Cheating and Taking Steroids in Sports

Cheating and Taking Steroids in Sports INTRODUCTION Sports will either be a school of virtue or a school of vice, and thats why the epidemic of cheating in professional sports is, and ought to be, a huge cultural concern. Sports, at every level, is supposed to be a training ground for virtue, to mould the character of athletes, coaches and supporters so that they may learn lessons that may help them to achieve off-the-field as much as on. In few other venues are people able to learn as effectively the good habits of perseverance through difficulties, teamwork, striving to overcome obstacles, the importance of preparation and practice, and the courtesy and class we call good sportsmanship. But the field, court, track, diamond, rink, pool and roadway can also cultivate vice, when results become more important than virtue, when winning becomes more important than winning fairly. It has been hard to open a sports page recently without reading something to do with cheating and its consequences. Recently encountered readings include Bill Belichick and the clear contravention of the NFLs videotaping policy; Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison and his suspension for taking an illegal substances; NBA referee Tim Donaghy and his expulsion for betting on games he was officiating; Barry Bonds and his tainted home run record, along with former heroes turned synthetic pseudo-supermen Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro; Floyd Landis suspect yellow jersey and the expulsion of what seemed to be half this years Tour de France participants for blood doping and other violations; WWE icon Chris Benoit and his steroid-induced murderous-suicidal rage; various college recruiting violations, Olympic scandals and much more. Professional boxing almost looks clean and honest by comparison. WHY DO THEY CHEAT Sports are a microcosm and stylization of life: goal-setting, preparation, effort, character, the integration of mind and body, competition, success and failure. Its all there in sports, distilled and intensified into a few hours experience. The usual answer is that cheaters have so strong a desire to win that they will strive to do so at all costs. Cheaters do have a desire to win, but by the time we are adults we know that a cheated victory is hollow. An adult cheater knows that he has not won through skill and effort, and he knows he will not experience the pride that comes from a genuine win. The only thing the cheater is left with is that he knows that other people will believe that he won and he will reap the value of their enhanced esteem. So heres a hypothesis about the psychology of cheaters: Cheating is not motivated by a desire to win, but by wanting to be thought of by others as having won. Cheating is a kind of social metaphysics-what others believe is true is more important than what is actually true. Another possibility is that the cheater knows the above-that a cheated win is hollow-but in the short run his intense desire to win crowds out his knowledge. So cheating is a failure to hold the context of why one is playing sports: strong desire overwhelms the cheaters knowledge, or through weakness of will the cheater ignores his knowledge to indulge the desire. Cheating in a financial context: You cheat not because you want the win but because you want the money that comes with the winCheating in a social context: You cheat because you dont want your teammates to lose or because you want your teammates to have the win they wantCon-man cheating: You cheat just for the pleasure of pulling off a scamCheating that is malevolent: You want to see your opponent suffer a loss, so you dont care that the win is hollow-you enjoy knowing the other guy is hurting and/or that you deprived him of the experience of winning WHAT ARE STEROIDS Steroids are manufactured testosterone-like drugs that are usually taken to build muscle, enhance performance, and improve appearance. While some steroids are used medically to treat many conditions including asthma, chronic lung disease, skin conditions and allergic reactions such as poison ivy, non medical use of steroids can have serious side effects. Using steroids for cosmetic or athletic purposes is not sanctioned in the United States. Method of Use Swallowed in tablets or liquid or injected. Users take them in patterns called cycling, which means they take them over a specific period of time, stop, and then start taking them again instead of continuously using them. Many users also take different types of steroids in combination with other drugs. This is known as stacking. Signs and Symptoms of Steroid Use Steroid abusers often exhibit the following symptoms: Rapid weight gain Rapid muscle development Acne flare up Fluid retention Yellow tint in the eyes and on skin (jaundice) Mood swings, depression Aggressive behaviour Premature balding Drug Test Detection Oral steroids can be found in your system up to several weeks after use. Injected steroids can be found for several months after use. Short-term Consequences Use of steroids can increase muscle mass, strength, and endurance, but can also cause liver tumors, jaundice, water retention, and high blood pressure. Some users show bad judgment because the drugs make them feel invincible. Other users suffer from uncontrolled aggression and violent behavior called Roid Rage, severe mood swings, manic episodes and depression. They often suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability and can have delusions. Long-Term Consequences When the body experiences a build up of steroids in its system, conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, kidney disease, stunted growth, and heart damage are likely to occur. Women can experience irreversible deepening of the voice, shrinking of the breasts, menstrual irregularities, baldness and hair growth on other parts of the body, and genital swelling. Men can experience baldness, breast enlargement, sterility, shrinking of testicles and impotence. Steroids such as prednisone and other synthetic steroids can cause a rise in blood sugar by blocking the effect of insulin. Over time, users can develop diabetes. WHY TAKING STEROIDS CONSIDERED CHEATING Steroids give some players an unfair competitive advantage over others. But this response stems from the faulty underlying assumption that players have some innate ability or talent which is not dependent upon their environment. In fact, the only way steroids are different from other performance enhancers like protein shakes or nutritional supplements is because their side effects are worse and their performance enhancing effects are large. This efficacy, and the steroid body that goes with it, triggers fans pharmacological Calvinism, the belief that taking a pill for any reason is bad, and leads to the media labelling the steroid culture and users as alien, which are the factors that truly keep steroids on the wrong side of public opinion and MLB policy. The first and most basic reason people view steroids as cheating is because they feel it gives players abilities that they otherwise would not have had. This is the position of every poll or article researched for this essay in the national sports media over the last four years. Again, the signs displayed in Philadelphia are representative. One 60-foot long sign said Babe Ruth did it on Hotdogs and Beer. Aaron did it with class. How did you do it?This question rests on the assumption that Bonds steroid use differentiates him from Aaron and Ruth, who set career home run records without steroids. But to simply say steroids enhancers players performance is easy. The deeper question behind that answer is Why does that matter? That question involves a number of different aspects of what it means to be a baseball fan. First among them, perhaps, is the notion of fairness. The US culture in general holds fairness as one of its central tenets, as part of the Puritan Work ethic and the capitalist ideal: everyone must deal fairly, so everyone has their shot to succeed if they work hard enough. That ideal is held to as strongly in baseball as any other sport. The problem with steroids, then, is not just that users have an unfair advantage over non-users. Widespread steroid use limits the free choice of non-users, because if they want to make a living they are almost forced to start taking injections, and having to deal with the side effects. This is called free choice under pressure by Thomas Murray (as reported by Peter Kramer). Theres no question, then, that the more players use steroids, the harder it is for others to stay clean. What are the implications of that for players, and what are players responses? At the physical level, this spiral of steroids forces players to endure the side effects of steroids when they otherwise might not. At the level of consciousness, players have their free choice limited by steroid-fuelled competition, and free choice is also something this country values. Players respond to these concerns by claiming that steroid use supports American values. For example, a value much appreciated in sports is the desire to win above all else. Players that have that desire, like Michael Jordan in basketball, are often revered. So a baseball player might argue that he simply wants to win at all cost, even sacrificing his body to steroids to win. Just because another, non-user does not want to win enough to take steroids, that doesnt mean the user should be punished for it. There are other problems with the argument that using steroids is cheating because they give a competitive advantage. The biggest fault with it is that steroids are not the only thing in baseball that gives a competitive advantage when there was none before. Revenue and payroll differences and environmental factors like the skill of the training staff and the quality of the facilities can cause unfair competitive advantages between teams and players as well, but those discrepancies are considered part of the game. The responses to this argument are that taking a substance is fundamentally different from working out more or on better facilities because you do not have to work as hard to get the same results as someone not on steroids. But some players use a good diet to get into better shape, or take legal supplements to make their workouts more effective. This is exactly the way steroids work they help to build muscle faster in conjunction with exercise and weightlifting, so those t hat work out the most are going to get the most out of steroids. Should the MLB disallow all possible supplements and mandate player diet and workout regimens to eliminate the possible advantage? Ultimately, you cannot justify getting rid of steroids because they give a competitive advantage, because baseball operates by identifying and using competitive advantages. Despite the arguments above, most people would remain convinced that taking steroids was cheating. There are three primary reasons: One is the notion of pharmacological Calvinism, two is the influence of the press on public perception of steroids, and three is the labelling of drugs in general and those who take them as alien. These are the real reasons that taking steroids in baseball is considered cheating today. Pharmacological Calvinism is the belief that taking a pill or drug is morally wrong, because hard work, suffering and pain are essential parts of human existence. The concept figures prominently in Kramers discussion of Prozac as a way of explaining the publics response to the drug, and the same can be said of fans and baseball players. This phenomenon can be seen in baseball lingo: someone who is clean is someone who is off steroids. This terminology might come from the MLB policies, but it probably comes from larger drug culture, and reflects the idea that even though it is tough to argue against steroids ideologically, there is still a taint to taking steroids, the sense that a player who takes them has lost some purity they might have off steroids. This also might be why players like Jose Canseco are ridiculed and reviled when they talk about steroids being the standard throughout the league: they are deliberately taking a stance against pharmacological Calvinism, and so automati cally people hearing them want to reject the idea without listening to their analysis, which often is more logical than people care to admit. Another effect of pharmacological Calvinism is that news reporters looking to cover steroids automatically assume a negative stance towards them, although that is also influenced by the dangerous side effects. Sports journalism is very pervasive. Every fan has to get their scores and results from somewhere, often on a daily basis. Sports fans also tend to spend a lot of time discussing sports, so ideas and opinions they read get discussed and argued about in their social circle. The final reason steroids are considered cheating is because they work so well. And because they work so well, and so many ballplayers used them, the build of a user, his problems and habits, became commonly known and looked for. What is more, because of the negative press steroids got, fans were able to label them an other to dismiss steroids users as people holding alien values without really looking or considering how they might be motivated by the same things as regular fans. This can be shown by the massive amount of jokes about big heads, small balls, a common side effect of steroid use, and the vehemence of the national polls quoted earlier. For fans to say that anyone testing positive should be thrown out of the sport is quite harsh, considering that there are arrests of ballplayers all the time for a variety of other drug use charges and crime, and none of them are thrown out on the first offense. Something that might help explain this position is the legitimate use of stero ids. Steroids are not like nutritional supplements of protein shakes that people might regularly take to get in shape, and they are not petty crimes or drug charges that baseball fans are familiar with or have committed themselves. They are treatments for sick people to help survive treatment, including treatment of diseases like AIDS, which already is somewhat marginalized in mainstream culture. And even in those diseases, steroids are something to avoid if you can. So that makes purposeful steroid users in sports all the more alien. Ultimately, the reason why taking steroids is considered cheating goes back to the chemical properties of steroids themselves: they work too well at helping athletes build muscle, and combined with the countrys pharmacological Calvinism, make for bad press and public perception. This leads fans to consider steroids cheating and justify it by saying steroids give an unfair competitive advantage, when the entire sport of baseball is built on just such advantages. If steroids were less useful, like nutritional supplements today, they would probably be legal, widely used, and just another part of the game, like spitting sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, because of the pressure on athletes who will do anything to succeed, steroids are only going to get more powerful and hard to detect, rather than more benign and legal. But that doesnt mean the steroid scandal wont go away. Already, journalists are trumpeting this baseball season as the post-steroid era. If history is any indication, people will think steroids solved, stop caring, only to be shocked again when the next great and popular surge of offense turns out to be the result of their beloved players using the next generation of performance enhancers. CONCLUSION The recent epidemic of cheating in sports reveals ethical and anthropological dimensions that must be considered if we wish as a culture to eliminate it. The ethical dimensions go far beyond the violation of a particular rule governing a sports league. It goes to one of the bedrock principles of ethics, whether in sports players, coaches and fans believe that a good end never justifies immoral means. In the cases of cheating above, we see that the cheaters think that the end of winning or doing better in competition validates the dishonest means one takes to get there. There are now such enormous financial rewards or losses hinging on sports outcomes that those of lesser character find far greater incentive. The anthropological dimension refers mainly to the means one takes in violation of the ethical principle. Sports cheating today very often involve technological manipulation not just of the rules of the game like with the Patriots spy gate but also of oneself through performance-enhancing drugs. In former days the path to improvement came through practice, coaching, exercise and experience. Now for many it comes through injections, pills and creams. Rather than improving ones skills, one seeks to make himself better, stronger and faster through technology like a modern six million dollar man, or, if you consider the financial incentives for many pro-athletes, a hundred million dollar man. This comes at a huge cost. The death of pro-football player Lyle Alzado and 11 recent professional wrestlers through steroid use is enough of a warning. But we also have to be conscious of the huge temptation it places on all those who, at whatever age, wish to be successful college or profession al athletes who cannot compete on their own with artificially-enhanced peers. References: Sports and Cheating by Fr. Roger J. Landry Why in Baseball using steroids considered cheating? Brian Chase American council for drug education www.acde.org

Strategic Management Approaches of McDonalds

Strategic Management Approaches of McDonalds My research topic deals with one of the most profitable societies of the world, The McDonalds. It underlines the strategic management approaches adapted by McDonalds that helped it to grow from a small business to one of the most successful corporations. McDonalds is the leading fast food service organization in the world. The story of McDonalds started way back in 1954 when, Raymond Kroc its founder envisioned a nationwide fast food chain upon seeing a hamburger stall in San Bernardino, California. By revolutionizing the American Restaurant Industry, Kroc proved himself as the pioneer. Today McDonald is one of the most valuable brands globally, worth more than $25billion. It is number one fast food chain stores with about 40 million customers visiting it per day. The Golden Arches and its mascot Ronald McDonald have gained universal recognition. Though the company has its roots in the U.S., McDonalds today has become an accepted citizen of the world. The main focus is on the strategic evolution of this corporation. The strengths and weaknesses are highlighted which throws light on how McDonalds has survived in the competition. Keywords: strategic management approaches, Raymond Kroc, strategic management approaches How McDonalds has maintained its position? McDonalds has been able to maintain its competitive advantage by constantly adding new items in its menu. This means that an analyzer type of strategy is followed by McDonalds, i.e. introducing new items and defending the existing ones. In Strategic Management, developing a mission and vision statement is the primary step. It reflects the managements aspirations for the organization and its business providing a panoramic view to customers and giving specifics about future business plans. How McDonalds has defined its MISSION AND VISION: McDonaldS MISSION AND VISION: To serve quality food, fast and also at low cost. The vision of McDonalds is to dominate the food-service industry at global level. Global dominance means to set up standards of performance for customer satisfaction and increase market share and profitability by implementing values and execution strategies (Flack, 2008). What is the companys strengths? Strength can be described as a distinctive competence that gives the firm a competitive advantage in market. For example image, market leadership, buyer supplier relations, financial resources, etc. McDonalds strength lies in creating an image in the peoples minds and introducing them to a new culture of fast food. Customer care, delivery, speed and cleanliness are its core strengths that lead to its expansion. They were successful in creating a corporate symbol and its advertisement campaigns established its brand image in the minds of millions of people. McDonalds identified two main competitors i.e. the Burger King and KFC. The marketing strategy of McDonalds is concerned with internal resources, external environment, and its competencies. McDonalds product value is its strength. Customers know what to expect when they enter into McDonalds. It gives emphasis to human resources by satisfying its employees and customers both. Next comes the innovation aspect. In order to serve the new tastes and trends of people, new products are launched. Its diversity into new businesses can also be considered as its strengths. The question arises is how much effective are the above strengths in the long run of the company? McDonalds today is not as amendable as it was during its inception. So what are the driving factors which have resulted in its decline in sales and services? In order to analyze this factor we have to identify the weaknesses in the companys business and marketing strategy. The factors that are considered as strengths become a weakness if it blocks the performance of the company. Customer choices and trends change. Generally, people get tired of their old brands which they had been using over the years. When they do not get a product with the expected innovation they switch to new brands. With so many outlets, people find McDonalds everywhere. This over exposure can also be a reason for abstinence. Then maintaining standards of a huge chain is difficult and if there is lack of quality or service in any one outlet, then the brand as a whole gets affected. Reaching the target audience is the secret of any marketing strategy. So the target audience should be chosen carefully. It is very crucial for an organizations success, that its customers attain satisfaction level. Earlier McDonalds targeted mostly the young person, which has changed now. Now McDonalds has turned into a more general kind of market i.e. it now concentrates on families also. They started targeting diverse market which comprises of elderly people to children, by launching products such as the Happy Meal for children and Egg McMuffin for the elder ones. With the changing lifestyle, the demand for healthier food has increased and also ever changing demographic group demands fast, low in calories quality food. McDonalds responds to this kind of opportunity by introducing new and innovative products. Earlier, they had introduced a new product which was a regular hamburger and tasted like the real one but was made of Soya beans, a plant material. This product was also used to target another demographic group, i.e. vegetarians. McDonalds generally uses psychographic segmentation by which it targets the middle and working classes. These type people are more susceptible to enter fast food restaurants because they lead a fast and busy life and therefore require some fast meal. In short McDonalds customers belong to all age groups and classes, but comprises mainly of working and middle class people. (Kroc, 2001). The above factors point out key strengths and weaknesses at the external level. There are some internal factors also which affects the performance of the company. One major factor is the relationship between the franchise dealers and the management. Organizational strength is the back bone of any business and once it begins to shake the whole system can collapse. But slowly McDonald is recovering from all these weaknesses. Through latest technological developments it has become easy for its brand managers to communicate, compare and improve the services. They can also use internet in order to improve, motivate and compare performances of other centers. The analysis of all the external as well as internal strengths and weaknesses of the company should be done so that a sustainable plan for the further improvements in the company can be drafted. For any kind of improvement or expansion the availability of internal resources is a must. By analyzing this aspect, a modified strategy can be formed to suit the companys vision. Hence with the use of all the core competencies, the corporation can successfully grow and sustain in the competitive market (Richard Whittington, 1993) In 2003 the change in the top managerial level created a new wave in the performance of the corporation and also some major changes were incorporated to retain and sustain the quality and innovation aspect of the brand. Now let us understand the sustainable competitive advantage of McDonalds. What is meant by sustainable competitive advantage? How is it significant to McDonalds? SCA is the advantage a firm has which is very difficult or mostly impossible for competitors to possess or break through. It can be either brand, cost structure, dynamic customer care, or any kind of patents. The advantage should be either proprietary or distinctive in order to be considered as sustainable. Other than this, three different aspects have been identified that helps in SCA. First, there should be a good integration and coordination between the organizational and managerial processes. Therefore the much needed value is created when every employee in the organization strives to work for one common goal. The organization should learn to be flexible and change as per the needs in the environment such as customer trends, government restriction or innovations in technology. Nowadays McDonalds is focusing on organizational behavior as well as managerial expertise. Earlier it was ignored because the organization was more involved in establishing its outlets everywhere than strengthening its core competency. As a result the revenue did not increase much inspite of newer outlets being opened. The firm suffered a huge loss for the first time since their inceptions which ultimately lead to changes in the managerial strategies. Second, structural, financial assets and technology aspects of any firm are excellent market position which helps in building SCA. No doubt McDonalds is abundant in aspects such as structure, technology and finance. All that is needed is to identify and incorporate these assets in the right direction towards the improvement of the company. From 2003 onwards the company has really started to concentrate on its competencies. Third, the greatest advantage is the vision of the company with which it started. Sustaining this dream over the passing years is any companies greatest advantage. A company usually revolves around its vision statement, so sustaining this vision and working in accordance with it, is a great SCA. McDonalds was started to help people who were too busy and had little time to cook. The vision was to provide value, customer care, quality and cleanliness. Keeping its vision in mind, the corporation which slackened a bit earlier because of its incompetent franchise holders is being weeded and new and better people are put in this place. Thus, SCA means implementing the best value based strategies using all the unique advantages of the company which cannot be replicated by the competitors. In todays scenario, everything is outsourced from employee appointment to customer care. No organization is efficient enough to handle all kinds of work. It is not possible for big corporations like McDonalds to concentrate on every small detail. But core competences of the company should not be outsourced. Mostly companies concentrate on their core competencies whereas outsource its remaining operation. McDonald has recently tested its drive by order facility. Outsourcing is therefore helpful in the increasing external suppliers and overcomes the difficulties faced due to lack of latest technologies and other innovations. So what makes McDonalds still strong and maintain its rank as one of the leading business. The answer is its core competences and the internal as well as external sustainable competitive advantages. Of course, to keep up with the changing business environment, the company has also begun to outsource, but then it should not be carried away by the outsourcing mania. This company has recently started to go back to its golden era because of large scale revamping of its structural and organizational changes being incorporated (C K Prahalad and G Hamel 1990). Strategic Allies: A strategic allys means an organization is working together in a joint venture or a similar arrangement with one or more organizations. McDonalds is in strategic alliance with: Wal-Mart, Chevron, Amoco, Disney and Coca-Cola. Wal-Mart, the largest retail chain in U.S. and several neighboring countries, is symbiotically allied with McDonalds. In each Wal-Mart stores, there are McDonalds restaurants. Thereby it offers its customers excellent low cost fast food in a convenient way. Chevron and Amoco are two petrol pumps with which McDonalds is in alliance with. This alliance represents ultimate convenience. Nothing can be more convenient than filling the car with as well as getting a meal, that too all in one stop. Another important alliance of the company is with Disney. Sole right has been granted to McDonalds to sell fast food in Disneys theme parks around US and at other Disney spots in the world. As per the terms of the agreement, McDonalds will operate as restaurants and Disney wil l promote its films through McDonalds. CONCLUSION: As such there is no particular competitive strategy that guarantees to achieve success each time. Risk attitudes change due to industrial volatility, environmental uncertainty and several internal conditions might also be involved. Since the marketing function is consumer oriented, customer needs should be identified and then strategies should be designed to meet those needs. The distribution system brings the product or service to the place where in can best fill customer needs. Since every product requires support from distribution channels, so the right choice of distributors and wholesalers is very important. Promotion of products is more important than advertising. The location, size and nature of markets defined by business strategy will indicate the content of promotional material as well as it will guide the promotion mix decisions. Pricing is another complex issue which is used as a competitive weapon because it is related to cost, volume, tradeoffs etc. Changes in pricing p olicy are likely to provoke competitors response. Marketing has received increasingly greater attention in the competitive business since the early modern era. The old marketing concept focused on selling of the existing products of the firm and promoting it to maximize sales to attain profits, but now the new concept focuses on the potential customers of the firm and seeks to earn profit by customer satisfaction with an integrated marketing program.

Radar Detector :: Speeding Technology Essays

Radar Detector Radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging, was developed for military purposes. The British and US military used radar to locate ships and airplanes. However, when they were using this technology annoying blips consistently appeared on its screen. It turned out that these blips were raindrops. They saw this hindrance as a wonderful opportunity and in 1957 created the WSR-57 (weather surveillance, 1957), which became the primary radar for the weather service for nearly 40 years. This technology was later further developed and used for other purposes such as air traffic control. They use radar to track planes both on ground and air, and also to guide planes in for smooth landings. NASA uses radar to map the earth and other planes, to track satellites and space debris and to help with things like docking and maneuvering. The military uses it to detect the enemy and guide weapons. Police use radar detector to detect the speed of passing motorist. In conclusion, radar is something that is used all around us even though it is normally invisible. When people use radar, they are usually trying to accomplish one of three things; detecting the presence of an object at a distance, detect the speed of an object, or to map something. All three of these activities can be accomplished simply by using echo and Doppler shift. These two concepts are easy to understand because your ear hears echo and Doppler shift every day. Radar makes use of the same techniques using radio waves. One particular usage of this radar technology is for transportation purposes. For many people, speeding is a normal part of daily life. This law bending is so common and also so accepted that there is even a special electronic equipment to help drivers get away with it. Since their introduction in 1970s by Mike Churchman, radar detectors have become a must have accessories for high-speed drivers. To understand how radar detector work, you first have to know what they are detecting. The concept of measuring vehicle speed is very simple. A basic speed gun is just a radio Transmitter and receiver combined into one unit. A radio transmitter is a device that oscillates an electrical current so that the voltage goes up and down at a certain frequency.

Free Essay: Needs vs. Desires in Shakespeares King Lear :: King Lear essays

Needs vs. Desires in King Lear          In Act 2, Scene 4 of King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, Lear argues that for a person to be content with only what one needs, is the same as reducing a human to the level of a beast or animal. I am in opposition to Lear's idea via the issue of needs versus desires. Through knowledge based on experience, observation, and reading I can elaborate on my reasons for choosing to challenge his opinion.    From my own experience I know that a need is a lacking or requirement for a substance, to live; an adequate amount. So a desire is to wish or long for more of something; or in Lear's world, to be on the verge of mania. A good way to compare needs versus desires is food. Food is a necessity to live. When you eat the right amounts of what you ought to, you are sufficiently nourished and therefore healthy. Yet, if you always go to an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet and try to get your monies' worth by gorging yourself, that is a desire. This is for the reason that you are overeating, and the majority of the food is more harm than good. At an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet you persuade yourself to always eat one more plate full. It seems to be worth it, so you eat till you reach the point of marginal utility for the money you have spent. By doing this you are satisfying the desire temporally but your stomach is miserable, which is a base lifestyle to have. I believe you should eat to live and not live to eat, nor should your flesh rule over you. The way this relates to Lear is that he could not depart without all of his men even though he did not need them anymore. He wanted to keep some since of wealth and authority. Lear also desired to be flattered which lead to his own demise.    By observing people I know that if you own less you are more appreciative of things in life. Yet if you own more you desire more. Therefore you become a slave to your passions and lust, rather than an owner of your possessions.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The Many Faces of Evil :: Free Essay Writer

The Many Faces of Evil in To Kill A Mockingbird "Our greatest evils flow from ourselves" (Tripp 192). This statement, by Rousseau, epitomizes many points of evil that are discussed in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. In our world, we constantly come face to face with evil. Evil presents itself in many forms, including prejudice, alcoholism, drug abuse, irresponsibility, and violence against others. The most prevalent faces of evil in To Kill A Mockingbird are prejudice, alcoholism, and gossip. Dispersed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Lee 108) are common throughout the entire novel. The use of racist statements such as these seemed to bother many people who were then driven to ban Lee's book from their schools. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can understand the use of the word "nigger." During the early twentieth century, the word "nigger" was used as commonly as many people today use the word "black." The general public either didn't realize or didn't care about how demeaning the word "nigger" was. Eventually, some African-Americans became so used to hearing it that they no longer paid any attention to it. Atticus Finch, Scout's father, however, had a different way of thinking. Although Atticus was Caucasian, he realized that the word "nigger" was wrong to say. He did not use that word and he instructed his ch ildren not to use that word either. This courtesy did not catch on. People continued to refer to African-Americans as "niggers" and called anyone who was kind to "niggers" a "nigger-lover." Scout realized this and, as she matured, she came to understand how wrong the use of the word "nigger" actually was. Jean Louise, Scout, was subjected to more evil than racism. Robert Ewell, a violent alcoholic, attempted to murder Scout and Jem in a drunken rage. Mr. Ewell appeared in many places throughout the book, and it was his daughter, Mayella Ewell, who pressed false charges against Tom Robinson for the offense of rape and battery. Almost every time Ewell was mentioned, he was portrayed as either violent or totally inebriated. He used the welfare checks that he received, not to purchase food for the family, but to buy booze for his personal consumption.

The Ira

The Irish Republican Army or IRA is Northern Ireland’s most notorious terrorist organization. Like many other groups, the IRA is a militant nationalist group with Marxist tendencies. They use violent attacks such as bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies that they used . to send their message. The ultimate goal of the IRA is to use militant behavior to make British rule in Northern Ireland obsolete, thus letting Northern Ireland become an independent republic, instead of two separate countries with different governments.The IRA was founded in 1919 as a successor to the Irish Volunteers, a militant nationalist organization that was founded in 1913. One of the alias’s for the group is Direct Action Against Drugs, or DADD. The IRA operates independently of any political control or party, and† in some periods actually took the upper hand in the independence movement. †(Britannica) Unlike some terrorist groups, the IRA does not carry out attacks on countries that are not in close vicinity of Northern Ireland. The majority of their operations are based out if Great Britain, and Ireland.Some of their most favored targets were senior British Government officials, British military and police in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary groups. By attacking these individuals they hoped to demoralize Great Britain to the point of turning Ireland over to the people. The IRA did not want to overthrow the government and run it themselves, they simply wanted to see a change in the government so that it would benefit the people of Northern Ireland. The IRA is organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council.While they only have a few hundred members, they have thousands of sympathizers who contribute by donating money, supplies, shelter, and even weapons. â€Å"The IRA Is suspected of receiving funds, arms, and other terrorist-related materiel from sympathizers in the United S tates. †(Britannica) the IRA also received a large amount of support at one point from the PLO, a â€Å"freedom fighter† group from Libya. Not only do they receive aid from other terrorist groups with similar agendas, but in 2002 three suspected IRA members were arrested in Colombia on charges of assisting the FARC to improve its explosives capabilities.The IRA was in their prime during the late 1950’s and 1960’s, though they did play a big part in the Irish Civil war of 1922. As a result of this war, the IRA became more closely related to Sinn Fein, which is the Irish Nationalist party. â€Å"In December 1969, the IRA divided into â€Å"Official† and â€Å"Provisional† wings. Although both factions were committed to a united socialist Irish republic, the Officials preferred parliamentary tactics and eschewed violence after 1972, whereas the Provisionals, or â€Å"Provos,† believed that violence— particularly terrorism—w as a necessary part of the struggle to rid Ireland of the British. (Global Security) This was a result of a Sinn Fein conference that had taken place in August.After 1970, the IRA was slowly slipping into the darkness, as they had stopped attacking as much, and was not as big of a concern anymore. Because of â€Å"Bloody Sunday’, when thirteen innocent Catholic protestors were killed by British soldiers, the IRA gained support from the Catholic Church, which gave them their reputation back for a while. Eventually though, they were back where they had left off before Bloody Sunday. The IRA reorganized in 1977 into detached cells to protect against infiltration† and their arms dealing was back in full force. It was said that â€Å"in the late 1990s that the IRA had enough weapons in its arsenal to continue its campaign for at least another decade. †(Britannica) For a long time the IRA tried to use peaceful methods to gain equal treatment for the Catholic minority in the Protestant Northern Ireland. But they were were met with resistance. The Protestants and the British government met the peaceful attempts of the IRA with violence i. e. Bloody Sunday.The IRA had no other choice but to employ violent methods to gain equality and civil rights for the Catholic Minority in Ulster. The IRA began implementing methods such as Bombings, sniper attacks, and assassinations on British citizens. (www. CFR. org) The afore mentioned Sinn Fein, which means â€Å"We Ourselves† first emerged in the early 1900s. It is the oldest political party in Ireland’s history. It was a â€Å"federation of nationalist clubs and eventually, all nationalists to the left of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster came to be popularly known as Sinn Feiners. (SinnFein. org) The party, like the IRA, was based on the demand for an Irish Republic. It won the 1918 election by a landslide and set up Dail Eireann which is translated to â€Å"Assembly of Ireland. † Following three years of war, led by an underground republican government, the party split in 1922 on the issue of the Treaty which partitioned Ireland into two separate provinces. The leader of Sinn Fein left the party in 1926, causing the party to lose a lot of credibility.However, its fortunes recovered and flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s with its new association to the IRA and their border campaign. During this time the group experienced a substantial amount of electoral success. In present day, Sinn Fein is split into two parties, Sinn Fein and Republican Sinn Fein. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) was formed in 1969 as the covert armed wing of Sinn Fein. The members of this group, called, â€Å"Provos† were formed from the Official Sinn Fein and the Official IRA.The Provisional IRA was the largest of the three republican armed resistance groups (Sinn Fein, IRA and PIRA). The policies of Sinn Fein under the new leadership of Gerry Adams led to a split in the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1997. One side accepted the new â€Å"Good Friday Agreement† and the New or Real IRA continuing armed resistance against the British. The PIRA has at this point accepted the ceasefire and is still most commonly confused with the real IRA because of their similar connections and name.The IRA and PIRA are not totally different groups, but they are actually two groups that used to function as one. It is my opinion that the split of the IRA into two factions is one of the major reasons why their goal was never accomplished. The army was in need of a way to make money and fundraise to support their cause. They became adept at raising money in Northern Ireland through â€Å"extortion, racketeering, and other illegal activities† and they policed their own neighborhoods through mock trials and beatings.As a result of this Mafia like enforcement, Sinn Fein began to play a more prominent role in trying to end the arms pr oblem that the IRA was causing. â€Å"Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness, together with John Hume, head of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), sought ways to end the armed struggle and bring republicans into democratic politics. They were successful in doing so, and in 1994 the IRA declared a cease fire with Britain so that Sinn Fein was able to legally engage in politics with the Irish Parliament.This ceasefire was shortly ended in 1996 when a bomb that was suspected to be from the IRA killed two civilians. However it was reinstated the following year, returning things back to being civilized between the IRA and Great Britain. Technically the IRA is still a functioning terrorist group, but due to the ceasefire they have been dormant since around 2002 when the final ceasefire was laid out and agreed upon. The IRA has a very important place in Irish history, as well as the history of terrorism because of their prominence in the 1950’s and 1960â€⠄¢s.

Outsourcing in America

Outsourcing Is weakening the nation's Job-creation engine, and leaving thousands of newly unemployed workers here In the United States in search of work. With the number of companies outsourcing jobs continually Increasing, It becomes a much larger issue for the U. S. Workforce to find a job when so many are being outsourced overseas. Unfortunately this trend is likely to continue to cause serious harm in the United States if it continues to go unmonitored. Foreign and American governments have contributed to the problems caused by outsourcing in a number of ways.Some of the more visible ways are a lack of monitoring and data gathering, ceasing to enforce any pressure or penalties upon companies outsourcing Jobs, and U. S. Jobs being outsourced due to foreign Incentives. These three Issues are a large contributing factor to the current problem of outsourcing in the united States and its negative impact on the American workforce. The U. S. Federal and state governments are contributin g to the problems created by outsourcing due to their lack of monitoring and data gathering on the number of Jobs that are being exported.Without having the needed statistics on the number of Jobs that are being exported, the full Impact of Job loss cannot be properly quantified. The U. S. Commerce and Labor Departments claim that the lack of monitoring system to record the number of outsourced jobs in America is due to a lack of resources. This thought process seems contradictory as the federal government spends over $130 billion each year on research and development, and a fraction of this spending would be enough to grasp the full scale of this outsourcing issue (52). This prevents any meaningful understanding for the U. S. People on the scale of Jobs being outsourced, the business's and occupations being affected by outsourcing, and the economy potential responses to the negative impacts of outsourcing. With the absence of this data, corporations are able to continue concealing the number of Jobs that are actually being outsourced. In chapter four, Hair and Hair express that federal, state and local government Jobs are also being outsourced. They further discuss that almost every state government has relocated some form of business abroad through entrants with companies that commonly outsource the work for cheaper labor.For example, Washington State estimated that there were around 1 50 contracts that had contained at least $50 million worth of offshore outsourcing (50). Since there is no government or Labor Department monitoring, companies continue having no legal obligation to inform state governments of the contracted work that is being done offshore. The government Jobs that are being outsourced could have these needed services performed In the U. S. By the American workforce In order to help spur economic development and growth. Instead, American unemployment rates will continue to rise and further the negative impacts upon the U.S. Economy. As the U. S. Federal government ceases to enforce any penalties to protect the number of jobs companies outsource, they also fail to exert any pressure to slow down the outsourcing process. In chapter five, Hair and Hair point out that discipline or cost in doing so (76). With that in mind, companies will continue moving jobs offshore, and will have their lobbyists persuade U. S. Congress to have them lower their tax rates, and as well as defer taxes on future income indefinitely. The company's lobbyists succeeded in convincing Congress to allow them to pay the states no more than a mere 5. 5% tax rate, for which the funds would be used as investment towards Jobs creation (81). However, as the federal government continues allowing companies to extradite their money, there has been no evidence of any Job creation being done with those funds. Rather the U. S. Economy has been missing out on over 29. 75% of corporate tax rates, and the American workforce will continue to suffer. As companies co ntinue making cut-backs, this will impact both the assurance of the American workforces financial security, and also the finances used to maintain their communities.This happens as a result of the increasing number of people that are losing their Jobs, which leads to having fewer numbers of taxpayers to contribute to tax revenue and the funding of social programs. In order to make sure that there are enough taxpayers to maintain funding, more Jobs will have to be created. When Elaine Chaos, George W. Bush's Secretary of Labor, was asked for a statement on the failure of Job creation in America, she merely dismissed the question and concluded that the stock market was to blame for it (79).This response is troublesome in that the country's Secretary of Labor had exhibited what little knowledge or concern she had for creating Job opportunities. This statement portrays her failure in helping protect the future of the American workforce and highlights the failure to exert any pressure to reduce outsourcing. Lastly, foreign governments are actively pursuing offshore outsourcing of U. S. Jobs by offering an array of incentives as part of their national industrial strategy. Such incentives granted by foreign governments include tax breaks and leniency to operate without serious government control.In chapter nine, major policy changes were put into effect by the Indian governments in order to free up the markets in the software industry. The policy changes went through so long as it was maintained that there would be full cooperation with all levels of the Indian governments. Indian IT corporations receive tax rates that, when in comparison, are less than half to that of what the state and local governments are providing the American corporations. For instance, the Indian IT company, Astray Computer, has a tax rate of 14. 2%, as to the American IT company, Electronic Data Systems, with a tax rate of 35. 87% (179). The lower tax rates in India make it quite enticing for American corporations to outsource their work, and then utilize Indian IT companies to acquire the tax rate benefits. The Indian federal government key government actor in the growth of software has been the local Software Technology Parks. This allows companies to rely on the local STEP as it provides no restrictions on equity and has various benefits such as duty-free import, duty-free indigenous procurement, and deemed exports (178).Further proactive policies by the Indian government included offers to companies to set up a satellite-based communications infrastructure. Thus, this led the Indian IT sector to increase from $2 billion in 1994-95 to $40 billion in 2003 and employs over 1. 6 million people and will continue to increase (173-174). While the numbers of Jobs that are promote economic growth, they are doing so at the expense of the American workforce. The implementation of this proactive strategy in India has left a large chunk of the U. S. Record unemployed, and contin ues to contribute to a larger pool of Americans living off unemployment. As companies continue to outsource Jobs, the U. S. Will find it more and more difficult to reverse the trend. This will continue to leave fewer tax dollars in the U. S. System and leave more of the American workforce unemployed. This also will impact the amount of tax revenues required to fund education, health, infrastructure, and social security systems. There is no question that the American people would like their government to take a stand against companies that send Jobs overseas.The U. S. Governments, and citizens, should feel obliged to discover new ways of creating more opportunities and Jobs by regulating the amount of outsourced Jobs allowed in the United States. The issues caused by lack of monitoring and data gathering, the need to enforce pressure or penalties on companies that outsource Jobs, and regulation on the number of U. S. Jobs being outsourced due to foreign incentives must be addressed. This issue can't be addressed until the foreign and American governments take action on the contributing factors to the current problem of outsourcing in the U. S.