Human Sexuality How Do Men and Women Differ free essay sample

In Human Sexuality: How do Men and Women Differ? , Peplau educates his readers on the different sexual natures of males and females (Peplau, 2003). About 100 years ago, it was believed that men and women had very different sexual natures but because of more recent research we are now learning that this is not necessarily true (Peplau, 2003). Masters and Johnson (1966) developed an experiment that forced a human sexual response cycle that can be used for both males and females (Peplau, 2003). Research on different parts of human sexuality have come up with four ifferences between males and females that are wide-ranging, affect behavior and apply to all types of men and women (Peplau, 2003). Sexual desire is one difference and is the longing to be sexually involved with objects, activities, or people (Peplau, 2003). Research shows that men long to be sexually involved more than women and have a higher and stronger feeling of sexual desire (Peplau, 2003). We will write a custom essay sample on Human Sexuality: How Do Men and Women Differ? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Research also shows that, with males, visuals can help ease their sexual desires so they are likely to buy products and engage in activities more han women (Peplau, 2003). Males are also more likely to masturbate because they can control when it gets done (Peplau, 2003). In all examples between gays, lesbians, and heterosexuals the men push to have sex more often because their sexual desires are higher than womens (Peplau, 2003). Another difference would be the difference in attitudes toward premarital and extramarital sex (Peplau, 2003). In an experiment done with Regan and Berscheid (1999) they asked both men and women to define sexual desire (Peplau, 2003). The omens responses showed that they linked sexual desire to a more committed relationship and looked at it in a more loving way whereas the males were more into the physical pleasure that intercourse brings (Peplau, 2003). Womens sexual fantasies are proven to include people that they know and mens are more likely to include all kinds of people and specific parts of sexual intercourse that they favor (Peplau, 2003). When it comes to sexual desires gay men are likely to have similar attitudes of heterosexual males and lesbians seem to be similar to the heterosexual oman (Peplau, 2003). Research shows that there is a connection between a persons sexuality and how aggressive they are (Peplau, 2003). Anderson, Cyranowski, and Espindle did an experiment testing the sexual self-concepts of men and women (Peplau, 2003). The men had similar sexual self-concepts of each other which contained signs of aggression; the women did not show these similar signs (Peplau, 2003). It is proven that women are more flexible when it comes to having sex and their sexual ways can change based on what is going on in their lives and around them (Peplau, 2003). Men are less flexible and they are more likely to find ways to try to have sex consistently to fill their sexual desires (Peplau, 2003). The differences in sexual ways between the two genders allow us to notice how certain people act in relationships. Although the information was mostly based on be safe to say that these findings are a good start to trying to understand the sexuality of males and females (Peplau, 2003). The article, Human Sexuality: How do Men and Women Differ? , expands of the drive reduction theory when talking about sexual desire. In the drive reduction theory sexual desire can motivate people to act in ways that minimize aversive states to maintain homeostasis in the body. It also supports what we have discussed in class about motivation. Motivation are the psychological drives that propel us in a specific direction, and sex is one of the most powerful motivators. In class we learned that social norms shape the way people express sexual desires. Cultural display rules can affect the way people behave, and the research that was done has been mostly conducted with white Americans; if the experiment ad been done using other cultures the results may have been different due to the social norms of different countries and people. An idea that was introduced that went beyond the material that we learned in class is sexual plasticity. After reading about this subject it makes perfect sense and I can use an example for the term. One of my friends was in a committed relationship for a long period of time and the couple had sex almost daily. When they broke up, the female had no problem not continuing to have sex because the boy was no onger in her life, but the male went and got a new girlfriend and said it was because he could not handle the complete loss of sex because his desire was too high. This supports the idea of sexual plasticity because the women was able to be flexible and completely stop having sex whereas the man could not because they like to be consistent with their amount of sex (Peplau, 2003). References Peplau, L. A. (2003). Human Sexuality: how do men and women differ? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1 2(2), 37-40.

Jimi Hendrix Vs, Kurt Cobain Essays - Lead Guitarists, Courtney Love

Jimi Hendrix Vs, Kurt Cobain Essays - Lead Guitarists, Courtney Love Jimi Hendrix Vs, Kurt Cobain History has always been marked by great music. Every generation has its own unique genre; from classical to swing, people have always found a song or a melody that seemed as if it was written just for them. However, truly great music is created by a certain type of genius. It takes more than the average guy to forge a classic like Stairway to Heaven. Two men in the late twentieth century were such masterminds: Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. While both will live forever in musical infamy, they will remain legends for different reasons. One of the most important factors in becoming a rock legend is bringing about a revolution, opening people to something bold and new. Kurt Cobain, along with his band, Nirvana, changed rock music forever. In a time when music was becoming mass-produced, emotionless muck, Cobain brought about something that was repulsively beautiful and alive. He introduced grunge rock to the world: music filled with screaming distortion, tremendous angst, and overwhelming passion rarely seen from the generation that invented the term whatever. Nevertheless, let us not forget a similar revolution, which took place over a decade earlier. In an era when hippies wandered free and drugs were just mind expanding, another such musical phenomenon occurred. A young black man caught the ear of millions with his awe-inspiring guitar tunes. This man was Jimi Hendrix. Unlike Cobain, Hendrix wrote music to support and inspire his followers, as opposed to creating a method of shock treatment through music. Hendrix created brilliant melodies along with lyrics that touched the hearts of all who would listen. One habit that both musicians shared was the ability to excite and invigorate listeners, especially live audiences. Cobain had the ability to make thousands of slackers stand up and scream for more. Throughout his many tours, Cobain always arrived to a packed venue filled with fans, many of which had probably spent the night in line waiting for tickets and the chance to see something momentous. Hendrixs career consisted of more festival type tours, where he was allowed to reach a wider variety of listeners, while still holding the faith of his steadfast fans. Hendrix had a particular talent for playing the guitar. He would delight and thrill onlookers by playing with his toes or his teeth, or while spinning around on the ground. Both were great performers who knew how to put on a show. Their greatest common characteristic was in how they ended the performance; they would completely trash the stage from which they played. Smashing guitars, tipping drum sets, and even setting fire to t he instruments were some their memorable methods of concluding a performance. These great musicians were also great lyricists. Both have songs which remain on the top countdowns to this day, although Hendrix died almost 20 years ago and Cobain passed in 1994. Cobain left a legacy of haunting tunes such as Come As You Are, Polly, and Heart Shaped Box. Kurt used the pain from a broken family and a painful life to give birth to remarkable songs, which allowed so many disillusioned teens to find a kin spirit in his words. Hendrix also composed many amazing pieces, such as The Wind Cries Mary, All Along the Watchtower, and Purple Haze. His music held enthusiasm and a fire rarely seen in such a form. Although they both had numerous great hits, both had one great song that would characterize their music careers forever. For Jimi Hendrix, it was his guitar interpretation of the National Anthem, while Cobains was his first hit Smells Like Teen Spirit. These great men helped shape our culture and gave the youth of their time something to believe in, someone who knew how it felt, and someone to give them hope. Jimi Hendrix taught people that great music comes in all different forms. Whether its a soft rhapsody or a devilish guitar tune, music is what drives us. Kurt Cobain failed to teach us anything, but he did wake up a sleepy generation. He inspired millions of kids to go out and start their own garage bands, but most importantly his music related to them. The lyrics from his most popular song describe

Australian Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Australian Economy - Essay Example This  context  illustrates how successful the Australian Government and the Reserve Bank of Australia have been in running the Australian economy. It also describes and evaluates the  main  macroeconomic policies used by the Australian Government and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). A). How Successful have the Australian Government and the Reserve Bank of Australia been in Running the Australian Economy over the last two years? In the last two years, Australia has had a  sound  economic  running. Australia’s  constructive  outlook  is maintained  by its strong financial position. A continued  phase  of Government  budget  spares has allowed the Australian Government, and  several  state levels Government to  retreat  vast quantities of Government arrears. Net Government arrears  were eradicated  in 2005-06 making Australia a net creditor. In May 2008, the Australian Government obligated to a  budget  spare  equal  to 1.8 pe r cent of GDP, some $21.7 billion. Australian’s self-regulating central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), is  accountable  for  financial  policy, in  fastidious  to  keep  user  price  increase  between two and three percent, on standard, over business phases (Foley, 2009: 1). Australia has advanced  fiscal  structure. Australia possesses a  sound  and  realistic  structure  of  economic  regulations and organizations that provides  assurance  for  commerce  and is  open  to savings without unnecessary delay. There is a  tough, transparent,  commercial  governance  scheme  together with business-oriented  commercial  regulation  and  bankruptcy  managements. Australia’s long and  wide  period  of  financial  development  has  broadened its infrastructure  competence  to the edge. Identifying the potential  competence  restraints consequential from this crisis, the Go vernment devoted in 2008 to making an  organization  named Infrastructure Australia, to  offer  a  fresh, national  method  to planning, supporting and implementing the future infrastructure needs of the nation. Safe,  steady  and  successful, Australia is a progressively more attractive  heart  for global and local  commercial  operations (Glynn, 2010: 1). The population of Australia is changing, not only the  expansion  and  general  size of the population, but  significantly  where people reside and the structure of the  population  in terms of skills, age and  literary  background. In order to  adjust  to change and  form  sustainable societies, people  are supposed  to incorporate environmental,  communal  and economic factors to  offer  present  and upcoming generations with the  chance  to  lead  strong  and  satisfying  lives. The manner in which  government  plans and programs  facilit ate  to  shape  and react to changes in the population will be a  vital  element in attaining a more sustainable Australia.  In the 2010 election, the Government of Australia reaffirmed its  obligation  to the growth of a Sustainable Population Strategy. This is important because the Australian Government was able to  manage  its economy with reference to the population of Australia. Good Australian’s Governance has helped in the development of economy in Australia in the last two years. Lives have significantly improved, as there is a

America and it's role in the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America and it's role in the world - Essay Example Bush moved quickly to stimulate on the fear created by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The result was a manufactured hysteria that created a situation in which the American public became easily manipulated to blindly accept any measures that promised greater security against the threat of another attack. Pres. Bush wasted little time in applying pressure on Congress to pass legislation that intended to loosen restrictions on civil liberties and constitutional rights under the guise of expanding the ability of law enforcement to investigate terrorist activity and only terrorist activity. The Patriot Act made it possible for investigators to more easily get search warrants and conduct eavesdropping. It also allows detainees to be held indefinitely and has led to racial profiling that has resulted in the detention of Middle Eastern immigrants for no other cause than that they resemble known terrorists (Finan 275). In other words, American has traded it in its longstanding tradition of fairness and equality for all in exchange for the security that comes with identifying criminals by the way they appear. Of course, because the crime is terrorism and because the criminals behind the act that ignited these crimes possessed a definite ethnic stereotypical appearance, it becomes easier to a ccept. How easily would Americans accept the idea of detaining anyone who looks British or French The sacrifice of liberties clearly has a racially discriminatory tone to it that proves that despite the election of a black man as President, the United States still has a long path to walk before the issue of judging a person based on appearance is thoroughly addressed. The argument that easy facilitation of search warrants is an incredibly powerful weapon in the war on terror is not the argument that is at stake at this point; increasingly the evidence is piling up that the abuse of the relaxation of rules regarding search warrants has been used not to protect American against a second attack by foreign terrorists, but to justify the invasion of the privacy of law abiding Americans with no connection to terrorism whatever. Sec. 206 of the Patriot Act allowed law enforcement agencies for the first time to require just a single warrant that would cover the wiretapping of a home phone, a cell phone, and a computer (Schermer 107). While the intent of such broad rewriting of the existing laws regarding wiretapping surveillance was to make it easier to investigate suspected terrorists, the most infamous example related to the expansion of surveillance laws resulted in an artist named Steve Kurtz being brought in for questioning on a very shaky foundatio n of suspicion that that bioterrorist weapons could be created from the ingredients he used in his art supplies. Under the auspices of the Patriot Act, and by definition under the concept that security means being willing to trade rights for protection, Mr. Kurtz was not only held without ever being officially charged, but while he was in custody law enforcement officers conducted a thorough search of his house and seized his computers. Worst of all was that during this prolonged investigation, the police even conducted an examination of his wife's body; she had died of cardiac arrest that morning. It was later determined that none of Kurtz's supplies could actually ever be used in the creation of a weapon (Sutton, Brind, McKenzie 131.) One of the most

Effect of Poverty on Women's Healthcare Research Paper

Effect of Poverty on Women's Healthcare - Research Paper Example health, it becomes imperative to identify and disclose health disparities related to gender and economic level so that appropriate actions are taken to help the needful. In this article, feminization of poverty and the health effects of poverty on women is discussed. It is a well known fact that the health of women is not only determined by biological factors but also by several social factors, the most important of which is poverty. In fact, 2 out of every 3 women in the world are plagued by poverty leading to an array of clinical problems like malnutrition, anemia, easy fatigability, increased susceptibility to infections and even premature death (Cohen, 1994). Though several organizations like the World Health Organization have asserted that health is a fundamental right of every human being irrespective of sex and other aspects, several women are being denied of this right and the main cause for this happens to be poverty. It is very important to tackle poverty of women for the purpose of long term success of the child poverty strategy of the Government (WBG, 2005). In this essay, the impact of poverty on the health care of women will be discussed through review of appropriate literature. In several countries like even developed countries like Canada, the poverty rates of women across all age groups is higher than in men. One of the main reasons for poverty among women is their dependency for living. In many races, women are not provided enough education and this leads to poor vocational opportunity and poverty. Many researchers favour the link between education and poverty (Zaki and El-Deeb, 2004). Also, many women cannot get employed full-time because of the responsibilities they have towards their children, husbands and elderly people at home. Lack of awareness which is more predominant in those belonging to lower socio-economic group is another major factor that influences health. In a study by Ailinget et al (2009), it was found that poor women had lower

Project On Library Management

Project On Library Management St. Joseph College Of Engineering and Technology (SJCET) located in eastern highlands of Tanzania, in the town of Dar es Salaam. The College operates in Brigitta Campus situated at about 23 km from Dar es Salaam-Morogoro Road at Mbezi-Luguruni Area. Built on a sprawling 30-acre hilly land, the college provides a conducive atmosphere for the pursuit of education. The focus of the college is on bringing out IT professionals, thus provides fine ambience for its training minds. The College runs two programmes, Degree and Diploma in Computer Applications that started in the year 2004, and in 2005 they opened another campus in town of Songea, southern of Tanzania. Currently, The College has been using a manual processing of library system. It has a well-stocked library providing a strong support to the Teaching-Learning process. The stack room has a total of about 32, 000 Books covering all the programmes offered. Adequate numbers of technology journals and magazines are subscribed in all the branches of study. With ample seating capacity the reading hall of the library caters to the scheduled use of the library by every class for one hour every week and to the leisure-time patronage by all the staff and students. The library working hours are between 8 am and 6pm on all working days and between 8am and 1pm on Saturday and Sunday. As time goes by, the population of students continues to increase. The librarians are not able to update the book files and student files, are unable to keep tracks of items, organize and maintain files as the result of an increased number of redundant and inaccurate information and no security measures taken. The college administration has now decided to automate manual Library System into a new Library Management System that will integrate among all of its campuses in order to eliminate redundancy and inconsistency of data. Librarians will be able to add/edit or delete details from and to the database plus maintaining security of Library System. Aim The aim of the project is to design and implement database for library management system that deals with Member registration, Item Management, Borrowing and Search for item(s) or for member(s), as well as avoiding redundancy errors and inconsistency of data by setting security measures. All records about books information and members information and other materials etc will be kept in the database. First, the library management system will allow members to register; registration includes storing basic information of members such as Member ID, Name, Address, Email, phone number, title, and registration date. then only the registered members will be allowed to borrow an item from the system and do searching for items based on author name, book title etc. Item Management is about managing all items available in library including Books, Journals and Reference materials with following properties: item number, name, author, number of copy etc. Placing reservation allows member to book an item if it is not immediately available. The item might be in another campus or a member may already have it out on loan. When the title is available, the librarian will activate the reservation and keep it aside for a member who has booked. Borrowing activity includes the following: allowing a member to borrow a book from library and be able to return a book to the library according to specific return date. When members borrow the book, database will store the book Id and member Id and this Ids will be used to search all items that have been borrowed by specific member and know total numbers of borrowed books and returned books. Objectives The main objectives of the project are: To do research on Library Systems and to establish distinct features that can be applied in developing a Library Management System. Activities: do research on manual and online Library System; get some ideas from books and journals for relevant articles. Deliverables: research report. To create a WBS for Library Management System. Activities: identify main Tasks (Activities) for the project and produce Work Breakdown Structure. Deliverables: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) To understand technologies to be used in designing Library Management System Activities: briefly explanation of software(s) to be used, hardware(s), languages and server(s). Deliverables: requirements Analysis. To design and implement a database that will hold information for Library Management System. Activities: Analyse information collected and draw up a requirements specification for Member registration, Item Management and setting security. Deliverables: conceptual data model, relational schema, codes for database. To develop a web based application for Library Management System. Activities: the following is the platform showing how the web based application will be implemented: PHP, CSS, XHTML, Apache and MySQL are languages to be used for developing web pages, virtual platforms and server side for validation on retrieving and accessing information from database through web based application. Deliverables: web based application, screen dumps, and codes for web based application. Resources During the course of this project the resources expected to be used are: Research: Academic Articles, Text books such Database Design and Implementation, e-Commerce; these textbooks will be used to bring up different concepts that will assist in designing a Database and Web pages for a new Library Management System then linking Web pages with the database designed. Internet access: should be reliable because many materials are available online on different websites/blogs that talk about Library Management System. Software: any database web design software will be used in designing Library Management System and languages to used are: mySQL codes, PHP, etc. Application programs: mySQL server, Ms Project, Dreamweaver, etc Initial References St. Joseph College Of Engineering and Technology (SJCET) PROSPECTUS 2006-2007. Proposal: Guidelines and Samples, available at: http://sampleproposal.net/category/system-proposal/ Database Design and Implementation Coursework, Comp 1302, Due: 07-04-2010. Library Management System, available at: http://www.dotnetspider.com/projects/7-Library-Management-System.aspx New York State Library, available at: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/pos/ PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is sometimes conflated with program management. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honouring the preconceived project constraints. [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Typical constraints are scope, time and budget; used to represent the concept that the various factors affecting project outcome are coupled such that a decrease along one dimension necessarily results in an increase in at least one of the dimensions. Scope includes all factors associated with the project deliverables, including quality. Budget includes all things that cost money, including resources and equipment. Time is about knowing the project schedule; how much time taken to complete the project. [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Processes The major processes include: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling and closing. Initiation The initiation processes determine the nature and scope of the project. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them. The initiation stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas: Analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goals Reviewing of the current operations Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget Stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Planning and design After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of the detail. The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the projects chances of successfully accomplishing its goals. Project planning generally consists of Determine how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or rolling wave); Developing the scope statement; Selecting the planning team; Identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure; Identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence; Estimating the resource requirements for the activities; Estimating time and cost for activities; Developing the schedule; Developing the budget; Risk planning; Gaining formal approval to begin work; [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Executing Execution process involves coordinating people and resources as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan. [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Monitoring and Controlling Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan. Monitoring and controlling includes: Measuring the ongoing project activities (where we are); Monitoring the project variable (cost, effort, scope etc) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be) Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (how can we get on track again) Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrates changes controls so only approved changes are implemented In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and controlling process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan. Project Maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes: Continuing support of end users Correction of errors Updates of the software overtime [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Closing Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned. This phase consists of: Project close: finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the project or a project phase Contract closure: complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase [Wikipedia.org (date: 23rd Aug 2010)] Work Breakdown Structure Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. Because most projects involve many people and many different deliverables, it is important to organize and divide the work into logical parts based on how the work will be performed. The WBS is a foundation document in project management because it provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources and changes. Gantt chart Gantt chart is a standard format of displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format. [Schwalbe, K (2007); page 25] Gantt chart for SJCET Library Management System

Abortion - Denying the Undeniable Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive To

Denying the Undeniable      Ã‚   Grief after induced abortion is often more profound and delayed than grief after other perinatal losses. Grief after elective abortion is uniquely poignant because it is largely hidden. The post-abortion woman's grief is not acknowledged by society because the reality of her child's death is not acknowledged. In order to gain her consent for the abortion she has been told that the procedure will remove a "blob of tissue" a "product of conception", or a "pre-embryo." She has been assured that her "problem will be solved" and that she will be able to "get on with her life" as though nothing significant had happened. Yet the pregnant woman knows by the changes in her body that something very significant is happening to her: her menses have stopped, her breasts are enlarging, she is sick in the morning (or all day long), and she knows that the process which has begun in her will most likely result in the birth of a baby in nine months time if allowed to run its course. She is aware of the expected date of delivery and she has often thought of a name for her baby as she has begun to picture the child as he or she would be at birth (Bonding begins very early in pregnancy.). All of these feelings and fantasies about her pregnancy must be denied in order to undergo an elective abortion. The pregnant woman is asked to deny the fact that she is carrying a child at all!    Theresa Bonopartis relates her true story in her book, Divine Mercy In My Soul:    I could feel the baby thrashing around as his skin and lungs were burned by the saline. He was dying. Labor began. After twelve hours of labor, alone in the room, I gave birth to a dead baby boy. I looked at his tiny feet and hands. All... ...hat they have committed 'the unforgivable sin' and fear God's anger.    Women who have had an abortion often have many questions, the answers to which are indispensable to beginning the healing journey. Can God ever forgive me? Can my child? Can I ever forgive myself? Will the Church let me stay when I confess this sin? Will this horrible pain ever go away? Is healing possible? The answer to all these questions is, of course, YES!    WORKS CITED    "Aftermath." http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/hope.cfm?sel=A31Q    Bishops, US Catholic. "Bishops' Official Notes Coverage of Post-Abortion Program." http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/00-084.htm    Bonopartis, Theresa. Divine Mercy In MY Soul. http://www.hopeafterabortion.org/hope.cfm?sel=C18L    "Stories of Healing." http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/hope.cfm?sel=JHY7

Aristotle’s Ideas in the Modern Work Environment

Aristotle in the Modern Work Environment In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, every point, every major idea, and every argument made, is all connected back to the concept that every action seeks an ultimate good. Aristotle felt that there is an intrinsic good that humans aim for and that there is this â€Å"good life† we all mean to have. However, what does it mean to be good? That means something different to everyone; we all inhabit many different roles in our day to day lives, whether we strive to be a good parent, a good sibling, a good student, a good citizen, or a good leader.All emphasize the importance of our own well-being, as well as that of others, and the greater community as a whole. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on work relationships, what it means to promote a good work environment, and how Aristotle's ideas relate to the modern work community. First, we will examine the characteristics of a great place to work, and then we will examine how each of Aristotle's main ideas on civic relationships relate to these modern work relationships.Whether the association is that of an employee and an employer, a buyer and a seller, or even a manager and an investor, each relationship has common business ideas and common human needs. Sometimes companies get so caught up in the business ideas that the human needs become null. However, the most successful companies are the ones who are able to excel at both the business practices as well the care of their employees. So what defines a â€Å"great† place to work?Is it the business with the most elaborate holiday parties, the one with the highest paid employees, or perhaps is it the business that places value in the intangibles, such as trust, communication, and strong leadership? To define the traits of a positive work environment, we will examine the Great Place to Work website, who every year, partners with 5,000 plus companies and conducts a survey to find out exactly what a great workplace means. Essentially, a great work environment can be defined by three main factors; employees trust the people they work for, they have pride in what they do, and they enjoy the people they work with.Of these three, it is the mutual trust that employees and employers have in one another that sets the foundation for a successful company. An employer can build trust with their workers by having credibility for the work output and treating them with respect and fairness. This in turn, creates a loyal employee who is dedicated to producing their highest quality of work as well as motivating others to do the same. Whether the business is a small ma-pop store, or a Fortune 500 corporation, all have the ability to achieve a cohesive work environment.The best of both an employee and an employer can be explained by Aristotle's views on happiness, the virtues and deliberation, justice, and friendship. All are interconnected, and when applied to a professional setting, help to promot e an work environment that is beneficial for the company, but more importantly, the human good. Aristotle's most important concept is that of human happiness because happiness in and of itself was reaching the end good. According to him, humans have three parts to their soul.The first is the most basic, a vegetative state in which all living things share in which we are satisfying our most basic of needs. The next level is that reason that is grounded in emotion. The two are grounded in each other, and therefore, can be swayed by each other, such in that our emotions can influence our reason. Aristotle believed that true happiness was engaging the highest activity of the soul, our capacity for thought. He believed that happiness was â€Å"the human good [that proves to be] the activity of the soul in accord with virtue. In other words, a person living life to the fullest was the person pursuing their purpose in life with action, and reaching a certain amount of excellence in that p urpose. In turn, that will bring a true state of happiness. The best way to bring about this state of individual happiness is through community. In terms of a business community, it is the responsibility of the leaders to promote an environment that focuses on establishing a worker's strength, discovering his or her potential, and then developing that potential in order to fulfill that person's purpose.In the business world, we see people all the time who feel their work is not fulfilling and lacking in purpose. These are also the kinds of people we see that show up to work and complete the bare minimum necessary for obtaining their paycheck. An employer who wants to have a successful company needs to promote the kind of work that is in their employees' best interests and allows them to feel useful each and every day. A happy employee will be more invested in the business's day to day operations, as well as the overall success of the organization.The discussion of happiness leads to Aristotle's next major ideas, those of the virtues and deliberation. A happy person will be someone who lives in accordance with the virtues. He is neither too much of one thing, or not enough of another, he is in the middle of two extremes. Aristotle explained the virtues to be a perception of the right thing to do or the appropriate response when faced with a certain situations. The good decision lies in the virtue that is between what Aristotle called the â€Å"vices of excess† and the â€Å"vices of deficiency. For example, cowardliness would be a vice of deficiency, foolhardiness would be a vice of excess, and courage in the middle of these two would be the right decision. Aristotle's virtues can be broken down in two ways: intellectually and morally. Intellectual virtue comes from education, which must be taught over a length of time. Moral virtue, on the other hand, comes from habit. They are virtues that need to be learned, and that is accomplished by actually pract icing it. People become virtuous by performing virtuous acts, and the more they are practiced, the more the virtue becomes a part of one's disposition.Although moral virtues are reactions due to habit or practice to respond in certain ways, Aristotle believed virtues are cultivated through deliberation. One must think about the situation he or she is in, and contemplate as to what good could be achieved in that situation. In deliberation, one must consider the â€Å"ends† he or she is trying to ultimately reach, and make a decision about the best way to go about achieving that end result. Virtues and the deliberative process are involved everyday in the business world.A person's virtues guide his decisions, and decisions have to be made on a daily basis when it comes to a business's operations, finances, resources, customers, or even future goals. A company therefore needs their leader to be virtuous in order to make the kinds of decisions that will be in everyone's best inte rest. A leader that is virtuous will desire to be good and do good, therefore he will make decisions that are fair. This engages one of the fundamental traits of a Great Place to Work, and that is the leader promotes an connection based on trust between himself and his employees.When employees believe their boss is contemplating the best course of action when faced with a certain situation, they can trust him to make a sound and virtuous judgment. The trust that is built here translates into respect for their superiors, and when employees respect the people they work for, the entire organization is given the opportunity to run smoothly and cohesively. Another of Aristotle's virtues that he specifically singles out is justice. It includes all other virtues under its umbrella, because to be just is to consider all the other virtues and act in a virtuous way.In this case, he is not describing the kind of justice to exact on a criminal, but rather justice in that a person gets what he d eserves. Justice must maintain a certain balance in which advantages and disadvantages are equal. In Aristotle's opinion, greed or the desire to have more than one’s due counteracts his idea of distributive justice. In this concept, wealth among the community would be spread out among its members, with everyone receiving their fair share according to their virtue. He believed the economy was not driven by a â€Å"guiding hand† but by reciprocity.A successful economy distributes goods not to satisfy an individual's best interest, but to facilitate exchanges within the community, with the ultimate goal being people living the life they want in accordance with their virtues. The most virtuous people make the most significant contributions to the community, and therefore are of the highest merit. His concept of distributive justice enables the greatest privilege to go to those with the most virtue, and not those with the most money, the most power, or the most inside conne ctions.The best places to work are the ones that are most just. They exhibit all the virtues in the best sense, but most of all, the people within the company benefit from an environment of fairness, for both the employees and the employers. In order to maintain the balance of justice, not one employee is treated with an unfair share of disadvantages and therefore carries too much of a burden. On the other hand, not one employee enjoys an unfair share of advantages and therefore is overly privileged.Everyone is cooperating together and this kind of justice only facilitates the inner workings of a business in a way that contributes to the overall success of the company. It also promotes a fair merit-based system that rewards promotions and other benefits fairly. If employees know that privileges will be handed down based on highest merit, and not unfairly based on seniority, or inside connections, they will be motivated to work hard and produce their best work, which in the end, only builds a more successful business.The last of Aristotle's main ideas we will discuss is friendship, and how in a certain way it connects all of Aristotle's main ideas together. Very simply put, friendship can be defined as wishing each other well and there being a mutual awareness of good will between two individuals. Aristotle then classifies three types of friendships: those based in utility, those based in pleasure, and those based in character. A friendship based in utility, occurs when two people can benefit from each other. By doing the same thing, both gain an equal advantage in the relationship.This kind of friendship is a temporary situation because it is based in two individuals being useful to each other, rather than any enjoyment they have it the person. If the usefulness ends, the purpose of the relationship disappears, and therefore so does the relationship itself. A friendship for pleasure happens when two people enjoy the other's company and have a common interest i n doing a certain activity together. In this case, doing the activity in the company of another makes the activity more enjoyable than if it had be done alone.This kind of friendship is also temporary because the relationship lasts only as long as the two individuals share the common interest. The strongest and most enduring of friendships are also the rarest kind, and those are friendships based in character. This relationship occurs when two people admire the quality of the other person and find common ground in their virtues. They develop a long-lasting friendship that develops over time as they get to know one another. It is a very selfless kind of relationship as there are no motivating factors these individuals seek in one another.They accept each other for who they are and encourage each other to find the â€Å"goodness† in what they pursue. Friendships of character connect the ideas of virtue, justice, and happiness together. The basis of a good friend is that the fri end is good in and of himself. He realizes his best self in accordance with the virtues, and will encourage a friend of similar virtue to seek his best self. He who acts in accordance with all the virtues is just, and justice in its fullest sense is friendliness. Both justice and friendliness inhabit the idea of distributive justice.Not in an economical sense, but friends of utility, pleasure, or goodness equally exchange advantages consistent with the type of friendship they share. If there is an unequal distribution of disadvantages in friendships of utility or pleasure, then the relationship will disintegrate. Therefore, among true friends that is based on character, there is no need for justice. Those who actively engage in friendships are also the happiest. Humans are not meant to live in solitude, and it is by engaging those around them and participating in the community that one will find the good in others, the good in the community, and the good in life.Friendship in the wo rkplace bolsters the idea of camaraderie among employees and employers. When people enjoy the other people they work with, they're surrounded by a positive environment that enables them to work at their highest potential. this doesn't mean that people's work environments have to be filled with their best friends, but instead should feel a friendliness towards their peers out of a sharing their professional lives together and a common interest to meet their business goals.The most likely of friendships to be found in a work environment are friendships of utility or pleasure. Every person within an organization may have separate goals, but all share the same goal of seeing the company do well. The success of the business will benefit everyone as long as they work together. It's also likely that people within the same line of business will share some of the same interests. This commonality between workers can be the foundation for them to work together effectively and support each othe r in their work.The rarest kind of work friendship would be that based in character. It is likely that you may share some of the same professional values, but people are so different that it's rare to come together on a work platform and build a lasting relationship. However, hopefully people within the business can at least appreciate the quality of their peers and superiors, even if they don't fully admire them. The best kinds of work environments are the one that exhibit all Aristotle's main ideas, such as happiness, virtue, deliberation, justice, and friendship, to their fullest.Environments that remain open to dialogue and respect, that recognize differences among people as a unifying force rather than a dividing one and utilize people's strengths to their greatest potential are the kind of work environments that Aristotle would promote. While it may be hard for a business to maintain the best environment all the time, as long as it stays true to its ethical business principles , and as long as its leaders strive to meet the human needs of its employees and well as the goals of the company, then I would consider that a great place to work.

Ideal Healt and Insurence System essays

Ideal Healt and Insurence System essays The development of liberal thought began in the seventeen-century England. Often, constitutional monarchy is perceived as a beginning of liberalism. Growth of commercial middle classes and wealth accumulation and consumption, leaded to a new, individualistic morality. The individual is a basic unit of the liberalism ideology. Supreme goals of a liberal political system are preservation of the individual and attainment of individual happiness. That includes the preservation of the individual properties, that is individual life, liberty and estate, and the task of the government was to help the individual in doing so. Individual is to be regarded as inviolable and human life as a sacrosanct, so the violence is prohibited except in preservation of liberal society. This ideology respects all persons as moral beings with equal sensitivity (but at the same time it doesnt take women in account.). Individual is assumed to be essentially rational, so it could be considered the prime source of value, which determines justification of participatory rather than authoritarian government. Liberalism diminishes importance of social whole, which is considered not to have any rights against individuals. This outlook can be called atomistic. Liberal theorists are unwilling to invoke concepts such as the common good and public interests. The only common good they want recognize is the maximization of the aggregate of individual benefits. On the economic side 18th- and 19th-century liberalism based itself on the sovereignty of the market and the "natural harmony of interests." On this view, if individuals are left free to pursue their self-interest in an exchange economy based upon a division of labour, the welfare of the group as a whole will necessarily be enhanced. Classical liberal economists describe a self-adjusting market mechanism free from all teleological influences. While moral goals are invoked and ethical criteria presu...

Affirmative Action...Why essays

Affirmative Action...Why essays In the beginning of the 1960s minorities and women were treated as though they were sub-human. They were thrown in jail for no reason, given stereotypes by the majority, and cursed upon in the streets. An uprising began to occur called the Civil Rights Movement. They called for the fair treatment of all men regardless of race. In the following years, President Lyndon B. Johnson took steps to write what is to be known today as the Civil Rights Act of 1965. With this bill came affirmative action. Affirmative action enabled minority men and women to get jobs that they would otherwise never get. To Johnson, affirmative action grew from the belief that the Constitution guarantees more than just an end to illegal. The act tried to create a just method of obtaining jobs during the racial times of the 1960s and 70s. In 1965, President Johnson used the term affirmative action to inform federal contractors to treat job-applicants and employees without regards to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (La Noue). In the preceding year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed simply to make laws fair to all races, sexes, and religions; or color-blind. However, such a movement went further than merely giving equal opportunities to everyone. The United States took upon itself the responsibility to give opportunities to minorities by giving them favors such as: hiring, promotion, college admission, and the awarding of government contracts. Such policies did not express the true meaning of equal opportunities, which was introduced in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and provided for a means in which all people would receive equal treatment, but rather took its own steps into a form of discrimination. Affirmative action is hinder on Americas working world by taking away job opportunities form those peoples that are more qualified to hold that position. Imagine that you have just gra...

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Suckwell Vacuum Cleaners, Ltd - Case Study Example Chipped paints happen during the assembly stage. Furthermore, the company experienced missing instructions during the final packaging and shipment. Also, missing serial numbers, broken switches and damaged insulation on main cable are identified as occurring problems in the finish product. Figure 1 summarizes the importance and difficulty to solve with regards to the identified problems. Inadequate suctions and damaged to insulation cable are the most difficult to solve and of high importance because the problems require downgrading of product and replacement of cable as a rectification. Units with suction problems are sold at half the price of a new unit but without Suckwell identity markings. Other problems such as missing instructions and broken switches are considered important but easy to solve because these can be corrected during the assembly stages as well as final inspection of finish products. Perforated bags and scratches on the plastic are also considered as important because they provide aesthetics to the product. On the other hand, missing serial number and paint chipped are categorized as problems of lesser importance because serial numbers are considered as additional information of the product for purposes of traceability while chipped paints can be prevented along the assembly line. The frequency and costs incurred with the problems identif... Sorting the problems identified in Figure 1, the Pareto analysis showed that scratches on the plastic body are the most recurring problem and incurs the highest cost of non-conformance. Thus, this paper will focus on solving the problem with regards to scratches. Figure 3 illustrates the Pareto analysis conducted on the problems identified. A Pareto Analysis requires the utilisation of a chart which is designed by Vilfredo Pareto which also follows the 80:20 rule. The analysis rates the problems according to importance, frequency and impact of the problem to the company. According to Pareto's rule, if a company prevents the cause of only 20% of the cause-effect pairs, they can reduce the number of defect incidents by 80% (Kemp, 2006). In other words, the company separates the vital few from the trivial many where the vital few are considered as the most important problems that need to be addressed (Reliability Analysis Center, 2004). Figure . Frequency and Costs of Non-conformances Problems Identified Frequency Cost of Non-conformance Cost to Rectify Complaints Annual Costs 1. Scratches on plastic body (SC) 340 1,360.00 70,720.00 2. Paint chipped (PC) 150 150.00 7,800.00 3. Perforated bag (PB) 130 130.00 650.00 7,410.00 4. Missing instructions (MI) 20 10.00 520.00 5. Broken switch (BS) 130 71.50 26,000.00 29,718.00 6. No serial number (NS) 12 3.60 187.20 Total Cost 782 1725.10 26,650.00 166,355.20 Figure . Pareto Analysis Cause and Effect Diagram As previously mentioned, the most important as well as part of the vital few problem is the scratches on the plastic body of the vacuum cleaners. Figure 4 is an Ishikawa diagram or a

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Linked -- The New Science of Networks by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi - Essay Example The nodes are identified using links that allow us to move from one web page to another with every click. Web pages act as switches that keep the society up to date with current information. Barabasi and his research team realized that in the World Wide Web exist connector nodes, which somehow assemble many more links than other nodes. These connector nodes are often referred as hubs and have a wider range of connection links. Barabasi and his coworkers realized that the structure of World Wide Web is composed of highly interlinked hubs. The topology of the Internet restricts its users’ ability to see everything out there. The World Wide Web contains a number of small scale structures that limit the level to which it can be explored. The internet comprises both hardware and software, and other sub-systems. All these work together with the World Wide Web, establishing a connection that makes it possible to share information. People in this diverse system are by no means insigni ficant. It is because of the genius minds of many scientists that the web exists today. Millions of people work to maintain and monitor components of the system round the clock. DNS server, giant routers and switches, protocols, web browsers are just some of the vital components and elements of the World Wide Web. Terrorist Network The tragic terrorism events of September 11, 2001, caught people’s attention worldwide. Barabasi describes terrorist groups as webs without spiders. A network of terrorists is often small and has few resources; it tends to rely on other means such as the hit-and-run acts of violence. Al-Qaeda, the terrorist network held accountable for many terrorist attacks, was created over a long period. Driven by religious thinking and intolerance to the social and political system, many were attracted to the radical organization over the years. The network extended bit by bit to become a large web without a spider. Al-Qaeda is so well spread and self-sustainin g that even removing Osama bin Laden might not eliminate the danger they create. The terrorist network has become a diverse network that constantly changes its system as per its current plans. It has many secretive nodes that are hard to trace; it is quite challenging to identify the people who comprise its various nodes. Terrorist networks have objectives and links to social networks, which qualifies them to be called systems. Hollywood and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon network Barabasi describes hubs as connectors in scale free networks. The Bacon factor is a popular bit of entertainment trivia, which demonstrates how any Hollywood star can link to actor Kevin Bacon and other actors within six â€Å"moves† between people. This network consists of nodes, actors, producers, animators, writers and other related groups. A link is created every time a new video is produced. The Hollywood network thus offers a clear demonstration of a web, with different hubs and nodes, mostly repre sented by human beings, and links represented by the human relationships. Can we say that human beings are components in some way and that they satisfy a stated idea? The principle of the Hollywood network is to produce films. The public continuously demands new films from Hollywood. However, this seldom happens because the characters rarely act together in all movies. Many work independently minding their own business without affecting other movie productions. The Hollywood ne