The Debate Concerning Stem Cell Research :: stem cell argumentative persuasive argument

"Stem cell research is the key to developing cures for degenerative conditions like Parkinson's and motor neuron disease from which I and many others suffer." -- Stephen Hawking As college students, it is important that we know and care about the issue of stem cell research. Stem cell research is currently legal in most countries. The United States, normally a leader in new frontiers, is one of the last to explore this territory. As it is slowly being pushed forward, we are going to have to know about it. If it keeps progressing, we as citizens will have to vote on it. It affects most of our lives in a personal way. Most of you know at least one person with diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s. Perhaps even you will face one of these illnesses at some point in your life. It is important to know about issues like stem cell research, which can help many people in our society. Stem cell research is becoming an issue that is one of the most profound of our time. The issue of research involving stem cells derived from human embryos is increasingly the subject of dinner table discussions and a national debate. The issue is confronted every day in laboratories as scientists ponder the ethical consequences of their work. It is agonized over by parents and many couples as they try to have children, or save children already born. The issue is debated within the church, with people of different faiths, even many of the same faith coming to different conclusions. Many people are finding that the more they know about stem cell research, the less certain they are about the right ethical and moral conclusions. What is stem cell research? It starts with an embryo. An embryo is created when a male sperm and a female egg are joined. A large number of embryos already exist outside the natural environment. They are the product of a process called in vitro fertilization, which helps many couples conceive children. When doctors match sperm and egg to create life outside the womb, they usually produce more embryos than are planted in the mother. Once a couple successfully has children, or if they are unsuccessful, the additional embryos remain frozen in laboratories. Some will not survive during long storage; others are destroyed. A number have been donated to science and used to create privately funded stem cell lines.

Deaf Technology :: essays research papers

-TTY TTYs (also called Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) and text telephones) are used for two-way text conversation over a telephone line. They are the primary tool used by deaf people (and some hard of hearing people) for telephone conversation. Other visual telecommunications technologies and services, such as Internet chat and messaging, email, e-paging, and fax and e-mail are also used in telecommunications by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. -TRS Telecommunications relay services (TRS) provide voice telephone users and people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-disabled to communicate over a regular telephone line. TRS is mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. There have been many new improvements in TRS in the last several years. These improvements give users choices that make TRS calls more natural and â€Å"functionally equivalent† to voice telephone communications. -Video relay service Using a high-speed Internet connection or ISDN, a video connection is established; a qualified sign language interpreter relays the conversation with the voice telephone party. -CapTel Captioned Telephone is a new product of Ultratec, being tested in several states. CapTel is an innovative service in which the operators repeat the words of the hearing party into an automatic speech recognition system for rapid transcription. Voice and data are carried on one line so that the hard of hearing or deaf user can monitor the speech as well as see the transcription. The CapTel phone is set up for â€Å"dial through† so that the user does not need to dial the relay service first. -ASR Automatic speech recognition is the most successful and accurate of these applications. It is currently making a use of a technique called â€Å"shadowing† or sometimes called â€Å"voicewriting.† Rather than have the speaker’s speech directly transcribed by the system, a hearing person whose speech is well-trained to an ASR system repeats the words being spoken. This technique can greatly improve the accuracy of the system compared to direct ASR transcription of speech while that speaker is engaged in conversation or lecturing to a group of people.

Reinforcement and Employees Essay

Q3. What tools does Walmart use to motivate employees? How might a lack of motivation affect associates and how should managers respond? Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Give me a squiggly! Give me an M! Give an A! Give me an R! Give me a T! What’s that spell? Walmart! Whose Walmart is it? It’s my Walmart ! Who’s number one? The customer! Always! The good times continue at Walmart, and so do hard work and achievement. For many employees, seeing peers rewarded for a job well done proves highly motivational. Executives at Walmart refer to the company as one big family. There are no grunts or gophers –no employee, no matter how new, is thought of as low person on the totem. According to the company’s â€Å"open door† policy, all associates are encouraged to speak freely, share concerns, and express ideas for improving daily operations. In return, they can expect managers to treat all discussions fairly with an open mind. The policy is ri ght out of Walton’s playbook. â€Å"Listen to your associates,† Walton urged. â€Å"They’re the best idea generators.† The founder’s wisdom is routinely reaffirmed through the oft-repeated quote that â€Å"nothing constructive happens in Bentonville† – a reference to Walton headquarters. In Walton’s grass – roots ethic, local employees are the ones most likely to produce fresh ideas. One significant way managers can meet higher motivational needs is to shift power down from the top of organization and share it with employees to enable them to achieve goals. Empowerment is power sharing, the delegation of power or authority to subordinates in an organization. Increasing employee motivation for task accomplishment because people improve their own effectiveness, choosing how to do a task and using their creativity. Empowerment is one way managers promote self- reinforcement and self- efficacy, as defined in the discussion of social learning. Empowering employees involves giving them four elements that enable them to act more freely accomplish their jobs: information knowledge, power, and rewards. First of all, employees receive information about company performance. In companies where employees are fully empowered, all employees have access to all financial and operational information. Secondly, employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals. Companies use training programs and other development tools to help people acquire the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to organizational performance. The third motivation is employees have the power to make substantive decision. Empowered employees have the authority to directly influence work procedures and organizational performance, such as through quality circles or self- directed work teams. And last but not least, employees are rewarded based on company performance. Organizations that empower workers often reward them based on the results shown in the company’s bottom line. Organizations may also use other motivational compensation programs described in Exhibit 16.8 to tie employee efforts to company performance. Exhibit 16.8 Many of today’s organizations are implementing empowerment programs, but they are empowering workers to varying degrees. At some companies, empowerment means encouraging workers’ idea while managers retain final authority for decisions; at others it means giving employees almost complete freedom and power to make decisions and exercise initiative and imagination. Current methods of empowerment fall along a continuum, as illustrated in exhibit 16.9 . The continuum runs from situation in which front- line workers have almost no discretion, such as on a traditional assembly line, to full empowerment, where workers even participate in formulating organizational strategy. Exhibit 16.9 Perhaps the most important things managers can do to enhance organizational communication and dialogue can encourage people to communicate honestly with one another. Subordinates will feel free to transmit negative as well as positive message to managers without fear of retribution. Efforts to develop interpersonal skills among employees can also foster openness, honesty, and trust. Second, managers should develop and use formal communication channels in all direction. Scandinavian Designs uses two newsletters to reach employees. Dana Holding Corporation developed the â€Å"Here a Thought† board- called a HAT rack- to get ideas and feedback from workers. Other techniques include direct mail, bulletin boards, blogs, and employee surveys. Third, managers should encourage the use of multiple channels including both formal and informal communications. Multiple communication channels include written directives, face- to- face discussions, and the grapevine. For example, managers at GM’s Packard Electric plant use multimedia, including a monthly newspaper, frequent meeting of employees’ teams and an electronic news display in the cafeteria. Sending messages through multiple channels increases the likelihood that they will be properly received. Fourth, the structure should fit communication needs. An organization can be designed to use teams, task forces, project managers, or matrix structure as needed to facilitate the horizontal flow of information for coordination and problem solving. Structure should also reflect information need. When team or department task are difficult, a decentralized structure should be implemented to encourage discussion and participation. Empowerment is the process of distributing decision-making power throughout an organization. It is a process which enables employees to set personal work goals, make minor decisions and to solve conflicts by using their personal authority. Team Bonuses, in situations in which employees should cooperate with each other and isolating employee performance is more difficult, companies are increasingly resorting to tying employee pay to team performance. For example, in 2007, Wal-Mart gave bonuses to around 80% of their associates based on store performance. If empl oyees have a reasonable ability to influence their team’s performance level, these programs may be effective. One way Wal-Mart facilitates respect for an individual is through an open-door policy that allows employees of all levels to communicate with managers in higher levels of the company. This open-door policy is also a way of keeping unions from forming in the company. The philosophy is that when employees have avenues for expressing their complaints and problems, there will be no reason to have union representatives (Cray, 2000; Slater, 2003). However, people may question how effective this policy is, because employees still attempt to form unions. Walton also believed in the importance of having a clear flow of communication with his workers, claiming that the more information they received the harder they would work for him. â€Å"The more they know, the more they’ll understand,† he said. â€Å"The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.† To Walton, the free flow of information between him and his worke rs demonstrated the trust and respect he had for them. Without that trust, Walton felt he could not succeed. â€Å"Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitor,† he said. For Walton, the bottom line was to appreciate his workers and to make them feel valued. He knew that a paycheck and stock options alone would not guarantee loyalty or hard work. Instead, he realized the importance of making sure his workers knew they were appreciated. â€Å"Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise,† he said. â€Å"They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.† By having motivated and loyal employees, Walton could then use them as his secret weapon. â€Å"The folks on the front lines – the ones who actually talk to the customer – are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there,† he said. By listening to his workers and their ideas, Walton could stay on top of his game; â€Å"This really is what total quality is about.† Listen to everyone in your practice/team. Obviously your team is a lot smaller than Wal-Mart, but Sam’s tactic of figu ring out ways to get â€Å"front line† people talking holds true for advisors. You can gain a lot of insight into your clients, and it will help strengthen relationships with support personnel. And yes, listen to your clients too. continuous communication is the most important thing to remember. Change usually causes fear about different things. Communication must be very open, honest and encouraging. It also has to cover all the parties involved in the change. Happy employees mean happy customers. Walton admitted that initially he was so stingy and did not give good pay to his employees. But eventually he realized that he should give a larger payment to his employees because they are considered as â€Å"business partners†. According to Walton, who treated the way management is the same business partner in a way that applied to the consumer. If the business partner treats their customers well then the consumer will come again and again therein lies the advantage and business success. Walton also often visited his shop and asked for their opinions, especially employees who are on the front lines, those who actually faced and talking with customers, as people who know the real situation on the ground. Management’s number one goal with their employees is to make working at Wal-Mart fun and rewarding. They even have their own cheer to boost associates morale and organizational spirit (Wal-Mart, 2008). â€Å"Who’s Wal-Mart? It is my Wal-Mart† (Wal-Mart, 2008). This is the type of leadership styles that all organizations need to use. This style makes employees want to come to work everyday and they feel secure knowing that they are working for a great organization. Wal-Mart is like one big family and like to make their associates feel like they are an important part of keeping the doors open for everyone. If Walmart this organization are lack of motivation it’ll affects associates also called employees. Lack of motivation equates to less work being accomplished. Productivity does not disappear; it is usually transferred to aspects not related to the organization’s work. Things like personal conversations, Internet surfing or taking longer lunches cost the organization time and money. Reduced productivity can be detrimental to an organization’s performance and future success. Low employee motivation could be due to decreased success of the organization, negative effects from the economy or drastic changes or uncertainty within the organization. No matter what the cause, having the reputation of having an unpleasant work environment due to low employee motivation will ultimately impact how existing and potential clients or partners view working with an organization. A reputation can precede an organization and dictate its future in the industry. The reinforcement approach employee motivation sidesteps the issue of employee needs and thinking processes described in the content and process theories. Reinforcement theory simply looks at the relationship between behavior and its consequences. It focuses on changing or modifying employees’ on –the-job behavior through the appropriate use of immediate rewards and punishments. Behavior modification is the name given to the set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is used to modify human behavior. The basic assumption underlying behavior modification is the law of effect, which states that behavior that is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, and behavior that is not reinforced tends not to be repeated. Reinforcement is defined as anything that causes a certain behavior to be repeated or inhibited. The four reinforcement tools are positive reinforcement, avoidance learning, punishment, and extinction, as summarized in exhibit16.6 Positive reinforcement is the administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior, such as praise for an employee who arrives on time or does a little extra work. Research shows that positive reinforcement does help to improve performance. Moreover, nonfinancial reinforcement such as positive feedback, social recognition, and attention are just as effective as financial incentives. One study of employees at fast- food drive- thru windows, for example, found that performance feedback and supervisor recognition had a significant effect on increasing the incidence of â€Å"up- selling† or asking customers to increase their order. Montage Hotels &resorts, known for its culture of gracious yet humble service, uses a variety of employee recognition programs to positively reinforce employees for providing exceptional service. CEO Alan J. Fuerstman says â€Å"it’s simple psychology. People commit more acts of kindness when they are appreciated f or them.† Avoidance learning is the removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved, theory encouraging and strengthening the desired behavior. Avoidance learning is sometimes called negative reinforcement. The idea is that people will change a specific behavior to avoid the undesired result that behavior provokes. As a simple example, a supervisor who constantly reminds or nags an employee who is goofing off on the factory floor and stops the nagging when the employee stops goofing off is applying avoidance learning. Punishment is the imposition of unpleasant outcomes on an employee. Punishment typically occurs following undesirable behavior. For example, a supervisor may berate an employee for performing a task incorrectly. The supervisor expects that the negative outcome will serve as a punishment and reduce the likelihood of the behavior recurring. The use of punishment in organization is controversial and often criticized because it fails to indicate the correct behavior. However, almost all managers report that they find it necessary to occasionally impose forms of punishment ranging from verbal reprimands to employee suspensions or firings. Extinction is the withholding of a positive reward. Whereas with punishment, the supervisor imposes an unpleasant outcome such as a reprimand, extinction involves withholding praise or other positive outcomes. With extinction, undesirable behavior is essentially ignored. The idea is that behavior that is not positively reinforced will gradually disappear A New York Times reporter wrote a humorous article about how she learned to stop nagging and instead use reinforcement theory to shape her husband’s behavior after studying how professionals train animals. When her husband did something she liked such as throw a dirty shirt in the hamper, she would use positive reinforcement, thanking him or giving him a hug and a kiss. Undesirable behaviors, such as throwing dirty clothes on the floor, on the other hand, were simply ignored, applying the principle of extinction. Reward and punishment motivational practices based on the reinforcement theory dominate organizations. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 84 percent of all companies in the United States offer some type of monetary or non- monetary reward system, and 69 percent offer incentive pay, such as bonuses, bases on an employee’s performance. However, in other studies, more than 80 percent of employers with incentive programs have reported that their programs are only somewhat successful or working at all. Despite the testimonies of organizations that enjoy successful incentive programs, criticism of these â€Å"carrot- and- stick† methods is growing, as discussed in the Manager’s Shoptalk. If rewards and motivation are failed to fulfill the employees the manager of Walmart should apply some positive reinforcement in order to safe the situation. Positive reinforcement is the practice of rewarding desirable employee behavior in order to strengthen that behavior. For example, when you praise an employee for doing a good job, you increase the likelihood of him/her doing that job very well again. Positive reinforcement both shapes behavior and enhances an employee’s self-image. Recognizing and rewarding desirable employee behavior is the essential key to motivating employees to work more productively. This method will reap many benefits, first it clearly defines and communicates expected behaviors and strengthens the connection between high performance and rewards. It reinforces an employee’s behavior immediately after learning a new technique and promotes quick, thorough learning. It motivates effective workers to continue to do good work. Lack of reinforcement leads to job dissatisfaction. It increases productivity by rewarding workers who conserve time and materials. Employees who are rewarded after they successfully perform feel self-confident and become eager to learn new techniques, take advanced training, and accept more re sponsibility. Rewarding employees who suggest improved work procedures will produce more innovation – if you create a relaxed work environment, reward new ideas and tolerate innovative failures. Employees who receive recognition for their achievements are more enthusiastic about their work, more cooperative, and more open to change. Besides that, when you show appreciation and reward employees for good work, you’ll be able to increase their job commitment and organizational loyalty. In conclusion, giving positive reinforcement does not mean that what is done incorrectly by an employee is to be ignored. Instead, it means to recognize what portion of the work was done correctly first, then follow-up with what can be done better the next time and why the performance or work result was not quite what was expected. If this means the manager must take some of the blame for not giving detailed instructions for the desired behavior or result, they should do so in an apologetic manner and then proceed to explain how the manager personally will try to do better. This is an excellent time for the manager to let the employee know they still have faith in them but need their help and cooperation by their asking questions if the manager’s instructions are not clear. This allows both the employee and manager to get better at communication, which results in improved task completion. Remember mangers need to give positive results first, then follow-up with what improvements are needed, apologize if necessary, and then reinforce what was done right again. When working the improvement or follow-up statement do not use the word â€Å"but† as this word often negates anything said before it and the employee may stop listening as they know a negative is coming next.

Marxian Economics

Our work aims to research a modern development of Marxian economics, primarily at the theoretical level and make clear how do Marxs’ â€Å"laws of motion† of capitalism relate to Schumpeter’s views of imperialism. † Marx was a German journalist, exiled in London, who combined significantly different intellectual traditions in order to explain economic systems, including German philosophy, French political theory, and English political economy. Joseph Schumpeter was an Austrian scholar who was very critical of, yet much taken with, his predecessor, com/compare-and-contrast-karl-marxs-and-walt-rostows-theories/">Karl Marx, whose focus on historical analysis he admired and emulated.They both believed that capitalism is a stage of economic development in which the potential of humankind cannot fully develop. Both came to the study of economics questioning the fundamental assumptions of existing economic theory, and thus each took more of economic theory to be p roblematic than did most economic theorists. Both conceptualized the capitalist system as a whole, yet with the realization that the economic realm hardly constitutes the totality of human experience and thought.The real issue, which may indeed appear to have its scandalous aspect, arises when great economists direct their attention to what I shall call the cosmological problem of economics—namely, the social configurations of production and distribution (if you will, the macro and micro patterns) that ultimately emerge from the self-directed activities of individuals. What is remarkable about Marx and Schumpeter is that they are among the very few who have proposed solutions to this problem of an imagination and scope comparable to that of Smith, but that their resolutions differ from one another almost totally.In Marx's schema the system is destined to pass through successive crises that both alter its socioeconomic texture and gradually set the stage for a final collapse. Marx described his view of capitalism in â€Å"The Communist Manifesto† (1848), a social vision that, as Schumpeter points out, underlies Marx's life-long research program. In the introduction to his â€Å"Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy† (1850), Marx gave the clearest and most succinct description of his method of historical analysis, referred to by others as historical materialism.According to Marx, historical development is a progression of epochs, each distinguished by a particular mode of production, a â€Å"way of life,† based on the level of technology and division of labor (the forces of production) and a corresponding set of class (social) relations of production. For any epoch, any mode of production, according to Marx, the development of the forces and relations of production forms the foundation of social life. With the production of surplus over subsistence, classes emerge and develop, divided conceptually by Marx into producing an d non-producing (exploiting) classes.Social change is propelled by class conflict, that is, the struggle related to the contradictions between the developing technical forces of production and the existing class relations which act to impede this development. Socioeconomic development involves the transformation of class relations, which in turn enables the new dominant ruling class to exert control over resources and productive labor. Marx claims that the transition from one mode of production to the next is fundamentally revolutionary because the new mode of production is a qualitatively different social formation organized around new laws of development.Furthermore, the transition is one of violent, wrenching changes in social status, power, and legal rights. â€Å"The history of all society that has existed hitherto,† Marx firmly asserted, â€Å"is the history of class struggles† (1904 : 45). For instance, Marx describes the transition from the feudal to the capita list mode of production as a long period of conflict and bloodshed in which old class relations give way to new ones, a period in which primitive accumulation creates capitalists and expropriation creates a mass of wage-workers.Class-divided society proscribes the satisfaction of â€Å"truly human† needs because production is based on exploitation of the producing classes by the non-producing classes. Emancipation of humankind requires an end to this exploitation which, according to Marx, becomes possible with the development of the capitalist mode of production, which polarizes society into a small capitalist ruling class and a working class of exploited wage-workers who make up the vast majority of the population.Marx defines capitalism as a system of commodity production—production for exchange and profit—based on a system of wage-labor. Capitalists own the means of production and hire workers who must sell their labor power because they have no control over the means of subsistence or means of production. Capitalist development is dominated by capitalist control over production to accumulate capital. Capitalists are interested in production for profit rather than for use.This motivation means that the system as a whole operates to expand exchange value, market value, the money capitalists receive for the commodity production they control. According to Marx, this motivation to accumulate capital, that is, exchange value, creates contradictions in a system of unregulated market exchange because commodities are a unity of opposites. They are both useful objects to be consumed in the process of reproducing the material needs of the society and exchange values representing part of the socially produced value created through the social division of labor.This â€Å"value,† that is, embodied labor, â€Å"objectified abstract homogenous labor,† regulates the exchange value or price of each commodity. Commodity prices reflect the m agnitude of value, of â€Å"socially necessary† labor used to produce the commodity. Each commodity is a â€Å"social product† in that its production is dependent on a complex social division of labor that determines its labor cost, the amount of socially necessary labor time that goes into producing it.Marx sees contradictions in capitalism because, for the system as a whole to create a steady accumulation of capital over time, it must also create just the right combinations of different use values, specific useful products, to generate the growth in capital year to year. Marx recognizes capitalism as the most productive mode of production in history, because capitalists control the surplus product over and above the needs of simple reproduction of the existing level of output, and they use the surplus mainly to expand production and to increase productivity.Marx characterizes capitalism thus: the ascendance of industrial capitalists whose profits are based on exploit ation of wage workers through the extraction of surplus labor; revolutionary changes in the forces of production (technology and the division of labor) and therefore dramatic, continuing increases in productivity; capital accumulation fed by a growing mass of surplus value controlled by capitalists; increasing subordination and dependence of workers on capital; continual deterioration of workers' working and living conditions; and increasing competition for available jobs from a growing reserve army of unemployed workers.Other characteristics of a capitalist system for Marx include a tendency toward a declining average rate of profit; expansion of nonproductive but necessary commercial and financial capital; new forms of monopoly; extension of the capitalist mode of production to create a world market and worldwide capitalist system; uneven development of capitalism geographically so that at any time the existence of newly developing capitalist sectors provide fresh opportunities fo r capitalist exploitation; periodic trade cycles; and less frequent convulsive general crises of the system.In selling their labor power, wage-workers give up any right to the output they produce so that in capitalist production, objectification, the production of material objects, becomes alienation. Furthermore, in alienating their labor, the workers produce commodities that become capital, that is, the capitalists' source of power over the workers. Thus in capitalism, alienation brings about reification. Also, workers give up control over the labor process and therefore over their own productive activity, so much so that labor becomes a burden, and workers work to live instead of live to work.The accumulation of capital, representing the realization of man's essential powers, becomes for the wage-workers a loss of their reality, which for Marx connotates sociality. Marx shows that alienated labor means alienated man, devaluation of life, loss of human reality. Only the working cl ass can bring about this fundamental change because only workers gain this insight through their historical-social situation. According to Peter Drucker (1983: 125), Schumpeter considered himself the â€Å"son† of Marx.Schumpeter devoted himself to promoting scientific progress in economics, through theoretical, historical, and statistical contributions, on the one hand, and teaching and critical analysis of economic doctrine on the other. In his History of Economic Analysis (1954) Schumpeter‘s epistemology may be summarized as follows: 1. He had great faith in science, which he defined as â€Å"technique† and â€Å"tooled knowledge. † 2. Schumpeter was a great advocate of mathematical and econometric methods in economics. 3.In his History of Economic Analysis, Schumpeter had already outlined the major points of the Popper/Kuhn/Lakatos debate: the tension between conservatism and change that is inherent in scientific revolutions; the usefulness of both ten dencies. 4. Schumpeter was a positivist, but he accepted both verification and falsification as tests of a theory. 5. Schumpeter was anti-instrumentalist. He did not see the purpose of science as simple prediction but believed that the truth of assumptions does matter. 6.Schumpeter appears to have held contradictory views of the impact of ideology on economic analysis. He considered the intrusion of politics and ideology in economics as the major cause of â€Å"misconduct† in science. These apparently contradictory views represent, in my opinion, a defense of economics against Marx's evaluation of it as â€Å"bourgeois ideology. † Schumpeter agrees with Marx and credits him with the discovery that ideas tend to be historically conditioned, reflecting the class interest of the writer.Schumpeter claims, however, that ideological bias is not solely caused by the economic element in class position, and that social position is not shaped entirely by class interest (1954:10) . Thus, despite the fact that ideology affects the focus and the content of economic writings, analysis is not bourgeois ideology. Thus, Schumpeter believed that even Marx and Marxists contribute to progress in economic analysis. It was important to Schumpeter to acknowledge his debt to Marx, and apparently crucial to him that he refute the revolutionary basis and purpose of Marx's work.Schumpeter adopts what he takes to be Marx's research program and, like him, attempts to uncover the laws of motion of capitalist development. His purpose is clearly to defuse Marx's theory of revolution by converting it to a theory of evolution. Schumpeter accepts the structure and some of the content of Marx's economic sociology (the theory of origins and transitions) and economics (the theory of markets and mechanisms). Schumpeter's social vision as depicted in the Theory of Economic Development rejects—in fact inverts—important relationships of Marx's social and economic vision.In à ¢â‚¬Å"The Communist Manifesto in Sociology and Economics† (1949b), Schumpeter paid homage to Marx's contribution to economic sociology, which he considered to be the prescientific theorizing necessary to the research program they both pursued. In this article, he also suggests the theoretical basis for his revision of Marx. Schumpeter analyzes the scientific content of the Manifesto, which contains Marx's social vision, and he then identifies three of Marx's important contributions (however â€Å"warped by ideological bias†) to economic sociology.Schumpeter points out that Marx identified the necessary theoretical ingredients of the economic sociology in which to embed an economic theory of capitalist development: (1) a theory of history (which for Marx, according to Schumpeter, was an economic interpretation of history); (2) a theory of class (in which, for Marx, social classes and class relations become the pivot of the historical process); and (3) a theory of the sta te (which Schumpeter says shows Marx's understanding of the state even though Schumpeter believes that Marx recognized these tendencies only in the bourgeois state) (p. 09).Schumpeter criticizes Marx for his attachment to his social vision, his inability to revise his social vision in the light of contradictory scientific evidence. Clearly, it was Schumpeter's intent to counteract Marx and serve science by converting Marx's program into positivist science. This required building economic analysis on a social vision that is scientifically acceptable. In accepting a Marxian research program (analysis of the historical development, the internal dynamics, of capitalism), Schumpeter also had to use the structure of Marx's economic sociology.He needed a theory of history, of social class, and of the state to describe the development of the economically relevant institutions. But Schumpeter rejected much of the content of Marx's theory, including what he considered to be Marx's economic de termininism, that is, the analysis of change in social structures in terms of economic change alone; Marx's theory of class relations, that class conflict is the motive force behind economic and social change; and Marx's critique of the state, which was directed only at the bourgeois state.Also Schumpeter rejected Marx's class conflict and revolutionary theory. He could hardly envision the working class becoming a revolutionary class, that is, becoming the subjects of history, the major actors and motive force for change. Instead, he substituted his own theory of class and class relations based on his ideas about leadership and followership in which entrepreneurs carry out the â€Å"new combinations† that promote capitalist development. Schumpeter accepted Marx's materialist, dialectical view of history, the view that people create their own history through choice, concerted action, and struggle.He also recognized that history must be dialectical if it is evolutionary. Human subjects react to and change history. Change occurs through opposition and adaptation and learning. He objected to Marx's purely economic definition of class based on individuals' relations to the means of production, a definition he believed to be at the basis of Marx's economic determinism. Schumpeter paraphrased Marx's theory thus: â€Å"the social process of production determines the class relations of the participants and is the ‘real foundation' of the legal, political, or simply factual class positions attached to each.Thus the logic of any given structure of production is ipso facto the logic of the social superstructure† (1949b: 206). Schumpeter also rejects Marx's view that class relations are exclusively antagonistic, and that antagonisms among groups are exclusively based on distinctions of economic classes. He believes that there are multiple classes in capitalist society, just as there were in earlier epochs. There is a strong family resemblance here to Sc humpeter's vision of capitalism as an evolutionary process of creative destruction. The innovative function certainly plays a vital role in Marx's laws of motion.This bring Marx into the picture in a way that attempts to minimize the distance between him and Schumpeter and which is consistent with Schumpeter's well-known admiration for Marx. They are both concerned with the dynamics of development, and although they come from the opposite ends of the political spectrum, their similarities are profound and stand as an affront to the modern theory of static equilibrium in the Walrasian tradition. In the vision of capitalism as a dynamic process, Marx and Schumpeter share common ground, not just in their appreciation of capitalism, but also in their attempt to construct a truly dynamic economics.Marx and Schumpeter set the economic process into historical time. This is more than just adding a â€Å"t† subscript on all the variables of a model, and it is clearly different from pr oducing a growth model, although a growth model may be a useful aspect of a dynamic analysis. It means that the analysis does not violate the fundamental reality of time that the future follows the present and is unknowable, while the present has a past that is knowable and has caused the present to be what it is. In such a world disequilibrium and/or equilibrium-destroying events would be the central concern of the theorist.Thus, for both Marx and Schumpeter, capitalism has a past and is tending toward a future that is imminent in the configuration of forces at work in the present (Schumpeter, 1962: 43). To illustrate, it was capitalism's similarity with feudal and slave relations of production that led Marx to search for an explanation of how exploitation occurs under capitalism. Moreover, it was the vision of historical transformation that supplied the basis of his critique of classical political economy based on the latter's tendency to assume that capitalist production relation s were fixed and external.It is important to note that Schumpeter misses, misunderstands, or rejects Marx's value theory and the basis for Marx's theory of revolution Private property and capital represent a class relation in which wage workers, by selling their labor power, create the capitalist's private property. Furthermore, not only do they create a product that becomes a power over them, but also, by submitting to a work process organized by the capitalist for his own profit, they alienate their life activity, their work. They work to live rather than live to work.They become more and more dependent on the cash nexus of market transactions for their survival and for their satisfactions. They become alienated from their species life, the essence of the life of the human species which is human social development through creative work. Marx's basic argument, which is also an argument about logic, is that for truly human life to be possible, it is necessary (but not necessarily in evitable) for the wage-workers, for the exploited, to revolt. Schumpeter's class theory and theory of value together eliminate the possibility of revolt.It may be true that there is a high correlation between belief in the efficacy of the free market as an allocator of resources and protector of individual freedom and the method of static equilibrium theory to explain the operation of the market. However, as Schumpeter himself stressed many times, the deductions of economic analysis do not logically imply any particular ideological position. Static equilibrium theory no more proves the desirability of the free market than the labor theory proves the desirability of socialism.The fact that Marx and Schumpeter ascribed to radically different ideologies but each believed in the central importance of the evolutionary approach is itself sufficient proof that holding to a conservative, liberal, or radical ideology does not force one into the static equilibrium mold. In his works Marx wrot e about substratum of abstract labor which was an â€Å"essence† of concrete labors. Schumpeter in his â€Å"Imperialism and Social Classes† thought about social process regulated by a hierarchy of talents, organized in social classes (Schumpeter, 1955: 137, 160). In this process bourgeois class must provide the leadership role.

Assgn Wilson

I will demonstrate some understanding of the principal areas of Philosophy covered in this course. To do this, I will respond to the following questions- What these two works say about the nature of reality, what roles does the problem of appearance and reality play in these two works? Next, I will state what ethical implications I think these works may suggest, and how do the two works explore the nature of knowledge. I will also compare my â€Å"What is your Philosophy? † survey results with the ones had completed in the first week of this class.Afterwards, I will answer the allowing questions- How has my knowledge base grown in the areas identified during my week one discussion. What insights have gained about my beliefs related to those statements and lastly- Did my philosophy changed? The paper will end with a conclusion. Solomon and Higgins' (2014) definition of Philosophy sums up what my understanding of philosophy has turned out to be during these past weeks of the cou rse. In my comparison and contrast of Plat's ‘The Allegory of the Cave† with the motion picture The Matrix, I was able to see the connection.In Plat's ‘ ‘The Allegory of the Cave†, here is a conversation between two men, Socrates and Glaucoma- In the conversation, Socrates is presenting his abstract interpretation of what he sees as he analyzes a picture. In the picture, there are a number of men bound to a wall, with symbols sketched into the wall. In the motion picture, The Matrix, there is also a conversation between Morpheme and Neo. They are inside a computer program. Morpheme turns on the television and shows Neo a picture of the world, as he knew it. He begins to talk about this world, and gives his interpretation of what he knows this world to be.Then, the stricture changes to a world that appears destroyed, and Morpheme again gives his interpretation. In week four (4) of our course, we were introduced to the topics, The nature of Reality and th e nature of Truth. In ‘ ‘The Allegory of the Cave† and The Matrix, the characters are analyzing reality from the unreal and truth. The conversation between Socrates and Glaucoma is about when the unreal becomes real. Morpheme is discussing the same thing with Neo when he asks him, ‘M/hat is real'? During our discussion for week four, we read a story entitled An Occurrence at Owl Creek where we had to separate the real room the unreal.During that time, learned about metaphysics. Metaphysics attempts to explain what reality is. Solomon and Higgins (2014), explained reality as, â€Å"The distinction between what we simply see, what appears to be the case, and the deeper picture that allows us to explain it, forces us to introduce the concept of reality' (p. 112). In relation to the nature of reality, the two works say that reality is what we interpret it to be. For example, in the â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†, Socrates explained the picture the way he per ceived it would be if the people in the painting came to life. In The Matrix, Morpheme gave his interpretation of the real world.The role that the problem of appearance and reality play in these two works was that nothing appeared to be as it was. For example, in The Matrix, the way the real world appeared to Morpheme in reality, was not how Neo saw it to be. In the beginning of the movie, when the woman named Trinity was being attacked by the police officers, she was able to run across the walls. This did not appear to be real. Then near the ending of the movie, Neo was able to dodge bullets and even appeared to hold them in his hand. This could not be real. During my analysis of these works, did not see any ethical implications.The way in which the two works explore the nature of knowledge is as follows. Socrates explains the interpretation of the picture based on his knowledge. For example, Glaucoma demonstrated that he had limited knowledge based on the levels Of his conversatio n. He saw the picture exactly as it appeared, and he agreed with everything Socrates said without offering his own opinions. Socrates on the other hand demonstrated that he possessed the gift of knowledge. His interpretation of the picture was more in-depth. During this course, I learned hat Epistemology was the theory of knowledge.Socrates based his interpretation of the picture on his philosophical knowledge. For example, he spoke of truth when he asked the question, â€Å"Altogether then, I said such men would believe the truth to be nothing else than the shadows of the artifacts? † (p. 246). In The Matrix, Morpheme also demonstrated his level of knowledge. He appeared to be all knowing (Omniscient) just like God. For example, when he met Neo for the first time, he was able to tell Neo a lot about his life. He told Neo that he knew why he was there. He was even able to read Neon's Houghton. Morpheme knew who and what the Matrix was.He described it as being everywhere, and that it was the â€Å"wool that was pulled over your eyes to blind you form the truth' (Quote from The Matrix movie). In week one (1), I took a survey entitled ‘V'/hat is your Philosophy? † Today, when I looked back at the results of that survey compared to the one I took again, I could say that my knowledge base has grown. From the topics that we covered in this course, I Was able to expand my knowledge of life and its meaning along with knowing who God is, and that He exists. In relation to the survey, number nine (9) stated that â€Å"An all-powerful, all knowing, all-good God exists†.In learning about Ultimate Reality in week three (3), I was able to prove that this statement is true. In week one (1), I found it difficult to immediately respond to statements number three (3) and four (4). Number three stated â€Å"Humans have free will† and number four â€Å"All of our actions are determined by forces beyond our control†. In the latest survey I took, I still gave the same numbers for some statements that I had given in the previous survey. For example, I gave a five (5) for number two (2), and a five for number seven (7). I still gave five for number three, but I gave a five for number four. Ad previously given that statement one (1). The insights I have gained about my beliefs related to those statements are as follows. I still believe that humans have free will. For example, I am able to do whatever I want to do. Of course, I realize that cannot use this statement loosely because in some countries, even though humans have free will, they are restricted by rules and laws to freely exercise their will. At first, did not believe that all of our actions were determined by forces beyond our control, now I think I can say that All of our actions are determined by forces beyond our control.For example in this world, there are laws and policies made by government. Everything we do is based on what we know is right and wrong, oth erwise known as moral ethics. We pay our taxes because it is law, and refusal to pay is punishable. We are put in prison when we commit murder, because there is a law that condemns the act of killing. Therefore, we act in accordance to the rules and regulations set out by those in authority. The function of the police is to keep peace and safety, in case we decide to break the law. Overall, believe my philosophy as changed. Now look at life and the reason for living with a different perspective.At first, my thinking was, we were all put here on earth to live, die than go to heaven or hell. Today, I view this ideology differently. There is a reason why I am here, there is a reason for circumstances that occur in my life, and there is a reason for the hope that is in me. Philosophy has helped me understand the meaning of life and its existence. In conclusion, philosophy addresses reality, knowledge, values, reason, mind and even language. If we do not know how the many things we commo nly experience re connected together, then we cannot know the source of truth.

Caulerpa lentillifera Essay

Statement of the Problem 1. Can Lato (Caulerpa lentillifera) be used as fertilizer to plants? 2. Compared to usual fertilizers, will sugar help yield lato fertilizers a better result to growing of plants? 3. Can Lato seaweed and sugar complement with each other in making a crop-yielding fertilizer? Null Hypothesis 1. Lato can be used as a fertilizer to plants. 2. Sugar can help yield lato fertilizers a better result to growing of plants. 3. Lato and sugar complement with each other in making a crop-yielding fertilizer. Significance of the Study Over the years, land and sea farming has been a part of Filipino life. It is cored to the notion that our archipelago is surrounded both by a large body of water and land area. Amid the adamant need for our fields to gain healthy crops, we, Filipinos are indeed in need to pave ways for strategies of growing our crops which will later result to profitable harvest. In this connection, this research aims to study the potentials of lato seaweed and sugar as fertilizers with cheap investment. This aim roots its significance to the need of Filipino farmers to use affordable, organic, and accessible fertilizers that will help them in yielding vigorous and abundant crops. Review of Related Literature â€Å"†¦those gardening for food can use copious amounts of seaweeds for mulch and fertilizer.(Traditional Irish fertilizer, see: Man of Aran, and The Field), add seaweeds abundantly to compost†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ryan Drum, 2012) â€Å"Seaweeds are 20-50% dry weight mineral†¦ the elements abundant in seaweeds include: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, chloride, sulfur, phosphorous, vanadium, cobalt, manganese, selenium, bromine, iodine, arsenic, iron, and fluorine† (Kazutosi, 2002). â€Å"Fertilizers from seaweeds result to increase crop yield probably due to the presence of growth promoting hormones (Bentley-Mowat, 1963). â€Å"Other beneficial effects include increased resistance of crop to fungal and insect pests and increase water holding capacity of the soil† (Mathiseson, 1967). â€Å"Caulerpa lentillifera is high in minerals, vitamin A, C, and several essential unsaturated fatty acids. It is also reported to have antibacterial and antifungal properties† (https://seaweedindustry.com/seaweed/type/caulerpa-lentillifera). â€Å"Sugar added to fertilizer can influence the pH levels within the soil. Plants that are sensitive to a change in pH levels will be unable to absorb nutrients from the soil.† (www.bioiberica.com) â€Å"Sugar is a great way to get rid of weeds and keep your lawn’s eco-system balanced. Plain table sugar spread on your lawn is an organic gardening method to keep weeds at bay.† (http://www.ehow.com/about_6404819_sugar-lawn-fertilizer.html) Scope and Limitations This research focuses and aims only to study the potentials of lato seaweed and sugar as fertilizers especially when combined together. The researcher gathered data from surfing the internet so as first-hand observation and experiments.

Kotler Principles of Marketing Essay

Objective 1: Define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process. Objective 2: Explain the importance of understanding the marketplace and customers and identify the five core marketplace concepts. Objective 3: Identify the key elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and discuss the marketing management orientations that guide marketing strategy. Objective 4: Discuss customer relationship management and identify strategies for creating value for customers and capturing value from customers in return. Objective 5: Describe the major trends and forces that are changing the marketing landscape in this age of relationships. Objective 1: Define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process. Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. Or: Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. Steps in the marketing process: 1. Understanding customer needs 2. Designing customer-driven marketing strategies 3. Designing integrated marketing programs 4. Building customer relationships 5. Capturing value for the firm Figure 1.1 from page 27Create value for customers and build ‘’relationships final step Objective 2: Explain the importance of understanding the marketplace and customers and identify the five core marketplace concepts. Five core customer and marketplace concepts: 1. Needs, wants, and demands Needs: Physical need like food, clothing, warmth and safety Wants: Human needs shaped by culture: Americans need food (Big Mac) Demands: When wants are backed by buying power they become demands 2. Market offerings (products, services, and experiences) Consumers’ needs and wants are fulfilled through market offerings; Think of products, services or experiences (such as information) Marketing myopia is focusing too much on the specific products a company offers than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. Example: Railroads assumed themselves to be in the railroad business rather than in the transportation business. Passengers and freight transportation in general grew, but they choose for cars, trucks, airplanes, etc. making railroad transportation declining. The reason they defined their industry incorrectly was that they were railroad oriented instead of transportation oriented; they were product oriented instead of customer oriented. 3. Value and satisfaction Customer value and satisfaction are key blocks for developing and managing customer relationships. The customer is looking for value and satisfaction and will buy accordingly to the company that offers the best. Expectations shouldn’t be too high or too low. 4. Exchanges and relationships Exchange is the act of OBTAINING a desired object from someone by OFFERING something IN RETURN. Examples are [Political candidate: votes] [Church: members] [orchestra: audience]. 5. Market A market is the set of all ACTUAL and POTENTIAL buyers of a product or service. All below are influenced by major environmental forces. Objective 3: Identify the key elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and discuss the marketing management orientations that guide marketing strategy. –