Plato’s 1st Argument for the Immortality of the Soul from...

Plato’s 1st argument for the Immortality of the Soul from opposites and Theory of Reincarnation Plato’s Phaedo is a dialog between Phaedo, Cebes and Simmias where Socrates gives some arguments for the immortality of the soul. In this work, Phaedo tells us about Socrates’ final days, who has been convicted to death. Great philosopher does not have a fear of death because he believes that when a man dies, the soul still exists even if the body perishes. Trying to prove his arguments, Socrates presents two proofs – Doctrine of Opposites and second which is based on Theory of Recollections. In Phaedo he writes: â€Å"That soul, I say, herself invisible, departs to the invisible world – to the divine and immortal and rational†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .†¦show more content†¦People from these denominations do believe in concept of rebirth. But religious sects such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism do not believe in theory of reincarnation. This theory is ve ry close to Plato and some other Greek philosophers who believe in the Immortality of the soul. As for me, in some cases I do agree with Plato – in Theory of Opposites. Undoubtedly, in our world we can always find two opposite things, actions, etc. Small and tall people, healthy and unhealthy people, sunny and cloudy day, hot and cold weather†¦ But I do not believe in the Immortality of the soul in general. To my mind Plato came to this conclusion due to the times he lives in. But we cannot base our beliefs on what we want to be true; the truth can be found by weighing the evidence for a given idea. Thus, he took what he knew to be true at the time and formulated his opinions which were founded on that knowledge. I guess, if Plato lived nowadays, may be he would approach to another conclusion. I do not think that Plato makes credible arguments for the immortality of the soul. To my mind, his concepts were built on his desires. I mean, that life is difficult and awkward e nough without knowing of our mortality. There is inexplicable reality that so many people struggle so hard and it seems so unjust. Let’s take a simple example of a man, who has passed away in the accident. He did not do anything wrong – as most people he was working,

Marketing Objectives for Nike Sports Drink free essay sample

Nike will have a number of different marketing objectives for their isotonic sports drink, Nike Go. A main market objective will be to establish the isotonic drink as the most credible sports drink in the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Objectives for Nike Sports Drink or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This will not just happen though, this can only happen through a lot of promotion and appeal. Creating strong consumer awareness is very important in gaining market share as it is a completely new product from Nike. This can be done through promoting the product, Nike Go, and allowing consumers to become aware that Nike has this new product. In order to establish brand recognition, there needs to be a capture of market shares in the sports drink segment. This will mean the product, Nike Go, will be well known and therefore will be able to compete well within this market. Ultimately, the overall objective is to become the top market leader. This means being the most popular isotonic sports drink in the market. Market Segmentation Today we are in an age of intense competition, so it is vital to develop a product for a specific market segment, which concentrates on one type of product. Our product, Nike Go, is an isotonic sports drink in a very competitive market. It would not be cost-effective selling to all the segments of a market. Instead, it is better to focus on the segment which will get the largest share for the company. The marketing function will therefore focus on targeting this segment. (Irish Times – Business 2000). For Nike, they have to breakdown the market into four categories: geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural. For geographic, the country that the product will be released is within the UK. This includes all over England, Scotland, Wales, and the North of Ireland, with the main cities involved in sport being targeted. This is due to the constant rise in the number of people exercising and engaging in sporting activities. Demographic segmentation takes into account the different factors involved, such as age and gender. Nike Go will be aimed at 16-44 year olds, and is targeting at both male and female. Psychographic segmentation is the process of dividing the markets into segments on the basis of consumer lifestyles and their interests and opinions. The lifestyle of the target market will consumers who are athlete and active individuals. Their interests will include being into sport and exercising. The final segmentation factor is behavioural. This takes into account when and what the consumers’ will be using the product for. The targeted consumers will be those who wish to use the product before, during or after exercise, to help quench thirst, prevent dehydration, and replenish depleted energy stores. Targeting The target market for Nike Go is people who engage in sports or exercise. More and more people are now getting involved in sports and exercise in an attempt to stay fit and healthy, while enjoying themselves at the same time. Nike Go aims to help give people participating in sport an extra boost, and the ability to keep on going for longer. This market is a tough market to break into, with GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (Lucozade) and Red Bull Co Ltd leading the sports and energy drinks category, with a combined value share of 64% in 2012. Although other manufacturers are slowly gaining traction with their own products, meaning that there is a place in the market for a new isotonic drink from Nike, an already well-known brand in the sports market. (Euromonitor) The main cities that will be targeted with Nike Go are the UK’s most active cities. These cities include London, as they were the last city to host the Olympics. South Wales as Cardiff is the home of British rugby. Nottingham and Sheffield as they are both home to two well-known soccer teams. Leeds Yorkshire as they are the proudest of all cricketing counties. Manchester because they have the two most well-known soccer teams in UK. Glasgow as it is footballing capital of Scotland. Belfast because it is the main city in North of Ireland with the main sporting teams from here. The reason this product will be based within the UK is due to the rise in the participation of sports and exercise. In 2012, a report found that 44. 6 per cent of adults in the UK participated in sport or exercise, which has increased from 2006, at 41.  2 per cent. Figure 1. Shows this, as well as the percentage increase throughout all of the years from 2005. This shows that it is a perfect time to release an isotonic sports drink into the market, as the number of people participating in exercise is constantly increasing. Figure 1. 1 The product will be aimed at males and females between the age of 16-44, as this age group are the most active in sport, as shown in figure 1. 2. Figure 1. 2 Description of Product Nike Go is a new isotonic sports drink that is formulated in a way to aid people in rehydrating themselves during or after exercise. Nike Go is rich in carbohydrates as carbohydrates are the most efficient source of energy. It also has a number of sweeteners and preservatives. The main part of Nike Go is the electrolytes it contains, which include chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium, which diminish during exercise through sweat and bodily fluid. Nike Go replaces these electrolytes that are lost during sports and exercise which promotes proper hydration, an important factor in delaying the onset of fatigue during sports and exercise. In order for Nike Go to be successful in the sports and energy drinks market, it must stand out and appeal to the consumers, which involves a lot of branding. Branding will allow consumers to easily identify the product and creates an interest in it. Nike are a global brand, which will help in releasing the product. When consumers see that Nike Go has the ‘tick’ symbol on the bottle, they will know that it is from Nike which will make it have good customer awareness. This will attract consumers to the drink as they know Nike are a well-established and very good company. We also have come up with the logo ‘JUST GET UP AND GO’. This logo is in place to help make customers aware of our new product, Nike Go, and to try and give our product an advantage over competitors. The idea is that when people see or hear the logo, ‘JUST GET UP AND GO’, they will think of the Nike Go. This logo is also related to the product. It simply means to get up and get doing something practical, whether it be a quick run, or a game of football. Our product will then give them the boost they need, and help them get through their exercise activity. Product Life Cycle The first stage for Nike Go was development, where innovation was key. The second stage is growth, which begins when Nike Go is entered into the market. There is not a lot of rivalry at this stage, and there is low entry barriers. The next stage is Maturity, where the growth of Nike Go will level off, and there is a lot of rivalry. The key here for Nike Go will be to have high market share. The final stage in Nike Go’s life cycle will be decline. This is where Nike Go will begin to lose sales and decline, but new promotion and branding can help Nike Go get back to the growth stage again.

The Boxer Rebellion

Table of Contents Introduction Origin of Boxer Organization Causes of Boxer Rebellion The Aftermath Conclusion Bibliography Footnotes Introduction The Boxer rebellion, which is also referred to as Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan lobby group, was a proto-separatist group by the Righteous Harmony Society in China. The lobby group emerged between 1898 and 1901. The group was against foreign invasion and introduction of Christianity in China.[1] The revolution was also against the partitioning of China. Colonial interference led to conflicts ranging from interruption of opium trade to economic exploitation.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Boxer Rebellion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Chinese citizens were against the signing of treaties that benefited only foreign powers. The Qing regime was forced into signing unpopular treaties that aimed at subjugating the people of China. For instance, British fore igners used the power of the treaties to acquire land that was later appropriated to the church. The Chinese peasants were forced to surrender their resources to foreigners. The activities of foreigners in China resulted to rebellion that was later termed as Boxer rebellion. In 1900, the Boxer members waged war on foreigners, forcing them to seek asylum in the Legation area. The Empress, who requested the foreigners to leave, supported the demonstrators. Consequently, foreigners were at the mercy of the Boxer fighters for approximately fifty-five days. Those attacked included envoys, civilians and foreign soldiers. The government of China weighed options between destroying the residence of foreigners and requesting them to leave peacefully. Within the Chinese forces, there were those who supported extermination of foreigners. Others preferred to send them back to their homelands peacefully. This caused a delay that later on led to the defeat of the boxers and the Chinese government. Eight nations agreed to send troops to crash the boxers. Indeed, twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in China. Through the alliance of eight nations, the imperial army of China was defeated and foreigners captured Beijing. In September 1901, the Boxer protocol was signed, which ended the uprising. Consequently, the Boxers were heavily punished for being aggressive to foreigners. The Chinese government was ordered to pay sixty seven million pounds as compensation to the eight nations involved in the war. This paper will therefore analyze the causes of Boxer uprising. The paper evaluates whether the uprising was successful. To do this, a brief history of the Boxer organization will be outlined. Origin of Boxer Organization As earlier stated, the Boxer organization was also referred to as the society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. The Boxer secret society was established in the northern coastal province of Shandong. The society consisted of people who had been deprived of their rights. Members of the group had been rendered jobless due to the effects of colonialism. Colonialists had taken everything from them, including their trade.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, natural disasters had affected many people, which forced them to fight for survival in society. The group gained the name because of their fighting skills. The members of the group had received a superb form of training that enabled them to engage foreigners in war effectively. They had been trained in martial arts and aerobics. The group was typified by spirit ownership that included the spiraling of weapons, aggressive prostrations and reciting prayers to Taoist and Buddhist feelings. Members of Boxer uprising assumed that through exercise, diet, antagonistic arts and hope they would perform surprising acts including flight. The Boxers had strong faith since they believed that spirits would come from heaven to help them in flushing out foreigners from their land. The Boxers comprised of peasants and other members of society that had been displaced by foreigners. Foreigners had taken over opium trade, which was relied upon by locals. Missionaries had further criminalized the use of opium, forcing many youths to adjust their lives. It was difficult for some of them to do without opium. Therefore, they decided to fight back in order to eliminate opium trade. On the hand, the Boxers could not target missionaries alone since Christian servants were protected under the treaty of extraterritoriality[2]. Chinese peasants accused Chinese Christians for allowing foreigners to terrorize them. The Boxers did not have sophisticated weapons that could match the kind of weapons possessed by foreigners. They relied on supernatural spirits, which proved futile in war. The Boxers could be likened to American Ghost Dance fighters. Such fighters try to fight for their rights due to frustrations and stress in society. In China, various activities went on in society. The aims of various groups were diverse. The Boxers of Shandong were particularly concerned with conservative social and ethical principles, such as filial piousness. Most of the leaders of the organization were traditional medicine men. For instance, Zhu Hongdeng was a traditional doctor who specialized in curing ulcers. The leader offered his services for free hence gaining respect in society. He was determined to revive the Qing regime by flushing out all foreigners. His ambition was however cut short when the eight nations invaded China. Causes of Boxer Rebellion The causes of the rebellion can be divided into two. There were internal causes and international causes. Therefore, it can be summarized that global tension and national unrest precipitated the intensification and spread of the Boxer movement. Between 1897 and 1898, farmers in China were hit by a prolonged drought followed by f loods. Many farmers and other small businesspersons decided to move to towns to look for food and better lives.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Boxer Rebellion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Many people depended on farming, which was badly affected by drought. In towns, Chinese farmers could not find employment because they did not have enough skills to operate machines in industries. Life in urban areas was characterized by frustrations and stress, which forced farmers to seek for other alternatives[3]. They saw that flushing out foreigners would be a good idea. They would then take over businesses owned by Europeans. Another cause of Boxer revolution was the activities of missionaries in the country. The Boxers were against the activities of both Protestants and Catholics. The missionaries flocked China after 1980. The missionaries had hidden agendas, which disillusioned many farmers. They could be given free land and other public resources to construct churches. Furthermore, missionaries were not subjected to law. Missionaries were the major cause of conflict in China. In November 1897 for instance, a group of aggrieved Boxers stormed one church run by a German missionary referred to as George Stenz. The youths killed two priests and injured others. In retaliation, a group of Christians defended the church by engaging the Boxers in attacks. The event is referred to as the Juye incident. The event had a negative effect to the residents of Shandong. The German leader ordered soldiers to occupy Jiazhou Bay, which was in the southern coast of Shandong. These soldiers frequently harassed residents of Shandong because they did not respect missionaries. A section of Boxers attacked missionaries in October 1898 at Liyuantun village. In this village, a Chinese temple had been replaced with a catholic church. The premise had been allocated to the church illegally since the Chinese locals built it. This attack is also important in understanding the Boxer rebellion because it is out of this that the Boxers made a resolution to attack foreigners. Foreign powers realized that tension was high between missionaries and the locals, especially the Boxers. In 1899, the French official intervened to ease out the pressure on missionaries. The official declared that missionaries could intervene in cases involving their relatives without following the due process. This was highly criticized by the Chinese officials. Local Chinese leaders feared that foreign powers were intending to colonize China in bits. Chinese officials protested by claiming that foreign powers had to withdraw missionaries and stop opium trade if they were to be allowed to stay in China. This was not attended to since local leaders had no military power to counter the influence of foreign powers. This is a clear indication that the activities of missionaries angered many people in society. It is not su rprising that Boxers decided to rise against them.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another cause of Boxer revolt is the Hundred Days Reform plan. The program was established in 11 June 1898 and was supposed to run up to 21 September 1898. Progressive officials within the Chinese government established the program with back up from Protestant Christians. The missionaries urged the emperor to come up with reforms that would benefit them. However, the reforms alienated many educated Chinese, who went ahead to support guerilla movements such as the Boxer. The Empress sided with educated Chinese by supporting the activities of Boxer movement. Afterwards, the empress took over power as the Chinese leader but the western powers refused to accept the empress as the de facto leader of China. The new leader promised to overturn the plans established by the previous regime. This was against the interests of Europeans, who wanted to control decision-making processes in the state. The empress was forced to utilize illegal groups such as the Boxers to claim power. The Boxers fo ught to institute a regime that would be responsive to their sufferings. The previous regime served the interests of colonial powers but not the wishes and desires of the majority Chinese. Furthermore, the opium trade precipitated the Boxer rebellion. The western powers forced the Chinese population to utilize opium, which caused many sufferings since productive population was rendered useless mainly because of drug addiction. Local leaders were against European invasion because the illegal drug had disorganized the youths. Other issues that were opposed by the regime include the imposition of unequal treaties and formalizing Christianity as the only form of accepted religion in the state. Foreigners disregarded other religions such as Buddhism and Shinto. Foreigners were given special treatment at the expense of locals. Foreign firms could easily violate the law without punishment. Indeed, by 1900, colonial powers had seized Chinese land and tricked the government into entering in inauspicious treaties. The government realized later that the accords were not beneficial to the people of China. This caused bitterness and intolerant reactions leading to uprisings such as the Boxer revolt. China had been divided into spheres of influence. Each power had its own territory meaning that China was under various foreign administrations. The people of China saw that their culture and sovereignty was under threat. Conservative Chinese saw it wise to engage foreign powers in conflicts in order to restore sovereignty. Therefore, Boxer revolt was staged because of continued loss of sovereignty. Change in the administration is also seen as one of the causes of Boxer revolution. In January 1900, the empress reversed her policy concerning Boxers. The empress supported the activities of Boxers, which was highly disputed by foreign powers. The administration supported the Boxers by giving them technical support and protecting them from the law. The Boxers could torch Christian houses without facing the long hand of the law.[4] The Boxers engaged themselves in rowdy behaviors after realizing that the regime in power supported their activities. On June 5, they uprooted the railway that connected Beijing to other parts of the country. It was difficult for foreigners to conduct business since the railway was the main means of transport. Furthermore, the Boxers engaged in boisterous behaviors by unleashing terror to foreign diplomats. The German official ordered the murder of one of the Boxer member who was found roaming in the Legation Quarter. This is seen as the immediate cause of Boxer war. In the same afternoon, Boxers turned up in large numbers to participate in war. They terrorized Christians and other foreigners by burning their houses and beating them senselessly. The British soldiers engaged the rioters in war, which angered other villagers and the government. The Boxers received support from other extremist groups such as the Kansu braves. The After math It can be reported that the Boxer war was not successful. This is because of various reasons. After the war, the Russians invaded Manchuria and imposed ominous laws. Manchuria was forced to sign treaties that did not benefit its members. Russian forces took advantage of the war to weaken the people of Manchuria economically. The foreign powers occupied most cities and other urban areas in China for over one year. It was reported that German soldiers killed many Boxers because they trailed them to villages. German soldiers had clear instructions to kill but not to take Boxers as prisoners of war. The people of China paid dearly because the French officials moved to villages to collect indemnities in form of wealth[5]. Furthermore, women and children underwent hard times because they were forced to spend their nights in the cold. The Russian forces abused women sexually. On their part, the Japanese beheaded Boxers and their supporters. In the streets, soldiers and civilians loote d public resources and destroyed public infrastructure. Surprisingly, the Cathedral was used as a market center for disposing stolen goods. Some foreign officials distanced their governments from looting but it was mere publicity. Generally, the Boxers suffered because their properties were confiscated and given to Chinese Christians. The society lost a lot because it was reported that Chinese women committed suicide after being raped by soldiers. Families were left unattended, which led to untold sufferings. After the revolution, Chinese people had nothing to eat, forcing them to rely on grants from the government. Many foreign firms took advantage of the war to utilize the services of Chinese workers cheaply. Administratively, the Qing family was not overthrown. Foreign powers guaranteed the empress of her safety in case she cooperated. On the other hand, the advisers of the empress urged her to go on with the war, arguing that her regime would win the war. However, other leaders agreed to surrender but on condition that their security was guaranteed. This shows that the war was not successful at all because most parts of China were taken over by foreign powers. Even areas that were previously controlled by Chinese leaders were taken over by foreign powers. Foreign powers agreed to offer protection to local leaders on condition that they mobilized cheap labor for them. Local leaders were afterwards supposed to collect taxes and present free labor to foreign mining sites. The Qing court cooperated with the foreign powers by allowing the signing of Boxer protocol on 7 September 1901[6]. The treaty was hostile to the people of China because it ordered the execution of planners of the war. This caused psychological trauma to families of the affected. Moreover, the war was never triumphant since China was ordered to pay millions of dollars. The reparation was to be paid within thirty-nine years, which was a short period given that the state was weak economically. It is estimated that each Chinese had to pay one tael of silver. The Chinese government could no longer sustain itself. It had to rely on foreign powers for funding of major projects. This allowed foreigners to manipulate decision-making processes in government. Foreigners were given access to the economy because they could import sub-standard goods and force the locals to buy them. Furthermore, there was unfavorable balance of trade because the Chinese government exported its products to foreign states at a cheaper price. However, goods entering China were exempted of taxes meaning that the government got nothing from importation. Through analysis, it is established that some benefits accrued from the Boxer war. The US government taxed Chinese farmers to educate their children abroad. This was under Boxer indemnity scholarship program. The US government opened up an education center that would teach English language to local youths, who would then apply for scholarships in the US. Those trained in the US would then come back to their country to teach their fellow compatriots. Through this arrangement, the first university was established in China, which was referred to as Tsinghua University. Conclusion The Boxer rebellion was caused by factors such as confiscation of private property and displacement of the local population. The locals wanted to flush out foreigners so that they could get some space to conduct business. The activities of missionaries angered the Chinese because public land was misappropriated to them. The missionaries did not appreciate the existence of other religions. Furthermore, they did not follow the laws of the land. On the other hand, Boxer war was caused by natural disasters whereby farmers lost everything due to draught. They were forced to seek for employment in urban centers. The foreigners were reluctant to offer them jobs since they were illiterate. They decided to flush out foreigners in order to take over their businesses. T he rebellion was never successful because the people of China paid dearly. Many lives were lost and property worth millions of dollars was destroyed. Furthermore, the people of China were taxed in order to compensate foreign powers. Bibliography Elliott, Jane. Some Did It for Civilization, Some Did It for Their Country: A Revised View of the Boxer War. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2002. Print. Harrington, Peter. Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. Oxford: Osprey, 2001,  96. Print. Hevia, James. â€Å"Leaving a Brand on China: Missionary Discourse in the Wake of the Boxer Movement†. Modern China 18.3, 1992, 304-332. Hunt, Michael. â€Å"The Forgotten Occupation: Peking, 1900-1901†. Pacific Historical Review 48.4, 1979, 501-529. Sharf, Frederic and Harrington, Peter. China 1900: The Eyewitnesses Speak. London: Greenhill, 2000. Print. Thompson, Clinton. William Scott Ament and the Boxer Rebellion: Heroism, Hubris, and the Ideal Missionary. Jefferson, NC: McFar land, 2009. Print. Footnotes Jane, Elliott. Some Did It for Civilization, Some Did It for Their Country: A Revised View of the BoxerWar. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2002. Print. P.63 Peter, Harrington. Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. Oxford: Osprey, 2001,  96. Print. P. 41 Thompson, Clinton. William Scott Ament and the Boxer Rebellion: Heroism, Hubris, and the Ideal Missionary. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009. Print. P.58 Michael, Hunt. â€Å"The Forgotten Occupation: Peking, 1900-1901†. Pacific Historical Review 48.4, 1979, 501-529. Frederic, Sharf and Peter, Harrington. China 1900: The Eyewitnesses Speak. London: Greenhill, 2000. Print. P.124 James Hevia,. â€Å"Leaving a Brand on China: Missionary Discourse in the Wake of the Boxer Movement†. Modern China 18.3, 1992, 304-332. This research paper on The Boxer Rebellion was written and submitted by user Journey Burgess to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on A Racial Analysis Of Capital Punishment

A Racial Analysis of Capital Punishment In simple terms, â€Å"capital punishment is the lawful taking of a person’s life after conviction for a crime† (Flander, 3). In an historical aspect, capital punishment traces as far back as the earliest times of Western Civilization. The first criminal laws were the practice of personal justice. Stephen Flanders writes in his book Capital Punishment: â€Å"the infliction of death for purpose of retribution has been a facet of human existence since earliest times. Even before the emergence of organized societies, individuals killed to avenge wrongs done to them and their families. There was no code that specified wrongful conduct or penalties such behavior would incur† (4). The earliest recorded sets of laws were known to Western society as the Babylonian Hammurabi code. It decreed the death penalty for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer. Egyptians were also killed for disclosing sacred burial places and for the theft of valuable heirlooms (Flander, 5). â€Å"Historically, one of the reasons societies had relied so heavily on the death penalty was that other punishment options did not exist† (Flander, 6). As more organized social structures developed, crimes were divided into public and private offenses. Public offenses, such as witchcraft and blasphemy, were punished by the state while private offenses still were answered by acts of personal retribution (Flander, 4). The debate over this issue continues to be questioned in both the courts and the congress. Debate about the death penalty usually turns on by issues of fairness, morality, and effectiveness; another important point bought up among many is the topic of taxpayer’s money (Costanzo, 59). People who oppose of capital punishment believe that the death penalty is unfair. When the issue of fairness is debated the question asked most often: â€Å"is the death penalty racist? â€Å"The statistics show that blacks who ... Free Essays on A Racial Analysis Of Capital Punishment Free Essays on A Racial Analysis Of Capital Punishment A Racial Analysis of Capital Punishment In simple terms, â€Å"capital punishment is the lawful taking of a person’s life after conviction for a crime† (Flander, 3). In an historical aspect, capital punishment traces as far back as the earliest times of Western Civilization. The first criminal laws were the practice of personal justice. Stephen Flanders writes in his book Capital Punishment: â€Å"the infliction of death for purpose of retribution has been a facet of human existence since earliest times. Even before the emergence of organized societies, individuals killed to avenge wrongs done to them and their families. There was no code that specified wrongful conduct or penalties such behavior would incur† (4). The earliest recorded sets of laws were known to Western society as the Babylonian Hammurabi code. It decreed the death penalty for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer. Egyptians were also killed for disclosing sacred burial places and for the theft of valuable heirlooms (Flander , 5). â€Å"Historically, one of the reasons societies had relied so heavily on the death penalty was that other punishment options did not exist† (Flander, 6). As more organized social structures developed, crimes were divided into public and private offenses. Public offenses, such as witchcraft and blasphemy, were punished by the state while private offenses still were answered by acts of personal retribution (Flander, 4). The debate over this issue continues to be questioned in both the courts and the congress. Debate about the death penalty usually turns on by issues of fairness, morality, and effectiveness; another important point bought up among many is the topic of taxpayer’s money (Costanzo, 59). People who oppose of capital punishment believe that the death penalty is unfair. When the issue of fairness is debated the question asked most often: â€Å"is the death penalty racist? â€Å"The statistics show that blacks who ...

Changing Face Of Rural Consumer In Emerging Markets Economics Essay

Changing Face Of Rural Consumer In Emerging Markets Economics Essay India is growing at an average annual rate of 7.6 for the past many years and it is expected to continue growing at an equal if not faster rate. The rapid economic growth is increasing and enhancing employment and business opportunities and in turn increasing disposable incomes. The rural consumers in India account for about 73 percent of the total consumers. In recent years, the lifestyle of a large number of rural consumers in India has changed dramatically and the process of change is going on. The buying behaviour of the rural consumers is influenced by several factors such as socio-economic conditions, cultural environment, literacy level, occupation, geographical location, efforts on the part of sellers, exposure to media etc. As the benefits of growth trickle down, an increasing number of people are moving up from the economically weaker class to join the middle class. The middle class with its rising numbers and incomes is thus becoming the biggest market segment. The afflue nt class too will continue to grow in terms of size and value, albeit, at a slower pace than the middle class. Most of the companies are going rural because of large and diverse markets, increase in literacy level and changing life style of the people. Even globalization and liberalization expanded the Indian rural market. Several studies have shown that rural consumers are generally ignorant and they are also unorganised. Under these circumstances, the sellers or the manufacturers, exploit the consumers. Though, the consumers in India have been provided with various safety measures against their exploitation. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the changing face of rural consumer in emerging markets. Key Words: Globalisation, Rural Consumer, Rural Market, Rural Potential. Introduction Rural consumers in emerging markets of developing countries are among the largest and fastest growing segments of the world’s population. In a country like India, where a substanti al number of the rural people are living below poverty line, having high level of unemployment and poor literacy level; consumer awareness continues to remain low. Above all about 70 percent of India’s population lives in rural areas. There are about 6, 38,365 villages in the country as against about 300 cities and 5,161 towns. Of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas, as per the Census 2011. Even in urban areas, a large number of people live in slums whose life is not better than those living in rural areas. This clearly highlights that India is still dominated by rural population. There were 7,935 towns in 2011 as against 5,161 in 2001. About 13.3% of India’s population and 42.6% of urban population reside in 53 cities having more than a million people, while the remaining 7,882 cities account for 47.4% of the urban population. There has been a steady increase in the number of cities from 5 in 1951 to 35 in 2001 to 53 in 2011 having a population of more than 10 lacs. About 31% of the urban population lives in the top-20 cities and about 51% of the country’s urban population lives in the top-100 cities.4 A report on survey conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) says that there are 720 million consumers across the villages in rural India. Hence, the development of the nation largely depends upon the development of the rural population. Agriculture is the main occupation of the rural people for their subsistence. It has been observed in the report that the condition of the rural consumers is deplorable because they are being exploited in the rural markets on account of lack of competition among the sellers. Although the rural consumers face various problems like fake brands and spurious products, misleading advertisements, unfair warranties and guarantees, and unreasonable pricing but it hardly affects their passion to buying because they want to buy those prod ucts which reflect their prosperity level. Similarly, with globalization and liberalization, rural market in India expanded its potentialities across the world. Globalization describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. Globalization can be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant locations in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice – versa. Globalization generally means integrating our economy with the economy of world. Globalization had its impact on various sectors including agricultural, industrial, financial, health and many others. Globalization has helped in:

Testing in HR Recruiting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Testing in HR Recruiting - Essay Example In addition, the poorly carried out interview is detrimental to an organization future. It is in this regards that tests are mandatory during interviews to sieve out unwanted traits in organizations. Inappropriate hiring can be costly errors to rectify and as such, manager should concentrate on convincing hiring processes, which offer, return on investment. In a busy organization stress, tolerance tests are extremely imperative. This prevents the hiring of employees who cannot withstand pressure from both customers and managers. Subsequently, a satisfactory interview process through tests also enables identification of personal style of employees whereby only people with proficient personality traits get the chance (Dessler, 2011). This makes the interviewing process a critical area in human resource management where channeling of all resources is necessary. The future of any business organization depends on the nature of employees. Ambitious, dedicated and focused employees guarantee the success of an organization while lazy and less enthusiastic employees assure a fall in the operations of an organization. Psychometric tests during interview offer an evidence-based insight into behaviors of employees (Palmer & Varner, 2005). Nevertheless, straight, forwards, pertinent information gets concealed to the interviewing managers that are vital in the hiring process. In any event, that a psychometric test is not carried out before hiring managers will have problems coming up with non committed; at times arrogant employees who do not only make the business fail but also demoralize other employees. It is in this regards that clients with impressive results get retained in the hiring process (Hyder & LÃ ¶vblad, 2007). This improves greater self-awareness among management teams and employees. Â  

Executive Compensation - How much is too Much Research Paper

Executive Compensation - How much is too Much - Research Paper Example The debate about high executive compensation has been in the spotlight in United States since industrial revolution. However, it was during the great depression that this news and discussion made the headlines. Since then, this debate has always received widespread during all economic recessions. Following the pattern, as the financial crunch and economic recession hit the United States in 2006-07, this debate again reached its peak because the masses started questioning the perceived wide gap between the salaries of an average employee and the executives. Critics of high compensation believe that this is one of prime reasons of increasing inefficiencies, recession, and increasing income inequality in United States. On the other hand, proponents of high compensation believe that these pay levels are a result of market and competitive forces and external forces such as the government, watchdogs and others should have no right to interfere in how much the boards of willing to pay their executives. The thesis statement around which this paper that revolve is that â€Å"executives pay is sky rocketing and there is no rational and logical thought to allow these pay levels to increase further if we want a way out of this recession and prevent future recessions† (Mishra, McConaughy & Gobeli, 2000). ... They compare the pay of CEOs with investment bankers, hedge fund managers, equity investors, lawyers, and others. Since 1990s, there has been steady increase in the salaries of above-mentioned professionals but the pays of CEOs and other executives has not risen with the same percentage. Furthermore, out of the top 0.1 percent people in the United States arranged according to the gross income, only 3 percent of them were CEOs and executives of companies. Furthermore, in the year 2007, â€Å"top 20 hedge fund manager bagged more than three times the pay earned by the salaries of all S&P 500 combined† (Hayes & Schaefer, 2009). Proponents of this school of thought strongly believe that companies will have to take bold steps in order to retain their executives because many smart CEOs have already started shifting to Wall Street to take positions at private equity firms (Hayes & Schaefer, 2009). In order to defend the position of CEOs being overpaid, other experts have gone on to a ccept that executives and specifically, CEOs are overpaid but it is not because of the work that they do but because their job is to inspire people. The reason behind providing CEOs with the fattest checks is to ensure that it keeps other people in the company motivated (Kay & Putten, 2007). Everyone dreams to become a CEO or an executive some day and people dream about the same because they know the compensation levels. People look at executives, their cars, houses, clubs, salaries, benefits, lifestyles and that is what keeps them motivated to stay with a company and put in their best effort into their jobs hoping that within a decade or so, they would also be able to reach that dream position. Economists call this, as