Essay on Extreme Sports - 937 Words

Extreme Sports Works Cited Missing â€Å"Extreme sports have boomed since the early 90s† (Petrecca 16). It is hard to believe that such activities as sky diving, snowboarding, bungee jumping, and the up and coming razor scooter have been labeled as so-called â€Å"extreme sports†. What characteristics must a sport have to labeled extreme? Perhaps it is the lack of safety, or the inability to create specific rules for these sports. Maybe it is the fact that these sports are just recently becoming mainstream so there is no other classification other than extreme sports. In any case, these activities are definitely something new and interesting to sprawl out in the mainstream of sports, which will do nothing except become larger and more†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"White-water rafting, snowboarding and skiing are sports that represent our culture and help us learn how to overcome challenges by working together† (Gurevich 50). It allows you to become closer to people you barely know; spending a day on a mountain with people can be a bonding experience. While answering a question about why he takes his staff skiing and rafting, Dmitry Gurevich told the news reporter that he believed it is an important thing for his staff to spend time outside the workplace. It will help the staff learn to trust each other more, and increase the level of understanding between everyone. Although there are rules in snowboarding, these rules apply only in competition racing. They are basic rules, which apply to most any other sport. When in competition there is really only one rule, to be sober. When establishing rules for people who just go snowboarding to have fun, there aren’t any. If rules would be created, it would nearly be impossible to enforce; it would be like having police officers on ski’s to tell you that you are going to fast, or snowboarding recklessly. The element of risk is also present when snowboarding as Shaun Palmer stated in an interview for people magazine. â€Å"Michael Jordan just had a basketball. I’m on a bike going down a mountainside. Or on a board flying over 60-foot cliffs† (Lambert 67). To fly over a cliff is another experience by which you are cheating death. If youShow MoreRelatedExtreme Sports And Extreme Athletes1877 Words   |  8 PagesExtreme sports are sports like skydiving, where a person jumps out of a plane and fights gravity to have few minutes of the inspiring view of the earth. Extreme sports are popular among the rising generation, as these sports satisfy the mind with the excitement that the mind has thirst for. Extreme sports are sports that require the athletes to have special traits, including thrill-taking and adventuring, which differentiate extreme sports from any other sport. Whiteside argues that unlike regularRead MoreExtreme Sports Motivation3174 Words   |  13 PagesExtreme Sports Motivational Factors Lawrence Cannon December 4, 2011 PE 5880 Abstract In the 1970s, extreme sports had been growing rapidly since its introduction. However, there has been little research done on extreme sport participants. In specific, the reason why consumers participate in extreme sports has not yet been investigated, although the number of participants and spectators of extreme sports is rapidly growing. Since motivation is a significant factor of sport participationRead More Extreme Sports: A Reaction to Extreme Technology Essay1917 Words   |  8 PagesExtreme Sports: A Reaction to Extreme Technology Many people in America work at jobs where they are separated from Nature and other people, sectioned off in cublicles, plugged into a machine, doing work which neither challenges their intellect nor is fulfilling personally. 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AfterRead More The Growing Popularity of Extreme Sports Essay1255 Words   |  6 PagesExtreme Sports Over the past ten years I have noticed that my local snowboarding park has become more crowded every season, especially with younger kids. This has not only been the case for snowboarding, but for all extreme sports. I’ve noticed this trend at my local skateboarding park also. More so, there has been a noticeable increase of extreme sports being broadcast on television today than ever before. These changes caused me to ask the question: why have extreme sports become so popularRead MorePersuasive Essay On Extreme Sports730 Words   |  3 PagesWith all of the benefits that come from extreme sports, there should be no debate whether it is okay to participate in them or not. The average person burns as much as 500 calories per hour while riding their board. This is just one of the many benefits that come from extreme sports. We can’t live our whole lives being scared and over cautious, we need to take the risks, and get the benefits because of it. The topic of extreme sp orts if a worldwide debate. Many people argue that kids are too youngRead MorePersuasive Essay About Extreme Sports2060 Words   |  9 PagesExtreme Sports Introduction + Thesis: (C) In Jeb Golinkin’s essay Why Parents Should Let Their Kids Play Dangerous Sports, Golinkin states an incident that happened while playing a dangerous sport. â€Å"25-year-old, Caleb Moore died from an injury when his snowmobile came crashing down on his head after a trick went wrong in the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo† (pp.616). In this case, Moore thought that the trick would’ve been perfect since he had practiced before the actual competition. Dangerous sportsRead MoreExtreme Sports3358 Words   |  14 PagesIntroduction Extreme sports (also called action sport and adventure sport) are a media term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger. These activities often involve speed, height, high level of physical exertion, highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts. At present date, there are no careful studies or statistics of deaths to separate activities with low or normal level of danger from those with high level of danger. While use of the term extreme sport has spreadRead MoreRed Bull Stratos Analysis1382 Words   |  6 Pagesversus who we are†. Patrice Radden, director of corporate communications at Red Bull) The main objective of the company is to communicate their slogan â€Å"Red Bull gives you wings† to a huge audience, in a way never seen before, through a range of extreme sports and events Red Bull organizes and supports. 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Moral Obligation has Taken Over the Civil Rights Movement

A continuation of civil rights movement is no longer important to campus –diversity, simply because of moral obligation or rights. Diversity efforts are important in towards 31st century because they are fundamental to the building blocks to excellence and quality. Diversity is not only black and white it is, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, religion and many more combinations that make up a nation. (Williams Wade-Golden, 2008, p. B44). Higher education are attempting to meet the needs of a diverse student population with a variety of services, support groups, educational programs, and co-curricular experiences, institutions. The demographics of this country have changed because of racial/ethnic minorities. Institutions of higher education have also witnessed increasingly diverse student populations which will continue to trend upward. (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2007). The purpose of this paper look at diversity as it rel ates to higher education. Background information In the United States the population of racial/ethnic minorities is growing. 34% of the American Population is persons of color according to the United States Census Bureau. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). 32% of students enrolled in institutions of higher education were minority students in 2004 (NCES, 2007). The culture of a majority of campuses is changing because of the increased presence of minority students. Traditionally universities enrolled mainlyShow MoreRelatedBreaking the Law or Civil Desobedience Essay example1642 Words   |  7 PagesHistory has spoken. The words of the weak started it. Their actions proved it. Disobeying a law is a crime that the offender should be willing to take the punishment for and let his sacrifice be used as a point to rally around to create a just, moral change. Whenever a law is deemed unjust, there is good reason for breaking it to achieve justice. Civil Disobedience will never be legal and those who employ it should be w illing to accept the penalty that comes with breaking a law. It has been shownRead MoreThe And Its Effect On Society1343 Words   |  6 Pageswhether it be equality, civil rights, or so on. It goes straight to the fundamental ideas of morality. Is the law just and does it truly provide for the people? In cases of these injustices, who is held responsible? Does this responsibility eventually fall in the hands of the citizens? To what extent are the citizens capable of fighting these injustices for the betterment of society? Over the years, many have stood up to such instances through what is referred to as â€Å"Civil Disobedience.† Now, thisRead MoreUnjust Laws1747 Words   |  7 PagesThis means that laws, regardless of how unfair, unjust, or immoral they may be, must be followed with no better reason that they are the law. To the thesis that we are obliged to obey even unjust laws, I will argue that the standard objections to Civil Disobedience, given by Singer, are incor rect To begin, however, I believe it is necessary to define an unjust law. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjustRead MoreDiscrimination Based On Race And Gender Essay1625 Words   |  7 PagesWoolsworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, to forbid people of color from sitting at the store’s lunch counter. In response to the oppressive nature of this policy, four black students ignored the rule which restricted them—an act of civil disobedience which was erupting all over the region—and took seats at the forbidden lunch counter, demanding to be served. Such instances, labeled ‘sit ins,’ were often recognized as illegal behavior and were treated as such by local law enforcement, who arrested thoseRead MoreTranscendentalism in Civil Disobedience3710 Words   |  15 PagesAmerican Democracy 10 April 2012 Transcendentalism in Civil Disobedience Thoreaus Politics of Individuality and Nature Dannheisig 2 Contents Introduction 1. Transcendentalism a. Nature b. Introspective Conscience and Politics 2. Political Individualism a. Ethical and Political (In)justice b. Critique of Democracy Conclusion Bibliography 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dannheisig 3 Introduction Henry David Thoreau was part of a movement called American Transcendentalism. To illuminate ThoreausRead MoreNgos And Freedom Of Expression1719 Words   |  7 Pageshuman right to freedom of expression worldwide. 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Siebert has referred to this theory as the original prototype and mostRead MoreAdvocating Intellectual Dualism Of Respect For One s Conviction1687 Words   |  7 Pagesbelieve in what we may. A person has the right as a human to believe in what he or she may desire. Even though there is an international obligation by law for people to respect one’s right to conviction in whatever he or she may desire, different radical and or rebellious individuals defy that obligation and practice proselytism. Everyone in the world, no matter what race, age, gender, etc. should have a certain limit of respect for one’s conviction itself and also right to conviction in whatever heRead MoreEssay about A Free Society Must Expect Civil Disobedience1758 Words   |  8 PagesA Free Society Must Expect Civil Disobedience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Are we morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? Think about what this means. 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Investigation Plan - Software Development Methodology

Question: As part of the auditing team in capacity of a Digital Forensics expert, your task is to prepare digital forensics investigative plan to enable a systematic collection of evidence and subsequent forensic analysis of the electronic and digital data. Assuming all systems are Windows based, this plan should detail following: Justify why use of the digital forensic methodology and approach is warranted including procedures for corporate investigation. Describe the resources required to conduct a digital forensic investigation, including team member skill sets and required tools. Outline an approach for data/evidence identification and acquisition that would occur in order to prepare the auditors for review of the digital evidence. Outline an approach and steps to be taken during the analysis phase making the assumption the computer system is a Microsoft Windows-based computer. Create a table of contents for the investigative plan describing what the primary focus of the report would be. Answer: Every important details of the company are stored in the form of data in the computer. Thus, the security issue becomes one of the major concerns for the management of the company. The type of the security system adopted by the company has to be capable enough to secure the information regardless of different sizes. With the help of the forensic practices it is possible to plan and implement actionable methods through which the information can be secured for a longer period of time. Specific methodology Software development methodology The selected method has to be capable enough to take care of the information and implement effective disciplinary action plans. This will restrict the unauthorised access of the information and other details that are quite confidential for the company. With the help of such a method it is possible to keep a check on the unusual operational activities that could lead to serious problem. Accurate knowledge regarding the forensic principles, procedures, techniques and tools will be helpful in improving the quality of the services that is intended to be provided to the company (Casey, 2000). This report is based on the Global finance company. It is an investment company that has more than 10,000 staffs working from different parts of the world. The company specialise in rendering different types of finance services that includes calculation of the superannuation for individuals and companies, provide investment options, analyse the retirement benefits, and render shares and property investment options related to finances. The services are exclusively availed for individuals and companies in Australia. However, the finance head of the company is aware of the fact that the details from the computer is being hacked and used by someone. This is a serious concern as there different types of important information that has been stored inside the system. The report has been prepared to present an effective auditing plan for digital forensics. This has been done with an intention of reducing the efforts that has been put in for securing the clients and financial information that has been retained by the company (Higgins, 2008). Task 1: Justification of the methods for digital forensic The term of computer digital forensic is referred to the scientific method that is used for investigating the loops that are present within the system. It is quite important to have planned and well drafted methods through which the required information can be easily gathered by the investigators. The process basically involves three major steps which are analysing, reporting, and acquisition. It is quite important to use the best scientific method through which the relevant information regarding the digital evidences can be easily gathered by the experts. The method needs to include the below mentioned steps which are Verification The head of the finance department of the Global finance feels that the technology that has been used by the company is not effective. This is because the infrastructure that has been used for the network application hasnt been updated. The environment for accessing information is unrestricted, which makes it possible for everyone to collect the information. Thus, it is quite important to investigate the incidences that are basically known as the forensic evaluation. In this case, the details are assessed. This is done with an intention of analysing the causes of the incidences that lead to sharing of the information. Based on the information that has been collected by the company it is possible to choose the best approach that will be useful in deciding upon the steps that needs to be taken for making the required changes (Huber, 2011). System description The system followed by the Global finance had unrestricted usage, wherein the information could be easily accessed by different departments. Besides this, the workstations and servers that were used by the company were not properly maintained. This had increased the risk of the intrusion detection that increased the risk for the users. Thus, it was essential for detecting the system that was used by the company. In this process, it was necessary to collect the necessary information that was meant to be used for determining the role of the system. This helped in analysing the data and the helped in evaluating the risks that were attached with the system. It is quite important to analyse the configuration of the disk and other factors that were considered to be important for the collection of the evidences (Inoue, Adelstein, and Joyce, 2011). Evidence collection In the process of information security system, the investigative team and the forensic abilities were analysed as it was located in the head office in Melbourne. The finance head of the department had complained about the ineffectiveness of the system, and this was one of the major concerns that had impacted the users. The audit team work towards collecting the evidences that are considered to be essential for analysing the details that are considered to be necessary for collecting the required information. Auditors in this case have to prioritize the findings as this will help in finding the factors that had impacted the leakage of the information. Also, the data that has been violated due to different network connections has to be analysed. This includes analysing the login sessions, cache, running process times, and others. The information is collected with an intention of analysing the challenges and making the right steps through which the changes can be implemented by the manag ement (Janssen, and Ayers, 2007). Timeline analysis The check on the evidences has to be done on a timely manner. This will help in making the necessary changes and controlling the process of information leakage of access in the best possible manner. In this process, the information and other evidences has to be collected and investigated in the right manner. The evidence collection and evaluation has to be done on the basis of evidence acquisition, and this is one of the prominent steps that need to be followed in the right manner. The tools that are used for analysing the data or forensic data are based on the Linux method and MFT methods. In this process, the evidences that are collected and investigated in the right manner, as this will help in analysing the challenges that are faced by the company in securing the data. This system is quite different from the network foreignism and data recovery system. Network forensic is a part of the digital networking system and it is basically used for monitoring and evaluating the traffic in the computer network system. In this process importance is given to the information gathering methods and legal evidences. This method deals with the network investigations that are known to be dynamic and volatile in nature (Kim et al., 2008). Data recovery method is related to the process of handling the information that might be damaged or corrupted. The whole intention is to provide an access to the information, whenever required. Such a process is quite different from the others that are in use. Methods included for collecting the information There are different types of analysis that are basically used for this purpose and it includes Pre-analysis - It includes defining the case in-depth and analysing the goals through which the task can be achieved. Analysis - in this process, the company concentrates on collecting the best methods through which the structured management system can be introduced. Time based analysis - It is also necessary to allocate the time based process, as this will help in improving the performance (Kruse, Heiser, 2001). Task 2: Sources for evidence collection The process followed by the company for collecting evidences plays a key role in analysing the risk that is associated with the system. Hardware requirements Some of the steps that are included in the volatile process are Register content, CPU, and cache Routing the table, process table, ARP chnage, and kernel statistics Analysing the memory Checking on the temporary file and swap spaces Check on the data that are accommodated on the hard disk Some of the important resources that are considered in this process include Nigilant 32 Live response system Mandiant Intelligent response system KntDD F-response (Masters, Turner, 2007). The evidences are collected in different forms or methods. However it is necessary to collect the information and perceive the data in the best possible manner. It also includes securing the information in the volatile data format. In this case, the information is stored on the hard drive and the details are stored eve when the computer is switched off. The volatile information is stored in the memory of the computer, and it is lost as soon as the computer is turned off. It is necessary to adopt and implement an effective tool through which the necessary steps can be taken for securing the information that is quite important for the company. Some of the tools include creating back-ups decryption, and authentication process that is considered to be useful for storing the information. It also includes the below mentioned steps IT tracking Log file auditing Implementing data recovery system Examine the file (Stallings, 2003). Also it is necessary to have regular back-up files through which the changes can be done without the fear of losing the information. This will also avoid the ambient data that is basically located on the swap file, which is quite similar to the memory. The system that has been chosen to be selected has to compile with the rules that has been drafted by the MIST or the national institute of standards and technology. In this process, it is also necessary to ensure that the members are aware of the rules that are formed by the company for using the system or accessing the information from the computer. Besides this, it has to be regularly checked as this will help in implementing the steps that are considered to be essential for implementing the changes that are considered to be necessary for securing the data that are quite important for the company. It is necessary to have the best decryption tools that will be useful for accessing the password protected files and computers. The procedure that will be followed for the collection of the tools and digital evidences has to be implemented in the right manner. The staffs of the company have to follow the password method for accessing the information that is present within the system. Auditors of the company can use the IP tracking system to access or analyse the information that is considered to be important for tracking the authorised usage of the system. In this method, it is possible to analyse additional information that will be useful for the auditors to collect the details related to unauthorised usage of the system. For companies it is essential to introduce an effective national security system that includes IDS or the intrusion detection method. It also includes introducing proxies and firewalls. In this method, it is necessary to have a detailed investigating report that needs to be provided by the system administrator. This will help in analysing the challenges without losing much time on the same (Turner, 2006). Task 3: Approach for collecting the data The evidences or the data needs to be collected and investigated in the right manner. For this, it is necessary to collect the tools that are available for the implementation of the performance system. This also includes analysing the system configuration method through which the fault can be easily analysed. Such a method will help in analysing the problem and finding the best possible solution to handle the same. For this, it is essential to determine the configuration of the system, as this will help the auditors to find the perfect solution to the problem. The methods that are included in this process include analysing the images that are stored in the line output utility, memory dumps, and digital media. With the help of such a system, it is possible to conduct the network investigation that is necessary to find the case of the problem. The plan also includes using the steps or tools that are conducted in the DEB. This contains the details that are considered to be necessary for the company for handling the information in the right manner. DEB is known to the advanced technology through which the magnetic cloning devices can be used for investigating the loops that are present within the system. The prime objective is to find the methods through which the data can be manipulated (Kim et al., 2008). Task 4: Process that needs to forensic analysis Software requirements The system needs to be adopted for analysing the evidences through which the illegal access of the information can be controlled. In this case, the problem that is associated with the usage of the system. In this case, the MS system has to be configured with certain rules as this will prevent the unauthorized usage of the system. The system needs to be password protected, and the staffs of the company have to be encouraged to not share the passwords with anyone. This will create a problem, and might affect the confidentiality of the information that has been stored within the system. Apart from this, it is also necessary to implement an effective application system through which the usage of the members along with the data access can be checked on a regular basis. This will help in improving the quality of the services that is proposed to be rendered to the clients. The data that are stored within the system are quite important and the access needs to be provided for few members. This will stop the usage of the information by anyone who is not authorised to do so. Apart from this, the management of the company can also implement the DEB software through which the details can be checked and the corrective steps can be introduced by the company. The system has to be implemented in a simple format, as this will help in accomplishing the task in the best possible manner (Janssen, and Ayers, 2007). Task 5: Plan The plan for the investigation has to be simple and effective as this will help in yielding the best results that will cater the needs of the company. in this process, the steps that needs to be followed for the purpose of analysing the challenges has to be determined. This will help in analysing the challlenges and taking the right steps trhough whch the issue can be handled in an effective manner. Conclusion Inroduing an effective computer forensic method is quite important for the business. The process that has been inetnded to be followed by eh company depends upon the strategy that has been adopted by the company. In this case, the data needs to be analysed in the right manner. this will help in analysing the challenges and adopting the best methods through which the data can be evaluated in the right manner. In this case, the data has been evaluted and the corrective steps has to be taken for improvng the quality of infromation that has been retained by the company. References Casey, E. 2000. Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers and the Internet. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Higgins, S 2008. The DCC Curation Lifecycle Model. The International Journal of Digital Curation, 3, 134140. Huber, M, Mulazzani, M, Leithner, M, Schrittwieser, S, Wondracek, G and Weippi, E 2011. Socialsnapshots: digital forensics for online social networks. Annual Computer Security Applications Conference. ACM December 2011. Inoue, H, Adelstein, F and Joyce, R A 2011. Visualization in testing a volatile memory forensic tool.Digital Investigation, 8, S42S51 Janssen, W and Ayers, R 2007. Guidelines on cell phone forensics. Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Gaithersburg, Maryland: National Instituteof Standards and Technology. Kim, K, Park, S, Chang, T, Lee, C and Baek, S 2009. Lessons learned from the construction of aKorean software reference data set for digital forensics. Digital Investigation, 6, S108S113 Kruse, W. G., Heiser, J. G. 2001. Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials. Addison Wesley. Masters, G., Turner, P 2007. Forensic Data Recovery aand Examination of Magnetic Swipe Cloning Devices. Digital Investigation , 4 (1), 16-22 Stallings, W 2003. Cryptography and Network Security 3/e. Prentice Hall. Turner, P. 2006. Selective and Intelligent Imaging Using Digital Evidence Bags. Digital Investigation , 3 (1), 59-64.

Second Earl Of Rochester Essays - Sexual Reproduction, Behavior

Second Earl Of Rochester The satirists shared a talent for making other individuals feel uncomfortable, particularly by making them aware of their own moral inadequacies. They used irony, derision, and wit to attack human vice or folly. One method the satirist utilized to catch their readers' attention, while also making them feel uncomfortable, was to describe those things that were deemed inappropriate to discuss openly in society. The classical example of a topic that was discussed behind closed doors, yet the satirist used freely, was sex. Mention of such things as sex can always bring a giggle, excite feelings of hidden passion, or make one's cheeks rosy from embarrassment. John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, and Jonathan Swift, were two satirist that were noted for using perverse language and graphic depictions to elicit desired emotions from their readers and to wage their attacks on human folly. To understand Rochester's use of sex in his work, one must understand his distaste for reason. This can be seen in his poem, A Satyr Against Mankind, when he comments: Women and Men of wit, are dang'rous tools, and ever fatal to admiring fools. Rochester viewed reason as a vice rather than an admirable trait in man. When man followed a course of action that was advised by reason he turned into a coward who often betrayed his ideals, his family, and his friends. Rochester believed that to enjoy true happiness one must follow a course dictated by passion. Unlike reason, the passions do not betray one's senses and ideals. According to Rochester, the passions define who an individual is because the passions encompass one's emotions and desires. Reason cannot fully comprehend such a thing. Rochester highlights this belief in his poem's with tales of lust and sexual innuendoes. He uses perverse language and topics not only to mock those that believe reason is the human faculty that can bring about self-satisfaction, but also to describe to his readers that sensual pleasure is the highest pleasure because sensual pleasure is derived from passion, not reason. Rochester's poems rarely discuss love in the traditional sense; rather, he discusses it in a bodily context. Naturally, this would bring about the ire in any moralist. His poems make reference to ancient figures that draw on images of mass orgies and debauchery. He often uses language that elicits images of human genitalia. In his works, he even discusses how an individual's sexual drive cannot be satisfied or how an individual cannot perform sexually. In Rochester's Upon His Drinking a Bowl, Rochester joins the aspect of alcohol with that of sex: Cupid, and Bacchus, my Saints are, May drink, and Love, still reign, With Wine, I wash away my cares, And then to Cunt again. This attitude of sex and drunkenness is often associated with the ancient Greeks and Romans, who Rochester makes reference to through Cupid and Bacchus. The wine serves as a tool to rid oneself of their grasp on reason. It often drives away the feeling of anxiety that often exist between a man and women during times of intimacy. It allows one to satisfy their bodily pleasure. The graphic word Cunt not only serves as a symbol of sex and the female genitalia but is also used to bring about the disgust of any moralist or any rational individual. A reasonable man would like to think that men do not view sex and women in such a derogatory manner. According to Rochester, this is not so. Men are crude creatures that do think of sex and women in such a manner. Rochester's The Imperfect Enjoyment is an amusing tale of man's greatest fear - premature ejaculation: Smiling, she chides in a kind murm'ring Noise, And from her Body wipes the clammy joys; When a Thousand Kisses, wander'ring o're My panting Bosome, - is there then no more Apply'd to my dead Cinder, warms no more, Than Fire to Ashes, cou'd past Flames restore. Trembling, confus'd, despairing, limber, dry, A wishing, weak, unmoving lump The man is this poem is so excited by the exotic allure of his female companion that he climaxes before the sexual moment ever begins. He then gets frustrated that he can not get a repeated erection that instantaneous moment. This poem amuses most readers because most men and women

Sculpins Essays - Cottus, Scorpaeniformes, Sculpin, Cottidae

Sculpins Reproduction and early life history of the Sculpin Have you ever personally thought that fish were an interesting subject? Most people dont. The majority of individuals consider fish ordinary, routine and insignificant. However with a closer look, you may discover that fish can be extraordinary and extremely significant in more ways than one. With proper education and better understanding, people will not only realize the importance of the fish, but also the relevance of issues such as the spawning, life history and life span of fish such as Jordania zonope (sculpins). Prior to the spawning season (December-January), the males move into the spawning zone in fresh water or brackish water and are later joined by the females (Krejsa 1967; McAllister and Lindsey 1960), [On-line]. Krejsa (1967) has reported that spawning migration is limited to the coastal population and does not occur in the inland population. Judging from the location of sculpin larvae taken in this study, both migratory and nonmigratory populations exist. Spawning takes place February through June (Krejsa 1967), [On-line]; mainly in March and April (Moyle 1976), [On-line]; February through May (Millikan 1968), [On-line]; January through September; January through May in Central Valley floor waters; and May through September in the foothill creeks. The average temperature for spawning is 8-13 C (Krejsa 1967). The saltinity is 12 ppt (Millikan 1968); freshwater to intertidal (Moyle 1976); freshwater to oligohaline. Some substrates are large cobbles or flat rocks (Krejsa 1967); under surface of rocks, in beer cans, rusting automobile bodies (Millikan1968), [On-line]; trash (Moyle 1976), [On-line]; under-surfaces or crevices of rocky bottoms and banks, jetties; concrete blocks and other artificial substrates. For both fresh and salt water sculpins mating activity occurs mostly at night or during darkened conditions. Freshwater male sculpins cleans and prepares a nest cavity for the female to lay her eggs; when the female lays her eggs she deposits them in clusters on the underside of the nest that the male has prepared for her. The saltwater female sculpin chases a male until she traps him in a crevice. She keeps him there until she lays her eggs. A mature male then fertilizes the eggs. A mature scalyhead sculpin has a well-developed, penis-like appendage that it uses to fertilize the female internally. Sculpin eggs are often brightly colored-green, blue, yellow, orange, pink, red perhaps to warn off predators. This is a form of protective coloration among many species, which use bright colors to warn predators of danger. The number of eggs that are found in the ovary are 336-5,652 and 700-4,000 per cluster (Krejsa 1967); 584-10,980 eggs in ovary (Bond 1963), [On-line]; 280-7,410 eggs in ovary (Patten 1971), [On-line]; 1,094-5,656 (Millikan 1968), [On-line]. Several females may lay their eggs in one males nest. The female may also lay eggs in more that one males nest. After the eggs are laid the male goes into the nest and fertilizes the eggs immediately . The male fish guards the nest three to four weeks or until the fry leave. He aerates the eggs by fanning them with his large pectoral fins until hatching occurs (Krejsa 1967), [On-line]. The reason the male fans the eggs is to keeps the eggs clean from bacteria and to keep oxygen flowing to eggs. The male also removes debris and dead eggs with his mouth from his nest. The father is so attentive, he may net even feed until the eggs hatch. Eggs adhere strongly to one another, but less to other substrates. Incubation is relatively long: 15-16 days at 12 C (Krejsa 1967), 19-20 days at 10-12 C (Mason and Machidori 1976), [On-line] and 14-15 days at nine to 13 C under laboratory conditions. Millikan (1968) noted that hatching rate of prickly sculpin eggs is higher at a salinity of 12 ppt than in fresh water. A Newly fertilized egg is one point four millimeters in diameter. When the egg is in the stage of morula, it is one point four millimeters in diameter. The egg is one point five millimeters in diameter when it is at the early stage of being an embryo. During the late stages of being an embryo the egg is one point five millimeters in diameter. Most of the sculpins eggs

Contemporary Capitalism Essays

Contemporary Capitalism Essays Contemporary Capitalism Essay Contemporary Capitalism Essay We live today in a crucial period in human history, of human thinking, in which one looks for new criteria, new concepts, new values and new certainties. The latest crises and the latest tendencies throughout the world have made the economists change their opinion about capitalism, the right political system, the perfect combination between the political order and the economical order, and so on. New tendencies like: globalization, regionalism, integration, and new technology. We also are faced with new psychological concepts such as, a world without frontier, a world fully open, lack of privacy, the new meaning of individualism, the new powers emerging, the â€Å"green† phenomenon (ecology), and immigration. All of these factors have led to some new (sometimes even controversial) theories about what is the right type of economy and political system of a specific country and how it can keep its sovereignty in this over connected world. We live in a period of history, in which everything is revised; new concepts are brought in to place, creating a new order. There is a search for new concepts, another paradigm, new values and new certainties. We live in postmodernist world. The economists live in a Babel tower, in which no one listens to one another and no one understands each other. â€Å"Leave three economists together and you can be sure that you will have at least four different theories about the economical politics that needs to be implemented†[1]. This has led to the following concepts, some of them best demonstrated in the recent party disputes in Britain. 4. 1 The Third Way The „Third Way† is a label for the need to update left-of-centre thinking in the light of the big changes sweeping through the world, especially the influence of globalization. A notable work on this theme is the one of Anthony Giddens[2]. He approaches one of the most provocative themes of public interest, from the post-communist period. He tries to look for a new political, theoretic and doctrinaire road, outside from the traditional distinction between left and right, a simultaneous transposition between old social-democracy and neoliberalism. The â€Å"First Way† was the traditional left: traditional social democracy, which dominated political thought and practice in the early post-war period. It was based on Keynesian economics and upon the notion that the state should replace the market in major areas of economic life. That approach foundered as the economy became more globalised and as it came to be recognized that the state is often inefficient and clumsily bureaucratic. The â€Å"Second Way† was Thatcherism, or market fundamentalism or neoliberalism the belief that the realm of the market should be extended as far as possible, since markets are the most rational and efficient means of allocating resources. [3] Thatcherism produced some important innovations and restored British economic competitiveness. Yet it too succumbed to its own limitations. Poverty and inequality arose more sharply in the UK during the Thatcher years than in almost any other developed country. Privatization was the order of the day and investment in public services foundered. The legacy of Mrs. Thatcher was a society with growing social and economic divisions and deteriorating public institutions. It was absolutely necessary to look for a third alternative a political approach that sought to reconcile economic competitiveness with social protection and with an attack upon poverty. [4] â€Å"Some have seen the â€Å"Third Way† as a sound-bite, empty PR a political outlook devoid of significant policy content. This view is quite wrong. Labor has won three successive elections for the first time in its history and could very well win a fourth precisely because the â€Å"Third Way† is policy-rich. Gordon Brown is unlikely to use the term, and I have dropped it myself precisely because it has been so widely misconstrued. But he will not revert to Old Labor, and he will certainly follow and further develop the main framework of â€Å"Third-Way† political thinking. †[5] That framework is based upon a number of key policy principles. The first is: hold the political centre-ground. No social democratic party can succeed today. The second is: ensure the economy is strong. Securing greater social justice depends upon a robust economy, not the other way around. The third is, invest heavily in public services, but insist that this is coupled to reform, to make the public services more effective, responsive and transparent. Choice and competition are essential to these aims; they are the means of generating reform and of empowering citizens who use these services. The fourth principle is to create a new contract between state and citizens, based upon responsibilities as well as rights. Government should provide resources to help people shape their own lives; these should regard the multiple problems that an individual or a family faces, about the quality of the jobs, health, children protection, education and transportation[6]; but it should also expect people to deliver on their part of the bargain. For instance, in the past, unemployment benefits have been an unconditional right. But this situation discourages personal responsibility and has the effect of locking workers out of jobs. Those who lose their jobs should have a responsibility to actively to look for work, and should be given retraining opportunities should they need them. Also â€Å"even in the middle of the tendencies of our dislocated society, we are capable to gather and sustain one each other†[7]. Finally and most controversially of all, although crucial to Labors success dont allow any issues to be monopolized by the political right. The right has always tended to dominate in areas such as law and order, immigration and terrorism; we need to look for left-of-centre responses to these problems. Given the impact of living in a more global world, we have to find a new balance between civil liberties and security. Labor has been widely accused of undermining our freedoms, but every country today is finding it hard to settle upon where the balance should lie. For a long time it was believed that those countries that combined capitalism and socialism (for example Sweden and Yugoslavia) can survive because of the qualities of both systems, but later on it was proved that the defects can’t be left without consequences. This debate led to controversies even in Romania, controversies that have been started by amateur politicians regarding doctrinaire problems that have only caught rumors about the discussions held at a European level, so they ended up being distorted. But the discussion about â€Å"the third way† has a strategic importance for Romania. In a country where most citizens voted for the left side, where the occasional social-democracy, the reinvented one, the democratic left but even the reformed communists or the extreme left have prevailed in the 2000 elections, the problem of reinventing social-democracy from the space of prosperous foreign capitalism holds a big attraction. Only a capitalist reform can produce in Romania, like in any other former communist country, an economical prosperity, the only realist base for the â€Å"state of the social protection†. 8] The Marxists left wanted to overthrown capitalism, and replace it with a different system. Also, a lot of social democrats were saying that capitalism can and must be progressively modified so it won’t lose the majority of its defining characteristics. Nobody ever offered an alternative to capitalism- the problem that remains is how much and in what way capitalism must be adjusted and controlled. After Second World War and until the ’70, on the basis of the Keynesians recipes, the State took on to increase its role, functions and powers within society, becoming what was called the â€Å"Welfare State†. The social struggles of the XIX-th century and the XX-th century were finally recognized. They also succeeded in making a new compromise between the work force and the capital (in the benefit of the former one), a new allocation of resources, in which the redistribution in favor of the helpless occupied front row. There has been registered reduction of inequalities of incomes and general increase in standard of living in almost all the western countries. But at the end of the ’60, critics against this type of society began to multiply. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan both opened a new era in the western social-economical and political life, one that was based on the liberal ideology. They replaced taboo words such as â€Å"The State† and â€Å"Citizen† with â€Å"Market† and â€Å"Individual†, and in this era the forces of the capitalism reconquered the lost terrain, reestablishing the balance between capital and work force in the benefit of the latter. The State became a weaker and a more invalid social and economical actor in front of the bigger international firms and in front of the forces of the market, it became less representative and less credible. Books like Anthony’s Giddens, â€Å"The third Way† and Bodo’s Hombach â€Å"Aufbruch die Politik des Neuten Mitte†[9], reference books in current political science, both announce the end of social-democracy as a modern political doctrine. In turn as already presented they present â€Å"The New Center† as a complex and syncretism (combination of different elements belonging to different arts) doctrine, a synthesis of doctrinaire ingredients both from the left and from the right. It supposes to eliminate any type of radicalism and thus to respond to the today’s complex realities, and proposing a so called â€Å"third way†, always searched, always invoked in different spaces, in different times. [10] Many economists criticize this â€Å"Third Way†. For them and for me it is not a viable political system. It is not a new way, but just a combination of two old ways, a combination that fails to bring the best from the two. It cannot define itself but through reference of its two already known poles. It cannot be an authentic doctrine, but a mix specific to each conjuncture in time and space. It cannot be but an exception, transitive and temporary, because it doesn’t have a doctrinaire showing consistency and originality. The main counterargument is that if the capitalist are left to do what they know best make money, but then the state interferes and redistributes it in order for everybody to be equal, than where does it leave the engine, the motifs that propel these capitalists. The Welfare State failed in providing the true social justice because of the excessive redistribution that discouraged and penalized the individual initiative. 4. 2 Capitalism the only plausible way (The misery of capitalism) For certain critiques of capitalism one can sense a double disposition: on one side the desire to counterpoise, to discover all its flaws; on the other side, the temptation of accelerating its flow for the purpose of better hurrying up its fall. The illusion, ghost, already present at Marx and which consist in the fact that it was believed that capitalism will expand everywhere through a blasphemous production, and will extenuate it by overcharging, so it will tilt suddenly in its counterpoint, the golden age. For Marx the â€Å"Golden Age† was socialism. Capitalism self-destroying will only be caused by its planetary expanding: at the end, after its devastation, there will be the flickering of a new aurora.. It is a self firing capitalism, made him self useless because it has succeeded. If everything will become a market, as Jeremy Rifkin[11] predicted, nothing will be a market. This type of expectation can thrill the imagination, but doesn’t hold to common sense: on one side, capitalism is far from ruling everywhere, and even if no rival is present, it is absent in its most fundamental forms. To the other half of the world, capitalism is viewed as a rider of the Apocalypse wearing, in its chaos, the promises of a wonderful horizon, it means to ask capitalism too much, to transfer only to its economical sphere a hope that was once entrusted to religions. We cannot expect from Capitalism anything else but what it knows to do best: produce material goods in an unlimited number, and nothing else. For other writers the question is not if capitalism will survive, because for them it’s a superfluous question, but mainly how capitalism changed and how willing are we the accept it. â€Å"Its survival for over two centuries, capitalism owes it both to its enemies and to its followers†[12] There is no replacement for socialism only slight changes from within. Free-market economy not only did not fulfill its promises, disenfranchising millions of people, but also appears as a simple machine of producing goods with no other purpose, reason but to produce other goods. When it fails, capitalism revolts us with its misery that it brings or maintains; when it succeeds it horrifies us through a depth of ugliness and bad merchandise. We manage to put up with it as much as we accept it, without actually adhering to the stories that make capitalism move forward. â€Å"Capitalism has to sustain its process in front of judges that already have in their pockets the death sentence. These judges prepare to file against the defendant, whatever arguments the lawyers might invocate, the only way the defense might register a success is to change the accusation paper†[13] Pascal Bruckner takes this idea forward and says that this accusation document doesn’t exist. He admits that capitalism is not the best solution, but he also says that by not having adversaries it is the only plausible way. For some writers like Viviane Forrester[14] capitalism is nothing else that the twin brother of Nazism that will finish the program of extermination, fifty years after the failure of the later. She assimilates the â€Å"economical horror† with the concentration camps from The Second World War and foresees â€Å"ready genocide† from the masters of the world. The target is the poor people. Christophe Dejours[15], a psychiatrist, writes a new page in the history of revisionism. In his opinion he assimilates the enterprise personnel with some collaborationists who participate with the boss at oppressing the employees just like numerous Germans collaborated for the extermination of the Jews. Pascal Bruckner also criticizes capitalism because of the publicity that bombards our every day life; because of the way all the countries tend to copy America, (â€Å"everybody can become American because America is already everybody†[16]) even if the only accepted form of racism is anti Americanism; because in his opinion capitalism killed our freedom, by imposing all these rules; because the disparities between the rich and the poor have grown so much; because of the way countries criticize the international system just to actually get better into it; because there is no longer the case of good will, but only one’s interests (â€Å"We cannot rely on the goodwill of the butcher, merchant, beer vendor or baker to supply us the meal, but on the care that they have for their own interests. We do not ever address their humanity, but their selfishness; and we will never tell them our needs, but always their advantages†[17]); because of the consumerism life that subjugate the individual, when the subterfuge of shopping became a prison, where the consumer defines itself through what he/she drinks, eats, listen, and vegetates in an adolescent universe, incapable to prioritize its desires and needs; because the unlimited progress of science did not go hand in hand with the recognition of the consciousness. ; because there the gap between rich people and poor people is growing bigger and bigger (â€Å"In 1960, a fifth of the most wealthy people in the world disposed of an income 30 times bigger than a fifth of the poorest. Today it disposes 82 times more†[18]) Bruckner thinks that it was communism that saved capitalism, and if it was true that capitalism could face its destruction because of its successes it is not longer true because it can let itself be educate d by those who want to delete it from the map and participate without their will at its own resurrection. Bruckner also mocks J. Garello. The later emphasizes that â€Å"In the real capitalism there is no corruption because the politics is held with care away from the economical order. There is no pollution because the responsible polluters must repair the damages that they inflict. There is no trash, dirt, because people learn spontaneously to improve their fate and progress on the later of income thanks to their initiative and their aptitude for work and trade. †[19] According to Bruckner this author thinks about capitalism as â€Å"a piece from the true cross†. Bruckner doesn’t agree that the individual can be reduced to modern Robinson, always rational, self conscious of its own interests and condemned for ever to maximize its potential. The same author also states that capitalism and democracy are less complementary but more supplementary, they sustain each other as much as they are contradictive, they have reports of confliction assistance, they listen to false similarity. 4. 3 Global economy –the end of capitalism as we know it or a new economy emerging? 4. 3. 1 Bleak times â€Å"The capitalists do not believe at all in capitalism. They believe in socialism for the wealthy. They want to be sure that the government takes care only of them and that the other ones don’t realize it. These guys, after all of that stuff theyve been telling us all these years about capitalism, free market, free enterprise they dont believe in any of that. They dont believe in free enterprise or a free market. They want they want socialism for themselves. To hell with everybody else, but give it to them. And I think, really, what were seeing here right now with them, with the banks, were seeing the end of capitalism the end of capitalism as we know it. And I say good riddance. †[20] George Soros believes that the connection between capitalism and democracy is a fragile one. Capitalism and democracy comply themselves to different principles. The stakes are different: for capitalism – wealth, for democracy – political authority. The criteria that are taken into consideration when measurements are made are also different: in capitalism, the measurement unit is the money, in democracy –the citizen’s vote. The values that capitalism and democracy serve are also different: in capitalism one can affirm that is about personal interests, in democracy – public interest. 21] Historically, democracy has been an important counterweight to the capitalist system, but in an era of globalization, Mr. Soros believes, no individual state can resist its power. C ollective decision-making institutions either do not exist or are not able to effectively intervene. While ideological global capitalism has thankfully swept away corrupt states, Mr. Soros worries how long it will be before it undermines reform-minded governments and even destroys itself. [22] Fukuyama also believes that capitalism and democracy do not necessarily have to go together. For him thou, it’s a preferable solution, because in his opinion at the end of history, capitalism will prevail, and liberal democracy is the only viable political system. [23] By â€Å"global capitalist system† Soros doesnt mean what we would understand by the term: capitalism as a world-wide system of production for profit, but the more restricted sense of present world financial arrangements which allow the more or less free movement of capital throughout the world: â€Å"The global economy is characterized not only by free trade in goods and services but even more by the free movement of capital. Interest rates, exchange rates, and stock prices in various countries are intimately interrelated, and global financial markets exert tremendous influence on economic conditions. Given the decisive role that international financial apital plays in the fortunes of individual countries, it is not inappropriate to speak of a global capitalist system† [24] It is these arrangements-this single world financial market-that he is saying is in danger of disintegrating; which of course would not at all be the same thing as the collapse of capitalism that ha s sometimes been mistakenly predicted by some writers in the Marxist tradition Soros, following, consciously or not, a distinction made by one school of anti-imperialist thinkers in the 1970s and 80s, divides the â€Å"global capitalist system† into a centre (US, Western Europe, Japan) and a periphery (Asia, Latin America, Russia, East Europe, Africa). Under this system capital flows from the centre to the periphery and back, supposedly to the mutual benefit of both. He sees the danger of disintegration coming from countries on the periphery taking steps to stop the free flow of capital in a bid to avoid the negative effects of the systems instability on their economies and populations: â€Å"To put it bluntly, the choice confronting us is whether we will regulate global financial markets internationally or leave it to each individual state to protect its own interests as best it can. The latter of course will surely lead to the breakdown of the gigantic circulatory system, which goes under the name of global capitalism† [25] So what Soros means by the â€Å"breakdown† or â€Å"disintegration† of global capitalism is not the collapse of the world-wide system of production for profit based on the exploitation of wage labor, but only states coming to adopt measures that impede the free movement of finance capital. Global institutions must be created to lay down some basic ground rules for the operation of global capitalism. For Soros is no free marketer. In fact part of his book is a devastating attack on those he calls the â€Å"market fundamentalists†, the followers of Von Mises, Von Hayek and others, who advocate that market forces be given complete free reign (laissez-faire) and who came into intellectual prominence in the time of Reagan and Thatcher. Soros levels two charges at them. Firstly, that they think markets have an in-built tendency towards creating a stable situation through supply and demand being in balance, while this is not the case. Second, that they preach that the market is the best way to regulate all human activities. Writing from his own experience, admittedly not of the real economy but only of financial markets, Soros challenges the equilibrium theory. The external shocks which the market fundamentalists invoke are usually, of course, government interventions of one sort or another. According to them, if governments just stood aside and let the magic of the market operate, there would be no slumps just continuous, smooth growth. But there is no evidence for this. Throughout the 19th century British governments pursued a policy of laissez-faire yet slumps still occurred on a regular basis. [26] The fact is that the market system does have a built-in tendency towards creating booms and busts rather than stability and smooth growth. As Marx pointed out, this applies to the real world of market-oriented production and not just financial markets. Soros is even prepared to give Marx some credit here: â€Å"†¦ the capitalist system by itself shows no tendency toward equilibrium. The owners of capital seek to maximize their profits. Left to their own devices, they would continue to accumulate capital until the situation became unbalanced. Marx and Engels gave a very good analysis of the capitalist system 150 years ago, better in some ways, I must say, than the equilibrium theory of classical economics†[27]. He claims, however, that thanks to â€Å"countervailing political interventions in democratic countries† Marxs â€Å"dire predictions did not come true†. This is based on a misunderstanding of Marxs view. The â€Å"dire predictions† that Soros mentions were not, as he seems to assume, that the unregulated profit-seeking of capitalists would lead to the collapse of the capitalist system but simply that their competitive struggle for profits meant that steady, smooth growth was impossible and that growth proceeded by means of booms and slumps. Capitalism has not collapsed because it was never going to, not because of government intervention Marx didnt foresee. And government intervention has not been able to eliminate the boom/slump cycle which Marx saw was an unavoidable feature of capitalism. Soros sees himself as continuing the political philosophy of Karl Popper. As expounded in books such as â€Å"The Open Society and Its Enemies†, Popper argued against the idea of trying to establish a â€Å"perfect† society in favor of accepting an â€Å"open† society as one subject to permanent improvement by piecemeal social engineering, by which he understood capitalism with a political structure involving elected institutions, the rule of law and pluralism, more or less what the West has had for years. 28] For Popper found the main enemies of his â€Å"open society† were the totalitarian ideologies of fascism and â€Å"Marxism† (which, for him, was not just Marxs own views but those mixed up wi th Lenins and Stalins)[29]. Soros adds a third which he says has come into prominence since the collapse of â€Å"communism†: uncontrolled capitalism. Hence the subtitle of his book â€Å"Open Society Endangered†, though he had already expressed this view in a famous article â€Å"The Capitalist Threat† that first appeared in â€Å"The Atlantic Monthly† in February 1997 and which was widely reproduced. Soros sees the danger coming from the penetration of market values into all aspects of life, leading to social disintegration. Monetary values†, he writes, â€Å"have usurped the role of intrinsic values and markets have come to dominate areas of society where they do not properly belong†[30]. He is in fact quite forceful in his criticism of this aspect of global capitalism. Soross mistake is to think that you can have capitalism and somehow keep its money-commodity relations from spreading everywhere. The history of capitalism is the history of the continuous spread of such transactional relationships, the market works its way into more fields of human activity. It is a process that cannot be stoppe d within capitalism as growing marketization is just as much a feature of capitalism as capital accumulation; indeed the two go together. Soros, however, is a supporter of capitalism: â€Å"I want to make it clear that I do not want to abolish capitalism. In spite of its shortcomings, it is better than the alternatives. Instead, I want to prevent the global capitalist system from destroying itself† [31] One might doubt whether he has given serious consideration to the alternative of a global society based on the common ownership of the worlds resources and production directly to satisfy human needs. Not that one would really expect him to. Some of his fellow-capitalists already think he has gone too far in his criticism of their system. [32] 4. 3. 2 The new economy â€Å"The anthems of modernity sing liberalism. Its victory is almost complete, absolute, to the north and south, to the sunset and the sunrise. Globalization signifies liberalization. The horizon is liberal. †[33] The today’s dominant doctrine at a global level gravitates around some key concepts, it cultivates some values that tend to acknowledged almost unanimously. First of all it affirms, and emphasizes the prevalence of the individual, in its quality of an entrepreneur, manufacturer and consumer, and respects its freedom of action and interaction with its neighbors, the ones like him, in order to maximize his individual utility. The state is a minimal one, its action reducing only to protect the negative rights (as described by von Humboldt, Herbert Spencer, and Robert Nozick). Society has at its basis a network of economical transactions between individuals, through which everybody exchanges goods and services, abilities and knowledge, time (understood as fundamental economical resource), with the purpose of maximizing profits and the degree of individual satisfaction. [34] This way the allocation of resources and the social adjustment is no longer directed from above, but are being harmonized and optimized on the horizontal, due to these complex relations between individuals, a characteristic of the free market. This is a second key concept of the liberal model. The market gains its own rights again as a natural form of organizing and regulating not only the economical activities, but also social life in general. Society becomes thus a market society, which attains the true social justice. This new type of society assures the equality of chances, encourages the initiative and free competition between individuals, in order for each of them to take care of themselves and to follow their own ideal of personal wealth, according to their own natural abilities and the own obtained trough education, according to the work they depose and the creativity they are showing. Nobody guarantees the right for work anymore; each one has to demonstrate that he/she is useful because of his/hers work. The initial forming and the continuous role one plays becomes more and more important. In order to insure social equality, the state must ensure everybody’s right to education. Another essential element of the new political-economical orthodoxy is the private enterprise, producer of wealth, of adding value, and the organizer of the social texture. It is the main object in the economical game, directing the transactions and determining the distribution and the redistribution of costs and profits at a global level. Today’s informatics and telecommunication revolutions radically transform the classical private enterprise more likely into a network, a system that works horizontally. The decisions are becoming more and more decentralized, and they give responsibilities to all the employees, through a participatory management and a representative one for all the involved interests. But above all, thrones the great capital, especially the financial one. All the elements of the economic system: people, goods and services, are being appreciated by their contribution to the profitableness of the social capital. At a global level, the politics that need to be promoted must envisage first of all the legacy of human kind, the common interest: protecting and rehabilitating the environmental conditions (air, water, forests so on), through regulation accepted at a global level; common security (regarding food, finance, health so on); peace; protecting and rehabilitation of the cultural legacy, with its wonderful diversity; punishing the crimes committed against humanity, by consolidating The International Criminal Court and others. [35] Braileanu considers also that a minimum intervention of the state is necessary, and only especially for defense, public order, in general for defending the rights and freedoms of its members. But â€Å"If we do not want the state to interfere in all the domains of our private life, if we want to be free and productive, it is necessary to look and establish a precise limit beyond which the State cannot confiscate what belongs to us†[36] He also acknowledges the fact that we are dealing with an integrating process, and that there is no reason or ways to fight it. The main agents of this formidable envelopment are the huge multinational enterprises, groups or chains industrial and financial, conglomerate tentacles that concentrate and dominate the world. Historically, the world was never ruled by so few and so powerful masters. The true global governance is managed by only six major actors: The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, G7- The group of the seven most industrialized countries in the world, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and NATO. The influence of technology and information led to acceleration in the process of concentrating the capital, thus the power. The logic of the market leads to monopoly. This idea was also seen by Marx as the last stage of capitalism. He declared that by reaching this point it is going to be easier to pass to a socialist society. In today’s new economy, the balance between capital and work is a different one. The father is the capital, and the mother is the work. In the new condition of this postmodern marriage, the feminine part is asked to be very flexible and mobile. Tiberiu Braileanu admits that the new economy has its dangers. But he says â€Å"in order to avoid them, the principle for durable, long-lasting development must include the necessary human solidarity and reconsideration of the person, of the human being, in the center of the economic preoccupation†[37] 4. 4 Capitalism – an almost complete victory against â€Å"the enemies of the open society†? One can argue that only the capital is anticapitalist, because it works at overthrowing its previous conditions through what Joseph Schumpeter called â€Å"the continuous hurricane of destructive creativeness†, the appearance of new values through destroying the existent goods Less pessimistic than Schumpeter but anxious about the future nonetheless is Francis Fukuyama. Fukuyama’s argument is in two stages according to David Reismen in his book â€Å"Conservative Capitalism. The Social Economy â€Å"[38]. First, he argues, ethical absolutes are the precondition for success and not just the icing on the cake: â€Å"Law, contract, and economic rationality provide a necessary but not sufficient basis for both the stability and prosperity of postindustrial societies; they must as well be leavened with reciprocity, moral obligation, duty toward community, and trust, which are based in a habit rather than rational calculation. The latter are not anachronisms in a modern society but rather the sine qua non of the latter’s success. [39] Second, Fukuyama continues, the social capital that is the source of the constraint is being eroded by evolution and it is not being replenished: â€Å"Communities of shared values, whose members are willing to subordinate their private interests for the sake of larger goals of the community as such, have b ecome rarer. And it is these moral communities alone that can generate the kind of social trust that is critical to organizational efficiency. † [40]p. 309 Fukuyama also militates for liberalism, and more than that his perfect system would be a liberal democracy. He, as Tiberiu Braileanu, both see that today this system has some shortcomings. A free society presumably means the abolition of any power, in the idea that human nature is kind and that it can evolve without exterior coercion. To have a number of freedoms doesn’t mean to be free. And then, are we really free? The new technologies affect so much our private lives, that one can say that we are all in a conditional freedom, ever more connected. Also as Pericle said â€Å"If you want to be free, you must work†. Just as Soros, Fukuyama thinks that without its exterior enemies, capitalism tends to self destroy. According to Denis Duclos[41], the major characteristic of the present capitalist system is a phenomenon of â€Å"autofagie† (self eating) and the devouring of the exceeding work. The enterprises swallow each other, the markets devour themselves, and people have to put up with the consequences of this insane recycling, governed by the law of profit by any means. Fukuyama’s book was indeed surprising. Fukuyamas thesis consists of three main elements. First, there is an empirical argument. Fukuyama points out that since the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, democracy, which started off as being merely one among many systems of government, has grown until the majority of governments in the world are termed democratic. He also points out that democracys main intellectual alternatives (which he takes to be various forms of dictatorship) have become discredited. Second, there is a philosophical argument examining the influence of thymos (or human spiritedness). Fukuyama argues that the original battles for prestige among the first men of history, and the willingness of some to risk their lives in order to receive recognition from another is an unnecessary form of human behavior within a democracy. In essence; the roles of master and slave are rationally understood by both parties to be unsatisfying and self-defeating. This follows the work of Hegel and an Anglo-Saxon tradition typified by John Lockes ideas on self preservation and the right to property. Finally Fukuyama also argues that for a variety of reasons, radical socialism (or communism) is likely to be incompatible with modern representative democracy. So the last question for Fukuyama, that tries to look for an end to history, is if liberal democracy is fully satisfying or are there still contradictions that will be kept deep inside the liberal arrangement? Of course liberal democracy has various problems such as unemployment, environmental pollution, drugs, and crime, but beyond these immediate problems lays the question if there are deeper sources of malcontent- if life is fully satisfactory? â€Å"If we can’t see any of these contradictions then we can say together with Hegel and Kojeve[42] that we have reached the end of history. But if we do see them, then we must say that History, in its strict meaning, will continue†. [43] Therefore, in the future, democracies are overwhelmingly likely to contain markets of some sort, and most are likely to be capitalist or social democratic. 1] Milton Fridman, Liber s[pic] alegi , editura ALL, Bucure_[pic]ti, 1999 [2] Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born January 18, 1938) is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. Three notable stages can be identified in his academic life. The most recent stage concerns modernity, globalization and politics, especially the impact of modernity on social and personal life.

Utilitarians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Utilitarians - Essay Example This can be described in the expression that the ends justify the means. For that matter, the measure of utility is with respect to the level of satisfaction related to the end result. It is phrased as the greatest good for the majority but it focuses only on the end result unlike other philosophies wherein there are other basis e.g. virtues. For that matter, it is often considered as a reductionist view of ethics, focusing on a single attribute or a narrow point of view (Goodin, 1995; Mill, 2004). The application of utilitarianism in different cases can be considered to result differently from other philosophies. In Heinz Dilemma, due to the fact that the satisfaction achieved through the end result can be the focus of the principle, the action done by Heinz is justifiable. Due to the fact that he has done the act of robbery, he was able to get money to help his wife. The act of achieving is not important in utilitarianism. Ethics that are related to virtuous acts are not covered. In terms of the application of the philosophy in the Prisoners’ Dilemma, the most common action that will be undertaken is to point the fault to another. This is due to the fact that the chance to lessen the punishment can be a lure. In testifying against the other, a prisoner can have 5 years, 6 months or even have freedom. While if virtue or morality is in action a prisoner can risk a 10 year punishment (Goodin, 1995; Mill, 2004). The utilitarian’s view is in contrary to the Kant’s principle of duty since the main focus of Kant’s principle is to achieve a goal through actions and means that are in accordance to the duty to moral principles and guidelines. One of the views of the said duty by Kant is the duty to respect one’s neighbors as he would to himself/herself (Timmons, 2002). Based on the study of the concept and application of the principles of utilitarianism, it can be considered