The Effects Of Video Games On Children - 2140 Words

In today’s day and age, there are many new ways to stimulate cognitive development in youth; some approaches are: school systems, puzzles, board games, society, media, etc. There is one approach that has been given various amounts of feedback, which has been linked to both positive cognitive development and negative influences. Video games have been linked with improving educational benefits amongst all age groups; however, for every positive there must be a negative. Video games have been branded with a reputation for social issues, physical aggression, and in severe cases, deadly violence. Throughout the past years, there have been many occasions where video games have been accused of influencing violent attacks that resulted in death. Video games have become a huge part of our lives in various forms, such as consoles, handheld devices and some television games. As Suzanne Phillips Psy.D, ABPP, stated, â€Å"Statistics reveal that 58% of Americans play video games, the average age of a player is 30 years old... and parents are involved with their children’s game purchases 81% of the time.† â€Å"Video Gaming: Unexpected Benefits† Every age group from toddlers to senior citizens are exposed to a form of video game, whether it be educational, fantasy, violence or even a puzzle. Within all age groups, there is a variation of different types of video games and usage amount. The amount of time spent playing video games has both a positive and negative impact towards the players.Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Video Games On Children Essay1279 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Video games have always been a controversial type of entertainment, that may come from how relatively new video games are compared to other mediums of entertainment[1]. Maybe because of that when a violent crime occurs and the culprit has played a lot of games the media is quick to point at violent games as the reason for the crime, but is that true or are the media just biased or looking for quick views, this report aims to answer that question. Do games affect our way of thinkingRead MoreEffects Of Video Games On Children Essay1357 Words   |  6 PagesScreening to a halt: Are parents in New Zealand able to identify signs of dependency or addiction in their children due to over use of screen-time from the recreational use of video games? Digital technology and the vast amount of video games have increased the amount of screen time consumption in contemporary New Zealand society. The saturation of smart phones, ipad’s, tablets, computers, game consoles and the Internet are devices with the means of connection to gaming. Many New Zealand families integrateRead MoreThe Effects of Video Games on Children1288 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects of Video Games on Children Technology today has progressed rapidly from generation to generation. Children and young adults are both into video games and the latest gadgets out there. Video games have been available to customers for the last 30 years. They are a unique way to entertain individuals because they encourage players to become a part of the games script. Victor Strasburger an author of â€Å"Children, Adolescents, and the media† stated â€Å"The rising popularity of video games hasRead MoreThe Effects of Video and Video Games on Children2043 Words   |  8 Pagesaction, usually in a cartoon, movie, or video game. For many of us, Disney is where we refer back to early forms of animation with the idea of using thousands of consecutive drawings; through Disney, we can now see how far this idea of breathing life into static objects has advanced. Today, animation is becoming more and more realistic. With highly advanced technology and computer programs, it has become easier for simple cartoons to develop into what children see as real life. These animated cartoonsRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Children1548 Words   |  7 PagesVideo Games Introduction Today video games are a staple in most households. It is pretty amazing to know that the first creation of games date all the way back to the 1900s. They were not originally invented to make a profit, but to give patients something to do while waiting in the lobby of an office. One inventor had a simple idea of using the monitor not just as a television set, but as a way to play games. College students were just playing around with equipment and happened upon something greatRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Children927 Words   |  4 PagesVideo games are a more interesting form of entertainment for the simple reason that players may become part of the game’s plot. Video games were invented for many years now. However, the current variety of games raised concerns about how they affect the children s behavior due to the fact that the games are becoming more sophisticated. Children spend most of their free time playing video games. Sometimes children refrain from completi ng important duties and dedicate all of their time playing videoRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Children940 Words   |  4 Pageswas bored they went outside to play, they created new games, or they played with friends. But, for the past three decades, video games and other digital media have been persuading many adolescents and children to spend the majority of their time playing them. Video games seem to satisfy children’s natural need to interact socially, however more often than not, they lead to social isolation. Overexposure to digital media, such as video games is detrimental to the health and function of a child’sRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Children1519 Words   |  7 PagesVideo games in the 21st century have transformed from friendly competing into guns, explosions, and major violence. Video games are getting away with more violence every year and the games are becoming more extreme. The consistence and severity of violence is at an a ll-time high leading the most popular games in the gaming community to have a ‘mature’ rating due to the considerable amount of violence involved. For example, one of the highest selling video games of all time grossing one billion itsRead MoreThe Effects of Video Games on Children1656 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction For more than 30 years, video gaming has been a popular activity amongst many of America’s children. With over $63 billion (Reuters, reuters.com) worth sold each year, video games are here to stay. While much controversy has arisen over the subject, video games have benefited the United States of America and its citizens to a great degree. For example, the military and CIA use gaming to train soldiers (Davidson, www.ehow.com), and classrooms use video games to teach students. The potentialRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Children1034 Words   |  5 PagesThe world of today has developed in a way that even children are affected by technology. They enjoy video games in their leisure time and even prefer them to studying that, in its turn, can contribute to their poor performance in the class. These days, video games have become an issue that has brought concern to many people from parents to scholars about their potential effect on the future of children through influenci ng their conduct. They feel that the violent behavior or any other negative consequence

Increase Of Regulation For Winter Road Maintenance

Increase in Regulation for Winter Road Maintenance Everyone has dealt with an experience where they are driving down a â€Å"cleaned† road, and all of a sudden, they hit an ice patch. The winter road crews have been over the roads, but nevertheless, the road is not safe. The lane will be clean. Then, a block later, it will be covered in ice. In the city of Nampa, this situation tends to be encountered more than necessary. When someone travels from Canyon County to Ada County, there is a clear distinction between the levels of care. Roads in Boise are usually better taken care of compared to the morning traffic in Nampa. The Treasure Valley needs to increase road maintenance in the winter creating more mandates for care and researching for a better understanding and process for salting and clean up. For Idaho, statistics show the negative repercussions and dangers of weather-related accidents. One study was completed by the United States Department of Transportation showing how weather relates to car accident statistics (U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration). In the United States yearly, about 22% of crashes and 16% of fatalities were based off weather related incidents such as slick roads and bad conditions (U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration). Over a ten year study, 33% of weather related accidents were based off of snow, sleet, and ice conditions (U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration).Show MoreRelatedEssay1027 Words   |  5 Pageswater quality to both populations. In 2000, an outbreak involving dangerous strains of E. coli pathogenic bacteria invaded the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario. Since this incident, the Canadian government has invested millions of dollars to increase urban community’s water safety. As stated from the CBC network, the City of Toronto tests water for over 300 chemical contaminants every four to six hours. Similarly, Ottawa conducts more than 125,000 water quality tests a year (Stastna, 2016). HoweverRead MoreWater Quality Issues Surrounding Road Salt2665 Words   |  11 PagesMontana and many other states use road salt as a deicer in the winter weather to improve driving conditions. Residuals of the road salt are easily washed away as part of storm water runoff from roads and borrow pit salt storage areas or other common activities such as vehicle spray. The extra salts enter water ways and cause potential harm. This paper explores the water quality issues associated with the use of road salts as well as other basic concerns surrounding road salt use. It is a topic that isRead MoreHow Construction and the Built Environment can Both Benefit and Harm the Natural Environment1691 Words   |  7 Pageson fossil fuels to run the many machines used in industry and everyday life. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Since the Industrial Revolution there has been a steady increase in the production of carbon dioxide, and an increase in global population. Some of the carbon dioxide is absorbed by trees and plants or dissolved into the oceans; these are known as carbon sinks. Unfortunately, human activities have been producing carbon dioxide Read MoreQuestions On The Trucking Industry Essay2023 Words   |  9 Pagesthe freight movement due to reasons, Movement of goods is faster by trucks than in rail. Truck transportation is less expensive as compared by air transportation. The trucking industry is growing faster than the economy for the following reasons; Increase in On-line shopping has made it necessary for the goods to reach on time for customer satisfaction. Other modes of transportation are facing restraint. Growth in International trade. Trucking is well suited to present day business practices as itRead MoreAccident Prevention Manual7578 Words   |  31 Pagesfollow the Safety Act and Regulations and make sure that working conditions are as safe as possible for employees. 5. Employees must not act in ways that put health and safety in danger. 6. Employees have the right to refuse work that is not safe for themselves or others. 7. Managers must identify and provide training needed by employees to do their jobs safely. 8. Contractors working for the department must provide a safe working place and follow the Safety Act and Regulations. 9. Employees have theRead MoreOperation Management2751 Words   |  12 Pagesarrangement of multiple components developed to obtain require objectives of the plan. Business systems contain personal, finance, engineering and operation, functioning altogether for integrity of organisation. Value addition activities ensure to increase organisations’ productivity ratio and give mor e value to the products (Waters, C. D. J. (1991). After reviewing different definitions promulgated by different experts, the next part of the paper will analyze the role of an operational manager inRead MoreSample Finance Of Public Sector : Hosting Olympics Game, Is It Worth It? Essay2480 Words   |  10 Pagesparticipants and athletes come from hundreds of countries all over the world to compete in more than 50 sports. The first modern Games was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896 and then followed by the winter games that were started in 1924. Each game is held quadrennial with two-year difference between summer and winter games. The Olympic games is managed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) and there is also representative committee in several countries around the world which is called National OlympicRead MoreHosting The Olympics Game, Is It Worth It? Essay2485 Words   |  10 Pagesparticipants and athletes come from hundreds of countries all over the world to compete in more than 50 sports. The first modern Games was h eld in Athens, Greece, in 1896 and then followed by the winter games that were started in 1924. Each game is held quadrennial with a two-year difference between summer and winter games. The Olympic games are managed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and there is also a representative committee in several countries around the world which is called NationalRead MoreT867 EMA3078 Words   |  13 Pagesno clear guidelines as to who in the council owns the issues. The report concludes that Council X needs to â€Å"practice what it preaches† in relation to the sharing of knowledge on sustainability issues so this extends to employees and promotes an increase in good practices internally. Having experienced a number of sit in protests at the town hall over their place in the carbon reduction league tables and recycling rates in the last year this is becoming a very hot topic for council chamber discussionRead More Economic Conservation vs. Environmental Conservation E ssay1958 Words   |  8 PagesEconomic Conservation vs. Environmental Conservation Around the world people are being affected by conservation and endangered species laws and regulations. Some want the biggest house on the most beautiful land and have the money to get it, while others feel that we have developed enough and there has to be more land left to nature. I feel that while endangered species should be protected, their protection should not change the way that local people function, and interact with one another

Modern Management †GE MFP Matrix vs. BCG Matrix Free Essays

Business Portfolio Analysis is a type of a planning system adopted by the organization (organizational strategy), which is similar to the manner in which investment portfolios are managed.   According to the business portfolio analysis, an organization would have to perform only sound activities and discard the unsound ones.   Business portfolio instruments are of two types, namely, the Boston-Consulting Group (BCG) Growth-Share Matrix and General Electric (GE) Multifactor Portfolio Matrix. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Management – GE MFP Matrix vs. BCG Matrix or any similar topic only for you Order Now Boston-Consulting Group (BCG) Growth-Share Matrix was developed by a popular production unit known as the BCG group and was aimed at helping the managers follow the market by developing an organizational strategy.   The strategy also helps to develop the market where the business survives.   The GE Multifactor Portfolio Matrix was developed by McKinsley et al who were basically consultants to the GE Company.   This strategy is mainly based on the attractiveness present in the market and the strengths of the organization.   This strategy is more advantageous than the BCG strategy as it tries to compensate for the limitations. In the BCG strategy, the organization is broken into portions such that each portions can develop an organizational strategy which could generate revenue (known as ‘strategic business units’ or ‘SBU’s’).   These SBU’s could be a division of a company or a production unit of a particular product or service.   The SBU’s have their own competitors, a manager in charge of the unit, and the management of the unit has to be planned with a strategy. Each of the unit is then placed on one of the four boxes (namely stars, question marks, dogs or cash cows) according to their characteristics.   Stars have a high-growth rate but require huge amounts of investments.   Cash cows occupy a huge market share and grow much more slowly.   Question marks are those units which have a high-growth rate but doubts whether the management would invest in them, exist.   Dogs are those units which have a small market share and grow at a much slower rate. On the other hand, the GE analysis rates the SBU’s according to the market attractiveness and the strengths of the business.   The firm has to determine each of these criteria based on the situation that exists.   Based on these criteria, circles appear on a graph in which business strengths are plotted against the market attractiveness.   The size of the circle varies according to investment in the market. THE BCG strategy does not consider the risks involved in developing the products, factors such as inflation and the predictable economic situations, and the pressure that exist from the ecosystem, politics and society.   The GE strategy helps to cover some of these pitfalls.   Several factors such as presence of competitors, growth rate of the industry, weaknesses of the competitors, etc, are considered in the GE strategy. References: Cresto, S. C. and Cresto, S. T. (2006). Chapter 3: Planning, Modern Management, (10th ed), New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, pp. 188-191. How to cite Modern Management – GE MFP Matrix vs. BCG Matrix, Essay examples

Impermanent Organization of Leadership and Management

Question: Discuss about the Impermanent Organization of Leadership and Management. Answer: Introduction: An Australian owned company, JKL industries is into the business of selling small trucks, spare parts and forklifts to industry. JKL Industries also have a division of their own that rents small trucks and forklifts. The company has its head office in Sydney with branch offices in places like Melbourne. JKL Industries have been in the business for 12 long years and have discussed the sales rights ranging from medium and large trucks from a foreign supplier. Opportunity of such kind will provide JKL Industries with the required advantage over its customers. The results of sales for the last 5 years depicts that there has been a strong growth in the segment of truck sales and forklift averaging around 10% of the sales growth. The sales right opportunity will bring in some changes inclusive of the present organizational structure. The company has been through the phase of grievances among employees in accordance to the pay and a condition existing in the current plan where the company has recognized that poor communication and the organizations inclination towards conflict is a risk for the business. The organization is hoping to build a culture that will be positive with less amount of risk, where achievement of organizational goals would be achieved through development of a successful policy structure for supervision of the internal communication and consultation in accordance to the ethical business considerations and objectives of organizations. A review of the internal management of the organization suggests that there is no formal approach in the common understanding of the goals of the team and the response regarding the needs of internal and external customer needs are slow. There is absence of current technologies in communication, where employee engagement is below the standard level required in organizations. Managers have not been consistent enough in their applications of grievance techniques posturing a risk to the relations among employees. Diversity issues in the JKL industries accounts to poor leadership, low personal responsibility, lack of interpersonal skills and lack of any proper business ethics. Networking issues include any lack regarding the external and internal opportunities in networking and their understanding in how it is related to an individual and team. The company is very much dependent on its shareholders of suppliers and customers of its forklifts and small trucks. Updating Strategies and processes to manage communications within the organization: As a communication consultant the first job would be to communicate through the numerous channels. Proper research has resulted in showing that information is being processed in different ways by people. It may have occurred at some point of time in the JKL industries that a next weeks meeting schedule has been send to everyone through a mass mail. It may happen that certain members would respond to that mail while some others might require certain other forms to stick. This information can be used as an advantage where multi channels can be required to reach to more people and let them know about the happenings of the company. Moreover, all the employees should be invited and encouraged to take part in the decision making process of the organization which are mainly the day to day working of the company (Cummings and Worley 2014). Such things encourage employees to be more productive and come up with creative ideas for better results. The communication method that is to be adopted by the JKL industries needs to be friendly and accountable towards the employees. Whatever may be the communication strategy, it should not be delineated on within the discipline structure but in a friendly way. A friendly framework would make the employees communicate freely with each other. JKL industries can follow any one of the following technologies of communication: Online Transaction Processing (OLTP): An organization has to accomplish certain formal and informal objectives. Using this OLTP the management can collect input information, information processing and updating the existing one. Database technologies are often being used by the companies to manage the process. -Decentralized Computing: An environment in which the organization divides the power of computing and position it in places where they have certain knowledgeable workers. This is a less expensive process of communication and more effective as computers through a centralized database will access all the information (Weick 2012). Reference: Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014.Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Weick, K.E., 2012.Making sense of the organization, Volume 2: The impermanent organization(Vol. 2). John Wiley Sons.

Materialism and Mental Health free essay sample

A persuasive paper about how materialism has taken over society. This article discusses the situation of mental health and illness in todays society. The author argues that materialism, fame and fortune have taken over society and that as a result society has forgotten to give meaning to life. Good mental health is a fundamental aspect of life, but, as we are aware, a huge proportion of our society, around 25%, will at some stage suffer from a form of mental illness. We must realize the enormity of this problem. Stalin once said, The death of one person is a tragedy, the death of a thousand is a statistic. (Stalin). This means that we as humans, are unable to digest all the information that comes our way everyday and numbers are just that: numbers. 25% means that in every four people, one is likely to experience mental illness. Mental illness is a problem of the everyday, of the streets, of the ordinary man and woman that experience the joys, the sorrows, the trials and the tribulations of life. We will write a custom essay sample on Materialism and Mental Health or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

How to Calculate the Mean or Average

How to Calculate the Mean or Average Given a list of numbers, it is easy to determine the arithmetic mean,  or average. The average is simply the sum of the numbers in a given problem, divided by the number of numbers added together. For example, if four number are added together their sum is divided by four to find the average or arithmetic mean. Average or arithmetic mean is sometimes confused with two other concepts: mode and median. The mode is the most frequent value in a set of numbers, while the median is the number in the middle of the range of a given set.  Ã‚   Uses and Applications Its important to know how to calculate the mean or average of a set of numbers. Among other things, this will allow you to calculate your grade point average. However, youll need to calculate the mean for several other situations, too. The concept of an average allows statisticians, demographers, economists, biologists, and other researchers to better understand the most common situations. For example, by determining the average income of an American family and comparing it to the average cost of a home, its possible to better understand the magnitude of economic challenges facing most American families. Similarly, by looking at the average temperature in a particular area at a particular time of year, its possible to predict the probable weather and make a wide range of decisions appropriately. Issues and Pitfalls While averages can be very useful tools, they can also be misleading for a variety of reasons. In particular, averages can obscure the information contained in data sets. Here are a few examples of how averages can be misleading: Johns grades include a 4.5 in math, a 4.0 in science, a 2.0 in English and a 2.5 in History. After averaging his scores, his advisor decided that John is a straight B student. In fact, however, John is quite talented in math and science and needs remediation in English and history.Ten people were in a room. One woman in the room was pregnant. Based on the average, therefore, everyone in the room was .1% pregnant. This is, of course, a false and ridiculous finding! The Calculation In general, you calculate the mean or average of a set of numbers by adding them all up and dividing by how many numbers you have. This can be defined as follows: For a set of numbers, {x1, x2, x3, ... xj} the mean or average is the sum of all x divided by j. Worked Examples Lets start with an easy example. Calculate the mean of the following set of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 To do this, add up the numbers and divide by how many numbers you have (5 of them, in this case). mean (1 2 3 4 5)/5 mean 15/5 mean 3 Heres another example of calculating the mean. Calculate the mean of the following set of numbers: 25, 28, 31, 35, 43, 48 How many numbers are there? 6. So, add together all of the numbers and divide the total by 6 in order to get the mean. mean (25 28 31 35 43 48)/6 mean 210/6 mean 35

Global Enterprise and Innovation individual report Essay

Global Enterprise and Innovation individual report - Essay Example This report will have various segments such as the analysis of main features of business environment within the US, role of government in promoting innovation, credit facilities and resources to the firms, scientific and technological capacity of the nation as well as general analysis of the national innovation systems within the US. Discussion Science and technology has increasingly been sighted to be a direct or indirect factor influencing the living of people within US. Various features define the business environment within the US with innovation as well as job creation being the major. Sustained investments within scientific research as well as strong system of education have been commended for great influence on general economic performance of the country. However, according to a 2011-2014 public policy statement by the ACS specific policies are critical in ensuring favorable business environment. Such policy recommendations include that appropriate tax and trade policies in ta rget of innovation and research should be adopted, encourage innovations through patenting as well as property rights and efficient commercialization and transfer of technological innovation within the country. Besides, the report shows a business environment that is in need of proper framework to encourage investment in research and innovation by small and large firms through such incentives as credit facilities and ensuring favorable business environment by the government (American Chemical Society, nd, 1-2). On the other hand, environmental awareness and conservation is a critical feature within business operations in the US where the government and other agencies increasingly regulate business operations on matters of environmental policies. According to a report by Esty and Charnovitz innovation is increasingly being influenced by policies and rules that are being adopted on environmental management and conservation. The report points to the poor performance of the government i n US to implement policies that are favorable to innovation concerning the environment effectively. This has therefore been a hindrance to operations of many firms, which are dependent on environmental policy frameworks (Esty and Charnovitz, 2012, para 1-4). Other factors that continuously have a direct impact on business performances within the US are social, political as well as economic factors. The social impact on business environment in the US is emanating from such aspects as the development of social platform and media, which all business operators must be aware of. Despite the great benefits that arise from social media, equally many shortcomings result from the improper application of the media into the business world within the US. Economic influences in the business environment within US are best examined from the perspective of economic growth of the country. Political factors on the other hand come in as political set up defines policy formulations as well as legal fra meworks within the nation (Sviokla and Gutstein, 2012-2013, para 1-5). Increased productivity through innovation by firms lead to improved standards of living of people. Through the design of appropriate policies and effective decision-making, the US government has continually created innovative environment, which has been attractive to such firms as Sony, which wholly rely on

Population control in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Population control in India - Essay Example In a bid to control the Indian population crisis, the government should implement some of the notable approaches including the use of contraceptive, sterilization and population policies. This paper looks at some scholarly proposals and suggests ways of controlling India’s population crisis. According to the 2004 Gupta’s article review on population, the Project Small Family (PSF) is one of the population control demonstration projects that can assist in the control of human population in India. The implementation of the scheme is taking place in the tribal belts of central India. Under the program, the family planning methods is shifted to the women participants by encouraging model family customs voluntarily. The program promotes small family set ups through providing regulated financial aid to the poor women who in exchange follow a reproductive system stipulated by the program (Gupta, 2004). The program provides a platform where the control of population targets the poor, who are characteristically associated with uncontrolled births. The program may achieve what other traditional birth control methods have not achieved by pegging the financial aid to an agreement to birth control. The desire and enthusiasm of getting financial leverage in the current state o f economic turmoil may be a valid motivator to trigger effective birth control among the tribal population in India. The Indian government may follow suit to help the NGOs initiating such plans because it is a win-win situation in the fight against poverty and population control. Results from the demonstration of PSF in India are promising since it makes the poorest uneducated women of the society observe birth control measures based on the financial incentives they get. However, the method may fail in the event that such financial aids reduce. In her article, Sarah Hodges proposes that population control may take the concept of wise reproductive practices in the modern India. The method

Major event happened in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Major event happened in China - Essay Example This places China on the same level as Trinidad and Tobago and Serbia. The index also reveals that China is indeed more corrupt than most of the developing countries like Sri Lanka. Corruption in China takes various forms such as either structural or non-structural. Non-structural corruption is also common in other parts of the world and includes illegal or criminal acts such as embezzlement of public funds, bribery, nepotism, and patronage. Structural corruption, on the other hand, is very difficult to tackle because it emerges on from weakness in political and economic structures in the country. This includes backdoor deals, statistical falsification, and graft. What is worse, corruption in China takes place at both individual and institutional levels. Political corruption has been a major obstacle to China’s development over the years and despite the government taking significant steps to curb the problem, there are still major instances of corruption in the country. Some analysts such as Yan Sun, a professor at City University of New York claim that there are more corrupt members in China’s leading political party, CPP than there are honest members. The current Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a tough stance against corruption and has vowed to fight the vice. Impacts of widespread corruption include undermining democracy and good governance, reduces accountability, weakens institutions, and compromises both international and national laws. Corruption is a major threat to China’s development in its bid to overtake the US the world economic powerhouse. Most of the cases of corruption in China do nt6 find their way to the international stage due to unwillingness of the government to share such data with f oreign agencies. This has, however, not stopped some cases from attracting headlines in both local and international media. This essay is based on Makinen Julie’s article titled â€Å"In China, Corruption Cases Keep

Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt

Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt The rapid increase in technology, economic downturn and globalization has led the businesses to reflect about their organizational goals and policies. It is of imperative importance that an organization knows where it is heading. Businesses may have cutting-edge technology, large customer base and skillful employees which are an asset for any organization but it would all fall behind if that organization does not have a clear and concrete understanding of what it is trying to achieve in the long-run. It is the vision and goals of the company that direct its people to work for a purpose and is fundamental to the success of a company. Visions help to define the working practices, relationships, procedures and strategies for production which is turn determines the magnitude of progress of the organization. Theodore Levitt, in his article Marketing Myopia, compels the readers to understand the importance of effectively set visions which are a catalyst for the companys success. Most of the industries focus largely on their refined product and become victims of downfall in the long-run. They do not realize the cause of their diminishing growth because to them their strategies in product development and product enhancement are top-notch. They tend to blame external factors which might have contributed to their downfall but they fail to see the bigger picture underneath: their goals and visions did not focus on consumer preferences and needs. Theodore Levitt explains this phenomenon by the carefully penned term Marketing Myopia which refers to the short-sighted visions by the top-management that is focused on enhancing products rather than assessing customer needs. Levitt explains the downfall of railroads stating that the industry was defined incorrectly. The management should have seen railroads as a transportation means rather than just railroad industry. The stagnation of this industry thus was because of incorrectly defined vision. According to Theodore Levitt, there are no growth industries. He believes that in todays times there could be many substitutes for any number of products and the companys which focus on capitalizing their growth opportunities fall into a shadow of obsolescence. They fail to see the prospects of substitute industries which could wipe-out their businesses. For example, the silk industry in Europe has been thoroughly diminished because of introduction of viscose rayon as it costs less and has the ability to replace silk. In short, Levitt tells us that the companies are doomed to fail if their visions and purpose is obscure. In order to succeed, organizations should have crystal-clear goals that focus on the customer needs and preferences rather than on the product. This paper will discuss some of the pros of the article Marketing Myopia and some criticisms about the same along with examples. HIGHLIGHTING THE STRONG POINTS: Theodore Levitt emphasized that the organizations which are working on the belief that their products are unique; are growth opportunities for them and would continue to give them success, do not realize that their dependence on such belief could be their downfall. He describes this view in these lines: Industries that assume themselves to be riding some automatic growth escalator invariably descend into stagnation. The history of every dead and dying growth industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay. He further gives four strong points arguing why these industries slow down in their growth conquest. 1. The belief that growth is assured by an expanding and more affluent population. 2. The belief that there is no competitive substitution for the industrys major product. 3. Too much faith in mass production and in the advantages of rapidly declining unit costs as output rises. 4. Preoccupation with a product that lends itself to carefully controlled scientific experimentation, improvement, and manufacturing cost reduction. I would be discussing these strong points here with the help of examples. 1. Population Myth: Theodore Levitt rightly argues that when the market for the product is growing the management tends to stop thinking about the future assuming that the growing market is the indication of future success. The management then focuses on expanding its production rather than thinking about marketing. The main focus of their concerns becomes selling which stems from the needs of the seller instead off the needs of the consumer. The management tends to ignore the changing trends and needs of the customer which leads the company to their doom. Iridium, which once was a high-flying organization on Wall Street, got the biggest failure in the market. Iridium introduced satellite phones in late 1990s that could work anywhere in the world. It was a brilliant idea which was flopped within a year pushing the company towards bankruptcy and leading the CEO to resign. The company invested billions of dollars in this project which backfired because the focus of their initiative was not the consumer. They assumed that the growing advancement in information technology and the larger customer base for mobile phones would be enough to build an expensive project on. They did not take marketing efforts seriously and failed to realize ahead of time that the consumers were not willing to pay high prices for their product and they did not take note of the fact that the cellular phones could become popular during that same time period. The market for satellite phones was not tested before launching the phones which did not get the success hope d by the management. 2. No Competitive Substitution Myth: The second argument by Theodore Levitt, the belief that there is no competitive substitution for the industrys major product, could easily bring about the downfall for the organization. When the management tends to have faith in the fact that their offerings are indispensable, they stop thinking about the future. They focus on producing that indispensable product and do not take into consideration the changing environment and the threats of possible entrants or substitute products. This belief takes the organization into stagnation. In this age, mobile phones have more or less replaced the fixed connections. The competition is between the landline services and the mobile phone companies. Now multiple wireless access technologies are also in the fast race with the GSM technologies. 3. Faith in Mass Production: Declining unit costs as production rises is a very attractive incentive for producers. They tend to focus on the production and costs rather than focusing on the marketing and consumer preferences. Once they have mass produced their products, they are inclined towards selling it instead of marketing it which becomes the reason for their downfall. As time changes, the consumer preferences change as well. . It is a known phenomenon that people and their behaviors have to change with the changing environment they live in. With todays changing milieu, an individual must be willing to abandon old techniques and learn new ones. Henry Ford, developer of assembly-line technique for mass production, introduced Model T automobile and revolutionized the transportation business. He started producing Model in large quantities. It was a success initially and was hailed as the everywhere. As time changed, the consumers started thinking in terms of benefits and value they get from the Model T car. They demanded more features especially color options. Ford replied saying, Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black; it was because black color used to take less time in drying. After some time, the production of Model T stopped as consumer wants changed and the industry got competitive. It is important for the organizations to take in view the changing trends and consumer wants. The industries in todays age are highly competitive and uncertain. Thus to avoid stagnation, marketing should be given specific importance. 4. Preoccupation with Scientific Research and Development Techniques: Theodore Levitt says in the article, The greatest danger which faces the glamorous new companies in this field is not that they do not pay enough attention to research and development, but that they pay too much attention to it. It is true that most technological firms tend to focus their efforts towards scientific implementations and research and development which raises their cost and increases their chances of failure if the innovations are not receptive to the consumers. Nokia, a world-leading organization in cell-phone industry, is fighting a battle with Apple Inc. for the market share of smartphones. The recent milestone in the cell-phone industry is the application feature. Apple has the largest market share in smartphone segments while Nokia is spending millions of dollars for R and D in this area yet its sales are diminishing. The software Nokia uses is failing which is the reason for continuous scientific research in this regard. According to Bloomberg.com, Nokias share of worldwide smartphone sales fell to 41.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from 45.1 percent in the year- earlier period, while Apples doubled to 10.8 percent. EXAMPLE OF MARKETING MYOPIA: Marketing Myopia does exist in almost all the industries where the top management fails to see the bigger picture. When the organizations take profit-making approach or mass production techniques, they tend to lose sight of the customers who can change the fate of any organization. Theodore Levitt gave us illustrations about myopic industries though most of his discussion was based on the railroad dilemma or the oil industry. Marketing Myopia, however, could be found in any organization. An example taken from Ivey Business Journal is presented here which discusses the downfall of PG owned coffee roasting company, Splendid, and the rise of Starbucks. For several decades Procter Gamble owned Splendid, an Italian coffee roasting company and a leading brand in the Italian take-home coffee market. Through Splendid, PG had access to a powerful reservoir of knowledge about the production, distribution and marketing of authentic, Italian espresso coffee, and to powerful insights on the consumer experience of enjoying an espresso or a cappuccino in an Italian coffee bar. But it viewed the potential of this knowledge narrowly: as a way to adapt the famous PG brand building and product management skills to the Italian market a peculiar place where people drank thick, dark coffee in preference to the traditional American brew. PGs myopic view of competition both in Italy and, back home, in the U.S.- and its failure to engage with the world as a source of innovation, left the way open for Starbucks, a minute coffee roasting company from Seattle. In the mid-eighties, Starbucks CEO spent some time in Italy and studied the technology and consumer behavior in the Italian coffee market knowledge that PG had already in-house at Splendid for ages. He then combined what he learnt in Italy with world-class retailing and fast-food management techniques perfected in the United States. To the recipe, he added his understanding of American consumers and New York financial market to craft Starbucks strategy. The results are now legendary. What made the success of Starbucks was not an innovative coffee blend but rather an innovative knowledge blend. The amazing thing is that PG had privileged access to all the components of the recipe, though some components were in other countries (Italy, for starters) or in other industries (for example, fast-food). But myopia was surely limiting and hurting PG, as it couldnt see much beyond its existing markets across the street. Eventually, in 1992, PG sold Splendid to Philip Morris Kraft General Foods. HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEMS OF MARKETING MYOPIA: Considering the fact that what Theodore Levitt said in his article Marketing Myopia was completely flawless would be ambiguous. Like every theory, Marketing Myopia also has its negative points. Railroad and Movie Industry: Theodore Levitt has explained the concept of marketing myopia with the help of the examples of railroads and Hollywood industry. He has pointed out that the failure of railroads was not due to the introduction of other transportation facilities availability rather the incapability of the management in defining the purpose of railroad industry as just railroad-oriented instead of a transportation-oriented. If they had identified themselves as transportation-oriented, they would have been able to see the market conditions more clearly and hence be prepared for any threats coming their way. Levitt has also explained about the Hollywood business in the same context: that they failed to define their purpose as entertainment-oriented and stuck with their myopic view of Hollywood as movie-making business which led to its near collapse because they did not treat TV as an opportunity. This led to their self-deceiving belief and TV became their threat and a much bigger industry. In 1990, David J. Morris Jr. of University of New Haven, published an article in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Services. He explained that the reason railroads came to their demise and the fiscal purgatory of Hollywood industry was not because they were myopic. He explained that their failure was due to the Government regulations that did not give them the chance for expansion even though they tried. In his article, he has stated that the US Government Regulatory body shifted to trucks, auto and air after World War II because of which the railroads got left behind. In his view, the railroads tried to expand into related transportation areas but the railroads suffered because of 70 years of government destruction. Morris has also explained that the Hollywood industry took steps to acquire television stations but the Federal Communications Commission denied this request to Paramount Pictures Inc. The movie industry also became a supplier to the television industry as the motion pictures were in colored and the television was still in black and white. Some motion picture producers also rented out studio space to television. The problems in movie industry thus were not because they were myopic rather because of antitrust policies and Government regulations. It is true that most managements fail to see the bigger picture while trying to focus on their product and define their purpose obscurely and finally getting caught up in myopia but the history of railroads and Hollywood industry show that they were not myopic rather victims of Government regulations. Stakeholders: Theodore Levitt stresses upon the need to focus on the customers and their preferences. In his article, he has emphasized the role of marketing repeatedly saying that the success of the firm in inevitable if the market has been thoroughly researched and the visions and goals of the company are defined on the basis of the marketing efforts. But he does not explain about the role and need of the stakeholders of the organization who also play a big part in the future of the organization. An organization may have an excellent product, well-defined market segment and a considerable market share and yet it could all fail if there are any problems in the workforce, distributors or suppliers. The focus should be the customer but the stakeholders should also be taken into consideration while defining the vision of any organization. Likewise, the marketers should also focus on the current environmental situations, environmentalists and legal regulations instead of just focusing on the customer. Leadership Issues: An organization could also fail if the leadership has no purpose for the organization. It is important to define the purpose in terms of market conditions but an organization should also have a purpose and a reason to exist; when it is lost the organization would fail even if their product and customer base is strong. Theodore Levitt has stated that in order to succeed in future an organization must have customer-oriented goals but the management should also have a vision to lead so that it could fulfill the purpose of those customer-oriented goals. For example, before 1984, ATT had a purpose and a reason to survive. The organization had talented employees and excellent services. The company started failing due to changing technologies and shifting regulations. Michael Armstrong was hired as the CEO with the hope that he would prevent ATT from failing. That unfortunately did not happen because the vision of the CEO to lead was hazy. He started laying-off employees and losing acquisitions and cost-cutting strategies which backfired. The reason was simple: Michael Armstrong did not have a clear understanding of how to lead and could not therefore manage the customer-oriented visions. CONCLUSION: Information in todays time has become more liquid and accessible. The organizations which want to grow in this world need to recognize the need for knowledge about the changing trends, technologies and customer preferences. Marketing Myopia as defined by Theodore Levitt could teach a lot of organizations the importance of clearly defined purposes and customer value. The organizations need to look around them to the changing environment-not only local changes rather a birds-eye view of the world around them. If the top management fails to see the local and global implications of the changing trends and decides to just focus their attention to their product then they are bound to get caught in myopia. This age is not one for an isolated entity. It is also of great significance that the top management analyzes the over-all impact of their strategies with the view to the market and start to think imaginatively. In the recent years, the understanding of marketplace trends and its competitive implications has led the organizations to change their strategies and policies. The competitive pressures influence the businesses to act speedily and innovate productively. The only profit-making approach towards busine ss does not hold true in these times because a single idea, a new product or even a new use of an existing idea can change the marketplace rapidly. The organizations have to continuously evolve and innovate in order to stay in this cut-throat competitive environment. If the management fails to do this, them the organization is bound to be caught up in the self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay.

Death Be Not Proud Essay -- essays research papers

	How would you cope if you were going to die? In the memoir Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther, his son Named Johnny is faced with this situation. At an early age, Johnny was found with a brain tumor, and struggles to survive. Johnny later died from the brain tumor. Johnny was loved by many people; much of whom tried his/her best to help Johnny through this ordeal. Although Johnny was faced with death, Johnny faced death with courage throughout the book. Even though Johnny was faced with death, he faced death with courage. Johnny showed that, by keeping a positive attitude through this whole ordeal. Johnny’s hope, positive attitude, and courage kept his death at bay, even in the face of terrible pain and incurable illness. " But later that day he developed an excruciating headache, the only fierce and intense pain he suffered during the whole course of his illness-a small mercy, perhaps, but one to be devoutly grateful for"(p24) Johnny was faced with unimaginable pain throughout his illness; yet he maintained a level of hope and determination to live. At the young age that Johnny was at, and to face death, it must have took a lot of courage to stay positive. Johnny kept fighting, determined to recuperate, even if he had to do things himself. "I watched him give himself a hypodermic injection of liver extract on the side above the hip, an awkward place to reach. I could not possibly have done on anybody, let alon e myself." (p77) Johnny, had to ta...

Bantu education and source analysis Essay

1. The main aims of the Bantu Education Act were mainly (at least according to Dr. Verwoerd) to transform education for natives into Bantu education, which will teach them things they will need to know in their lives. This is stated clearly in Source A, where Dr. Verwoerd is quoted saying â€Å"Education must train and teach people in accordance with their opportunities in life, according to the sphere in which they live.† Reading between the lines, Dr. Verwoerd is saying that the Bantu are an inferior race that will never be equal to the whites, and that it would be a waste of resources and effort to try and teach them things they will never need to know. By saying the he almost directly suggests that the blacks should be kept down, as it would be absolutely ridiculous to try and teach him mathematics, for example, when all he will ever amount to is a farmer or a tailor. I In Source C it is directly stated that, as most blacks will become agriculturists, the most useful things that can be taught to them are gardening and needlework. He doesn’t even give the blacks a chance, immediately dismissing them as complete idiots whom wouldn’t even want the same type of education as the whites. Therefore, when planning the different syllabuses for all education, the black systems should be limited to very simple skills such as reading, writing, farming and perhaps very simple mathematics. We wouldn’t want to overload the blacks with information that will only confuse them and make them unhappy, now would we? According to the Commission on Native Education the blacks; knowledge of anything requiring intelligence should be barred. In another speech by Dr. Verwoerd (Source B) he states that â€Å"The Bantu must be guided to serve his own community in all respects† and:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Until now he has been subjected to a school system which drew him away from his own community and misled him by showing him the green pastures of European society in which he was not allowed to graze†. Basically, these two  quotes state that Verwoerd doesn’t want any wannabe Europeans around. He defends his arguments by saying that it would also be unfair to continue educating the Bantu like the Europeans, as it is only showing them new horizons they will never be allowed to explore. Educating them like this would therefore create Bantu that had the skills of Europeans, and not their people. As whites into would never hire them the administrative positions their education levels demand, they would be forced to go back to their people and farming, in which they would have no skills. This would cause discontent in everyone, so it is better not to educate the Bantu at all. Apparently it would also be very uneconomic to spend money on education without a specific aim, and disrupt the community life of the Bantu. His main point behind the arguments states this: We don’t want to have the blacks interfering in our lives. Source E further supports these arguments. In this photo four black schoolboys are looking very happy walking down a road. This photograph seems very arranged to make the outside world think the South African government is doing all they can to bring light into the darkness that is the life of the Bantu. 2. Assessment of source B Source B is an excerpt from a speech made by Dr Verwoerd to the senate of South Africa on the 7th of June 1954. I think this source is very valuable, as it is a primary source from the time period. It gives us direct information about what Verwoerd said in his speech. It also tells us a bit about what kind of government was in power at the time. This can be seen from the fact that he can give such a racist speech. If someone gave this speech today, he would be severely criticized and ridiculed. At the time the speech was given it would appear that the senate would be expecting to hear something like this, and be satisfied by it. This again proves what a racist government was in power at the time of the speech. It does not leave much room for bias, except by censorship, or having some parts of the speech left out. This source is also very limited in many ways. It doesn’t tell us many things, as it is only a part of a speech. For instance, it doesn’t tell us who recorded this speech, and chose the parts to be included. We don’t know either what Verwoerd said in the parts that are not included. It would also give a clearer image of the government in power if we were told about the senate’s reaction to the speech. If they cheered madly, this would prove what a racist system was in power at the time. A tremendous help would be if we found out what happened after the speech. Were all his suggestions made reality, or were they regarded as a failed idea. I would also be very interested in finding out what inspired him to give this speech. Was he requested to give a speech on the topic, or did he himself think the time was appropriate for such an exclamation. Assessment of Source E This source is a photograph of four black schoolboys stating how happy they are, and what a good job the government are doing at getting all the Bantu into school. This photo is very valuable specifically because it is so obviously staged. This is a good example of a heavily manipulated propaganda photo. It is meant to give us the idea that all is well with blacks, and they are the happiest of all. If you dig deeper, though, you can deduce many things. Obviously the photographer has told the children where to stand and to apply a huge smile to their faces. This tells us that the South African government was concerned about their image with the outside world and human rights activists. This photo was obviously taken to soothe the minds of anyone worrying about the ill treatment of the blacks. The main limitation of this photo is we don’t know how much the photo was manipulated. Maybe the boys were walking down the street, and were told to smile while a photo was taken. Maybe the four boys were rounded up, put in school uniforms and made to walk down the street in exchange for a small payment. We don’t know. 3. In my opinion, Source B is absolutely the most useful. It really captures the mentality of the current government and the people. It tells us Dr.  Verwoerd’s opnion about the blacks and their treatment. Although he doesn’t directly announce his hatred for blacks and how he wants to shoot them all, we can see he is more concerned with the wellbeing of the European community than that of the Bantu. It is also a primary source, so chances are it has not been subject to too much manipulation. It gives us a good understanding of the government, Dr Verwoerd and how the blacks are being treated. It is a bit sugarcoated, but once you delve deeper it is obvious what they really think. I think this source is the most useful because it captures the attitudes towards the Bantu at the time.

Margaret Atwood Essay Example

Margaret Atwood Essay Example Margaret Atwood Paper Margaret Atwood Paper Achebe and Atwood appear to be writing about vultures, but are actually commenting on something different. Both poets compare vultures to humanity but Atwoods poem describes vultures in a good ways whereas Achebe describes vultures in a bad way. In Achebes poem the first section talks about vultures. On the whole it portrays them to be evil and dark but then suggests that humans are no better than vultures. Achebe uses a lot of dark negative words to portray vultures in the first section of the poem, he uses dark words that are, greyness, drizzle and despondent to set the scene, this shows that the vultures live in a dark habitat. This first section of the poem uses good imagery to set the scene. The next two lines suggest a stereotypical part of a vultures home, on a dead tree. Dead suggests that the vultures have killed the tree as well as other animals. Achebe then describes the vultures themselves and uses mostly negative words, such as bashed in head, bone, corpse and trench. Bone and corpse suggests death which represents the vultures to be bad and related with death. Bashed in head shows that vultures are ugly which makes a negative atmosphere and image. But Achebe also uses some positive words like affectionately, mate and perching. Affectionately suggests that vultures have a soft side to them and can treat others in a decent way. Mate shows that vultures are bit like humans, they have friends and lovers. Also perching suggests that vultures like to chill out and relax exactly what humans like doing. Margaret Atwoods poem also portrays vultures in a bad way, she compares them to other animals and then to humans in the last two stanzas. When she compares the vultures to humans it create a negative atmosphere in the poem resulting in the reader to think about how they act and how they treat others and even animals. In the second stanza Atwood compares vultures to hyenas and uses fierce and frightful words to portray the vultures to hyenas, she uses around the kill which shows that vultures want and like death. She also uses simple words like black which does not sound bad but helps to create a negative image and atmosphere of the vulture. Hyena is the main word in this stanza and suggests that vultures hunt in groups and laugh at there kill, this shows the vultures are just sick. Atwood then goes on to compare vultures to beetles which suggests that they are annoying pests that dont deserve a place on Earth. Atwood uses words to show that vultures only care about themselves. Atwood uses words to show that vultures only care about themselves, she uses gluttonous for a space which shows that they are in a mind of there own and dont think of others, she also uses territory of murder which shows that there kill is there territory and only there food and will not share it. Atwood does not use any words to portray vultures in a positive way but makes this makes humans look bad which is the message of the poem. Atwood and Achebe both describe vultures in a negative way to show how bad humanity is. But Atwood uses no positive words where as Achebe uses some positive words, which suggests that he does not want to put down humanity completely and wants to show there still is a small bit of good in humanity where as Atwood is all negative words suggesting she just want to get a strict point across that humanity has no good in it and needs to change. Achebe uses small more harsh serious phrases to portray vultures like swollen corpse, where as Atwood uses long less harsh words to describe the vultures like gluttonous for a space.

My World in Poetry Essays

My World in Poetry Essays My World in Poetry Essay My World in Poetry Essay The significance of this essay: creating a detailed description of me, one that grades cannot portray. Well here I am, Rachel Laura Gibson.Even before I could read, I had a natural curiosity for language, picking up new words easily and using them in surprising ways. For me, words were more than a way to communicate they were a form of art. As I explored the world of words, I began to understand writing as a powerful way to express my emotions. I looked to poetry as a focus to bringing out everything inside my head, every thought that defines me. And so, as I attempt to do the same, I look to poetry once again.Beginning this journey, I enter my room, the sun glowing through my window shades and illuminating the peony walls. I search for my journal, soon discovering a red spiral notebook, with my pen attached. To make sure it still worked, I scribble on the back of the notebook, finding it to be almost out of ink from all the writing it had done; but just enou gh left for me to continue. Finding a comfortable spot, I gently lay across my bed. And so I beginWhen no one else is aroundI think of things I could never sayAs lyrics run through my mindMelodies lingering in my earsI become the girl no one else can seeSomeone who goes beyond stereotypesBeyond imageShe has a perfectly imperfect lifeShe is real, and so are her friendsThe clothes she wears may not be designerBut she likes who she is:Her personalityHer brown skinHer lifeHer smileYetTears stream down her faceAs she dreams of a time, where she wont have to hideWhen acceptance wont matterWhen people wont careBut they doSo there she stays, showing people what they want to seeWaiting to be recognizedWaiting to be me.The waiting has come to an end. My poetry has allowed me to find my voice and let the world see Rachel Gibson; bright, unique, compassionate and with a perspective on the world that not many seventeen-year-olds have. This is a definition of me. I can think of this as a map to m y being, a window to my soul, or a record of my life. No matter which point of view I choose, every poem I have written contains a little piece of me, living and breathing in each line.My goal is to build understanding with my words. I amlooking to have an impact on issues of diversity which have shaped who Iam today. I want to help peopleUnderstandSee anothers viewLearn something newTo understand is to seeBeyond what you can seeTo know how Im feelingLook in my heartSpiritual healingRead between the lines andFind what you seekTo understand is to seeSee beyond meWelcome to my world.

Physiology and pharmacology for nursing practice Essay

Physiology and pharmacology for nursing practice - Essay Example The assortment of processes by which the body controls the internal environment making it constant is jointly known as homeostasis. In a bid to ensure that the body’s internal environment is stable, the conditions of the body must be continually monitored and adjusted through homeostatic regulation (Lenford and Johnson, 2015). It engages the receptor, the control center, and the effector. The receptor detects information about changes that occur in the environment (Norris & Carr, 2013). They then send the information to the control centers, which interpret the information as either being below or above the homeostatic range (Clancy & McVicar, 2009). The control centers send commands to the effectors that correct the disturbance by either opposing or enhancing a stimulus thus reinstating homeostasis (Clancy & McVicar, 2009). This is a continuous process to ensure the continuity and maintenance of homeostasis. An example is where the temperature receptors in the skin detect a change in temperature; communicate this to the control centers which are in the brain, then to the effectors in the blood vessels and sweat glands facilitating the required adjustments (Lenford and Johnson, 2015). When disturbances in the physiological balance occur, the system reacts to two forms of feedback. These include the positive and negative feedback. The majority of the homeostatic control mechanisms operate on the principle of negative feedback (Lenford and Johnson, 2015). It involves the system responding so as to reverse the direction of the change. An example of this principle is blood sugar regulation in the body. An increase in blood glucose higher than the homeostatic range triggers the processes that reduce it. Still, when blood glucose levels are below homeostatic range, the processes that increase the glucose levels will be triggered. Both instances result in the blood sugar level being maintained at a constant level

Drug Development and Toxicology (High-performance liquid Essay - 1

Drug Development and Toxicology (High-performance liquid chromatography) - Essay Example n from the day of the accident to the 5th day sampling, it can be seen that the presence of 4,5-dihydrodiol is evident in all days in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 nmol/ml. the second metabolite 7,8-dihydrodiol has the most presence immediately after the accident but slowly diminish through the days. The metabolite 7,8-diol-9,10 epoxide on the other hand has the least presence on the samples. It is even undetected during the first two days of the accident. Epoxide Hyrdolase contribute to the biodegradation of many organic compounds such as benzo[a]pyrene.(Loo, et al. 2006). This enzyme has the ability to detoxify a wide range of organic potential genotoxic epoxides with diverse structures (ARand, et al. 2003). It can modulate the effects on the binding of benzo[a]pyrene to the DNA structures (Carcinogenesis, 1983). It plays important roles in the metabolic activation of benzo[a]pyrene to carcinogens and mutagens (Thakker, et al. 1977). Metabolism of Benzo [a) Pyrene leads to formation of various compounds such as benzo[a] pyrene 4,5-dihydrodiol, ortho quinone and benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (Wood, et al., 1976). The first product is less or considered as non-mutagenic as compared to the other product which are the epoxide diol metabolites. The role of epoxide hydrolase is important such that it makes the benzo [a] pyrene derivatives to result to the non-mutagenic products. With this, there is less threat to genetic mutation and other health risks (Wood, 1981). Mr X is may have the possibility to develop cancer. There are three products for the metabolic pathway for benzo[a]pyrene where the product 7,8-doil-9,10-epoxide provides the biggest threat to human health due to its carcinogenic and mutagenic effect (Ruan, 2006). However, with the sampling and retention times considered, there are more products for 4,5-dihydrodiol produced based on the UV absorbance wavelength in detecting their presence. Benzo-pyrene are polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons with

HR Issues in the Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HR Issues in the Organisations - Essay Example Such a degree of centralisation is leading to employees’ frustration and disengagement (Vosburgh, 2007). There is a totally flawed reward system (Secord, 2003) working in the organisation, which again is designed by the ministry of defence. This design is not pragmatic (Pilbeam, S. & Corbridge, 2010) when it comes to dealing with civilian workers. Apparently, most of the work in these organisations is done in teams, but the reward system in place is not suited to this form of working. Moreover, this type of a reward system is anti teamwork and leads to a rift created between employees (Ulrich & Smallwood, 2005). With employees not receiving their deserved recognition and line mangers being helpless in this regard, organisational motivation is falling exponentially (Yeung & Brockbank, 1994). This entire problem is being caused by the â€Å"Cluster Panel†, which is totally callous to the working environment and is responsible for making appraisal decisions. The group has a defective method in place to assess an employee. The entire appraisal system (Yeung, Woolcock, & Sullivan, 1996) is dependent upon the line manager’s recommendation of an employee and that too is further conditional on his writing effectiveness. Even if a manager effectively encodes an employee’s accomplishment on the appraisal form, there is still no guarantee that this would secure an appraisal for the employee. This deficiency has two folded repercussions, one has to do with the line manager’s motivation level and the other has to do with an employee’s alienation with the organisational procedures (Newman & Hodgetts, 1998). One aspect that needs special attention over here is that of the military staff. Since they form a part of the total workforce of these organisations, they deserve to be treated like any other employee. On the contrary they are considered as alien to the organisational setting when they receive their compensation from the defence ministry. This sort of handling of the military personals is leading to a confusion arising in their midst with regards to their role, both in the military and in these organisations. Another important draw back in these organisations has to do with the absence of a motivator. Since employees consider performance bonuses as some sort of a lottery rather than a form of recognition, and manager’s acclamations as shallow, there exists a serious deficiency of a driving force (Miner & Crane, 1995). In these organisations mangers are the ones who are occupying the most pitiful position. They have no power what so every to express their viewpoint. They are mere spectators who are just watching the show, having no power what so ever to exert influence on any level of the bureaucracy (Losey, Mesinger, & Ulrich, 2005). Recommendations for Changes: In these circumstances in which the employees are feeling totally dejected with the organisational procedures, and mangers rather than being inspirational are showing a sorry picture it is important to come up with more effective Human Resource policies (Kramar, Mcgrew, & Schuler, 1997). It is inevitable that organisational productivity will fall and the purpose for which these organisations are in place will suffer a deep blow. In order to prevent such damaging consequences, change management needs to be implemented on an emergency basis. In this change management program,

Stopping bullying in schools Essay Example for Free

Stopping bullying in schools Essay It is sometimes difficult to understand how schools can provide the environment for bullying to take place yet they are very well supervised. Bullying however is carried out secretly and in hidden areas and adults including parents and teachers are not able to notice when it is going on. Other reasons that make it hard to detect is the fact that the school staff may see it as harmless play and therefore decide not to intervene. There may also be lack of enough supervisory settings that could lead to detecting the behavior in its likely occurrences (Wright, 2003). a) Laws on Bullying Anti bullying legislation has been developed to help curb the rise and spread of bullying within the school environment. The legislation provides for firm and fair enforcement of discipline within the school and security measures that provide for a climate that does not allow for bullying and threat making. The laws have been developed to help the school administrators’ deal with the issue. They require the schools to develop anti bullying policies and programs (Clabough, 2010). A national legislation that is against bullying has been proposed to make it mandatory for all schools to have these programs and policies that will help reduce the bullying incidents. The laws have been developed to emphasis to the schools that much is not being done to deal with bullying and that more needs to be done since bullying is an important issue that is affecting the schools. The laws are allowing for various legal actions to be taken up against the bullies who are reported to have bullied a fellow student. The legal action to be taken depends on the type of offence that has been reported (Clabough, 2010). For example where the offence reported involved included threatening the victim, legal action can be taken for threatening behavior and this is treated as a criminal offence. When the bullied acts involve sexual assault towards the victim, the legal action can be taken against indecent assault which is also treated as a criminal offence. An offence of common assault is charged against the bully when the victim was physically abused. Legal action may also include applying for an injunction against the bullies to prevent them from bullying the victim. The injunction can be used to instill fear upon the bully and hence stopping them from bullying the victim. Legal action however is only carried out if the actions of the bully are in more that two separate occasions and they are constant and ongoing. Evidence has to be gathered to prove the harassment and it must show that it led to severe damages to the victim (Clabough, 2010). The two offences of indecent assault and common assault can also be carried out without touching the victim. b) Their importance The anti bully legislation is very important in reducing the cases of bullying in the schools when everything has failed. The law can help sensitize the issue and teach the parents and teachers the need and importance of stopping the bullying behavior as it leads to severe consequences that are long term in some cases. The teachers and staff at the schools are taught how to identify and deal with bullying cases and establish effective strategies that enable the children report the cases of bullying within the school (Antibullying, n. d). The laws can also be used to teach and educate the children on bullying the strategies and types of bullies that are in existence and how they can deal. The laws can also help curb the spread of the practice to other areas like the work places and other environments outside the school environment. Bullies can also be helped since most of them end up committing other crimes in the adulthood (Dombeck, n. d). The consequences of bullying can also be reduced especially where they are long term and severe like in the cases of suicides and psychological impacts on the children. c) Suicides by Children The need for these laws has been necessitated by the increase in the number of suicides cases that have been reported. One case in particular is the case of Phoebe Prince, a 15 year student who committed suicide after she was continuously bullied by her new classmates for over 3 months (Rota, 2010). She had continuously been harassed verbally and physically by nine of her classmates, six of whom have been charged in court since the incident happened (ODowd, 2010). She had been a student of South Hadley High School located in Massachusetts, and had endured a lot of cyber bullying through popular websites like facebook, Twitter, Craigslist and Form spring and she also received threatening messages on her cell phone (Clabough, 2010). In school things had been thrown at her, while her face had been scribbled in her photographs that were hung on the school walls. The parents and the school officials had not done enough to stop the bullying even though they knew of the extent it had gone into. They had instead turned away and assumed a mentality of kids will be kids that led to the suicide. This was one of the cases that led to the Massachusetts anti bully legislation that was to curb such incidents from occurring (GLAD, 2010). d) Long Term Psychological Impact Bullying has been known to lead to long term effects that affect the victim’s psychology. Some of the effects of bullying include self esteem problems that may cause the adult to think lowly of them selves (Dombeck, n. d). They also tend to avoid social situations due to the interpersonal difficulties that they experience. Some of the victims of school bullying have reduced occupational opportunities since they do not get the chance to perform well in school. They have lingering bitterness and desires to seek revenge against the bullies. Some tend to have a lot of difficulty trusting people and they do not make many friends. They therefore tend to be lonely even in their adult life. In some cases the victims of school bullying continue to be bullied even in their work places and in other areas even in their adult life (Dombeck, n. d). e) Helping the Victim Overcome Victims of school bullying are usually very sad and deeply unhappy when they are in school (Banks, 1997). They suffer from low self esteem since they are usually self rejected by the classmates. There are various that the school can help the victims overcome the bullying and prevent it from occurring to them again. The first step of intervening is to ensure the victims safety. The victims are usually weaker than the bullies and hence they are not able to face the bullies on their own. The victims can be monitored when they are in schools to identify the times that they are bullied (Wright, 2003). The victim can also be encouraged to make friends with other students who will influence him or her positively. This will help increase the self esteem and confidence of the victim. As the victim makes more friends they may be able to help him when they are being bullied. They can be taught basic social skills to enable them make more friends. Mentors can also be allocated to the children who are bullied to be able to monitor them and protect them from the bullies (Wright, 2003). Victims can also be taught some skill that can they can use to stand up to the bullies especially when they abuse is verbal. The parents of the victims can help the children to overcome the effects of bullying. The parents can become more involved in the lives of the child to ensure that they are able to notice the instances of bullying. They can help the child speak out when they are being bullied. Counseling can also help the child deal with the psychological effects of bullying such as depression, low self esteem and anxiety. They can therefore be able to deal with the anger that they may feel against the bullies and the need to seek revenge (Dombeck, n. d). f) Helping Bullies Bullying is normally carried out in a secretive manner and can be difficult to identify within the schools (Wright, 2003). Teachers and school administrators may not be aware of how it is carried out. They must therefore assess the seriousness of the behavior and ensure that the students are aware of the seriousness of the matter. They should also be aware of the consequences of bullying and the charges that exist for bullies. If the bullies continue threatening the lives of the other students the teachers and the school administrators should now come up with ways to help the bullies turn around their behaviors. They can confront the bullies in a firm and fair manner that will not provoke them. They can communicate to the bullies without threatening them and give stern warnings that their behavior will not be tolerated. More stern measures can be put up if the bullies do not change their behavior. The confrontations should be carried out in private to ensure that they bully does not become defiant and refuse to compliance (Wright, 2003). To encourage them to change their behavior they can be rewarded if the cases for bullying reduce. Parents can be involved in the process to establish the reasons that lead the children to bully others. Where the reasons are based on the environment at home the parents can be involved in the process of reforming the behaviors of the bullies. Counseling can be used to help the children deal with the issues at home and reduce their chances of taking out their problems or anger on other students (Banks, 1997).

Brain in a Vat Critique

Brain in a Vat Critique Donald Davidsons philosophical writings include a variety of essays that plays an important role in the realm of Philosophy of Action, Mind, and Language. His profound essay Action, Reason, and Causes (1963) set about a standard for the action theory wherein he begins by claiming that reason rationalizes the action and that this rationalization of an agent (characterized as having a pro-attitude and a belief) is a species of causal explanation. In addition to this, Davidsons significant contribution to the Philosophy of Mind is his concept of Anomalous Monism which serves as a foundation of his philosophical work. Now, let us consider a sceptic argument of Brain in a vat, a fiction so created via scientific technique, as discussed by Renà © Descartes1 and Hilary Putnam. Just to assume, what if we are all brains in a vat, being fed electrical impulses by computers [as operated by scientist] impulses that alter our brain states and thereby create pseudo-experiences, and beliefs.2 If we regard this assumption to be true, then the hypothesis of Brain in a Vat in prospect brings with it the illusion of experience of performing an action and having some beliefs (that are actually being imposed by the scientist). Here, two positions are considered- one, Davidsons theory of Belief and Action and, other, the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a Vat. So, considering Davidsons philosophical approach towards human actions, beliefs, and thoughts; in this paper, I intend to figure out his response to this given- assumed- situation of Brain in a Vat and the extent to which he can dissipate such sceptical argument, in order to justify his theory. I have divided my paper in three main sections wherein section I is an overview of Davidsons philosophy followed up by section II which takes into account the exposition of Brain in a vat argument. And finally, section III which shows Davidsons dissipation of such a sceptical hypothesis. I. An Overview of Davidsons Philosophy Davidson is accredited of presenting a suave philosophical account of interpreting human actions that depicts the very existence of human beings and so can be expressed as a means of self- expression.3 He maintained that every action that an agent perform (under a description) has a primary reason involved, inclusive of a pro-attitude (, i.e., desires, wants, urges) and a belief (, i.e., knowing, perceiving). This constitutes the rationalization of an agent (as governed by reason) which Davidson argues is a species of causal explanation. This can be formulated as: R is a primary reason why an agent performed the action A under the description d only if R consists of a pro attitude of the agent towards actions with a certain property, and a belief of the agent that A, under the description d, has that property.4 So it can be said that the essential point in Davidsons approach towards action is that an action so performed by the agent is voluntary in nature; it is an intentional act performed with reason, under a particular description. But, here, Davidson pointed out that to know the primary reason of an action so performed by the agent is to know the intention of an agent in performing the action, but the converse is not necessarily true.5 Moreover, he emphasized on the role of causal concepts in the description and explanation of human action6 which brings with it the foremost concern that even primary reason for an action is its cause.7 There is a proper pattern of cause and effect that is involved in explanation of an action that connects the physical event being performed with the mental event (or intention) of an agent. Now, a question can be asked as to what is this Mental that Davidson is talking about? What does he mean by Mental? Simon Evnine has clearly explained this notion by characterizing mental states into sensations (that an agent may feel) and the intentionality which includes beliefs, desires (that are also referred as propositional attitudes). Davidson is primarily concerned with the propositional attitudes that have propositional content and so has confined himself to the content-bearing, propositional states8. As he said: The distinguishing feature of the mental is not that it is private, subjective, or immaterial, but that it exhibits what Brentano called Intentionality.9 Moreover, mental states can be analysed from two perspectives: the first-person point of view and the third-person point of view. The former is according to agents sensations and the latter is in accord with propositional attitudes that is pertinent to Davidsons view. This is because, as Evnine mentioned, understanding in terms of rationality is a distinctive human activity (or is a communal activity) which is in principle public and observable to all. And the states like belief, desire play an important role in this way.10 Also, two kinds of laws are generally considered in relation to the Mental the psychophysical laws that connect mental states to physical states; and the psychological laws that connect mental states to mental states itself. Davidson denies the value or presence of both these laws and this is what he has in his mind when he talks about The Anomalism of the Mental. As he writes, . . . The causal dependence, and the anomalousness, of mental events are undeniable facts.11 Thereby, Davidson advocated his theory of Anomalous Monism which exhibits the fact that mental states or events cannot be given purely physical explanations; such that not all events are mental, while . . . all events are physical.12 This may mean that, since there is a categorical difference between the mental and the physical state, it is regarded that there cannot be any strict psychophysical law. As he stated in his essay Mental Events (1970): It is a feature of physical reality that physical change can be explained by the laws that connect it with other changes and conditions physically described. It is a feature of the mental that the attribution of mental phenomenon must be responsible to the background of reasons, beliefs, and intention of the individual. There cannot be tight connections between the realms if each is to retain allegiance to its proper source of evidence.13 Davidson pointed out that, although the two states of mental and physical cannot be connected with any particular law, in spite of having some causal interaction between them, yet it can be said that the characterisations of mental events somehow depend on the characterisation of physical events. This may be termed as Supervenience, i.e., an object cannot alter in some mental respect without altering in some physical respect.14 But this does not imply any sort of reducibility whatsoever. Further, as it has been observed that Davidson is primarily concerned with the interpretation of human actions, wherein both mental and the physical state or event has a distinctive role to pay, the next consideration demands the specific attribute of interpretation itself. The question may be asked: what makes interpretation possible? What is the role of understanding in interpretation? Given a situation, what if you land up in a place you are completely unaware of. You cannot understand the language or utterance of the people (of that unknown place) and so you are unable to interpret their happenings or the behaviour of the people of the unknown environment. This implies that without understanding, no interpretation is ever possible. In order to interpret the actions of the people (of the unknown place), to attribute beliefs, desires and other mental states to them, to assign meaning to their utterances and say what they are doing, we have to begin from scratch.15 Thereby, Davidson posits the problem of interpretation and maintained that All understanding of the speech of another involves radical interpretation.16 So, having a great influence of Quines Radical Translation, Davidson advocated (a little different) doctrine of Radical Interpretation wherein the interpreter tries to understand the actions of the people, allocating meaning to their sayings, according to the environment they are living in. In a way, Radical Interpretation, as Evnine explained, is a theoretical exercise designed to reveal the interrelations between the various intentional, or propositional states and events like beliefs, desires, linguistic utterances and actions, and the relation between these states and events and non-intentional states, and events such as brain states, noises; marks on paper and bodily movements.17 Now, Radical Interpretation has been credited of having two features- Normativity and Holism. Normative principles are general principles that is applicable to every other person in concern which deals with the question, how things should or ought to be? Davidson claims that radical interpretation should be guided by normative principles for mental states can justify other mental states, having an assumption that the person concerned is rational. So rationalization has an essential role in terms of attribution of mental states. However, rationality, here, is restricted in the sense of its relation to the world and actions being performed.18 Secondly, regarding the holistic feature of radical interpretation, it is claimed that mental states are adhered only in relation to other mental states. The attribution of the mental states is based on the behaviour of the agent performing actions, but such attribution is not fixed and so must be made according to the attributes of other mental states. So in the light of other attributions, the reason for an action can be considered.19 Thereby, it can be said that in Davidsons view actions and mental states mesh together in a holistic network . . . a web in which everything is connected, either directly or indirectly, to everything else.20 Thus, Davidsons account of interpretation as normative and holistic is about rational interpretation and attribution of mental states only. But this does not mean that no error in terms of interpretation is ever possible for there can be a gap between interpretation of belief of someone and his actual belief. This brings us to take into account the indeterminacy of interpretation which allows the possibility of having more than one set of interpretation. Moving on, can we say, in Davidsonian context- Is there any connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism? Quite obviously, there is a strong connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism that yields a correct analysis of utterance of the speaker. To explain this- utterance is an action, and so an event, and to interpret a certain event, we ought to describe it. And this description gives the meaning of the uttered sentence. So, in context of Interpretation and Anomalous Monism, we are concerned with events and descriptions. Events, in themselves, are opaque and meaningless. But they can be seen as intentional actions or mental events only when they are described in a certain way.21 As Davidson writes: we interpret a bit of linguistic behaviour when we say what a speakers words mean on an occasion of use. The task may be seen as one of redescription.22 Now, Radical Interpretation occurs only when the interpreter is able to understand the unknown language for which meaning of language is very important as the essence of language lies in understanding and its usage. But how can we account for the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker? Or, how can we account for the validity of the interpretation itself? In order to answer this, Davidson accommodated The Principle of Charity, i.e., an assumption that the speakers utterances will be counted as true, in terms of his belief as well as his meaning. For the belief of the speaker and the meaning of the sentence incorporates the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker. The underlying thought of this principle is the fact that given this Principle of Charity, it is generally assumed that the speakers utterances will be regarded as true and rational. Although even this assumption is guided by rationality (in broader context), however, the Principle of Ch arity also include the possibility of mistaken beliefs for its base is assumption only. The point is that The Principle of Charity cannot be sidelined if we are to adhere to Radical Interpretation, in Davidsonian context. This is so because the concept of belief, desire, meaning and intentional action are defined by what the theory, the principle of charity, says about them.23 But, even The Principle of Charity, which has been adopted as an across-the-board basis24, can be sorted out into two main principles The Principle of Correspondence and The Principle of Coherence. The former principle takes into account the assumption of the truthfulness of the speakers utterances per se whereas, the latter principle takes into account the principles governing attribution of attitudes to an agent and description of the agents behaviour so as to make the agent out to be by and large rational.25 Also, Davidson in concern with epistemology upholds the position that coherence yields correspondence; wherein coherence allows a set of true beliefs of an agent (as guided by his rationality and understanding). Again assumption plays a central role here as well, as he said: There is a presumption in favour of the truth of a belief that coheres with a significant mass of belief. Every belief in a coherent total set of beliefs is justified in the light of this presumption, much as every intentional action taken by a rational agent . . . is justified.26 However, it should be noted that Truth is not to be defined specifically in terms of coherence and belief, for truth is primitive, according to Davidson, and is always in relation of correspondence with the existing world. More so, in spite of adhering to his coherence theory as assuming the truthfulness of beliefs of an agent, Davidson accepts the possibility of even coherent set of false beliefs that an agent may have because of the gap between what is held to be true and what is true.27 II. Being a Brain in a vat The sophisticated form of the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a vat in prospect has been addressed by Hilary Putnam in Reason, Truth and History (1981). This possibility urges us to assume, what if we are really brains in a vat? , i.e., what if the experiences (or sensations) I am currently having is as per the scientists wish? In other words, the argument of Brain in a Vat as stated by Putnam, says: A human being . . . has been subjected to an operation by an evil scientist. The persons brain . . . has been removed from the body and placed in a vat of nutrients which keeps the brain alive. The nerve endings have been connected to a super- scientific computer which causes the person whose brain is to have the illusion that everything is perfectly normal.28 This implies that a being can never know that he is not a brain in a vat because it might be the case that the experience he is having is being fed to him by the scientist, and that his experience is ex-hypothesi identical with that of something which is not a brain in a vat.29 Although Putnam considered such a fictional argument that has its space in some physically possible world, however, he denies the practical possibility of the sceptical argument by regarding it to be self-refuting in nature.30 I shall take up this view of Putnam later, for as of now my main focus is to assume the situation of being a Brain in a Vat to be true wherein all that the person is experiencing is the result of electronic impulses travelling from the computer to the nerve endings . . . that if the person tries to raise his hand, the feedback from the computer will cause him to see and feel the hand being raised.31 This may mean that the person is, as though, performing an action (of raising his hand) or having a sensation or feeling; in spite of being a brain as merely placed in a vat. In addition, another case of such a scientific fiction that can be put forward is that of Turings Test a test that can judge whether a computer (or machine) is conscious or not? Turing advocated the following test: let someone carry on a conversation with the computer and a conversation with a person whom he does not know. If he cannot tell which is the computer and which is the human being, then . . . the computer is conscious . . . the conversations are all carried on via electric type-writer.32 The point that Turing maintained is that even a machine can be qualified as being conscious, having thoughts, if it passes the test. But even the test that Turing advocated is criticized for the very fact that there is a gap between the concept of being conscious and the computers technical language. Now, as having considered the point that even a Brain in a Vat (in some sense) is performing some action or is having some belief that may have (in his perspective) some rationalization of his performing an action; although in actuality, those experiences are all being induced by the scientist. Here, let us consider that given this assumed-situation of being a Brain in a Vat to Davidson; let us figure out his response towards such a sceptical position. Quite obviously, Davidson dissipates such a position, but let us see how. III. Against Brain in a vat A Davidsonian version The very assumption of being a Brain in a Vat brings with itself the practical difficulties that can never be accounted for. The reason being that it is a mere scientific technique, a fiction that induces the illusion of having experiences, beliefs or performing actions, to the brain as kept in a created- scientific- environment, a vat. Putnam, himself, attributed such a hypothesis to be self-refuting in nature, and explicitly denies any junction between the brain in a vat world and the actual world.33 But, since my concern is with Davidsons version, let us consider his objection against this sceptical hypothesis with special reference to his Coherence Theory.34 Davidson assumed (and so asserted) that there are coherent set of true beliefs, however, he never rejected the fact that there can also be coherent set of false beliefs. He maintained that beliefs can be false as well but the very concept of false beliefs introduces a potential gap between what is regarded as being true and what is actually true.35 Although the possibility of having false beliefs is minimum in Davidsons context, yet this can be viewed directly against the Brain in a Vat hypothesis as the brain that has been placed in a vat- a created scientific environment, have illusory beliefs merely based on some sensory stimulations*  [1]  that are surely false, and the very fact that the brain in a vat have false beliefs itself shows that there is a practical- potential- gap between the created world of brain in a vat and the actual rational world of human beings. Even Putnam explained this by saying that there is no qualitative similarity between the thought of the brain in a vat and the thought of someone in the actual world.36 Secondly, to consider Quines view, he said that the meaning . . . [of] sentence is determined by the patterns of sensory stimulations that would cause a speaker to assent to or dissent from the sentence.37 Davidson argues that such an account will invite scepticism leading to the falsity of every sentence whatsoever. As he said, when meaning goes epistemological in this way, truth and meaning are necessarily divorced.38 He asserts that sensory stimulations can never be regarded as an evidence or justification for the belief (which is veridical in nature). In his words: Quine . . . ties the meanings of some sentences directly to patterns of stimulations . . . but the meanings of further sentences are determined by how they are conditioned to the original, or observation sentences. The facts of such conditioning do not permit a sharp division between sentences held true by virtue of meaning and sentences held true on the basis of observation . . . I now suggest [to give up] the distinction between observation sentences and the rest. For the distinction between sentences belief in whose truth is justified by sensations and sentences belief in whose truth is justified only by appeal to other sentences held true is as anathema to the conherentist as the distinction between beliefs justified by sensations and beliefs justified only by appeal to further beliefs. Accordingly, I suggest we give up the idea that meaning or knowledge is grounded on something that counts as an ultimate source of evidence. No doubt meaning and knowledge depend on experience and experience ultimately on sensation. But this is the depend of causality, not of evidence or justification.39 This, again, can be posited against Brain in a Vat hypothesis for the hypothesis, in itself, invokes vague- sensory stimulations which go against the possibility of having any valid stimulated belief. As a result, the stimulated belief of a brain which is placed in a created scientific environment of a vat is false. Moreover, to determine the content of a belief, Davidson endorsed the view that in radical interpretation, we should identify the object of a belief with the cause of that belief. This view can also be directed against Brain in a Vat hypothesis. The reason being that according to the sceptic, the content of brains belief is not dependent on their causes.40 But this is not acceptable to Davidson as, for him, causality plays an indispensable role in determining the content of what we say and believe.41 And as interpreters, we must consider the belief of a brain in a vat in accordance with its actual environment, the environment that causes those beliefs, with special reference to The Principle of Charity. So in the case of a brain in a vat, Davidson claims that one must have knowledge of computers technical environment. He argues that though the brain is functioning and is having a sensation of performing some action with an illusory belief, but the brain is only reacting to the featur es of its environment which is, in actuality, a computers technical data storehouse. So, therefore, the only way to interpret those actions is to correlate it with the bits of data that the computer is feeding in.42 And such an action cannot have any logical- valid- interpretation in a rational behaviouristic sense of being human. Further, just to consider Turings Test (as explained earlier in section II), Davidson argues against the Turings test of machines claiming them to be conscious. He gave an example of John, a rational human being and Robo-John, artificially created John proxy. Davidson explains that John is causally connected to the actual things outside in the actual world. But Robo-John is not causally connected with the things outside in the actual world. And so, unlike John, Robo-John does not think. Thus, Turing is wrong as John does think whereas his proxy Robo-John does not.43 If this is the case, then it is applicable to the Brain in a Vat argument as well (in terms of actions), for in such a created- scientific- situation there is no causal connection between the brain (as placed in a created environment) and the actual world. Lastly, Davidsons objection to this sceptical hypothesis can also be posited with the help of the notion of understanding. As Davidson maintained that the coherence theory is about beliefs or sentences held true by someone who understands them.44 But it can be questioned that does Brain in a Vat have any understanding as it involves rationalization pertaining to the normal human behaviour? There is a strong doubt that the functional brain which is placed in a vat is able to understand any activity, in spite of being induced the sensations, the beliefs by the scientist. So even though the hypothesis is accredited of performing some action which is a mere illusion, it will not have any capacity to understand things accordingly. Conclusion Thus it can be said that Davidsons position of an action being performed by an agent, that has a proper belief and pro attitude, is about a rational human agent living in this actual real world of human beings who are guided by reasons. It is certainly not about a brain being placed in a scientific- created- environment, a vat and, then, having an illusion of performing an action and having some illusory beliefs and sensations that are actually being induced by the scientist. Whatever actions or beliefs that a Brain in a Vat is experiencing is not grounded on any primary reason, for the brain in concern is merely having false beliefs of experiencing the reality, the false belief of performing some action, it is a case of mere illusion, hallucination that does not have place in Davidsons project. More so, since there cannot be any connection between the brain in a vat world and the actual world of beings, Davidson dissipates the position of being a Brain in a Vat whose scientific, co mputer- created- environment is completely opposed to that of being human and so can never be interpreted in accord with our behavioural patterns and the actions of human agents, as even to interpret the actions of someone, we need to attribute some beliefs in a holistic network according to our rationality. But this seems infirm in the case of brain in a vat. Though the brain placed in a vat is having a belief of performing some false action, still is restricted in his small created domain and so interpreting his actions will be determined in terms of his computer oriented environment which again is being created by a scientist and is contrary to the world of being human per se and hence, is not at par with the rationality of humans as well. And so to understand and interpret the actions or language of a brain placed in a vat in a holistic way would be like interpreting the actions of a swimmer (while swimming) without even knowing what basic technique is required to swim. Hence, t he actions of a Brain in a Vat is merely envision without having any substantial ground. For Davidson claims: If we cannot find a way to interpret the utterances and other behaviour of a creature as revealing a set of beliefs largely consistent and true by our own standards, we have no reason to count that creature as rational, as having beliefs, or as saying anything.45 Reference Notes 1 See Concept of Evil Demon by Renà © Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Trans. John Veitch, (Watchmaker Publishing, USA, 2010), 97-103 2 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 3 3 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 39 4 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 3-5 5 Ibid. , 7 6 Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), xv 7 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 4 8 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 7-8 9 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 211 10 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 9 11 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 207 12 Ibid. , 214 13 Ibid. , 222 14 Ibid. , 214 15 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10 16 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 125 17 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10-11 18 Ibid. , 11-12 19 Ibid. , 14-16 20 Ibid. , 39 21 Ibid. , 99 22 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 141 23 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 113 24 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 153 25 Kirk Ludwig, ed., Donald Davidson, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 17 26 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 27 Ibid. , 308 28 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 527 29 Jonathan Dancy, An Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology, (Blackwell Publications, 1985), 10 30 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 528 31 Ibid. , 527 32 Ibid. , 529 33 Ibid. , 532 34 Davidson never directly attacked or objected Brain in a vat argument in any of his work. I have tried to postulate the objections that Davidson might have against such a fictional possibility and the so called illusory actions being performed. 35 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 36 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 532 37 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 313 38 Ibid. , 313 39 Ibid. , 313-314 40 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 142-143 41 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 317 42 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 4 43 John-Michael Kuczynski, Davidson on Turing: Rationality Misunderstood?, (Principia 9, 1-2, 2005), accessed October 07, 2012; http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br , 114-115 44 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 45 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation i