Fast food nation summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fast food nation summary - Essay Example There were many orange farms. Local farmers also kept animals such as cattle and chicken. Later in the chapter, people started relying on fast foods instead of foods obtained directly from agricultural farms. It seems that the author wants the audience to see how fast foods started being part of American culture. According to article, people started relying on fast foods especially in Los Angeles because of automobiles. By the year 1940 Los Angeles had about 1 million vehicles (Schlosser 14). Many people wanted to own cars because they believed it was cheaper to use personal vehicles compared to public transport. The cars made people lazy. As a result, the new types of eating places such as the derive-in restaurants were introduced. The first drive in-restaurant was owned by Jesse Kirby. He later sold his restaurants to Carl. In order to attract more people in the drive-ins, the buildings were painted in bright colors and waitresses dressed in short skirts. They became very popular p laces in towns. Some popular fast food places like McDonald were founded during this time. In this chapter, the author blames automobiles for negatively affecting the culture of America (Schlosser 6). The initial part of the second chapter talks about people’s loyalty to McDonalds. The title of the second chapter seems ironical. Many people have trusted the fast food companies. However, they fail to notice the negative impacts of the fast food restaurants and their culture in the modern society. Many people take a two week course just to learn the culture of McDonald. The author criticizes the growing number of restaurants for making children the world’s most targeted consumers by larger corporations. For instance, most McDonald’s commercials target children. The company also sponsored my children TV Programs in order to attract more children. Disney started targeting children with its

What is being done to conserve biodiversity in Madagascar Essay

What is being done to conserve biodiversity in Madagascar - Essay Example This flora in terms of biological diversity is under serious danger in spite of its importance. â€Å"Over 80% of the island has already been stripped of its native vegetation cover; the majority of this area is now very species-poor secondary grassland which is burnt annually and is subject to intense erosion.† (Du Puy & Moat 1998). Madagascar forests have been degraded in such a way that now only less than 10% of its original forest cover is remaining. The intention of this article is to bring awareness on conservation efforts of evergreen forests of the high plateau, littoral forest and western dry deciduous forest. There are few forest recovery programs under conservation efforts in different forest types of Madagascar. These ecosystems urgently require toughened conservation programs due to their fragmented natural world. Forest fragmentation is causing a decrease in genetic diversity and is leading to an extinction path. The evergreen forest of high plateau is one of the high priority areas for plant conservation which is known as severely fragmented remnant forest. Recently, this forest was subjected to timber extraction which resulted in damage to its structure and integrity. Also some fragments of this forest have been significantly burned. In this forest, Madagascar’s most threatened, endangered species Schizolaena tampoketsana is found. Schizolaena tampoketsana, locally known as Sohisaka, belongs to one of the six endemic plant families. The reason behind endangered Sohisaka is selective felling of trees and burning from wild fires which are common in this region annually. Littoral forests are humid, low elevation forests on sand which have been identified as the most threatened vegetation type in Madagascar. It is along the east coast of Madagascar where the forests are highly degraded and fragmented that represents less than 10% of original area. In this forest, Madagascar’s

Iconostasis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Iconostasis - Essay Example ... This arrangement, however, differs in the finer churches in Greece, Russia, Turkey and the East where the iconostasis is adorned with a wealth of paintings. In those churches, aside from the two requisite pictures, the iconostasis is covered with pictures throughout. On the royal door, there is always the Annunciation. The Annunciation is the revelation made by the archangel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus indicating that she would conceive a child, the Son of God. In addition to the Annunciation there is often a depiction of the four Evangelists. On each of the other doors there are generally pictures of St. Michael and the archangel Gabriel. Beyond the deacon's door there is usually the saint to whom the church is dedicated. Additionally, at the opposite end there is either a picture of St. Nicholas of Myra or that of St. John the Baptist. Depicted above the royal door, there is a picture of the Last Supper and directly above that picture there is often a large picture of Jesu s sitting on his throne with a crown and adorned in priestly clothing much in the image of a High-priest. At the pinnacle of the iconostasis there is a large crucifix which represents the source of salvation for believers and on either side of it, there are pictures of the Virgin Mary and St. John (Wikipedia, n.d.). In extremely elaborate iconostasis, the pictures are arranged in rows across the entire length of the iconostasis. The bottommost row contains the pictures previously described while the second row generally contains pictures commemorating the fundamental feasts of the Church such as the Nativity, Annunciation and Transfiguration. The third row generally contain pictures of the Prophets of the Old

Crimnal Justice Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Crimnal Justice - Coursework Example This might be plausible given the hip-hop war tension that was between the west and east coast. Poole believes the hit was organized by Reggie Wright. The other fact is that after the murder a called was placed to the police accusing a rogue LAPD officer Mack. Police found a gun that matches the one was the used to kill Biggie in Mack’s home. He had a Tupac Shakur shrine. Most witnesses claim the murderer wore a blue jacket that was common for the Crips that provided security for a company that B.I.G owed money. Another witness disputed this claim by saying B.I.G did not use many bodyguards. The witnesses who could support the prosecution case are the ones who gave testimonies on the killer wear blue caps. All the witnesses who could describe the murder very well should join prosecution. The informant who claims Suge Knight Order the hit and the one who believes LAPD officer Mack was responsible for the shooting. The witness who disputes the shooter being a real Muslim should on the prosecution. He says, â€Å"He dressed like a Muslim but he was not a Muslim, he was a cop.† The trial process for the murder of Christopher Wallace should take long. The trial will begin by the prosecution presenting evidence to support claims that the death of Christopher Wallace is connected to the hip-hop war and a rogue LAPD Officer. The prosecution would present witness that can give clear testimonies to dispute theories that involve drugs and Muslim shooting. The opening statement for the prosecution would go like this, â€Å"It is unfortunate that today we are here to seek justice for the murder of Christopher Wallace. I call upon this court to act to let the family of the victim feel and understand that justice is real. The case is surrounded by so much controversy, but I am certain my team will produce enough evidence to help the court make the right decision.† The prosecution should focus on asking questions that seek to

Just Desert Essay Example for Free

Just Desert Essay â€Å"Just Deserts† is simply defined as the morally reassuring allocation of happy and unhappy, virtuous and the vicious characters respectively and are usually at the end of a narrative or dramatic work. (Liberman, Peter 2006). Just desert is an idiom coined by Thomas Rhymer in 1968 from the word just and desert. Just is being honorable and fair in one’s dealings and actions whereas desert is what one deserves rightly. However there are many arguments from those who are in favor and those who are against â€Å"Just Deserts†. Those in favor argue that people who work hard deserve the fruits of their labor while whose who break the rules deserve to be treated in the same way that they voluntarily choose to treat others that is if you behave well, you are entitled to good treatment from others. The central idea they put forward is that the offender gains unfair advantages through his/her behavior and punishment will set that imbalance right/straight. Citizens should enjoy the benefits of the rule of law and anyone who seeks those benefits without willing to make the necessary sacrifice of self restraint wants to be a free rider by helping himself to unfair advantages and the society/state needs to prevent this to preserve the rule of law. This is because in the event of wrong doing one who merits certain benefits loses them while one who doesn’t deserve them gains them and therefore punishment removes the underserved benefits by imposing a penalty that in some sense pays for the harm inflicted by the offense. Just desert aims to restore both victim and offender to their appropriate positions relative to each other justifying the punishment is a warranted response to past events of injustice or wrong doing and acts to reinforce ruler that have been broken and balance the scales of justice. They believe that since conflict often involves violence and many involve genocide, racial discrimination, rape, murder and torture. The perpetrators should be brought to justice and this is only accomplished through international courts or tribunals that carry out war crimes adjudication. Consequently they feel that retributive justice gives those who violate human rights law or commit crimes against humanity their â€Å"just deserts† and that punishment will reinforce the rules of international law add that it denies those who have violated those rules any unfair advantages. However, there are those who are against â€Å"just deserts† completely since they are convinced that there is a tendency to slip from retributive justice to an emphasis on revenge which is a matter of retaliation they feel that revenge will only focus on personal hurt involved and will typically rotate around anger, hatred, bitterness and resentment. Such emotions are very destructive since they lead to overreaction and therefore the resulting punishments can be excessive and might cause antagonism. In addition, punishments which usually dictated by revenge will automatically not satisfy the principles of proportionality or consistency (Rachels, James. , (1997). This is because vengeance leads to punishment and vary according to the degree of anger provoked. This will ultimately mean that wrongs that do not provoke anger will receive no response while those acts that provoke a great deal of anger will on the other hand provoke and overly intense response. These responses which are dictated by emotions usually may lead to reciprocal acts of violence. This are normally thought to occur mostly in regions where there were past injustices done to the locals who re otherwise living together in harmony and if punishments which are dictated by vengeance are given resentments of past injustices may motivate people who otherwise live peacefully engage in torture and slaughter of neighbors identified are members of groups who committed past atrocities. This will provoke devastating inter group violence in the form of mass killing which further leads to more harm and downward spiral of violence. Overly harsh punishments brings/evokes feelings of hatred, increases the level of harm done, additionally, in an atmosphere of heightened violence, the room for forgiveness and apologies is closed or very little. In this event many of those who oppose â€Å"just deserts† believe that the victims should not seek revenge since this will in turn make them new victimizers but instead they should forgive the offenders and in the end cycle of the offence is discontinued. Furthermore, they feel that forgiveness does not and will not take the place of justice or punishments, nor does it rule out giving the wrong doer his/her â€Å"just deserts†. In summary, both arguments for and against â€Å"just deserts† suggest that punishments should fit the errors that is like cases be treated alike and that the wrong doer wholly deserves blame and punishment proportionate to the harm inflicted. However, thou against feel that formal institutions with trained judiciaries are best equipped to carry out just retribution and that such institution can effectively bring the offenders to justice by giving them punishment they deserve. They continue to say that truth and reconciliation commissions play an integral role especially trials for war crimes can convert the desire for revenge into state managed punishment that is proportional and fair. However, they warn that incases of large scale violence such trials are ineffective but propose restorative justice through reparations and compensation. References: Gragg, Wesley (1992). The practice of punishment towards a theory of restorative justice (New York, Routledge, 15. Liberman, Peter 2006. An eye for an eye public support for war against evil doers. International organization Rachels, James (1997) â€Å"punishment and Desert† in ethics in practice, ed Hugh Lafollette Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers,

Comparing leadership styles and techniques

Comparing leadership styles and techniques This study will show and conclude whether or not this statement is indeed accurate or just another theoretical belief or ideology amongst between theorist. In this essay we will look at the meaning of both management and leadership, how they differ in concept and in style, and finally conclude whether or not this statement is indeed accurate. What is leadership? Moorhead and Griffin (1998) define leadership as both a process and property. They say, as a process leadership involves the use of non-coercive influence to direct and coordinates the activities of group members to meet a goal, and a property they describe leadership as a set of characteristics attributed to those who those who are perceived to use such influence successfully. According to Moorhead Griffin (1998), Management requires an understanding of human behavior, to help managers better comprehend those at different levels in the organization, those at the same level, those in other organization, and themselves. Management is the planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources both effectively and efficiently in order to ultimately achieve goals set out by an organization (Moorhead Griffin, 1998; Adair, 2003). Differences between leadership and management: Adair (2003) says, Leadership and management are not the same. In industry and commerce they should go together. In government we often think of political leadership and public service management, but the latter also requires high-quality leadership. Adair (2003) then continues to list the following; Leadership is about giving direction, building teams and inspiring others by example and word. You can be appointed a manager but you are not a leader until your personality and character, your knowledge and your skill in performing the functions of leadership are recognized and accepted by the others involved. This is a very fundamental difference. (Adair, 2003; Moorhead Griffin, 1998) Leadership and change go together. Managing in the form of running an organization is more appropriate where there is not much change going on. When change is endemic, as it often is nowadays, managers must learn how to lead it. Pg 71 Managing entails the proper and efficient use of resources- good administration. Good leaders care about administration, the less good ones dont. Management has the overtone of carrying out objectives laid down by someone else. Moreover, there is nothing in the concept of management which implies inspiration, creating teamwork when it isnt there, or setting an example. When it is the case that inspiration and teamwork exist, you may well have managers who are in effect leaders, especially if they are the source of the inspiration. But it is unfortunately more often the case that management does not ring bells when it comes to people. Other distinctive differences pointed out by (Adair, 2003) include Direction: A leader will find a ways forward. He or she will generate a sense of direction. That may involve identifying new objectives, new products or services and new markets Inspiration: Leadership is linked to inspiration. The words and example of a leader kindle motivation Building teams: A leader tends to think naturally in terms of team. Groups of individuals are transformed into teams. Equally, teams tend to look for leaders rather than bosses. Example: Leadership is example. A leader will have his or her own output or direct contribution to the common task, thereby leading from the front Acceptance: You can be appointed a manager, but you are not really a leader until your appointment is ratified in the hearts and minds of those who work with you. An article by Murray, C. (2010) states and lists the following, the managers job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leaders job is to inspire and motivate. In his 1989 book On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences: The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leaders eye is on the horizon. The manager imitates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing. Moorhead Griffin (1998) set out the following table to illustrate the distinction between management and leadership. Activity Management Leadership Creating an agenda Planning and Budgeting. Establishing details steps and timetables for achieving needed results; allocating the resources necessary to make those needed results happen Establishing direction. Developing a vision of the future, often the distant future, and strategies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision Developing a human network for achieving the agenda Organizing and staffing. Establishing some structure for accomplishing plan requirements, staffing that structure with individuals, delegating responsibility and authority for carrying out the plan, providing policies and procedures to help guide people, and creating methods or systems to monitor implementation Aligning people. Communicating the direction by words and deeds to all those whose cooperation may be needed to influence the creation of teams and coalitions that understand the vision and strategies and accept their validity Executing plans Controlling and problem solving. Monitoring results vs. plan in some detail, identifying deviations, and then planning and organizing to solve these problem Motivating and inspiring. Energizing people to overcome major political, bureaucratic, and resource barriers to change by satisfying very basic, but often unfulfilled, human needs Outcomes Produces a degree of predictability and order and has the potential to consistently produce major results expected by various stakeholders (e.g. .for customers, always being on time; for stockholders, being on budget) Produces change, often to a dramatic degree, and has the potential to produce extremely useful change (e.g. , new products that customers want, new approaches to lobar relations that help make a firm more competitive) Another way of which leadership and management could be distinguished is through different styles, Management has three main categories of styles: autocratic, paternalistic and democratic. Autocratic (or authoritarian) managers like to make all the important decisions and closely supervise and control workers. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. This approach derives from the views of Taylor as to how to motivate workers and relates to McGregors theory X view of workers. This approach has limitations (as highlighted by other motivational theorists such as Mayo and Herzberg) but it can be effective in certain situations. For example. When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. in a time of crises), when controlling large numbers of low skilled workers. Paternalistic managers give more attention to the social needs and views of their workers. Managers are interested in how happy workers feel and in many ways they act as a father figure (pater means father in Latin). They consult employees over issues and listen to their feedback or opinions. The manager will however make the actual decisions (in the best interests of the workers) as they believe the staffs still need direction and in this way it is still somewhat of an autocratic approach. The style is closely linked with Mayos Human Relation view of motivation and also the social needs of Maslow. Democratic style of management will put trust in employees and encourage them to make decisions. They will delegate to them the authority to do this (empowerment) and listen to their advice. This requires good two-way communication and often involves democratic discussion groups, which can offer useful suggestions and ideas. Managers must be willing to encourage leadership skills in subordinates. The ultimate democratic system occurs when decisions are made based on the majority view of all workers. However, this is not feasible for the majority of decisions taken by a business- indeed one of the criticisms of this style is that it can take longer to reach a decision. This style has close links with Herzbergs motivators and Maslows higher order skills and also applies to McGregors theory Y view of workers. Leadership styles include the following Transformational leadership Is the set of abilities that allow the leader to recognize the need for change, to create a vision to guide that change, and to execute that change effectively. (Moorhead Griffin, 1998) Charismatic leadership A charismatic leadership style is a type of influence based on the leaders personal charisma. (Moorhead Griffin, 1998) Conclusion: Despite all these differences one has to take note that in this new economy its nearly impossible to distinguish between the two as they both overlap one another and work hand in hand, in other words they complement each other, as Murray A, (2010) points out that there was a time when the calling of the manager and that of the leader could be separated. A foreman in an industrial-era factory probably didnt have to give much thought to what he was producing or to the people who were producing it. His or her job was to follow orders, organize the work, assign the right people to the necessary tasks, coordinate the results, and ensure the job got done as ordered. The focus was on efficiency. But in the new economy, where value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people, and where workers are no longer undifferentiated cogs in an industrial machine, management and leadership are not easily separated. People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for th em a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results. But if pressed for and answer one would have to agree with the statement as we are facing difficult times with the worldwide recession and collapse of economies (i.e. Greece, Iceland), and where there is great uncertainty amongst workers, you will find that people are looking out for leaders to navigate them through these troubled times, so there on would justifiably concur with the rationale. As (Adair, 2003) states, Although a natural leader instinctively tries to change and improve things, his or her efforts will, not bear much fruit unless external and internal change is effecting the organization- technological, social, economic, political and cultural change. Industry and commerce, and for that matter public services too, must now operate in a climate of almost constant change, stronger international competition and higher uncertainty. All that explains why the concept of leadership has once again come to the fore. Leaders like change; its in their chosen element. Managers, by contrast, have traditionally preferred to run organizations as machines. They are happiest in a stead state environment where nothing is rocking the boat.

Sex and Violence on Television Essay -- Television Media TV Essays

Sex and Violence on Television   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since its inception, television has been the center of controversy. Often it has been viewed as being extremely detrimental to society, and because of this, it is often referred to as the "Boob-tube" or the "Idiot-box". So what makes television so detrimental? - The content (or in the opinion of many) the lack thereof. It is said that television has caused the rotting of our minds, that it depreciates the imagination and contributes to laziness. But the most important accusation against what comes over the airwaves, is that it influences some people into committing antisocial and often immoral behavior. Narrowing down the search of the most important problems reveals an excess of sexual and violent material on Television, most of which is readily available to young and extremely impressionable viewers. This material is often said to be the cause for the increase of violent crimes and open promiscuity, which has become more apparent over the past few d ecades. However, many would disagree with this standpoint. They believe that the amount of sex and violence seen each day on television is not the cause of societal woes, but has been caused by the problems that are witnessed in the real world every day. Perhaps it is just another case of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Also, the television industry is one of the most profitable of all industries, especially in this country, for, "Sex sells," as the saying goes. As for the violence that we see, only violence packed movies make as much money as they do and they are more likely to receive a lot of attention when first viewed on network television than non-violent blockbusters. As a movie executive once put it, "Violence is going ... ... Cancels Crime Show That Fails to Get Any Ads."The New York Times3 May 1989:D1. "Celebrate the Freedom to Read: Read 1996's Most Challenged Books." American Library Association. 1996. Go To Constitution of the United States of America.Amendment I. Eysenck, H. J. "Sex Violence and the Media." New York: St. Martin's Press1978. Godwin, Mike. "Why We'll Win: When Uncle Sam gets out of line, Good Lawyers Are The Best Revenge" HotWired. 1996. Go To Guyton, Kady. "Censored Literature Draws Attention." Student Publications Inc. 1995. Go To Haithman, Diane."Housewife Critic of TV Finds Less to Protest."Los Angeles Times 22 July 1989:V1. Wyatt, Robert O., David Neft, David P. Badger."Free Expression and the American Public: A Survey Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the First Amendment." Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 1991. Sex and Violence on Television Essay -- Television Media TV Essays Sex and Violence on Television   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since its inception, television has been the center of controversy. Often it has been viewed as being extremely detrimental to society, and because of this, it is often referred to as the "Boob-tube" or the "Idiot-box". So what makes television so detrimental? - The content (or in the opinion of many) the lack thereof. It is said that television has caused the rotting of our minds, that it depreciates the imagination and contributes to laziness. But the most important accusation against what comes over the airwaves, is that it influences some people into committing antisocial and often immoral behavior. Narrowing down the search of the most important problems reveals an excess of sexual and violent material on Television, most of which is readily available to young and extremely impressionable viewers. This material is often said to be the cause for the increase of violent crimes and open promiscuity, which has become more apparent over the past few d ecades. However, many would disagree with this standpoint. They believe that the amount of sex and violence seen each day on television is not the cause of societal woes, but has been caused by the problems that are witnessed in the real world every day. Perhaps it is just another case of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Also, the television industry is one of the most profitable of all industries, especially in this country, for, "Sex sells," as the saying goes. As for the violence that we see, only violence packed movies make as much money as they do and they are more likely to receive a lot of attention when first viewed on network television than non-violent blockbusters. As a movie executive once put it, "Violence is going ... ... Cancels Crime Show That Fails to Get Any Ads."The New York Times3 May 1989:D1. "Celebrate the Freedom to Read: Read 1996's Most Challenged Books." American Library Association. 1996. Go To Constitution of the United States of America.Amendment I. Eysenck, H. J. "Sex Violence and the Media." New York: St. Martin's Press1978. Godwin, Mike. "Why We'll Win: When Uncle Sam gets out of line, Good Lawyers Are The Best Revenge" HotWired. 1996. Go To Guyton, Kady. "Censored Literature Draws Attention." Student Publications Inc. 1995. Go To Haithman, Diane."Housewife Critic of TV Finds Less to Protest."Los Angeles Times 22 July 1989:V1. Wyatt, Robert O., David Neft, David P. Badger."Free Expression and the American Public: A Survey Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the First Amendment." Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 1991.