Grameen Phone Ltd. are different from those followed by Square Group or Unilever for that matter. Again ethical procedures vary across geographic boundaries. Family A person’s values is the source of their ethics, and it is their philosophy, spiritual or religious beliefs that usually help mold and shape those values, but most of all it is how a person is raised by his family that sets the foundation for his ethics in later life. It’s the basic source of business ethics. Religion It is one of the oldest foundations of ethical standards. Religion wields varying influences across various sects of people. It is believed that ethics is a manifestation of the divine and so it draws a line between the good and the bad in the society. Depending upon the degree of religious influence we have different sects of people; we have sects, those who are referred to as orthodox or fundamentalists and those who are called as moderates. Needless to mention, religion exerts itself to a greater degree among the orthodox and to lesser extent in case of moderates. Fundamentally however all the religions operate on the principle of reciprocity towards ones fellow beings! Culture Culture is a pattern of behaviors and values that are transferred from one generation to another, those that are considered as ideal or within the acceptable limits. No wonder therefore that it is the culture that predominantly determines what is wrong and what is right. It is the culture that defines certain behavior as acceptable and others as unacceptable. Human civilization is fact has passed through various cultures, wherein the moral code was redrafted depending upon the epoch that was. What was immortal or unacceptable in certain culture became acceptable later on and vice versa. During the early years of human development where ones who were the strongest were the ones who survived! Violence, hostility and ferocity were thus the acceptable. Approximately 10,000 year ago when human civilization entered the settlement phase, hard work, patience and peace were seen as virtues and the earlier ones were considered otherwise. These values are still in practice by the managers of to day. Still further, when human civilization witnessed the industrial revolution, the ethics of agrarian economy was replaced by the law pertaining to technology, property rights etc. Ever since a tussle has ensued between the values of the agrarian and the industrial economy! Laws or Legal System of a Country Laws are procedures and code of conduct that are laid down by the legal system of the state. They are meant to guide human behavior within the social fabric. The major problem with the law is that all the ethical expectations cannot be covered by the law and specially with ever changing outer environment the law and specially with ever changing outer environment the law keeps on changing but often fails to keep pace. In business, complying with the rule of law is taken as ethical behavior, but organizations often break laws by evading taxes, compromising on quality,  service norms etc. Business Codes of Conduct A business code of ethics is a series of established principles an organization uses when operating in business or society. Organizations often develop these codes to ensure that all individuals working in the company operate according to the same standards. Most individuals have an internal code of ethics or moral principles they follow in life. A situation one individual finds ethically reprehensible may not seem so to another individual. Using a code of ethics in business attempts to create a basic understanding of acceptable ethical behavior to be used when handling situations involving the company, government agencies and the general public. Past Experience If an individual is rewarded or is not punished for behaving unethically, the behavior will probably be repeated. This type of experience encourages other to do unethical things in future. Likewise the threat of punishment and the lack of reward for unethical activities encourage that particular person and all others to behave ethically. Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior To encourage ethical behavior, executives, managers, and owners of firms must understand what influences behavior in the first place. The several factors that affect individuals’ behavior in business: the business environment, organizational factors, and an individual’s personal moral philosophy. The Business Environment Almost daily, business managers face ethical dilemmas resulting from the pressure of the business environment. They are challenged to meet sales quotas, cut costs, increase efficiency, or overtake competitors. Managers and employees may sometimes think the only way to survive in the competitive world of business is by deception or cheating. In some instances, an organization may use someone else’s successful work without the permission of the owner or originator. Conflict of interest is another common ethical problem stemming from the business environment. Often an individual has a  chance to further selfish interests rather than the interests of the organization or society. To gain favor with people who make purchasing decisions for their companies, a seller may offer special favors or gifts, ranging from a metal to clothing to trips. Some offer cash-a kickback-for putting through a contract or placing orders with a company. Others offer bribes. Such illegal conduct will damage the organization in the long run. In order to limit unethical behavior, business firms must begin by expecting their employees to obey all laws and regulations. The international business environment presents further ethical dilemmas. Business people and government officials in different countries and cultures often operate according to different ethical standards. The Organization The organization itself also influences ethical behavior. Individuals often learn ethical or unethical behaviors by interacting with others in the organization. An employee who sees a superior or co-worker behaving unethically may follow suit. An organization can also use rewards to influence the behavior of its members. If an individual is rewarded or is not punished for behaving unethically, the behavior will probably be repeated. Likewise the threat of punishment and the lack of reward for unethical activities encourage ethical behavior. The severity of punishment also sends a message to other individuals who might be considering similar activities. The Individual Values A person’s own moral philosophy also influences his or her ethical behavior. A moral philosophy is the set of principles that dictate acceptable behavior. These principles are learned from family, friends, co-workers, and other social groups and through formal education. In developing a moral philosophy, individuals can follow two approaches: The Humanistic Philosophy focuses on individual rights and values. Individuals and organizations adopting this philosophy would honor their moral duties to customers and workers. Individuals and organizations following the Utilitarian Philosophy seek the greatest good for the largest number of people. Importance of Business Ethics Most of us would agree that it is ethics in practice that makes sense; just having it carefully drafted and redrafted in books may not serve the purpose. Of course all of us want to be fair, clean and beneficial to the society. For that to happen, organizations need to abide by ethics or rule of law, engage themselves in fair practices and competition; all of which will benefit the consumer, the society and organization. Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics. In addition ethics is important because of the following: 1. Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one of the basic human needs.  Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its practices. 2. Creating Credibility: An organization that is believed to be driven by moral values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information about the working and businesses of that organization. British American Tobacco, for example is perceived as an organization for good corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who do not even know what business the organization is into. 3. Uniting People and Leadership: An organization driven by values is revered by its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors within the organization towards achievement of one common goal or mission. 4. Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum totals of all the decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for organizations. Decisions are driven by values. For example, an organization that does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a monopoly in the market. 5. Long Term gains: Organizations guided by ethics and values are profitable in the long run, though in the short run they may seem to lose money. For Example, Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was  seen on the verge of decline at the beginning of 1990’s, which soon turned out to be otherwise. The same company’s Tata NANO car was predicted as a failure, and failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now. 6. Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not help a great deal but ethics can. Business Ethics- Practice in Bangladesh In Bangladesh, though practice of Business ethics is still not so commendable in public sector and small companies, but business ethics has been an increasing concern among larger companies, at least since the 1990s. Major corporations increasingly fear the damage to their image associated with press revelations of unethical practices. The following information about the functions relating ethics and social responsibility of 2 reputed companies of our country will give a brief idea about the practice of Business Ethics in Bangladesh. ACI Limited Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited is one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh, with a multinational heritage. They have a mission to achieve business excellence through quality by understanding, accepting, meeting and exceeding customer expectations. They follow International Standards on Quality Management System to ensure consistent quality of products and services to achieve customer satisfaction. They are focusing on improving the food habit of consumers through providing more ready to cook products and ready to eat as well. Their visions are to establish harmonious relationship with the community and promote greater environmental responsibility within its sphere of influence. Their Values are Quality, Customer Focus, Fairness, Transparency, Continuous Improvement, and Innovation. Ethical Approaches: Societal Development through Educational Programs: ACI’s guiding principle in all its operations is to be a responsible corporate citizen. Thus Social Responsibility is a top priority for every individual at ACI. Their Initiatives and significant contribution to societal development is Continued Medical Education (CME) for medical professionals and Children’s Education Programs. ACI has also undertaken an English Education program in Faridpur, one of the remotest districts of Bangladesh. This provides support to teach English Language to school going children. Doctors in Bangladesh who are not living in the metropolitan cities have very limited access to the Internet or any other sources of information. In order to keep them updated on the developments in the medical practices regularly, the CME program has been proven highly effective. ACI believes that by promoting education of children, they are contributing to societal development by shaping the minds of their futur e leaders. Environment Friendly Practices: ACI has undertaken extensive programs to educate crop farmers all over rural Bangladesh in Good Agricultural Practices. They have a team of agricultural experts working at the field level all across the country, holding a range of technical trainings and field demonstrations. ACI also has similar education programs for animal and poultry farmers. These include, Technical trainings on diverse aspects of farming, and on application of new technologies, Farmers‘ group meeting for sharing of learning and experience, Free visits to farms by veterinarians, to identify problems and give advices to individual farmers. Most importantly, making the farmers aware of ways to protect the environment from hazardous uses of chemicals on their farms, allowing them the opportunity for informed decision-making. ACI hopes to continue to play a leading role in promoting greater environmental responsibility among farmers in Bangladesh. Unethical Approaches: ACI Company produces some products which do not work properly, like ACI Aerosol. It is mainly produced for killing mosquitoes, but that’s not true. Most of the mosquitoes go away for sometimes but not killed. Sometimes some  products like ACI Atta, ACI Maida, etc contains 1975 grams instead of 2000 grams but they fix their prices for 2kg of the products. These are unethical for their marketing practices. Unilever Bangladesh Limited Over the last four decades, Unilever Bangladesh has been constantly bringing new and world class products for the Bangladeshi people to remove the daily drudgery of life. Over 90% of the country’s households use one or more of Unilever products. They aim to give everybody a little something to celebrate about themselves every day. They believe that to succeed in business, it is essential to maintain the highest standards of corporate behavior towards everyone they work with, the communities they touch, and the environment on which they have an impact. Ethical Approaches: Effective Code of business principles: Their code of business principles describes the operational standards that everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. It also supports their approach to governance and corporate responsibility. Code of business principles are- Standard of conduct, Obey the law, employees, consumers, shareholders, business partners, community involvement, public activities, the environment, innovation, competition, business integrity, conflict of interest, compliance, reporting, monitor. Women Development and Women Empowerment: Unilever strongly believes in the importance of empowering women in Bangladesh, because the progress of any society will be constrained if a significant part of its population is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. They believe, with economic and educational empowerment, women can become more vocal about their rights and become stronger in withstanding repression in any form. So they have established â€Å"Fair & Lovely Foundation†. The mission of this foundation is to encourage economic empowerment of Bangladeshi women through information and resources in the areas of Education, Career and Enterprise. It is this realization that has brought about the Fair & Lovely Foundation Scholarship Program. Under this scholarship scheme, women who have passed their HSC each receives a Taka 25,000 scholarship to support her tertiary level education. Unethical Approaches: Unilever produces Fair & lovely fairness cream, lotion, etc and they claim that skin color will be white after using this product. But that it is not true. There are no scientific values about whiteness. This is totally unethical performance in marketing activities of this company. Comparative Customer Evaluation on Ethical Performances of 3 Reputed Companies of Bangladesh Figure – Customer Response on Maintenance of Ethical Procedure by the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Deceptive Practices Used by the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Significant Contribution toward Ethical Marketing (1) Figure – Customer Response on Satisfaction through Using Products of the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Changing of Defective Products by the Companies (1) Bribery & Nepotism- A Curse against Ethical Practice Corruption is a very strong example of unethical behavior and it is still prevailing in different business sectors of our country in the form of Bribery and Nepotism. Nepotism is the way in which someone approaches and compels a person of power and authority to take necessary steps to get his work done by capitalizing kinship, friendship or political lobbying. Bribery means offering gifts, money etc. to get a work done in unethical way. Often public officers are infamously alleged for taking bribes to award public contracts using their power. Bribery and Nepotism also exist in the corporate world, which is very harmful for ethical practices and creates hindrances in building proper and ethical business environment. Managing or Encouraging Ethical Behavior Managing the financial operations of a company can be a complex effort. Companies need to balance their desire to grow with the realities of maintaining their financial relationships, satisfying their investors and making a profit. Government Regulations: The government can do so by legislating more stringent regulations. But, rules require enforcement and when in many cases there is evidence of lack of enforcement even the ethical business person will tend to â€Å"slip something by† without getting caught. Increased regulation may help, but it surely cannot solve the entire business ethics problems. Trade Associations Setting Guidelines: Trade associations can and often do provide ethical guidelines for their members. These organizations within particular industries are in an excellent position to exert pressures on members that stoop to questionable business practices. Companies Providing Code of Ethics: Employees can more easily determine and adopt acceptable behavior when companies provide them with a â€Å"code of ethics.† Such codes are perhaps the most effective way to encourage ethical behavior. A code of ethics is a written guide to acceptable and ethical behavior that outlines uniform policies, standards and punishments for violations. Because employees know what is expected of them and what will happen if they violate the rules, a code of ethics goes a long way towards encouraging ethical behavior. However, codes cannot possibly cover every situation. Companies must also create an environment in which employees recognize the importance of complying with the written code. Managers must provide direction by fostering communication, actively modeling and encouraging ethical decision making, apart from investing in training employees to make ethical decisions. Whistle Blowing Technique: Sometimes, even employees who want to act ethically may find it difficult to do so. Unethical practices can become ingrained in an organization. Employees with high personal ethics may then take a controversial step called â€Å"whistle blowing.† Whistle blowing is informing the press or government officials about unethical practices in an organization. Whistle blowing could have averted disaster and prevented  needless deaths in the Challenger space shuttle disaster, for example. How could employees have known about life-threatening problems and let them pass? Whistle blowing on the other hand, can have serious repercussions for employees; those who make waves sometimes lose their jobs. Conclusion The main objective of business is to serve people with their every need for the well-being of human being and to ensure that, there is no alternative of following business ethics. Since the practice of business ethics in our country is still not ubiquitous, we are not getting the proper environment for the business, and thus often we are facing some crisis situation and it is hampering our total economic development. Our policy makers and the top executives of the organizations should give more concern in making ethical policies and take proper steps to encourage business executives and service holders to follow them. References 1) â€Å"Ethics In Marketing On Bangladesh Perspective: Study on Few Companies of Bangladesh†- collected from â€Å"World Journal of Management Volume 2. Number 2. September 2010†, the direct link- http://wbiaus.org/10.%20Tajmeela-FINAL.pdf 2) â€Å"Business for the 21st Century†- Skinner & Ivancevich 3) â€Å"An Integrated Approach to Business Studies† (4th edition)- Bruce R Jewell 4) â€Å"Business Studies† (4th edition)- Dave Hall-Rob Jones-Carlo Raffo- Alain Anderton 5) www.managementstudyguide.com 6) www.smallbusiness.chron.com 7) www.cwafford.conveycontent.com 8) www.sagepub.com/upm-data/10923_Chapter1.pdf 9) www.businessethics.ca/definitions/business-ethics.html