Ethics Of Human Trafficking - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1586 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Human Trafficking Essay Did you like this example? There is a huge problem that has been constantly growing in the United States and worldwide. It has of become so dangerous that hundreds of thousands of individuals are becoming victims of this tragedy every single year. This problem is of real humans becoming victims and being trafficked in and out of countries such as the United States and used for a variety of things completely against their will. This is a hidden business that has involved different restaurants, agriculture productions, factories, the commercial sex industry, and sometimes even adoption facilities. A large majority of these individuals that are being trafficked are female which means that this problem could only get worse if a stop is not put to it. Exploiting a persons race, ethnic culture, sexual identification, or gender is never acceptable. Which is why I am going to apply utilitarian and deontological perspectives to the question of human trafficking, and to make it evident that the ethical response to this awful crime is one of the worst possible engagements a person can commit to. Human trafficking is one of the most wickedly evil and mortifying things that could ever happen to any single human being. The thing is that anyone could be the one who is unfortunate enough to have to experience this living hell and get caught up in this net of human destruction. We have all heard the stories of slavery of the African American people back in the 1800s and how awful that was a how we eventually abolished it in America in hopes of never having to experience slavery again. However, in todays time we are now hearing stories of modern-day slavery that will bring chills to your bones. No matter if it is labor, domestic, or sexual, the experiences that these men, women, and sometimes children have to witness first-hand go through every day will leave you cringing. The thing about human trafficking that really surprised me the most was the fact these acts of violence/crimes happen in ou r every day lives without any of us even realizing it, it happens while we are living in comfort and not thinking twice about our surroundings. It also makes you feel thankful for the law enforcement officers and health care physicians who are constantly on the lookout to apprehend and put a stop to this these complex cases and have to see firsthand how it affects the survivors. It should be no surprise to anyone then that there has been a huge outcry from many citizens across the nation to try to convince our legislators to make laws stricter or create laws where they are desperately needed. Since 1999 alone the United States has spent well over 150 million dollars to help in order to prevent the trafficking of human beings (McNamara, 2015). While it is great that they are putting forth an effort in order to decrease the number of trafficking victims, it is also important to know that it is not just one specific type of person that they go after, anyone could be a potential vic tim. Human trafficking is the illegal selling or trading of a human for labor though abduction, it can be done though the threatening force or using force. It can also be done though deception or fraud for the use of sexual crimes. Societies most members that are the most at risk just happen to be the easiest targets for these Traffickers. People who are burdened by a disability, are discriminated against, or those who are in poverty are mainly targeted. Human trafficking is a complex, multi-faceted crime with no single solution. Many countries are affected by it in some way, and Australia, as a destination country for trafficking victims, is no exception (Healey, 2012). What Healey says is proof that human trafficking doesnt just happen in the cozy confines of the United States, it is spread globally in the forms of labor, sex, and organs. The continual growing of this awful business has allowed it to turn into an organized billion-dollar industry. Even though it is so large and for the main part it is well-known, victims are still getting lured in through false promises that they can have a better life, or into a false sense of safety in the people that eventually capture them. With social media being a big influence in many peoples every day lives, it is making the traffickers job easier and it is becoming all around easier to influence people. This is just one of the ways that traffickers use in order to pry there victims away from there comfort zone. I will now discuss human trafficking from an ethical standpoint starting with utilitarianism. When a person wants to determine whether an act or action is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do then they will generally look at the end outcome of each action. In Utilitarianism they like to argue that depending on which action shows the best results for the greatest number affected, then that action would be the best one to choose. However, when you look at human trafficking from this point of view where happiness for the greatest number of people is what you want, then it can be extremely easy to assess. While Utilitarianism is a very natural way to look at a situation, the only people really benefiting from this disaster at all is the traffickers who are snatching the victims. They are taking advantage of a person who is looking to better their life which is making them easy prey for the traffickers. Human trafficking is estimated to bring in around a whopping 32 billion dollars worldwide, however only the people in charge are the ones who benefit, but there benefiting off the misery of the ones they captured in their line of work (Smith 2014). There are also way more victims than traffickers which would make utilitarianism invalid due to the fact that it is not filling the goal of happiness for the greatest number. The other ethical theory I wanted to discuss was deontology. Deontology focuses more on why an action is done rather than the consequence of an action a nd what is the best decision. When it comes to a human trafficker, everything they do is focused on greed so that they can gain. From the moment that someone consents or agrees to be payed to smuggle an individual somewhere outside of there general living area, they are building on that greed and getting caught in a web of trafficking. Deontologist argue that we have a certain duty or obligation as some like to say to treat others with complete respect. However, when they are doing this, they have to take that persons dignity into consideration. Human trafficking though goes against every human right ever known and through deontology it is viewed as definitely immoral and wrong. When a victim gets abducted it is taking away there freedom thus also taking away also their dignity. This also means that deontology is not valid in this situation either. With all the bad and morally wrong things that human trafficking does, it is hard to find a bright side to it. The only real bright s ide to this issue it seems is that it helps provide cheap, inexpensive labor for overseas farmers and businessmen so that products such as sugar, coffee, corn, or broccoli can be produced for us to enjoy. However, this bright side to this issue is really anything to brag about, these slaves may be useful to those people to help them make money, but they are also being torn away from their families, potentially their job, there hometown, and their dreams. Some people may try to make a point that some of these people may be taken out of the poverty where they lived before and brought to a better life. Do you really think that a life of labor, or sex trafficking is better for them though? The victims would find absolutely no benefit what so ever in being relocated thousands of miles away to where they dont know where they are. Human trafficking is just plain terrible. To just take a person unwillingly away from there family and home because of possibly their race, gender, sexual ide ntification, or ethnic culture is not allowed in an upholding society. The impact that it makes on both the citizens around us and our nation is tremendous, however we know that our local law enforcement, government agencies, and the common person is working together in order to gain ground in defeating the problem that is growing bigger by the day. While it may seem like it is very possible that there are great things that can make headway toward an overall solution, there are always obstacles that will be in the way. Human trafficking from a utilitarian point of view isnt moral and isnt benefitting the greater number. On the other hand, the deontology point of view is also not moral and is in no way treating anyone with dignity or respect. It will always be immoral to lure someone in to a false sense of security only to snatch them up to take them to some foreign land for their own profit. All in all, a victim of any sort of trafficking is losing their entire life and everything t hat is important to them all so that someone can turn an easy profit. In no way ever will this be morally ethical at any point in time. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ethics Of Human Trafficking" essay for you Create order Ethics of Human Trafficking - Free Essay Example Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1586 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Human Trafficking Essay Did you like this example? There is a huge problem that has been constantly growing in the United States and worldwide. It has of become so dangerous that it is estimated that almost 14,500 and 17,500 individuals are victims of this every single year. This problem is of real humans becoming victims and being trafficked in and out of countries such as the United States and used for a variety of things completely against their will. This is a hidden business that has involved different restaurants, agriculture productions, factories, the commercial sex industry, and sometimes even adoption facilities. A large majority of these individuals that are being trafficked are female which means that this problem could only get worse if a stop is not put to it. Exploiting a persons race, ethnic culture, sexual identification, or gender is never acceptable. Which is why I am going to apply utilitarian and deontological perspectives to the question of human trafficking, and to make it evident that the ethical re sponse to this awful crime is one of the worst possible engagements a person can commit to. Human trafficking is one of the most wickedly evil and mortifying things that could ever happen to any single human being. The thing is that anyone could be the one who is unfortunate enough to have to experience this living hell and get caught up in this net of human destruction. We have all heard the stories of slavery of the African American people back in the 1800s and how awful that was a how we eventually abolished it in America in hopes of never having to experience slavery again. However, in todays time we are now hearing stories of modern-day slavery that will bring chills to your bones. No matter if it is labor, domestic, or sexual, the experiences that these men, women, and sometimes children have to witness first-hand go through every day will leave you cringing. The thing about human trafficking that really surprised me the most was the fact these acts of violence/crimes happe n in our every day lives without any of us even realizing it, it happens while we are living in comfort and not thinking twice about our surroundings. It also makes you feel thankful for the law enforcement officers and health care physicians who are constantly on the lookout to apprehend and put a stop to this these complex cases and have to see firsthand how it affects the survivors. It should be no surprise to anyone then that there has been a huge outcry from many citizens across the nation to try to convince our legislators to make laws stricter or create laws where they are desperately needed. Since 1999 alone the United States has spent well over 150 million dollars to help in order to prevent the trafficking of human beings (McNamara, 2015). While it is great that they are putting forth an effort in order to decrease the number of trafficking victims, it is also important to know that it is not just one specific type of person that they go after, anyone could be a potenti al victim. Human trafficking is the illegal selling or trading of a human for labor though abduction, it can be done though the threatening force or using force. It can also be done though deception or fraud for the use of sexual crimes. Societies most members that are the most at risk just happen to be the easiest targets for these Traffickers. People who are burdened by a disability, are discriminated against, or those who are in poverty are mainly targeted. Human trafficking is a complex, multi-faceted crime with no single solution. Many countries are affected by it in some way, and Australia, as a destination country for trafficking victims, is no exception (Healey, 2012). What Healey says is proof that human trafficking doesnt just happen in the cozy confines of the United States, it is spread globally in the forms of labor, sex, and organs. The continual growing of this awful business has allowed it to turn into an organized billion-dollar industry. Even though it is so lar ge and for the main part it is well-known, victims are still getting lured in through false promises that they can have a better life, or into a false sense of safety in the people that eventually capture them. With social media being a big influence in many peoples every day lives, it is making the traffickers job easier and it is becoming all around easier to influence people. This is just one of the ways that traffickers use in order to pry there victims away from there comfort zone. I will now discuss human trafficking from an ethical standpoint starting with utilitarianism. When a person wants to determine whether an act or action is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do then they will generally look at the end outcome of each action. In Utilitarianism they like to argue that depending on which action shows the best results for the greatest number affected, then that action would be the best one to choose. However, when you look at human trafficking from this point of view where happiness for the greatest number of people is what you want, then it can be extremely easy to assess. While Utilitarianism is a very natural way to look at a situation, the only people really benefiting from this disaster at all is the traffickers who are snatching the victims. They are taking advantage of a person who is looking to better their life which is making them easy prey for the traffickers. Human trafficking is estimated to bring in around a whopping 32 billion dollars worldwide, however only the people in charge are the ones who benefit, but there benefiting off the misery of the ones they captured in their line of work (Smith 2014). There are also way more victims than traffickers which would make utilitarianism invalid due to the fact that it is not filling the goal of happiness for the greatest number. The other ethical theory I wanted to discuss was deontology. Deontology focuses more on why an action is done rather than the consequence of an action an d what is the best decision. When it comes to a human trafficker, everything they do is focused on greed so that they can gain. From the moment that someone consents or agrees to be payed to smuggle an individual somewhere outside of there general living area, they are building on that greed and getting caught in a web of trafficking. Deontologist argue that we have a certain duty or obligation as some like to say to treat others with complete respect. However, when they are doing this, they have to take that persons dignity into consideration. Human trafficking though goes against every human right ever known and through deontology it is viewed as definitely immoral and wrong. When a victim gets abducted it is taking away there freedom thus also taking away also their dignity. This also means that deontology is not valid in this situation either. With all the bad and morally wrong things that human trafficking does, it is hard to find a bright side to it. The only real bright si de to this issue it seems is that it helps provide cheap, inexpensive labor for overseas farmers and businessmen so that products such as sugar, coffee, corn, or broccoli can be produced for us to enjoy. However, this bright side to this issue is really anything to brag about, these slaves may be useful to those people to help them make money, but they are also being torn away from their families, potentially their job, there hometown, and their dreams. Some people may try to make a point that some of these people may be taken out of the poverty where they lived before and brought to a better life. Do you really think that a life of labor, or sex trafficking is better for them though? The victims would find absolutely no benefit what so ever in being relocated thousands of miles away to where they dont know where they are. Human trafficking is just plain terrible. To just take a person unwillingly away from there family and home because of possibly their race, gender, sexual iden tification, or ethnic culture is not allowed in an upholding society. The impact that it makes on both the citizens around us and our nation is tremendous, however we know that our local law enforcement, government agencies, and the common person is working together in order to gain ground in defeating the problem that is growing bigger by the day. While it may seem like it is very possible that there are great things that can make headway toward an overall solution, there are always obstacles that will be in the way. Human trafficking from a utilitarian point of view isnt moral and isnt benefitting the greater number. On the other hand, the deontology point of view is also not moral and is in no way treating anyone with dignity or respect. It will always be immoral to lure someone in to a false sense of security only to snatch them up to take them to some foreign land for their own profit. All in all, a victim of any sort of trafficking is losing their entire life and everything th at is important to them all so that someone can turn an easy profit. In no way ever will this be morally ethical at any point in time. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ethics of Human Trafficking" essay for you Create order

Personal Statement Motivation And Motivation Essay

Throughout my life, I have had many situations where I was put in a group and had to interact with people that I did not know. However, these interactions have changed me as a whole. These communications also helped me discover my weaknesses and strengths. Through all of my group interactions, I have established the sense of responsibility, gained motivation and willpower, and developed a network of relationships. I believe that group strengths are being prompt with my work and pre-planning my tasks. Being prompt with my work has allowed my group work to progress faster and pre-planning allowed me to lower my stress of work load. Additionally, I believe that my group weaknesses are having anxiety and being indecisive about choosing tasks. Furthermore, others believe that my group strength is that I am informative. Usually some group members would forget what they have to do to complete their task and I would help by reminding them. Others perceive my group weakness to being not so t alkative. I usually stay silent in group discussions or wait until my group members ask me questions. According to the Mastering Group Skills: How Competent Are You? Exercise on page 109, I am competent in most of the skills. I would rate my communication competence as competent. I did notice a pattern in my responses, most of the skills that correlate with speaking directly to group members were rated as either weak or competent. My verbal competencies are weaker than my nonverbalShow MoreRelatedPersonal Statement : Motivation And Motivation986 Words   |  4 PagesWhen I think about motivation, I think about what drives me to do something or what my goal might be when I have a task to complete. For me, motivation might come from that extra prayer that I say during the day or it might be the feeling of accomplishment when I have checked off all of the items on a to do. I look for motivation in my surroundings, whether that is friends, faith or even my students. I also look for m otivation within myself, maybe searching for the motivation to tackle a task thatRead MorePersonal Statement : Inspiration And Motivation1459 Words   |  6 PagesAsher Kim 9/18/2015 Period 3 Inspiration/Motivation Inspiring itself is the act of making others feel strongly interested and enthusiastic, and then convincing to do things, such as achieving a personal goal or joining a team and working for a team. Inspiration is one of the key points of leadership. Leaders take charge and support themselves and motivate others to do the right thing for the common goal by presenting a clear goal, providing precise instructions and resources, creating a goodRead MorePersonal Statement On Motivation Management995 Words   |  4 Pagescareer, such as intrinsic and external motivation. 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For this paper, I have chosen to highlight motivation, cultural awareness, leadership, and change because these four issues are the most frequent issues that I face regularly in my leadership position. One of the challenges that have interested me for a long time is how to motivate the people who work for me. Prior to doing my first paper on motivation, I believed that money is what motivates employees and it was the responsibility of the employeeRead MorePersonal Statement : Motivation Is Not Worth It Through My High School And College Career1856 Words   |  8 PagesI was very quick to realize motivation is a necessity to make it through my high school and college career. I believe that I am one of the lucky ones that received many sources of motivation. At first, my intentions were very simplistic. It was a simple thought—graduate. I was a good student, but coming to this school teaches that you need to be more than â€Å"good† to make it. Coming from a household where I was neglected I felt a sense to prove myself. I was self-motivated to prove myself to my familyRead MorePersonal Vision Statement : My Vision751 Words   |  4 PagesVision Statement Introduction I am writing this statement as a declaration of my personal vision. It will serve as a guide to help ensure that my actions are corresponding to what I envision. This personal vision statement is designed to help facilitate my purpose, unforeseen obstacles, and how to manage theses obstacles. A great deal of thought has gone into constructing this vision statement and I hope that within time these endeavors fill me with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. MyRead MoreMotivation And Its Impact On Performance860 Words   |  4 PagesMotivation and its Impact on Performance Tony Mcalphin, Student Eastern Florida State College A persons’ performance is dependent on their willingness to accomplish a goal. There are different aspects that make up motivation and performance. In this paper, we will learn what defines both motivation and performance, and how they affect each other. What is Motivation? A person’s motivation is what drives them to set a goal and accomplish it. Merriam-Webster(2013) describes motivation as, â€Å"the generalRead MoreMotivation Analysis : Organization Behavior1576 Words   |  7 Pages Running Head: MOTIVATION Week 6: Motivation Analysis . Course: Organization Behavior Leadership 6012_91B Instructor: Dr. Charles W. Creamer Date Submitted: June 24, 2017 Student’s Name: Shaquana Robotham Abstract In a rapidly changing workforce motivation is needed to help companies compete. It is the belief that motivation begins at the top of an organization and as CEO ensuring that employees feel motivated is of vital importance. Motivating workforces include aspects such as job security

Ethical Compensation Free Essays

Employees expect companies to stick to certain standards that represent fairness (Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making 1995). Early efforts of economic views have studied compensation systems over the years. The all-encompassing view at the time was that the best possible compensation systems met the fair days wage for a fair days work criteria. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical Compensation or any similar topic only for you Order Now The key for managers and others who design pay systems Is to ensure that pay accurately reflected the economic value added to the firm by a worker. This is where fairness is expressed only in economic terms. Since that time management scholars have developed a much richer understanding of what fairness means to employees and how views of fairness affect their attitudes and behaviors. Compensation systems also play Important social and representational roles in organizations and through these roles pay systems affect a variety of Important outcomes such as the nature of employee commitment and performance and work relationships. Given the essential role that compensation systems play in employment relationships, it is also very likely hat they play an important role in shaping whether people feel they are treated with respect, trust, and dignity and whether they believe the values and customs of the organization are worthy of their fullest commitment and highest efforts (Bloom, M. 2004). Could executive compensation be redefined by performance management? â€Å"When no performance measures are defined and documented for company executives, this places no accountability on the CEO to produce measurable results. On the other hand, if performance measures are defined, documented and accountability is laced on the CEO and is tied to compensation this could prove to be beneficial for all involved. While employees are paid based on established Job classification systems, Coo’s however arbitrarily negotiate salaries where there Is no cap, but benefactor. The company is injured by way of a harmful image in the eyes of the industry. The consumers of the company’s products or services are also hurt. The company may also experience retention problems and stockholders may suffer from financial loss. Also employees are left to deal with disappointment, bitterness and owe morale (Carter, C. 2009). Americans are fuming right now. Pummel by the bind of a painful recession and furious over oversized executive compensation packages at the very Wall Street firms widely blamed for the economic chaos, they gradually distrust key establishments and individual leaders. Americans are angered at the financial services region. They believe that these institutions have rigged the game so that top level executives are rewarded substantially even when they fail. Americans want action to restore fairness to the system and get pay back in line. The variety of experts and activists of political leaders and ordinary citizens, there is a belief that executive incentives have exaggerated short-term performance, supported unnecessary risk-taking, and failed to discipline poor performance. Many believe that incentive plans have tempted some Coos to put personal financial interests in front of good stewardship that provides the long-term interests of their organizations (Ethics Resource Center, 2010). In recent years it has become common for corporate board of directors to recruit a star chief executive officer with an executive severance cage. The severance agreement becomes part of a contractual commitment that is often unrelated to the circumstances of the executive’s eventual firing. To complicate matters, severance is often structured as deferred compensation for an executive’s earlier successes, before things would eventually fall apart. When a CEO is discredited they always argue that they were not overpaid at termination because the rise in share price they achieved for stockholders during their tenure with the company. Companies should not make severance commitments when hiring executives. This will come back to haunt them. This style could make it difficult for firms trying to hire top talent. A CEO with ethics would be embarrassed when receiving an abundant severance after their decisions caused severe anguish to the employees and shareholders (Kipling, K. 2008). Addressing specific errors in compensation plans is critical and identifying the best metrics for measuring performance is part of the answer. Maybe creating an ethical organization is a critical first step that sets the stage for effective compensation plans. Ethical performance should be one of the metrics for determining compel;sensation. Many of the problems credited to failed compensation plans are really about ethical slip ups. I’m not saying that executives intentionally engage in bad conduct. But it can mean that a lack of continuous focus on ethics can induce bad behavior. This behavior can turn into rationalizing decisions without truly centering on the allegations for the long-term well-being of the customers, its employees, shareholders and the company as a whole (Ethics Resource Center, 2010). Executive compensation is not illegal. However the actions of some Coo’s and executives can be ethically questionable. From the viewpoint of economic effectiveness, restructuring or even downsizing may be required in order to arrive at specific business goals. Although, making the decision to eliminate Jobs while the CEO is overly compensated for providing inadequate performance is not only feeble make a incredible impact by educating board of directors on accountability in executive packages, compensation and incorporating strategic performance management initiativ How to cite Ethical Compensation, Papers

Types of Fallacies free essay sample

If you suppose that terrorizing your opponent is giving him a reason for believing that you are correct, then you are using a scare tactic and reasoning fallaciously. Example: David: My father owns the department store that gives your newspaper fifteen percent of all its advertising revenue, so I’m sure you won’t want to publish any story of my arrest for spray painting the college. Newspaper editor: Yes, David, I see your point. The story really isn’t newsworthy. David has given the editor a financial reason not to publish, but he has not given a relevant reason why the story is not newsworthy. David’s tactics are scaring the editor, but it’s the editor who commits the scare tactic fallacy, not David. David has merely used a scare tactic. This fallacy’s name emphasizes the cause of the fallacy rather than the error itself. 2. Appeal to Pity You commit the fallacy of appeal to emotions when someone’s appeal to you to accept their claim is accepted merely because the appeal arouses your feelings of anger, fear, grief, love, outrage, pity, pride, sexuality, sympathy, relief, and so forth. Example of appeal to relief from grief: [The speaker knows he is talking to an aggrieved person whose house is worth much more than $100,000. ] You had a great job and didn’t deserve to lose it. I wish I could help somehow. I do have one idea. Now your family needs financial security even more. You need cash. I can help you. Here is a check for $100,000. Just sign this standard sales agreement, and we can skip the realtors and all the headaches they would create at this critical time in your life. There is nothing wrong with using emotions when you argue, but it’s a mistake to use emotions as the key premises or as tools to downplay relevant information. Regarding the fallacy of  appeal to pity, it is proper to pity people who have had misfortunes, but if as the person’s history instructor you accept Max’s claim that he earned an A on the history quiz because he broke his wrist while playing in your college’s last basketball game, then you’ve committed the fallacy of  appeal to pity. *Appeal to Snobbery 3. Ad Hominem You commit this fallacy if you make an irrelevant attack on the arguer and suggest that this attack undermines the argument itself. It is a form of the  Genetic Fallacy. Example: What she says about Johannes Kepler’s astronomy of the 1600? s must be just so much garbage. Do you realize she’s only fourteen years old? This attack may undermine the arguer’s credibility as a scientific authority, but it does not undermine her reasoning. That reasoning should stand or fall on the scientific evidence, not on the arguer’s age or anything else about her personally. If the fallacious reasoner points out irrelevant circumstances that the reasoner is in, the fallacy is a circumstantial ad hominem. Tu Quoque  and  Two Wrongs Make a Right  are other types of the ad hominem fallacy. The major difficulty with labeling a piece of reasoning as an ad hominem fallacy is deciding whether the personal attack is relevant. For example, attacks on a person for their actually immoral sexual conduct are irrelevant to the quality of their mathematical reasoning, but they are relevant to arguments promoting the person for a leadership position in the church. Unfortunately, many attacks are not so easy to classify, such as an attack pointing out that the candidate for church leadership, while in the tenth grade, intentionally tripped a fellow student and broke his collar bone. *Ad Hominem Circumstantial Guilt by association is a version of the  ad hominem  fallacy in which a person is said to be guilty of error because of the group he or she associates with. The fallacy occurs when we unfairly try to change the issue to be about the speaker’s circumstances rather than about the speaker’s actual argument. Also called â€Å"Ad Hominem, Circumstantial. Example: Secretary of State Dean Acheson is too soft on communism, as you can see by his inviting so many fuzzy-headed liberals to his White House cocktail parties. Has any evidence been presented here that Acheson’s actions are inappropriate in regards to communism? This sort of reasoning is an example of McCarthyism, the technique of smearing liberal Democrats that was so effectively used by the late Senator Joe McCarthy in the early 1950s. In fact, Acheson was strongly anti-communist and the architect of President Truman’s firm policy of containing Soviet power. 4. Appeal to the People If you suggest too strongly that someone’s claim or argument is correct simply because it’s what most everyone believes, then you’ve committed the fallacy of appeal to the people. Similarly, if you suggest too strongly that someone’s claim or argument is mistaken simply because it’s not what most everyone believes, then you’ve also committed the fallacy. Agreement with popular opinion is not necessarily a reliable sign of truth, and deviation from popular opinion is not necessarily a reliable sign of error, but if you assume it is and do so with enthusiasm, then you’re guilty of committing this fallacy. It is essentially the same as the fallacies of ad numerum, appeal to the gallery, appeal to the masses, argument from popularity, argumentum ad populum, common practice, mob appeal, past practice, peer pressure, traditional wisdom. The â€Å"too strongly† mentioned above is important in the description of the fallacy because what most everyone believes is, for that reason, somewhat likely to be true, all things considered. However, the fallacy occurs when this degree of support is overestimated. Example: You should turn to channel 6. It’s the most watched channel this year. This is fallacious because of its implicitly accepting the questionable premise that the most watched channel this year is, for that reason alone, the best channel for you. If you stress the idea of appealing to a  new  idea of the gallery, masses, mob, peers, people, and so forth, then it is a bandwagon fallacy. *Bandwagon If you suggest that someone’s claim is correct simply because it’s what most everyone is coming to believe, then you’re committing the bandwagon fallacy. Get up here with us on the wagon where the band is playing, and go where we go, and don’t think too much about the reasons. The Latin term for this fallacy of appeal to novelty is Argumentum ad Novitatem. Example: [Advertisement] More and more people are buying sports utility vehicles. Isn’t it time you bought one, too? [You commit the fallacy if you buy the vehicle solely because of this advertisement. ] Like its close cousin, the fallacy of appeal to the people, the bandwagon fallacy needs to be carefully distinguished from properly defending a claim by pointing out that many people have studied the claim and have come to a reasoned conclusion that it is correct. What most everyone believes is likely to be true, all things considered, and if one defends a claim on those grounds, this is not a fallacious inference. What is fallacious is to be swept up by the excitement of a new idea or new fad and to unquestionably give it too high a degree of your belief solely on the grounds of its new popularity, perhaps thinking simply that ‘new is better. ’ The key ingredient that is missing from a bandwagon fallacy is knowledge that an item is popular because of its high quality. Appeal to Past People (â€Å"You too†) 5. Accident We often arrive at a generalization but don’t or can’t list all the exceptions. When we reason with the generalization as if it has no exceptions, we commit the fallacy of accident. This fallacy is sometimes called the â€Å"fallacy of sweeping generalization. † Example: People should keep their promises, right? I loaned Dwayne my knife, and he said he’d return it. Now he is refusi ng to give it back, but I need it right now to slash up my neighbors who disrespected me. People should keep their promises, but there are exceptions to this generaliztion as in this case of the psychopath who wants Dwayne to keep his promise to return the knife. 6. Straw Man You commit the straw man fallacy whenever you attribute an easily refuted position to your opponent, one that the opponent wouldn’t endorse, and then proceed to attack the easily refuted position (the straw man) believing you have undermined the opponent’s actual position. If the misrepresentation is on purpose, then the straw man fallacy is caused by lying. Example (a debate before the city council): Opponent: Because of the killing and suffering of Indians that followed Columbus’s discovery of America, the City of Berkeley should declare that Columbus Day will no longer be observed in our city. Speaker: This is ridiculous, fellow members of the city council. It’s not true that everybody who ever came to America from another country somehow oppressed the Indians. I say we should continue to observe Columbus Day, and vote down this resolution that will make the City of Berkeley the laughing stock of the nation. The speaker has twisted what his opponent said; the opponent never said, nor even indirectly suggested, that everybody who ever came to America from another country somehow oppressed the Indians. The critical thinker will respond to the fallacy by saying, â€Å"Let’s get back to the original issue of whether we have a good reason to discontinue observing Columbus Day. † 7. Missing the Point The conclusion that is drawn is irrelevant to the premises; it misses the point. Example: In court, Thompson testifies that the defendant is a honorable person, who wouldn’t harm a flea. The defense attorney commits the fallacy by rising to say that Thompson’s testimony shows once again that his client was not near the murder scene. The testimony of Thompson may be relevant to a request for leniency, but it is irrelevant to any claim about the defendant not being near the murder scene. 8. Red Herring A red herring is a smelly fish that would distract even a bloodhound. It is also a digression that leads the reasoner off the track of considering only relevant information. Example: Will the new tax in Senate Bill 47 unfairly hurt business? One of the provisions of the bill is that the tax is higher for large employers (fifty or more employees) as opposed to small employers (six to forty-nine employees). To decide on the fairness of the bill, we must first determine whether employees who work for large employers have better working conditions than employees who work for small employers. Bringing up the issue of working conditions is the red herring. FALLACIES OF PRESUMPTION 9. Begging the Question A form of  circular reasoning  in which a conclusion is derived from premises that presuppose the conclusion. Normally, the point of good reasoning is to start out at one place and end up somewhere new, namely having reached the goal of increasing the degree of reasonable belief in the conclusion. The point is to make progress, but in cases of begging the question there is no progress. Example: â€Å"Women have rights,† said the Bullfighters Association president. â€Å"But women shouldn’t fight bulls because a bullfighter is and should be a man. † The president is saying basically that women shouldn’t fight bulls because women shouldn’t fight bulls. This reasoning isn’t making any progress. Insofar as the conclusion of a deductively valid argument is â€Å"contained† in the premises from which it is deduced, this containing might seem to be a case of presupposing, and thus any deductively valid argument might seem to be begging the question. It is still an open question among logicians as to why some deductively valid arguments are considered to be begging the question and others are not. Some logicians suggest that, in informal reasoning with a deductively valid argument, if the conclusion is psychologically new insofar as the premises are concerned, then the argument isn’t an example of the fallacy. Other logicians suggest that we need to look instead to surrounding circumstances, not to the psychology of the reasoner, in order to assess the quality of the argument. For example, we need to look to the reasons that the reasoner used to accept the premises. Was the premise justified on the basis of accepting the conclusion? A third group of logicians say that, in deciding whether the fallacy is committed, we need more. We must determine whether any premise that is key to deducing the conclusion is adopted rather blindly or instead is a reasonable assumption made by someone accepting their burden of proof. The premise would here be termed reasonable if the arguer could defend it independently of accepting the conclusion that is at issue. 10. Complex Question You commit this fallacy when you frame a question so that some controversial presupposition is made by the wording of the question. Example: [Reporters question] Mr. President: Are you going to continue your policy of wasting taxpayer’s money on missile defense? The question unfairly presumes the controversial claim that the policy really is a waste of money. The fallacy of complex question is a form of begging the question. 11. False Dichotomy A reasoner who unfairly presents too few choices and then implies that a choice must be made among this short menu of choices commits the false dilemma fallacy, as does the person who accepts this faulty reasoning. Example: I want to go to Scotland from London. I overheard McTaggart say there are two roads to Scotland from London: the high road and the low road. I expect the high road would be too risky because it’s through the hills and that means dangerous curves. But it’s raining now, so both roads are probably slippery. I don’t like either choice, but I guess I should take the low road and be safer. This would be fine reasoning is you were limited to only two roads, but you’ve falsely gotten yourself into a dilemma with such reasoning. There are many other ways to get to Scotland. Don’t limit yourself to these two choices. You can take other roads, or go by boat or train or airplane. The fallacy is called the â€Å"False Dichotomy Fallacy† when the unfair menu contains only two choices. Think of the unpleasant choice between the two as being a charging bull. By demanding other choices beyond those on the unfairly limited menu, you thereby â€Å"go between the horns† of the dilemma, and are not gored. 12. Suppressed Evidence Intentionally failing to use information suspected of being relevant and significant is committing the fallacy of suppressed evidence. This fallacy usually occurs when the information counts against one’s own conclusion. Perhaps the arguer is not mentioning that experts have recently objected to one of his premises. The fallacy is a kind of fallacy of  Selective Attention. Example: Buying the Cray Mac 11 computer for our company was the right thing to do. It meets our company’s needs; it runs the programs we want it to run; it will be delivered quickly; and it costs much less than what we had budgeted. This appears to be a good argument, but you’d change your assessment of the argument if you learned the speaker has intentionally suppressed the relevant evidence that the company’s Cray Mac 11 was purchased from his brother-in-law at a 30 percent higher price than it could have been purchased elsewhere, and if you learned that a recent unbiased analysis of ten comparable computers placed the Cray Mac 11 near the bottom of the list. Appeal to Ignorance The fallacy of appeal to ignorance comes in two forms: (1) Not knowing that a certain statement is true is taken to be a proof that it is false. 2) Not knowing that a statement is false is taken to be a proof that it is true. The fallacy occurs in cases where absence of evidence is not good enough evidence of absence. The fallacy uses an unjustified attempt to shift the burden of proof. The fallacy is also called â€Å"Argument from Ignorance. † Example: Nobody has ever proved to me there’s a God, so I know there is no God. This kind of reasoning is generally fallacious. It would be proper reasoning only if the proof attempts were quite thorough, and it were the case that if God did exist, then there would be a discoverable proof of this. Another common example of the fallacy involves ignorance of a future event: People have been complaining about the danger of Xs ever since they were invented, but there’s never been any big problem with them, so there’s nothing to worry about. 14. Appeal to Unqualified Authority You appeal to authority if you back up your reasoning by saying that it is supported by what some authority says on the subject. Most reasoning of this kind is not fallacious, and much of our knowledge properly comes from listening to authorities. However, appealing to authority as a reason to believe something  is  fallacious whenever the authority appealed to is not really an authority in this particular subject, when the authority cannot be trusted to tell the truth, when authorities disagree on this subject (except for the occasional lone wolf), when the reasoner misquotes the authority, and so forth. Although spotting a fallacious appeal to authority often requires some background knowledge about the subject or the authority, in brief it can be said that it is fallacious to accept the words of a supposed authority when we should be suspicious of the authority’s words. Example: The moon is covered with dust because the president of our neighborhood association said so. This is a fallacious appeal to authority because, although the president is an authority on many neighborhood matters, you are given no reason to believe the president is an authority on the composition of the moon. It would be better to appeal to some astronomer or geologist. A TV commercial that gives you a testimonial from a famous film star who wears a Wilson watch and that suggests you, too, should wear that brand of watch is committing a fallacious appeal to authority. The film star is an authority on how to act, not on which watch is best for you. 15. Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization is a fallacy of  jumping to conclusions  in which the conclusion is a generalization. See also  Biased Statistics. Example: I’ve met two people in Nicaragua so far, and they were both nice to me. So, all people I will meet in Nicaragua will be nice to me. In any hasty generalization the key error is to overestimate the strength of an argument that is based on too small a sample for the implied confidence level or error margin. In this argument about Nicaragua, using the word â€Å"all† in the conclusion implies zero error margin. With zero error margin you’d need to sample every single person in Nicaragua, not just two people. 16. False Cause Improperly concluding that one thing is a cause of another. The Fallacy of Non Causa Pro Causa is another name for this fallacy. Its four principal kinds are the  Post Hoc Fallacy, the Fallacy of  Cum Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc,  the  Regression  Fallacy, and the Fallacy of  Reversing Causation. Example: My psychic adviser says to expect bad things when Mars is aligned with Jupiter. Tomorrow Mars will be aligned with Jupiter. So, if a dog were to bite me tomorrow, it would be because of the alignment of Mars with Jupiter. 17. Slippery Slope Suppose someone claims that a first step (in a chain of causes and effects, or a chain of reasoning) will probably lead to a second step that in turn will probably lead to another step and so on until a final step ends in trouble. If the likelihood of the trouble occurring is exaggerated, the slippery slope fallacy is committed. Example: Mom: Those look like bags under your eyes. Are you getting enough sleep? Jeff: I had a test and stayed up late studying. Mom: You didn’t take any drugs, did you? Jeff: Just caffeine in my coffee, like I always do. Mom: Jeff! You know what happens when people take drugs! Pretty soon the caffeine won’t be strong enough. Then you will take something stronger, maybe someone’s diet pill. Then, something even stronger. Eventually, you will be doing cocaine. Then you will be a crack addict! So, don’t drink that coffee. The form of a slippery slope fallacy looks like this: A leads to B. B leads to C. C leads to D. †¦ Z leads to HELL. We don’t want to go to HELL. So, don’t take that first step A. 18. Weak Analogy The problem is that the items in the analogy are too dissimilar. When reasoning by analogy, the fallacy occurs when the analogy is irrelevant or very weak or when there is a more relevant disanalogy. See also  Faulty Comparison. Example: The book  Investing for Dummies  really helped me understand my finances better. The bookChess for Dummies  was written by the same author, was published by the same press, and costs about the same amount. So, this chess book would probably help me understand my finances, too.The accent fallacy is a fallacy of ambiguity due to the different ways a word is emphasized or accented. Example: A member of Congress is asked by a reporter if she is in favor of the President’s new missile defense system, and she responds, â€Å"I’m in favor of a missile defense system that effectively defends America. † With an emphasis on the word â€Å"favor,† her response is likely to  favor  the President’s missile defense system. With an emphasis, instead, on the words â€Å"effectively defends,† her remark is likely to be  againstthe President’s missile defense system. And by using neither emphasis, she can later claim that her response was on either side of the issue. Aristotle’s version of the fallacy of accent allowed only a shift in which syllable is accented within a word. 20. Amphiboly This is an error due to taking a grammatically ambiguous phrase in two different ways during the reasoning. Example: In a cartoon, two elephants are driving their car down the road in India. They say, â€Å"We’d better not get out here,† as they pass a sign saying: Upon one interpretation of the grammar, the pronoun â€Å"YOUR† refers to the elephants in the car, but on another it refers to those humans who are driving cars in the vicinity. Unlike  equivocation, which is due to multiple meanings of a phrase, amphiboly is due to syntactic ambiguity, ambiguity caused by multiple ways of understanding the grammar of the phrase. 21. Equivocation Equivocation is the illegitimate switching of the meaning of a term during the reasoning. Example: Brad is a nobody, but since nobody is perfect, Brad must be perfect, too. The term â€Å"nobody† changes its meaning without warning in the passage. So does the term â€Å"political jokes† in this joke: I don’t approve of political jokes. I’ve seen too many of them get elected. Composition The composition fallacy occurs when someone mistakenly assumes that a characteristic of some or all the individuals in a group is also a characteristic of the group itself, the group â€Å"composed† of those members. It is the converse of the  division  fallacy. Example: Each human cell is very lightweight, so a human being composed of cells is also very lightweight. 23. Division Merely because a group as a whole has a characteristic, it often doesn’t follow that individuals in the group have that characteristic. If you suppose that it does follow, when it doesn’t, you commit the fallacy of division. It is the converse of the  composition  fallacy. Example: Joshua’s soccer team is the best in the division because it had an undefeated season and shared the division title, so Joshua, who is their goalie, must be the best goalie in the division. 24. Figure of Speech or Parallel-word Construction A fallacy characterized by ambiguities due to the fact that different words in Greek (and in Latin) may have different cases or genders even though the case endings or gender endings are the same. Since this is not widespread in other languages or since it coincides with other fallacies (e. g. quivocation, see above) writers tend to interpret it very broadly.

Medias Relationship to Anti

People in the world today engage in all kinds of anti-social behaviors. There is violence in almost every aspect of life. The abuse of drugs in the streets has become rampant because governments are not applying enough efforts to regulate such behavior. Gangs have increased significantly thereby declaring certain areas in big towns as hotspots.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Media’s Relationship to Anti-social Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Prostitution among the youth has increased significantly thereby encouraging young girls to engage in such activities in order to support themselves financially. Mobs in the streets have also become uncontrollable to an extent that they are making people in towns to live in a state of uncertainty (Taylor et al. 358 ). With the recent advancements in media technology, anti-social behaviors have become more pronounced. The various types of media that are assoc iated with anti-social behavior include the internet, TVs, New Papers, and radios. It is easy for a person to gain access to violent activities today than he could centuries ago. The media has therefore played a significant role in stimulating anti-social behavior among the youth in the modern society. This is because almost every person in the world today has access to at least one type of media device. This state of affairs has therefore made it easy for people to gain access to the various types of anti-social behaviors that exist in the world today. When the different types of media convey incidences of anti-social behaviors, people understand them in different ways. There are those people who understand the incidences positively while there are those people who understand them negatively. Therefore, the media can impact positively on a society by conveying positive information to the society. It is also true that just as the media is capable of bringing order in any society it can also influence people to engage in violent activities. Therefore, people have opposing views on whether the media brings stability or instability to those societies which are dominated by anti-social behavior. People react in different ways depending on the kind of information that they receive from the media. Today, the content people get from the media defines how they behave in the societies that they live in. For example, there are those people who are fond of watching cool content whereas there are other people who love watching violent content.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, these two classes of people behave differently because of the influence that they get from the different content that they obtain from the media. There are those people who develop positive behavior whereas there are those who develop negative behavior. This is an indication that the me dia has a significant influence on the way people behave. For example, the social learning theory helps people to understand the manner in which the media influences their behavior. This theory implies that if young people are exposed to violent content, they also become violent (Taylor et al. 359). On the other hand, those people who are exposed to positive content tend to demonstrate good behavior. There are different ways in which the media influences the lives of people positively. For example, a person can use the internet to look for inspirational information that would motivate him to refrain from anti-social behaviors. He can also look for information that can enable him to fulfill his spiritual needs. Such a person would therefore be able to refrain from anti-social activities if he stays committed to his goal. This is the same case with TVs and radios. They can broadcast religious or inspirational programs thereby positively transforming the lives of those people who are w illing to change from their wicked ways of life. However, the limiting factor in this case is that the media is today filled with a lot of anti-social content and irrelevant information thereby making it difficult for a newly transformed person to gain access to information that would motivate him to live a descent life. The media has played a very essential role in terms of educating young people on the positive activities that they can engage in to build their lives. For example, various media organizations hold concerts and shows aimed at educating the young people on various ways in which they can abstain from mob activities, drug abuse or promiscuous activities. Media organizations also visit those places which are dominated by high cases of mob activities, drug abuse, and child prostitution in order to notify the youth on the various harms that are associated with anti-social behavior (Taylor et al. 359). The media also gives information on some of the areas that are worst hit by anti-social activities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Media’s Relationship to Anti-social Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This allows the public to understand the various hardships that people who engage in anti-social behavior go through. This has the effect of convincing the public to refrain from engaging in anti-social behaviors. However, there are those people who despite the various efforts that the media applies to warn them about the consequences of anti-social behavior, they still continue enrolling in such immoral activities. This is especially the case with hardcore people who have been brought up in a life dominated by anti-social behavior. The media also educates the public on the best ways in which they can refrain from engaging in anti-social activities. The media liaises with genuine and reputable organizations which people can seek for guidance and counseling. The media al so notifies the public on the best places they can visit in order to get professional help regarding their anti-social behaviors. For example, the internet is available to most people in the world. It is very rich in information both good and bad. The media can therefore specify to the public the various websites that they can visit in order to get professional help. In addition positive-minded people can easily gather positive information on their own without the need of a professional. Here they can get all the important information they would need to help them transform their lives in a positive manner. However, the internet is also full of negative content that can influence people to engage in anti-social activities. Presenting role models to young people provides a good way in which they can understand how to handle the challenges that face them adequately. Various radio and TV stations normally invite reputable and successful people who conduct motivational talks in order to help the public make positive decisions in their lives. The people who are invited are people who are very successful in life and who are well known by a large number of people. The moment these people share their opinions to the public on the best ways that they can influence their lives positively, the people who are willing to change follow the advice of the motivational speakers keenly. However, with the growth of the internet, people have been able to access any kind of information.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since many nations do not censor the information that young people access from the internet, many young people therefore gain access to all kinds of anti-social activities that happen in their societies. In addition, since there are various forms of media organizations in any society, people look for content that inspires them the best. For example, there is a category of people who love watching violent content while there are other people who love watching positive content. This therefore indicates that it is not possible to eradicate anti-social behaviors even when some media organizations remain committed to providing positive content to the public. There are those countries whereby the media is not granted sufficient freedom to notify the public on the political state of their country (Taylor et al. 355). As a result, the public does not have sufficient information regarding their rights as citizens. They are therefore exposed hardships while in their own country. The media is however very effective in terms notifying the public on the proceedings of their country. The public therefore becomes aware of their rights and it can therefore elect a government that would respect their rights fully. In addition, the media is very good in demonstrating to the public the various injustices that their government may engage in. The public can therefore confront their government and advocate for fair treatment. However, there are various media stations which are known to support certain political candidates. They popularize such people regardless of whether they can manage to lead a country or not. In addition, the media can influence the public rebel against a ruling government especially if the media displays all the negative attributes of a particular leader. This state of affairs can make violence to erupt in a country especially between the supporters and the non-supporters of a particular candidate, thereby promoting anti-social behavior among the people. The m edia is very good at demonstrating the various aggressive behaviors that people engage in. It also shows the public the various deadly and harmful effects that can result from aggressive behavior. For example, there have been instances whereby mob demonstrations on the streets have led to deaths of very many people. Therefore, when a mob goes to the streets, many people may die or be severely injured (Taylor et al. 357). This state of affairs therefore makes people to refrain from engaging in such activities when they see the kind of destruction that aggressive behavior can cause. However, there are those people who observe the aggressive behavior of people in the streets and they decide that it is a very good mechanism of handling conflicts. It is therefore evident that the media unwillingly influence anti-social behavior while trying to notify the public on the destructive nature of aggressive behavior. From the analysis therefore, it is true that the media has significant influen ce on anti-social behavior. It can promote it or discourage it. By participating in the eradication of anti-social behavior therefore, the media helps restore order in a society. On the contrary, the media is also responsible for promoting anti-social behavior among the youth especially when they broadcast programs that are dominated by anti-social activities. This leads to a disorderly society. Works cited Taylor, Stephanie, Hinchliffe Steve, John Clarke and Bromley Simon. Making Social Lives. London: Open University, 2009. Print. This essay on Media’s Relationship to Anti-social Behavior was written and submitted by user Caitlyn Byrd to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Stay a While and Learn About Sojourn

Stay a While and Learn About Sojourn Stay a While and Learn About â€Å"Sojourn† Stay a While and Learn About â€Å"Sojourn† By Mark Nichol After I posted a list of synonyms for trip, a couple of readers offered sojourn as an additional alternative. Unfortunately, however, they are victims of a common misunderstanding. Sojourn is actually a near antonym of trip. It means â€Å"a brief stay.† The confusion undoubtedly arises from the presence of the syllable journ, which is cognate with the first syllable of journey and journal (as well as the last element of du jour, French and restaurantese for â€Å"of the day†). What do all these words have in common? Jour is a descendant, through the Anglo-French word jur, of the Latin term diurnum, meaning â€Å"day,† which is also the source of diurnal (the opposite of nocturnal). Journey originally referred to a day’s travel but now denotes travel of any significant duration. (Tour, though it rhymes with jour, is unrelated; it comes from the Latin word tornare, meaning â€Å"to turn.†) Journal, meanwhile, was originally a reference to a book used in church services. The meaning then shifted to any book for keeping personal or business records, and later also to daily publications. (The synonym for a personal journal, diary, is ultimately from dies, a Latin word for â€Å"day.†) Another related word is journeyman, which acquired the meaning â€Å"a craftsman more skilled than an apprentice but not yet experienced enough to earn status as a master,† came from the association of such workers with short-term projects they were (and sometimes still are) literally â€Å"day men.† So, where does sojourn come in? Perhaps the misunderstanding about its meaning stems from the connective grammatical function of the word so: â€Å"I want to travel, ‘so’ I ‘journ.’† However, it derives from subdiurnare, meaning â€Å"part of a day† (with the usual meaning of the prefix sub-) and referring to a resting period during a daylong journey. Therefore, Sojourner Truth, the nineteenth-century slave turned abolitionist and activist for women’s rights, presumably selected that name for herself because she wished not to travel toward truth, but to abide in it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)The Parts of a WordThe Difference Between "Shade" and "Shadow"

Retail Service Management Key Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retail Service Management Key Indicators - Essay Example Since the data sheet had already summarized the major monthly indicators (with little or no primary data sets), the analysis below concentrated on the examining the temporal patterns across the three months. For the purposes of tracking the repair order, mailing reminders and financial summaries across time, key indicators were analyzed across the months January through March. Since most of the data was categorical (by month), histogram polygons were constructed. To provide a frame of reference for the period under analyses, where relevant and necessary, average and standard deviation of the respective indicators were calculated. For purposes of clarity, results of only some of the most important indicators, namely active number of customers, number of customers lost, percent sales of Smart link, investment returns on each US $ 1 spent are presented and discussed. This is an important variable indicating the proportion of the various maintenance and repair jobs undertaken at the company. Accordingly, based on the data provided, frequency histogram was constructed to depict the proportion of the different maintenance tasks undertaken. ... 3. Retail revenue sales trend: Based on the graph already provided in the data sheet, discussion is provided on the contribution that Smart Link sales have made over the gross sales during the different days of the survey period. 4. Percentage share accounted by the different zip codes: The relative contribution made by the different zip codes for their share of the services and how these have changed from month to month has been analyzed. The mean per cent share of the different zip code was computed across the three months. Results: Repair order, mailing and financial summary results: Over the three months of reporting, a total of 4056 services were completed, with January accounting for the highest (37% of the services) and March, the least (30% of the services) (Figure 1). The mean number of active customers over the three months was 233954 (average standard deviation) with little variation across the months (Figure 2). The number of completed services ranged between 1210 (in March 2006) to 1490 (in January 2006). On an average there was only a 6 to 8 per cent loss of customers over the three months (Figure 2). Figure 1: Per cent services completed by Smart link from January to March 2006.Total customers serviced for the three months=4056. Figure 2: Frequency histogram of active and lost customers from January to March 2006 by Smart link. Two of the most important financial status parameters, namely, per cent of Smart link sales and the investment return for every dollar spent, increased from January to February but thereafter decreased in March 2006. For example, the investment returns increased from $215.52 in January to

How successful was the strategic bombing of Germany in the Second Essay

How successful was the strategic bombing of Germany in the Second World War On what criteria do you base your assessment - Essay Example The Germans sought to forego the horrors that dominated trench warfare by technically re-engineering the way in which soldiers met with enemy combatants on the battlefield. However, the Germans were not unique in such an alternate approach as the Allies sought to find a way to avoid a protracted ground battle that would likely see both sides grind to a halt and re-invoke the painful lessons and memories of trench warfare during the Second World War. As a means to avert this, the Allies opted for a litany of approaches; however, for the purposes of this brief research, the one that will be focused upon with the most depth will be that of the CBO (Combined Bomber Offensive) which aimed to bring about the combined destruction of German industry, economics, and moral by providing a steady stream of aerial bombardment to Germany throughout much of the latter part of World War II. Though this aerial bombardment has come to be collectively recognized as a key determinant with respect to the Allied victory, this analysis will attempt to define the campaign, categorize its intended and realized goals, and attempt to draw a level of meaning upon overall effectiveness based upon these prior definitions. Thought it would be foolish to claim that the importance of aerial bombardment was determined as a useful means by the Allies completely of their own volition and in a type of vacuum as it were, it would also foolish to fail to consider the means by which the German aerial bombardment of Britain had a profound effect in guiding and directing the way the Allies thought concerning such a tactic (Childers 2005, p. 79). As night after night for nearly an entire year, the cities and infrastructure of Britain was tormented by nearly incessant German aerial bombardment during the Battle of Britain, it is without question that the formulation of what would become CBO took careful note of the means by which such a form of warfare affected the populace, the moral, and was a useful, albeit costly mechanism, whereby the Allies could seek to leverage an advantage over Germany while at the same time seeking to undermine the nation economically, morally, and industrially (Parramore 2012, p. 75). Similarly, before delving into the overall effectiveness of such a strategy in bringing about the end to the war, one must also consider the fact that after the Battle of Britain was all but decided, the strength and potency of the German Luftwaffe had been so seriously degraded that it no longer had the capability to successfully counter the streams of lumbering bombers that pummeled its cities with tonne after tonne of payload. Likewise, the fact that the Luftwaffe was not only degraded from losses from the Battle of Britain but also from the fact that Operation Barbarossa had already begun in the East ensured that a supreme lack of equipment and support for air defense of the homeland was something that was all but assured (Gentile 1997, p. 53). Approaching the issue fro m this light, it is easy to understand why the Allies used this opportunity to leverage the seemingly inexhaustible production strength that the United States was able to supply Great Britain as fighter blames and bombers were replaced on the front lines at a rate greater than the Luftwaffe and supporting aerial defense ground forces could bring them

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Research Methods - Essay Example me teachers functioning on a split site system since they spend more time travelling from site to site, thus losing contact time with other colleagues. Although departmental meetings are well attended, there are noticeably fewer discussions in the staff room, as break and lunch times are also travelling times. These issues, with their underlying themes, are generic in nature and are relevant in a variety of contexts and are listed below: Action research is about problem solving to extend knowledge (Hult & Lunnung, 1980, West et al., 1995, McConnell, 2000). My research question involves qualitative research, which lends itself to problem solving in a cyclic manner. It involves a planned reaction to a problem, followed by feedback, evaluation, critical reflection and discussion, to redefine issues concerned with the sharing of information. A greater awareness and understanding of an identified problem is developed over time, which should lead to a solution or improved practice. As Cohen and Manion (1994) point out, â€Å"An important feature of action research is that the task is not finished when the project ends. The participants continue to review, evaluate and improve practice.† However, Cohen and Manion’s approach of ‘review, evaluate and improve’ works well with quantitative research, or for one person trying to affect a change. It does not appear appropriate for uniform progression of a group and group activity over a longer period of time. Hence for a group to progress as a unit, emphasis on developing a consensus between its members is important. For these extended studies a conductor is necessary to form an extended cyclic approach including review, evaluate, conduct and improve. Improved practice and the opportunity to develop my own relationships within the group are important to me in order to develop a sense of worth. I have chosen action research as my method as it brings the interviewer closer to the interviewee, hence it lends itself to

Characteristics Of Authentic Literacy Instruction Education Essay

Characteristics Of Authentic Literacy Instruction Education Essay Introduction When children come into the world, they come with the innate desire to explore their surrounding and this is seen in their daily interaction with the environment around them when it involves language development and more. They actively participate in their learning of spoken and written language from their parents and other people interactions (Teale Sulzby, 1986). They see print in the world through signs on shops, along the road and even the supermarket and begin to make associations when they explore printed material (i.e.paper and crayons, and story books). They develop their written experiences by trying out different things, experimenting and inventing their own literacies. As the activities begin to take on more meaning, they increase their knowledge of how written language is formed and how they function in the real world, depending on different situations (Goodman, 1986). As a result, the real world offers these children an entire environment that is literally rich with lan guage experiences that the children can learn and produce in a natural setting. These settings will also involve human relationships that affect how children may or may not use the literacy tools they encounter (Tharp Gallimore, 1988). Unlike the empty slate that some people believe children are born with, they are actually vital members of a dynamic system in which the environment influences (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). The more children use the resources available to them in the environment to expand on their knowledge and skills in relation to constructing more solid understanding of factors in the literary world, they are engaging in solving problems that utilizes cognitive skills and through their interaction with members of their environment. Therefore, childrens learning about literacy is integrally tied with practical action, resulting from their need to control, manipulate, and function in their environment. Without a doubt then, children cannot escape the realities of reading and writing, which are so much a part of their lives as there are so many relationships and contexts that are tied in with these realities (Teale Sulzby, 1986). Through participating in activities that require cognitive and communicative functions, children are drawn into the uses of these functions by their caregivers in ways that may nurture and develop them. Consequently, childrens earliest conceptions of literacy and strategies for reading and writing are likely to be formed through activities that are often socially instigated (Bruner, 1972). Therefore, the case for authenticity in literacy is a natural process. Authenticity refers to the real-life experiences an individual experiences when carrying out specific activities (Ableser, 2008). This involves life experiences that are naturally occurring in the lives of children and individuals. When a child argues with her parent on the merits of getting a dog, the points and arguments provided are a result of a natural and real reason for doing so. This authenticity is carried into the area of literacy in the classroom as the concept seems a logical progression of utilizing the innate curiosity and purpose of carrying out an activity as a part of the process of learning, into the classroom teachers goal of getting her students to learn and do academic related activities. The authentic activities that individuals typically exercise in day-to-day situations are replicated in the classroom. Unfortunately the ordinary practices of the culture-what people do in daily, weekly, and monthly cycles of activity do not seem academically sufficient to meet the educational standards set by the power that be. Such practices, for example, include shopping for the best bargain, figuring out the health hazards of microwaves or examining costs for a planned holiday are not translated adequately and therefore seem to be lacking in some way. Authentic literacy practices then seem to have failed in some way. Authentic Literacy Defined Yet, in spite of setback, the power of authenticity cannot be denied as when schools offer classrooms that are authentic-literacy-directed, its potential in offering learning experiences that are similar to how children learn in real life outside of the classroom is an exciting prospect (Newmann Wehlage, 1993). When students learn through real-life tasks, students are working to create meaning from their experiences and these experiences allow students to make meaningful connections (Snowball, 1992). Authentic literacy environments also require that students use communication in receiving and extending their learning experiences. Without communication, the development of authentic experiences will be hindered . Rhodes and Shanklin, (1993) call for authentic literacy experiences in the classroom, such as reading and writing, to hold the same communicative purposes as when students are outside of the classroom. When Schmoker (2007) defined authentic literacy, he explained that students who learn to read, write and think effectively (p.448) do so when they are given opportunities to engage in in-depth reading through higher-order questions that is later used to argue and support an interpretation from one or more texts (p.490) in their extended writing. The classroom discussions that are generated from both authentic reading and writing experiences are also authentic experiences. Purcell-Gates, Duke and Martineau (2007) added to this by specifically mentioning authentic reading materials such as those that involve written genres like novels, newspaper articles, memos, technical procedures and even greeting cards. Characteristics of Authentic Literacy Instruction What would authentic literacy instruction look like in the classroom? As mentioned previously, the level of authenticity can be influenced by the type of reading and writing materials that the teacher uses such as tradebooks instead of the traditional use of text books, which are heavily written for specific school-related goals. For students to experience authentic literacy encounters, there should be purposeful but also meaningful experiences where the literacy event is not the end goal of the activity but rather integrated into the real-life target purpose. Authentic literacy resources include texts normally found within a childs environment, such as trade books, bus schedules, maps, and diaries. People are also valued resources, as they can offer firsthand accounts and personal knowledge to the process of inquiry. When students have access to multiple resources, activities can become more authentic, students can more clearly communicate their message, and be more fully engaged in authentic literacy events (Wortman, 1993). Rhodes and Shanklin (1993) suggest that a classroom that purports to be authentic should allow students to make choices and have a say in their learning experiences. This choice empowers students in classroom interactions and decision-making actions (Wortman, 1993). Snowball (1992) shares this thought that when students are given a choice to plan, explore and share their ideas, there is more purpose to the activities. In fact, Pachtman and Wilson (2006), in one of his studies highlights student choices in increasing motivation. Pachtman and Wilson (2006) emphasized on authentic reading and investigated students opinions on what they found to be meaningful and engaging reading practices. Students who were offered greater choice and say in their learning experiences were more engaged and took responsibility for their learning due to their vested interest from the decision-making. Students preferred to make their own choice of the books they were going to read and the success of those authentic materials in motivating the students was a clear indication that teachers should take note that choice allows authenticity and teachers can make use of this information to plan their lessons (Pachtman and Wilson, 2006). Aside from books, authentic experiences are defined through the individuals choice to create and share meaningful and purposeful text for a self-selected audience (Wortman, 1993, p. 1). This would mean that in areas such as writing, students instead of carrying out the task of writing a letter to someone, whom the teacher had decided beforehand, students can make decisions on who their letters can be directed to. A classroom that is focused on authentic literacy must be relevant to the lives of the students. As much as choice and the type of materials can help create an authentic literacy environment. Teachers and students have curriculum demands put on them and if any authenticity is involved, it remains superficial. The teacher can meet the needs of the curriculum and remain authentic, even relevant to the students. For example, in a unit on wildlife, the teacher may create an activity where students research on specific leatherback turtles. This activity meets the requirements of the curriculum, however is still irrelevant to the students. To meet relevance in an authentic literacy classroom, the teacher could allow students to research on an animal that the students decide on their own which has relevance to their respective lives. Some students may want to research on penguins they saw at the zoo or the cheetah, someone has compared them with. The students will reference from multiple so urces such as the Internet, magazines, and expert sources. The students will decide what they want to do with the information they have gathered, whether it is to write to someone in the government, produce a presentation to source for funds to fund a specific wildlife preservation fund or even come up with a wildlife newsletter to be shared with their classmates. This activity will meet the requirements of authentic resources, choice and relevance; and still meet curriculum demands. Relevant activities allow students to work on skills in a genuine literacy event and helps students make connections between the curriculum and their lives outside of the curriculum. Students will be able to draw conclusions and extend knowledge through their exploration of authentic activities. Authentic Literacy Instruction vs Explicit Literacy Instruction There is clear indication that as children move up the education system the learning and literacy activities seem more focused on meeting standards and curriculum demands. With the addition of high-stakes testing, teachers seem to be pushed against the wall to ensure that the activities their students do in the classroom are more classroom-related instead of mirroring the social and contextual situations of the real world (Bruner, Olver, Greenfield, 1966). Children begin their literacy journey in the formal world of education with typically learning concepts of print, decoding print and eventually figuring out meaning to aid comprehension of the uncountable texts students will face in their literacy-related classes. These classes, more often than not are conducted explicitly, are directed towards helping students gain literacy skills that will be beneficial to them in their later lives after school. These skills are taught so that students can master them and retrieve them when need ed (Powell and Davidson, 2005). There is no denying the role of explicit instruction in students learning. However, when teachers get caught in a cycle of explicit teaching, followed by continuous and repetitious assigning of worksheets, book reports and essays, students lose out on the richness of an authentic literacy approach. Many teachers due to time constraints prefer to use a classroom literacy curriculum that tries to generally fit the needs of all the students in their respective classrooms. However, in reality we know that literacy classrooms are not made up of only one type of students. Teachers will not be able to meet individual students and, diversity would be considered a disadvantage instead of an advantage. Such classrooms do not reflect real-life needs and goals of the students and does an injustice to these students by not enabling them to bridge between their life goals to academic goals (Eckert Bell, 2004). Scribner and Cole (1973) also concur in their classic article comparing formal and informal instruction, such educational practices can do the opposite as these learning activities are so far removed from real-life learning situations and practices that students face a disconnect. Many researchers like Schmoker (2007) believe that the best way to improve reading scores and improve students literacy skills and strategies is by providing direct literacy instruction using authentic materials. He explained that the instruction should move away from meaningless drill-like activities but instead should be focused in getting students to read a variety of texts available in the real world that provide them fodder to explore their comprehension, hone and revise on their interpretation of text-content, as well as improve their arguments of the subject read (Schmoker, 2007; VanDeWeghe, 2008). This will help students have longer-lasting retention of knowledge learned. In fact, Powell and Davidson (2005) believe that authentic literacy can be equivalent to situated literacy where literacy is embedded within real-world events [and] as a medium for genuine communication (p.249). The classroom that has literacy goals embedded within the classroom lesson plan can be brought ab out when a teacher gets her students to make connections between a particular topic and their own thoughts and beliefs. VanDeWeghe (2008) mention that students here are able to express their opinions, share it with their classmates and explore the various interpretations in a social and personal context. These students are learning in an authentic literacy environment because their learning is directly connected to real-life situations and purposes. However, Purcell-Gates et al. (2007) noticed that there can be no direct cause and effect seen from the use of direct instruction in an authentic environment unless further empirical studies come forth. There are too many unanswered questions of how students best learn language forms, its discourse and the related genres. After all, different students learn language differently. They bring into their learning experiences a host of other social and cultural experiences outside the classroom. In spite of all the explicit instruction to various literacy goals, teacher are generally keen to provide more authentic literacy activities. They are progressively moving away from traditional methods and moving towards more authenticity such as when teachers include inquiry-based learning that allow students to investigate real-life problems. This method of learning allows the bridging of what students need to learn in the classroom and the validity of their real-world tasks. Authentic tasks take the form of projects and activities that allow students to reach outside of the classroom and form ties with the community at large. This is a far cry from the demands of the textbooks. Why is authentic literacy important? Authentic focusses on literacy activities that revolve around real-world tasks, applications and contexts. Therefore, it is able to introduce to students the idea that there is a purpose to learning. This purpose is not related to what the textbooks or what standardized tests say they should learn but is purposeful learning that is relevant to the students real lives. Purcell-Gates et. al (2007) conducted a research project that revealed increased ability to understand comprehension of informational texts and write better when students were allowed to engage in authentic informational texts compared to those that were only offered classroom-based typed of texts and activities. Authentic literacy activities can help students retain more of the information they learn as when students were offered authentic texts and writing tasks, there was more active participation and less frustration as students were able to evaluate and better discuss on material that had meaningful purpose and relevance to themselves. These students took care in getting as accurate the information they could get by going to various resources. There was clearly more meaningful learning taking place (Edelsky and Smith, 1984). When students are given a standard worksheet or task to complete, there is less engagement as students do not see how these activities are relevant to their lives (Rhodes Shanklin, 1993). Furthermore, authentic literacy allows students to develop higher order thinking skills that is sadly lacking as teacher try to meet the needs of struggling learners by simplifying real-life texts which then causes the authenticity to be lost (Allington, 2001). There is an acute need for students to be able to read and write materials that require them to evaluate and synthesize information from various sources. Students will not be able to do that if the materials they encounter in the classroom are not authentic and have been simplified. Schmoker (2006) laments the lack of substantive reading, writing and talking (p.54) which are available from authentic texts. Teachers instead of providing easier texts could instead look into getting students to familiarize themselves with authentic texts that have higher-order language so that they can work towards obtaining the language of the educated and not be penalized for the lack of it. To Silvers, Shorey and Crafton (2010), authentic literacy is important as it takes into account student diversity by providing a safe environment for students to evaluate on their world views, question and find answers to the assumptions and beliefs they bring into the classroom and evolve or reinforce identities. Authentic literacy allows students to become empowered democratic citizens as they engage in real-life literacy and making meaning of their learning (Powell Davidson, 2005). What does Authentic literacy instruction look like? Despite teacher reservations about implementing authentic literacy in the classroom, due to time, score accountability, data driven administrations and a heavily weighed content curriculum, authentic literacy is doable. However, for authentic literacy to take place efficiently, teachers should consider the environment from which authentic literacy is to take place in. Students need to feel a sense of security for them to be able to move beyond their comfort zone especially when they are asked by their teachers to take risks in the way they think and process thoughts and ideas. They must feel safe and know that they will be respected for their sharing and collaborating between them and their teacher, and their peers (Powell, Diamond Burchinal, 2010). Students, especially from diverse backgrounds need to know that their cultural knowledge that they bring into the classroom is a valued asset in an authentic literacy classroom. They are allowed to be active participants in their learning and are expected to have differing opinions and reactions to interpreting content, materials and activities offered in the classroom. They can offer unique perspectives and that the classroom environment supports those differences (Powell Davidson, 2005). There is a strong sense of self-worth when students know that their diversity is accepted and respected in an authentic literacy classroom. In fact Barnitz (1994) explains that students can achieve success when they use authentic talk linked to their home life. When the right classroom environment has been set up, teachers can then begin to include the various authentic elements that reflect an authentic literacy classroom. The teachers is able to get students involved and engaged in activities that are allow students to have control of their learning, just like in the real world. They will feel empowered and competent in carrying out these activities. There are a lot of student-centered activities such as conducting experiments, testing out hypothesis, real-life problem solving task and inquiry-based learning. These types of activities allow students to be motivated and provide ample opportunities for them to think, revisit, revise, build connections and develop their critical thinking skills (Ablesser, 2008; Barnitz, 1994). Literary activities that involve real-life audiences such as putting up plays, poetry slams and an actual book reading of a piece of personal piece of writing offers deeper connections for students and the texts they come into contact with. This according to Purcell-Gates et al (2007) supports an important part of authentic literacy which is the use of curriculum-required materials in a more meaningful manner as students are personally involved with the material used compared to the usual, read-a-text-and-answer-questions approach. When students are exposed to a variety of authentic literature that covers a whole range of popular multicultural content, they are able to make visual and mental connections between the texts and their immediate lives and that of their families and various relationships they have outside of the classroom. Discussions on the similarities and differences of cultures and lifestyles simulate real-life situations, which is an aspect of authentic literacy. Vasquez (2003) believes that the use of multicultural literature promotes respect, empathy and acceptance of each other (p. 88). An authentic literacy classroom includes methods of teaching that involves incidence where students can see real-life reading and writing taking place. The inclusion of writing workshops and dialogue journals are good ways to promote this. Collaborating with peers and making personal connections with the topic of their choice as well as the process of receiving and providing feedback increases relevance and purpose to the writing that students do. The students know that whatever writing piece they are working on will be read and reflected and commented on by real people aka their classmates or teachers. There is genuine interest and discussion, which on their own are authentic elements of an authentic literacy classroom. Of course a big part of an authentic literacy classroom is one that uses real-world texts. This when compared to the text book materials can be highly motivating. Authentic texts do not necessarily have to be limited to print form but can be in the form of newspaper or magazine articles, YouTube videos or even MTV music or parts of popular sitcoms or movie excerpts. Real-life materials can be used on their own or as supporting material to an actual text-book material. Whatever the case, including real-world materials allows students to see that there is more to their learning then the text book or school-related documents. This also reminds students that when people read and write texts outside of the classroom, they have specific purposes, such as wanting to get information or to communicate an idea they may have. Therefore students in an authentic literacy classroom also go through the same reasons when they read and write too. When discussing authentic literacy classrooms, there is no avoiding the role of technology in it. Online materials and websites are transforming the way students are now accessing information and knowledge. They are developing critical thinking by having live discussions with an author of a blog or making meaning from the many related links of a certain website. Students are accessing the Internet to find solutions to the everyday problems they come across and an authentic literacy classroom will also reflect this technological tendency. Wikis, Facebook and Twitter introduces a new element into the world of literacy. It is a genre on its own that is an authentic mode of communication. It would go amiss if in reflecting on what an authentic literacy classroom looks like that assessment is left out. The concept of assessment is to help students improve whatever they have been learning about. Unfortunately, in a traditional classroom, test-taking has been elevated into an art, where focus on grades and how well students perform in standardized tests take precedence over what exactly students are learning and performing in. Assessment in an authentic literacy classroom should again reflect on real-world demands. These assessments should be able to provide students with concise feedback on their abilities and whether they are able to transfer their learning effectively into the real world. The assessments are not the product of learning but serve to further educate students about how they can go about improving on their learning. Newmann and colleagues (2001) showed in their research that authentic performance-based literacy assessments helps students further increase achievement, especially in terms of the quality of responses in writing and mathematics. When students were required to apply what they had learned and come up with original uses for what they have learnt, there was value placed in the assessment. Conclusion There is a clear need for individuals who practice lifelong learning and are able to critically read, think and write to come forth from the academic institutions of today. They must be able to compete and come up with novel ideas that meet the novel dilemmas faced by todays society. The call for authentic literacy in classrooms seems to be a good one. While policy-makers, administrators, parents, teachers and to some extent, students want to improve test scores, there is sound reasoning as to why authentic literacy can help improve scores as well as benefit students in their learning. When student read from authentic materials, have authentic purposes, carry out authentic tasks, discussions and collaboration, seek authentic resources to meet authentic demands, they are able to explore, argue, refine and strengthen their thought and learning processes because all that they use to learn and are learning about makes sense due to their relevance in the students lives. Teachers need to be quick in harnessing the advantages of authentic literacy to meet students learning needs and goals. Each student is an individual that is different from his or her classmate. They have different learning goals and they come from different backgrounds and opinions. As problem solvers, these students can meet their goals more effectively if their learning activities are supported by the teachers authentic literacy instruction. Our end goal as teachers is to support students towards becoming more independent thinkers who are able to utilize what they have learned in the school to meet the challenges they face after school, and as citizens of a global society. Integrating authentic literacy learning can be a strong start towards that end goal (Ablesser, 2008; VanDeWeghe, 2008). Maybe Meier (2002) best sums up what authentic literacy is and why it is important for todays classroom when she writes: Children should be inventors or their own theories, critics of other peoples ideas, analyzers of evidence, and makers of their own personal marks on this most complex world (p. 4)