Marketing and Branding Coco Chanel

1.0 Introduction The survival of firms in the global market is related to their potential to identify brands that can respond to consumers’ needs. In this context, a successful brand is able to secure organisational growth even in periods of strong market turbulences (Doyle, 2009). However, the popularity of a brand in markets worldwide is not guaranteed; for example, it is possible for a brand to face low popularity in a market even if in most markets the response of consumers to the particular brand is impressive (Doyle, 2009). In other words, certain factors such as culture and social ethics can affect the performance of brands in the international market (Davis, 2010). This study focuses on the performance of a well-known brand: Coco Chanel. The specific brand appeared in early 1900s and was initially related to clothing accessories, such as hats (Siddiqui, 2014). Through the years the brand incorporated clothes and jewellery, becoming a symbol of high quality and unique style (Siddiqui, 2 014). The characteristics of the particular brand and its performance, as part of the fashion industry, are analysed below. Emphasis is given to the brand’s environment but also to the strategies through which the brand has secured its market position. It is revealed that the brand’s success resulted from the combination of a series of strategic approaches. The economic and social conditions in markets worldwide during the 20th century had also a key role in the brand’s rapid expansion internationally. Under these terms, the brand has contributed in the increase of attractiveness of the fashion industry and the transformation of luxury products to elements of daily life style. 2.0 Coco Chanel as a brand 2.1 Overview of Coco Chanel In order to identify the performance of the brand as part of the fashion industry it is necessary to refer primarily to the brand’s history, i.e. to the events that have led to the establishment of the brand and the strategies on which the management of the brand has been based through the decades. Coco Chanel is a brand closely related to the life of its creator: Gabrielle Chanel has been the child of a poor family; in her early years Gabrielle had to face the death of her mother, an event that led Gabrielle to work as ‘a singer in a cabaret in Paris’ (Siddiqui, 2014). There, Gabrielle, having become known with the name Coco, met her first husband who assisted her in opening in 1909 ‘a shop that specialised in hats’ (Siddiqui, 2014). In a few years, after the end of the World War 1, Coco Channel entered the fashion industry by developing clothes of high quality. These clothes were characterised by simple lines and persistence in colour: black and whi te were extensively used creating a unique identity for the particular brand (Siddiqui, 2014). Through the years, the brand was expanded incorporated jewellery and perfumes, such as the Chanel No5, the brand’s most successful product ever (Siddiqui, 2014). The success of the brand has been related to the ability of Coco Channel to pay attention to the needs of people and to understand the changes in social and cultural trends, as developed globally (Graj, 2013). In any case, the brand has been characterised by its strong dependency on the personal views and beliefs of Coco Chanel, a fact which is made clear through the brand’s logo: the initials of Coco Chanel have been combined for creating a logo that gives the sense of a signature of its creator (Figure 1, Appendices). 2.2 Key competitors of Coco Chanel As already noted, Coco Chanel is one of the most powerful competitors in the global fashion industry. The brand is part of the luxury fashion sector, a sector which is characterized by the dominance of 10 brands. Different views have been developed in regard to the position of these brands in the relevant hierarchy. In the table included in Figure 2 (Appendices) two of these views are presented: the first view refers to 12 dominant brands of the specific sector while the second view focuses on 10 of these brands as the most powerful ones. Particular emphasis should be made to the following fact: the first list, the one included 12 brands refers only to the luxury clothing sector while the second list presents the top 10 fashion brands worldwide. From this view, the brand under examination would be considered as more relevant to the first list. However, the second list is important for understanding the competitive environment in the fashion industry in general. In addition, the two l ists reveal an important fact: Chanel has managed to secure an important position not only as a fashion brand but also as a luxury clothing brand, being categorized at the fourth and the fifth position accordingly (Figure 2, Appendices). The lists presented in Figure 2 also reveal the significant power of certain brands that are included in both lists: brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior and Gucci seem to be the most critical competitors for Coco Chanel since they have managed to be popular both as fashion brands and as luxury clothing brands (Figure 2, Appendices). According to a report published by the Luxury Institute Chanel is one of the top luxury brands worldwide. In fact, in the survey developed by the above Institute most participants seemed to prefer Chanel; in the particular survey Louis Vuitton ranked second while Prada ranked third (Carr, 2012). 2.3 Brand performance2.3.1 Applied marketing mix (4p’s)The performance of the brand in its industry could be made clear after reviewing the key elements of the marketing strategy employed for the promotion of the particular brand. In practice, emphasis is given to four of these elements, which as also known as 4Ps (Burrow, 2008). The particular elements constitute a quite known framework, the marketing mix (Burrow, 2008). The 4Ps included in the marketing mix refer to specific aspects of a marketing strategy. At the first level, reference is made to Product. The term Product, as part of the marketing mix, reflects not only an object, as a materialised element, but also the various characteristics of the object/ product, such as ‘value, packaging methods and materials and brand name’ (Lamb and McDaniel, 2011: 47). Place is the second element of marketing mix; the specific term denotes the geographical area in which the product is available or in which the product i s planned to entry (Lamb and McDaniel, 2011). The term Place also reflects the means used by a firm for distributing its products internationally or locally (Fifield, 2008). The success of a product in a particular market is depended on the Promotion strategy used, i.e. on the means and the approaches employed for making the target consumers aware of the specific product (Satit et al., 2012). Finally, the Price of a product has to be decided taking into consideration various factors, such as the GDP in the target market, the market’s demographic characteristics/ average income and the status of the local economy (Lee, Cheng and Chen, 2008). If the marketing mix used in regard to a product is not appropriately planned, then target consumers would not be expected to buy the product. The relationship between the marketing mix and the consumer preferences is presented in Figure 3 (Appendices). On the other hand, marketing mix should be structured in such way so that it can respon d to actual consumer needs, as these needs are reflected in the 4Cs framework; the relationship between the two frameworks is presented in Figure 4 (Appendices). The issues highlighted above should be used when describing the marketing mix of Coco Channel. At the first level, in terms of its Product, the particular brand is characterised by exceptional quality (Ma, 2014). In fact, quality involves in all aspects of the brand’s product, meaning not only the materials of the products but also the materials used in the products’ packaging (Ma, 2014). For example, in the case of Chanel No.5 the uniqueness of the product was secured by employing an innovative name and by using a unique synthesis of aromas (Sicard, 2013). Also, the specific brand is related to a country well known for the quality of its cosmetics and clothing: France (Ma, 2014). The potentials of the brand to be expanded worldwide have been limited because of the following need: many of the brand’s products had to be supported by appropriate customer services schemes. Therefore, the selling points of the brand’s products are selected on the basis whether they can have a direct and close reference to France, as the source of these products (Ma, 2014). In regard to its Promotion strategy the specific brand can be characterised as unique: common marketing options are combined with less popular marketing approaches for attracting the consumers’ interest. For example, in its initial phase the marketing of Chanel No.5 has been based mostly on ‘word of mouth marketing’ (Sicard, 2013: 159). In addition, the advertisements related to the specific brand are likely to be included in media and press that are quite popular in the fashion industry, as for example ‘Elite and Vogue’ (Ma, 2014: 48). However, the high quality of the brand’s product has been secured by adopting high Prices, an approach which is considered as expected by which has set limits to the increase of the brand’s popularity (Ma, 2014). 2.3.2 Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) For ensuring the effectiveness of a marketing strategy used for promoting a brand marketers need to develop three, key, activities: segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP). As part of marketing, Segmentation reflects the effort of marketers to divide a market into parts/ segments; each of these segments would refer to consumers with common characteristics, such as age, marital status and so on (Cant et al., 2009). By segmenting a market marketers are able to develop marketing strategies that would be welcomed by the target consumers (Cant et al., 2009). However, in order to respond to the expectations of marketers, segmentation needs to be following by targeting. In the context of marketing the term targeting is used for showing the identification of the market segments that will be addressed by a marketing strategy (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). For example, the decision to address only teenagers among the people living in the target market is an example of targeting. As for positio ning, the specific term is used for showing the effort of marketers ‘to place a product in the mind of consumers’ (Boone and Kurtz, 2013: 98). Different approaches are likely to be used by marketers to achieve positioning, as this activity can secure consumer loyalty (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). In the case of Chanel, STP could be achieved by using various approaches. For example, in regard to the particular brand market segmentation could be based on the views of consumers in regard to luxury products. This means that global market would be divided into parts based on the expected perceptions of consumers on luxury products; the evaluation of these perceptions could be based on luxury value as of its various dimensions (Figure 5, Appendices). The market segmentation for Coco Chanel could be also based, alternatively, on the frequency of use of luxury products (Ciornea, Pop and Bacila, 2012, Figure 6, Appendices). Targeting and positioning for the particular brand could be developed using similar criteria. More specifically, in regard to targeting the marketers of Coco Chanel should take into consideration the following fact: due to the high prices of its products the particular brand could not target all social groups, as could be developed using targeting. For example, tee nagers would not be an appropriate target group for the brand’s products. As of positioning also there are certain issues that should be addressed: so far the brand has become synonym of quality; also, since its appearance in the market the brand has been among the top brands in its industry. Therefore, the best approach for positioning this brand would emphasise on ‘product’s class and on price/ quality’ (Boone and Kurtz, 2013: 298). 2.3.3 Brand illustration When referring to brand illustration reference is made to the graphical elements used for presenting the brand to the public. For example, intensive colours could be used in a brand’s logo for attracting the attention of consumers (Shimp and Andrews, 2013). In addition, symbols that denote a particular characteristic of a brand could be employed for making the brand more attractive to the public (Kumar, 2009). In order for a brand’s illustration to be successful it should not follow common patterns, especially those related to the industry involved (Kumar, 2009). In any case, the logo of the brand has not necessarily to reflect the role of the brand in the industry but it needs to offer a view on the brand’s culture, as this culture would show to the public the values and ethics on which the creation of the brand has been based. The logo of Coco Channel is based entirely on the name of its creator. The design and the elements of the specific logo aim to show the close relationship between the brand and its creator’s values; simplicity is also another issue highlighted through the logo of the above brand (Figure 1, Appendices). From this point of view, it could be supported that the brand illustration used in the case of Coco Channel can be characterized as quite successful, promoting simplicity and showing the critical role of the brand’s creator in brand’s success. 2.3.4 Detail evaluation, critical perspective – SWOT analysis As with most business strategies the effectiveness of a firm’s branding decisions is usually decided after checking the characteristics of the brand involved; the performance of the brand in its market has also to be taken into consideration for deciding whether a brand has been successful or not (Davis, 2010). In the case of Coco Chanel the SWOT framework could be used for evaluating the brand’s performance. The Strengths of the particular brand are mostly related to its brand name and its relationship to quality (Carr, 2012). In fact, the specific brand has managed to establish a unique culture, a culture based on ‘the spirit of its creator’ (Kapferer, 2008: 252). In the context of this culture, high quality in clothing would be considered not as an exceptional condition but rather as part of daily life (Kapferer, 2008). The high expansion of the brand in the global market, as compared to other luxury brands, is another important strength of the brand (Ca rr, 2012). However, the brand has an important Weakness: the price of its product is quite high, not allowing a high percentage of consumers to buy the brand’s products (Carr, 2012). On the other hand, the particular brand meets all the requirements of a luxury brand (Figure 7, Figure 8, Appendices). This means that the specific brand has important Opportunities for future growth. Still, there is the problem of continuous recession. Economic turbulences in the global market could result to the limitation of profitability of luxury brands, a fact that would be a severe Threat for the particular brand (JWT, 2009). 2.4 Brand value The achievement of profit, at a pre-specified level, is the key target of a brand, at least for brands used in businesses (Larson, 2012). In this context, a business can significantly enhance its value using one or more brands (Larson, 2012). When having to estimate the value of the brand several issues can appear: the exact profit achieved by using a brand cannot be measured since the gain from employing a brand can result either in the short term or the long term. Also, this gain may not be always monetary; the improvement of a firm’s image in the market is an example (Davis, 2010). Therefore, for measuring the value of Coco Chanel, as a brand, a mixed model would be employed: the valuation framework used by ‘BrandFinance, an organisation based in UK’ (Davis, 2010: 44). The particular framework is based on the following method: a firm estimates the level of the sales it should achieve in the future, for securing profit; then ‘a royalty rate is set for achi eving the above target’ (Davis, 2010: 44). This royalty rate can be used for estimating the current value of the brand, which is the actual brand value (Davis, 2010). The measurement of the brand value using the BrandFinance framework is made clear through the diagram in Figure 9 (Appendices). 2.5 Importance of Coco Channel for the industry Since its introduction, the specific brand has achieved the following target: it has made luxury products more attractive to consumers. More specifically, in the 1920s, when the brand first appeared, women had to face the severe consequences of the World War I; widows were increased and the interest for high quality clothing was quite low (Siddiqui, 2014). The appearance in the market of the products of the particular brand, such as the ‘short black dress and the perfume Channel No.5’ (Siddiqui, 2014), introduced a new era for the relationship between consumers and the fashion industry. Since then, fashion products and luxury products have become quite attractive as this fact has been reflected to the radical expansion of luxury brands worldwide (Figure 2, Appendices). In addition, the particular brand managed to cover the gap between fashion and the other industries. Indeed, up to the appearance of the brand’s products in the market the hierarchy of importance as of the industrial activities worldwide had a standard format: manufacturing and transport industries were mostly valued, as of their potential to cover people’s needs (Kapferer, 2008). Since the introduction of the brand’s products in the market the perspectives for growth in regard to fashion and luxury products were made clear. Entrepreneurs worldwide were initiated to invest in the particular sectors, a fact that enhanced competition and kept quality standards high (Kapferer, 2008). 3.0 Conclusion The performance of Coco Chanel as a brand can be characterised as high. In fact, as proved through the analysis made above the particular brand is one of the most powerful in the global fashion industry. The position of the brand in the luxury sector is also significant, an achievement that denotes the brand’s potentials to achieve further growth. The establishment of a unique culture has been proved to be the approach through which the particular brand secured its success. Indeed, the creator of the brand, Coco Chanel, managed to convince the women in her era that style and quality should be parts of their life style. At the same time, through the particular brand the independency of style from complex forms was achieved: instead of emphasising on heavy and multi-coloured clothing Coco Chanel preferred to use simple lines and just two colours: white and black. This approach made the brand Coco Chanel to distinguish in consumers’ minds. A similar approach was followed i n regard to the other products of the brand: simplicity and innovation have been the key elements of the brand’s products up today. In this context, the success of the brand as revealed through the examination of all its aspects could be considered as expected. In the future, further growth could be achieved on the basis that brand’s culture would remain at the centre of the brand’s strategies. 4.0 References Boone, L. and Kurtz, D. (2013) Contemporary Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Burrow, J. (2008) Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Cant, M., Strydom, J., Jooste, C. and du Plessis, P. (2009) Marketing Management. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd. Carr, T. (2012) Chanel, Zegna top competitors for perceived brand experience: study. Luxury Daily. Available from http://www.luxurydaily.com/chanel-achieves-best-perceived-customer-experience-study/ [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. Chanel (2014) Organisational website. Available from http://www.chanel.com/en_US/ [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. Ciornea, R., Pop, M. and Bacila, M. (2012) Segmenting Luxury Market Based on the Type of the Luxury Consumed. Empirical Study on Young Female Luxury Consumers. International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories. 2 (3). P.143-153. Davis, J. (2010) Competitive Success, How Branding Adds Value. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Doyle, P. (2009) Value-based Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Corporate Growth and Shareholder Value. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Fifield, P. (2008) Marketing Strategy Masterclass. London: Routledge. Graj, S. (2013) Coco Chanel: Personal Branding Legend. Forbes. Available from http://www.forbes.com/sites/simongraj/2013/02/20/coco-chanel-personal-branding-legend/ [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. Hanzaee, K., Teimourpour, B. and Teimoupour, B. (2012) Segmenting Consumers Based on Luxury Value Perceptions. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research. 12 (11). P.1445-1453. Kapferer, J. (2008) The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Khan, E. (2014) Fashion Brands of the World – Top 10. Wonderlist. Available from http://www.wonderslist.com/top-10-fashion-brands-of-the-world/ [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. Kumar, A. (2009) Marketing Management. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. Lamb, C. and McDaniel, C. (2011) Essentials of Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Larson, C. (2012) Persuasion: Reception and Responsibility. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Lee, Y., Cheng, S. and Chen, C. (2008) Use of the 4Ps Model to Examine Differences between Generic and Brand Marketing Strategies. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning. 4 (2). P.221-244. Listovative (2014) Top 12 Best Luxury Clothing Brands in the World. Listovative. Available from http://listovative.com/top-12-best-luxury-clothing-brands-in-the-world/ [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. Ma, T. (2014) Professional Marketing and Advertising Essays and Assignments. Tony Ma. Pour, B., Nazari, K. and Emami, M. (2013) The effect of marketing mix in attracting customers: Case study of Saderat Bank in Kermanshah Province. African Journal of Business Management. 7 (34). P.3272-3280. Sambamoorthi, N. (2012) Big Data, Data Mining, Predicting Modeling and Visualizations. Available from http://blog.crmportals.com/my-blog/page/24/ [Accessed: 22 December 2014]. Shimp, T. and Andrews, C. (2013) Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Sicard, M. (2013) Luxury, Lies and Marketing: Shattering the Illusions of the Luxury Brand. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Siddiqui, H. (2014) What makes the House of Chanel a successful fashion brand. Dawn. Available from http://www.dawn.com/news/1127969 [Accessed: 20 December 2014]. So, S., Lui, E., Yau, V., Kan, R. and Li, T. (2013) Luxury Goods Industry Analysis. Available from http://www.slideshare.net/vy1230/luxury-goods-industry-analysis-2013 [Accessed: 20 December 2014].

Gandhi

GANDHI’S ROLE IN ENDING BRITISH RULE IN INDIA India was one of the most important British colonies in Asia. During the First World War (1914-1918), the British government promised the Indians that if they fought against the Germans in return would receive greater administrative autonomy. After the war, however, the promise was not fulfilled. Instead, the representatives of the British government began to violently repress all attempts at emancipation of India. The main Indian leader who opposed British rule was Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).The main resource used by him in the struggle against the British was based on the strategy of active non-violence. Gandhi preached civil disobedience and non-violence, (Satygraha) of the Indians against the English authorities through non-payment of taxes and rejection of British industrial products. The purpose was to weaken the opponent, preventing any cooperation with it, but without using violence. Mahatma Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India.Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world. When Gandhi arrived in India, the First World War was at its height. At first he ignored this. He addressed the British Viceroy of India but shocked him by declaring shame at having to speak in English whilst in India. He also verbally attacked the rich Indian princess who was loyal to British rule. Many princesses were deeply offended and walked out.After show its position against the British rule and seeing that the Indian population was suffering in British hands he began a Satyagraha campaign to help poor Indian peasants in the district of Bihar. This was more a protest against conditions than against the British, but it did involve Gandhi encouraging Indians to refuse to pay taxes. In 1917, surprisingly, Gandhi joined a campaign organized by the British Viceroy to persuade ord inary Indians to join the British on the Battlefields of France against the Germans. He personally toured the Indian District of Kheda in support of the campaign.The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. This was the most significant organized challenge to British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22, and directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress on January 26, 1930.Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (commonly called Mahatma Gandhi) led the Dandi march from his base, Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad, to the sea coast near the village of Dandi. As he continued on this 24 day, 240 mile (390 km) march to produce salt without paying the tax, growing numbers of Indians joined him along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws at 6:30 am on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians.The campaign had a significant effect on changing world and British attitude towards Indian independence and caused large numbers of Indians to join the fight for the first time. At the end of the First World War seemed to hold great promise to India. She had been invited to the Versailles Peace Conference as a separate power in her own right. Also, towards the end of the war, the Montagu Declaration had promised increased participation in the government and justice system of Indian people.However, this promise was dashed by two events in the immediate period after the war: o The Rowlatt Acts: these acts said that the rights of Indians to free speech and protest would not be fully restored even though the war had ended. o The Amritsar Massacre: After some protests the British rule weakened. To solve the problem, a meeting was organized. The meeting was meant to be peaceful and made up of men, women and children. But the British ordered his troops to line up facing the crowd and to open fire.No final warning was given to the protesters. Those two things were a great mistake. Jawaharlal Nehru, also known as Pandit Nehru was an Indian statesman who was the first (and to date the longest tenure of) prime minister of India, from 1947 until 1964. Ward leader in the socialist Indian National Congress during and after the effort of India to independence from the British Empire, became the Prime Minister of India at independence. His real initiation into politics came when he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi in 1919.At that time Mahatma Gandhi had launched a campaign against the Rowlatt Act. Nehru was instantly attracted to Gandhi's commitment for active but peaceful civil disobedience. Jawaharlal Nehru was elected mayor of Allahabad in 1924 and served for two years as chief executive of the city. From 1926 to 1928, Jawaharlal served as Secretary General of the Committee of the Congress of the United Provinces. In 1928-29, the annual session of the Congress under President Motilal Nehru was held.During that session Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose backed a call for full political independence, while Motilal Nehru and others wanted dominion status within the British Empire. To resolve the issue, Gandhi offered the British to grant in two years the domain status to India, otherwise the Congress would launch a national struggle for full political independence. Nehru and Bose reduced that period to one year. The British did not respond. In December 1929, the annual session of the Congress was held in Lahore and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as president of the Congress Party.During the session, a resolution demanding India's independence was passed and on January 26, 1930 in Lahore, Jawaharlal Nehru busy hav ing a flag of free India. And Gandhi made the call for civil disobedience movement in 1930. The movement finally forced the British government to recognize the need for major political reforms and ended up being a great success. After the Second World War, in 1947, the state of Britain gave India its political Independence, but the territory was divided into the republic of India, the Hindu majority, and republic of Pakistan (East and West), with a Muslim majority.Later, in 1972, after a violent war, East Pakistan separated from the West and was renamed Bangladesh. He was very important for the India independence because he introduced a new way to think, a new way to fight without having to lose lives. In my opinion he was the most important factor for the ending of the British rule in India. Thanks to him Indians are free of suffering in British hands, he created a new way of avoid loss of lives and fighting. He showed to the world a new way to live and find what you want, a non-v iolence way. Gandhi To what extent has the importance of Gandhi been exaggerated in persuading the British government to give India independence in 1947? Gandhi wasn’t as significant as people think he was during the struggle for Indian independence. Some believe that Gandhi was the reason why Britain gave independence to India, people exaggerated over his abilities and his actions during the struggle for Indian Independence, and so he then became â€Å"the Father of India† this again really exaggerated his importance.But then again, after the Second World War, Britain would have given India independence anyway due to Britain becoming bankrupt which would have meant that Britain would have to give India independence because they couldn’t afford to keep control and order in such a big country like India. Therefore, Gandhi didn’t actually need to go on big campaigns, because most of them would result in a huge number of people being killed or die of starvation.These are the key parts that people miss out and over exaggerate about Gandhi’s importance. Just like the Amritsar massacre and the Bengali Famine, India was punished for the trouble they have caused for Britain, which resulted in lots of Indians being killed. In a way, Gandhi knew that his campaigns would be result in some people being killed and he could have done it differently, in a more peaceful way, because Britain would have given India independence eventually.Gandhi set himself a goal, to unite the whole of India so that Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs could live together without the British Raj, but he failed to do that and because he failed we now have a separated India, which resulted in millions of people losing their lives due to Gandhi’s decisions and actions . Overall, Gandhi really annoyed the British, which caused them to act in a way they wouldn’t necessarily act, like shooting in a crowd of Indians.Also, like the â€Å"Quit India Campaign†, which Gandhi intro duced and said to his fellow Indians to Cause trouble on the streets of India, Gandhi thought that this will eventually lead to Britain getting fed up of the constant trouble and then grant them the Independence, which they have so badly been fighting for, but this only led to more Indians being killed. This proved to be a disaster for Gandhi and due to some decisions he made, India split into three, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Also resulting acts threats of terrorism to each on of the three countries.This again shows what an impact Gandhi still has today due to his work and the methods he picked to free India. This may have had an influence on some famous figures in History such as Martin Luther King, but then again, it resulted in Millions of people losing their lives due to Gandhi not being successful in one of his main goals, such as uniting India. When the Rowlatt Act came into law, Gandhi proposed that the entire country observe a hartal, a day of fasting, prayer, and abs tention from physical labor, in protest against the injustice of the repressive new law.Millions of Indians followed Gandhi’s words and started to fight back against the British, they simply didn’t go to work; almost the whole of India came to a halt for the whole day. Following the words of Gandhi, some Indians came together in groups, which was against the Rowlatt act law. A General in the British army in India named General Dyer became furious and decided to â€Å"teach the Indians a lesson† and so he went to the meeting in Amritsar and massacred nearly all the Indians that simply came together to listen to each other. All eyes were on Gandhi, because it was his words that led to this massacre.Even though Gandhi knew that his instructions to Indians would cause agony for the British, but also for India, but he took the risk anyway. Again this shows that Gandhi’s words proved to be futile, because the British would always respond back to the actions mad e by Gandhi and the Indian people. Even though Gandhi knew that, he would still continue his campaign, which would later cause chaos on the streets of India. But his actions were seen as successful because no one had actually stepped up to the British, this again exaggerates his importanceFurthermore, Gandhi’s campaigns may have been effective against the British, but it also came with a huge sacrifice. Gandhi’s campaigns really annoyed The British, especially Winston Churchill. Gandhi, â€Å"The Father of India† and Churchill, the Prime minister of Britain had a clash of ideas. Because Gandhi won, people see him as defeating one of the most powerful men in the world. But it came at a huge cost; this really exaggerates his importance because people don’t really see the other side. His campaigns eventually led to the Bengal famine, which resulted in millions of people starving to death.Gandhi’s campaigns are thought to of led to the Bengal famine, a nd the amount of money Britain had to pay for the damage, and so they tried to put an end to it by setting an example. In a way, Churchill really badly wanted to punish the Indians for all the trouble they caused. Churchill did this by stopping shipments of supplies to Bengal and instead he sent them to soldiers in Africa, which they didn’t really need. The famine lasted between one to two years. Churchill himself said, â€Å"I hate Indians†, â€Å"The famine was their own fault. † Some may argue that, he is referring to just Gandhi and the problems he has made for Britain to clean up.Overall, Gandhi’s actions and the decisions he made had a huge effect on India and Britain, which then, led to the Bengal famine and as a result Millions of woman and children died. Churchill only tried to show Gandhi he too can cause trouble for India, he also tried to warn Gandhi and the rest of India that this would be the result of the actions and the amount trouble they cause. But Gandhi didn’t stop and continued with his campaigns to free India. On the other hand, Gandhi didn’t always cause trouble but sometimes he forced the British to just give up. Gandhi devised a great march to the coast; this would become famous as the salt march.Gandhi realized that the British tax on salt would become an advantage. Gandhi soon started to walk with his members of the Indian congress party and other followers to the Indian coast. Soon after, many people joined him. Afterwards he had whole villages behind him; he then arrived at the coast and encouraged people to take as much salt as they possibly can because the British couldn’t do anything about it. But, soon afterwards, as he arrived back, the British authorities had arrested him and thrown him in jail. This had caused mass rioting, some people were killed and so the British had no other option, but to release him.The British government had to pay a lot of money for all the damage and mess that the rioters had made. Gandhi proved himself to the Indian people as a leader. The period of â€Å"non-cooperation† that began in 1920 saw Gandhi moving all across India, encouraging people to give up their Western clothing and British jobs. Soon afterwards Gandhi’s Congress party would become an organization filled with people working for it, this then proved to be an organization fit to become a professional party ready to lead their fellow Indians to Independence.Gandhi’s work despite the interference of the British authorities was a great success. Gandhi then would introduce a civil disobedience campaign, which would prove to be a mistake that shook the world. During one of the protests that night a group of Indians broke into one of the colonial outposts and killed many of the people working there. Horrified by the actions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi abandoned his plan for civil disobedience and retired into a period of fasting and prayer.Even as the Viceroy of India and the Prime minister of Britain wanted Gandhi out of the way, they couldn’t due to the political system Britain had in effect for since the early stages of the British Empire. The media were always there, and the class system in Britain was very important during that time, and so if the British authorities in India or Britain were to throw Gandhi in a jail for life or even execute him which they could of done very easily, but it would harm their reputation as the most advanced nation in the world.People would see the British as savages; this system came to Gandhi’s advantage during the salt march. From 1934 until the outbreak of war in 1939, Gandhi left the struggle for independence to Nehru. He began traveling through India again, working with women and children, helping the poor, and promoting use of the old fashioned Indian spinning wheel. He went from village to village, teaching others of the way of true India, barefoot and on the road for months at a time.Gandhi wanted to prove to all Indians that they didn’t need to wear western clothing or use western methods of making clothes, and that the Indian way was better, he did this to try and get everyone to do the same and then it would have been much easier to unite India. But people often get mistaken and believe that this method of uniting India wasn’t as effective, sure people do get together, but teaching the true Indian ways of doing things showed that Gandhi tried to get people together. But just when people were getting along, he introduced the â€Å"Quit India Campaign† people would riot on the streets killing many people.Again people don’t see the other side of Gandhi and over exaggerate his importance by pointing out that he taught many Indians the true Indian way in the hope that they would get along and unite to overcome oppression from the British. Gandhi didn’t support the war, and when Britain called for India to help th em in the upcoming â€Å"Battle of Britain†, which would decide the future of Britain, the war and even the world, But Gandhi and the rest of India refused, and in a way, also helping the Nazis because they weren’t helping the allies and instead helping Hitler and the Nazis by not fighting.But they only fought to protect their own country from invasion. Japan, a growing empire decided to start the invasion of India and wanted to overthrow the British Raj and have India for themselves, but they lost to the Indian sepoys supported by Gandhi. So, in a way they could have helped Britain, but they also had the Japanese looking to extend their border. This then resulted in many deaths over in Britain, which were lucky enough to snatch a victory at the battle of Britain.Three years after his wife's death was a time of struggle for Gandhi, the growing Muslim league and Jinnah were looking to have a country of their own â€Å"Pakistan† in the far west of India and  "Bangladesh† in the far east of India. Gandhi’s dreams of a united India were beginning to shatter. This shows that his main dream of uniting India was beginning to end this shows that Gandhi wasn’t very successful and failed to reach his goal, therefore Gandhi was only useful in gaining independence so that others can have theirs within the country.Elections were beginning to be held in India, they were between the Congress party and the Muslim league. India was becoming a piece of land which was going to be torn apart between two different faiths. The political Parties of India were beginning to look like true professionals. MPs were elected in heavy Hindu and Muslim parts of India. The fate of India was to be decided. After the war, Britain was absolutely spent the whole treasury. It was now empty and people were so hungry they had to eat cat food.This eventually led to many countries getting their independence because Britain couldn’t afford to keep co ntrol and order in many countries like India, it became â€Å"ungovernable† and so Britain just gave up and gave them their independence. India received independence not from Gandhi’s methods of Satyagraha, but through total anarchy and outbreaks of violence across the country. This shows that everyone forgot about Gandhi because he wasn’t important to them and believed that the methods he used were wrong because people were dying for nothing, and so Gandhi’s methods were fading away.Overall, Gandhi claimed to represent all of India during the Round-Table conferences, but as he later learned to know that there were some who didn’t agree with him, such as Jinnah, the Muslim league and all other Muslims living in India, even though Gandhi’s and Nehru’s Congress party had the most seats in the Indian parliament, Gandhi still thought he represented the whole of India which means that he forgot all about the Muslims and Sikhs that wanted t o remain separate.So in a way, he failed to reach his main goal which many people failed to notice during the later stages of India receiving independence. Disaster followed, violence swept the country as Hindus and Muslims killed one another. Nearly all fled the newly created borders, seeking safety in India or Pakistan, depending upon their religion. Millions had died while many other Millions were forced to flee their homes; it proved to be a disaster for Gandhi and his dreams of united India.Gandhi felt betrayed by his fellow Indians he felt that that no one had listened to him, that the people of India hadn’t learned a thing during the times of his campaigns and great marches which taught Indians to stay together, he believed that India would become independent only if they unite. But sadly, his dreams would only become a vision he once had. Later on Gandhi would give some speeches and show up in some important events, but then something, which shook the entire world, ha d occurred, Gandhi was assassinated. But even after his death he then somehow still influences people from around the world.Overall, Gandhi didn’t reach his main goal to unite India, but it is thought that Gandhi was the reason why India got their independence. This is usually exaggerated as a strong sense of sympathy for Gandhi after his death. Eventually India would of gotten their independence due Britain, which couldn’t afford to keep control of India and so they would of gotten their independence even without Gandhi. But then again, Gandhi’s campaign inspired many other famous people, such as, Martin Luther King, who then used Gandhi’s methods of non-violent protest, which would eventually then lead to black-Americans gaining their Civil Rights.Gandhi explained in one of his speeches that it is important not to fight against the British, but simply just not follow the orders and laws passed, such as don’t meet up in large groups. Gandhi told p eople not to follow that order and do the complete opposite, which then lead to the Amritsar massacre. Gandhi failed to reach his aims, but became a very famous figure in history due to his campaigns and the first ever use of peaceful protesting, which then after his death, Gandhi was claimed to be a hero and savior of India.People exaggerate Gandhi’s importance because they usually miss out on the specific detail that is very vital to understanding Gandhi. The exaggeration of Gandhi’s importance is also due to India having Gandhi as their only leader, this may be important because he was the first to step up to the British, but on the other hand he failed in uniting India against the British. Sure he may have had a role in the struggle for independence, but he caused India to divide, which caused millions of people losing their lives.

Leopard and human conflict in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leopard and human conflict in India - Essay Example Following the drastic reduction of human activities in the Chilla Range of Rajaji National Park in India, a highly populated tiger species is affecting the existence of leopards (Harihar, Pandav, & Goyal 1366). Therefore, the latter brings up a reason to investigate some of the mechanisms of niche partitioning mainly in the leopard (panther pardus) inhabited areas of India. Based on assumptions of scholars, they opted to research on the possibility of an overlap between the tiger and leopards species. Assumptions directed that optimal habitats would now have tigers as the dominance therefore forcing leopards to move to the periphery of the protected areas (Harihar, Pandav, & Goyal 1365). Leopards’ encroachment in the Indian protected areas inhabited by humans is highly rising and causing drastic effects. Attempts to minimize the effects of human –wildlife conflict in the area have proven futile and it has become necessary to understand the mechanisms by which the conflicts appear (Pradhan, Dar, Rather, Panwar & Pala, 916). The latter is the only way to find a lasting solution for the problem. In addition, in a densely populated state like India, protected areas are minimal. In this case, large carnivores are very many, therefore, humans use landscapes as important habitats required for gene flow to occur between protected areas. Besides, humans in these landscapes possess domestic animals, which appear as easy prey for the leopards that roam around. Consequently, leopards frequent the protected areas in search of prey such as livestock and dogs. Therefore, it is arguably very vital to take care of these protected areas for the good of the human species (Athreya, Linnell, Krishnaswamy & Karanth, 2013). In India, wild cats such as leopards, tigers and lions when captured along human protected areas, do not face lethal measures due to cultural affiliations but translocated to a faraway place (Athreya, Odden Linnell, &

Modern Astronomy Frontier Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Modern Astronomy Frontier - Research Paper Example What exactly makes black holes so captivating is the effects they seem to have on their surroundings, and yet their ability to remain in obscurity, literally. Before embarking on the actual topic of black holes, this paper will discuss the background research completed on black holes, the observations on them, the results of those observations, and the mysteries that still exist about them. First of all, black holes possess an amazing heritage. The first record of the black hole theory begins back in the early 1780s (DeBenedictis 4). However, during the nineteenth century, the idea that light could be affected by gravity was thought to be false, and therefore black holes, which result from gravitational pulls that suck away light, would not be possible. During the early twentieth century, with the discovery of the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein and discoveries by astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, belief in the theory of black holes returned (DeBenedictis 4). Further research took place once the technology advanced enough to produce models and test the various theories and equations that were used. Several types of research were employed to test the theory of black holes. One type of research, labeled as classical black hole research, begins with the theory of general relativity (DeBenedictis 14). Classical theory believes that â€Å"black holes can only absorb and not emit particles† (Hawking 199). Therefore, whatever information â€Å"falls into a black hole is forever lost† (Carr 22). Within classical black hole research, several different equations determine the spin, velocity and gravitational field surrounding the black hole and the particles that compose the black hole (DeBenedictis 22). Classical research deals with the geometry of black holes, specifically at the â€Å"event horizon† (Anderson 1). The event horizon constitutes â€Å"the boundary around a black  hole on and within which no matter or

Foreign aid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Foreign aid - Essay Example These countries constantly rely on the good will of the developed countries for their survival. Randel & German (2013) say that multilateral aid is the aid offered by other organizations such as financial institutions, associations and agencies to needy countries. Third world countries have been seen to acquire a lot of multi-lateral aid from institutions such as World Bank, IMF, amongst others. From the chart, the aid, the need for aid rises by the day. In Africa, the forms of Foreign in Aid range from loan assistance, emergency relief assistance such as drought, health assistance, food, water, technological assistance However, the status of Africa is worsening. Africa comprises of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). This relates to issues such as poor governance from their leaders despite the richness of the same in terms of resources and minerals. Knack & Brautigam (2004) say that Africa lacks the rule of law, corruption prevails; thus, poor accountability. Foreign Assistance will no doubt not save Africa’s situation. The poverty rates still persist despite the constant aid. Ayodele et al (2005) are wary of the fact that despite the set MDGs, development for Africa has a long way to go. Conclusively, foreign generally leads to slow growth as seen in the case of Africa. Evidently inflation rates are high in Africa despite the constant foreign

Forms of Business Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Forms of Business Organisations - Essay Example Thus, â€Å"every partner in a firm other than an incorporated limited partnership is liable jointly with the partner’s co-partners, and also severally, for everything for which the firm becomes liable under section 10 or 11.†Ã‚  Ã‚   Joint and several liability means, within the partnership context, that the claimant may bring a claim against all of the partners or choose to recover the entire amount of damages from only one or some of the partners, leaving the partner/s whom the claimant has/have successfully recovered from to go after other partners for the latter’s proportionate contribution to the claim. Applying the above principles, it can be concluded that Stacey can go after both Bertha and Sam or either Bertha and Sam for the recovery of damages caused to his spine due to the wrongful practices of the firm, regardless of whether only one of the partners is at fault or both. In a joint and several liability, the partners will be left to determine for the mselves their exact liability and recover from each other the amount of the other’s liability. Therefore, Besa Constructions should seriously consider accepting liability for the injury of Stacey after validating the reports of the insurers. Since the firm is not a separate entity from its owners, this means that Bertha or Sam or both should pay the claim, in accordance to the extent of their individual participation in the wrongful company practices. Moreover, they should initiate a change in its existing working practices to prevent the same problem from occurring again in the future.  

How immigration affect social and economic status of sending and Research Proposal

How immigration affect social and economic status of sending and recieving countries - Research Proposal Example Accordingly, the effects of immigration are demarcated to indicate those affecting the country of origin and those affecting the receiving country. In general, it is evident that immigration has dual effects in the sense that the movement of people from one country to the other affects the sending country on one hand and the host country on the other. Immigration is an imperative dynamic in the international economy (Hall 59). Research estimates indicate that more than 110 million people reside outside their countries of origin. This shows that the aspect of immigration plays a critical position in economic, communal and political lives of many people across the world. People travel away from their nations of birth due to a number of reasons though it is mostly perceived that a majority of immigrants move away from their homes in search for opportunities of employment. It is a clearly established that there are countless economic and social effects of immigrations. In a nutshell the most significant implications of immigrations may include; first and foremost, effects on the host nation’s employment market whereby immigration could cast severe implications on the host countries wages and employment opportunities. Subsequently, immigration could immensely influence the budgetary arrangement of the destination country becaus e the services received by the immigrants including education and health may not strictly balance with the increased taxes from workers (Berg and Bodvarsson 27). Additionally, immigration could offer a credible solution to the problem of aging population in the country of destination. Lastly, immigration may significantly affect the economy of the sending country both positively and negatively though some negative effects could turn around as benefits to the country. For instance, brain drain is a harmful implication of immigration to the country of origin but could end up being a

Viruses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Viruses - Research Paper Example There are millions of types of viruses present in the world. A few thousands have been explained and studied in detail. Viruses can survive in severe and extreme conditions of temperature, pressure and atmosphere and hence cannot be easily destroyed or eliminated from the environment. Viruses can be found in almost all environments on earth. Isolated viruses are not living organisms because they cannot reproduce, grow or multiply unless they are present in a human or animal cell. The virus attacks the human, animal or plant cell, takes over the controlling and mechanism of the cell and starts producing products that are harmful for the body. The infected cell will now produce harmful products instead of its usual products (Mandal 41-76). Viruses are of various shapes but the basic structure of a virus always is composed of three parts. The nucleic acid is the main part of a virus and it is either a DNA or RNA. It is responsible for giving a virus its unique characteristics and helps to reproduce. The nucleic acid is protected by covering made from protein which is called the capsid; its purpose is to protect the nucleic acid from any sort of harm. The lipid membrane is a layer which is present over the capsid and is meant for protection. However this layer is not necessarily present in all viruses. Viruses can be transferred from organism to organism in different ways. Either the various can enter the body through direct contact with the organism contaminated with the virus. Some flying insects can carry the virus and transfer that virus to other organisms. Insect bites can also lead to a transfer of virus from one body to another. Contaminated food and water can also lead to the transfer of viruses. Viruses are responsible for a number of diseases like flu, cough, fever, measles, polio, hepatitis, yellow fever, small pox, Human immunodeficiency virus, rabies, influenza, diarrhea, etc. Among these diseases some are easily curable through regular medications and precautions but some of them are extremely difficult to take care of; the treatment is usually very expensive and besides the cost it is usually not sure that the medications will prove beneficial or not. Some of the diseases caused by viruses even do not have a cure and they ultimately lead to the death of the suffering person. Viruses can also cause certain types of cancer. For some of the diseases caused by viruses of which a proper cure is not present, the people are advised to take particular vaccines in order to keep themselves protected from the viral attack. By the use of vaccines the human body builds up the immune system to fight against any such viral attack and in this way the virus fails to attack the human cell and thus the human remains protected from those diseases which have no proper cure and are considered as life threatening diseases. The vaccines help develop antibodies in the human so that whenever such viruses are encountered by the human cells they can devel op antibodies to fight away the virus. In the earlier times when there were no vaccines many people used to die because of these incurable diseases but with the development of vaccines death rates have considerably reduced due to these diseases. The humans during the starting years of their lives are made to take vaccines against a number of viral diseases that are practically incurable in order to protect

Sales Management of the Sale of Vivicomb Into the Chinese Market Essay

Sales Management of the Sale of Vivicomb Into the Chinese Market - Essay Example They also determine how effective customer experience is. It is for this reason that Vivicom would have to give up some of its control. Web stores are revolutionising the e-retail market because they have a reach that single internet stores can only dream about (Johnson and Tellis, 2008). Therefore, a combination of direct selling through the company store will be utilised. The company will the augment these efforts by placing its products on TMall, Alibaba.com(China)- Taobao, and 360 Buy, which are all online marketplaces. Since these stores specifically target Chinese consumers, then they would be critical in the provision of services to all. It should be noted that the internet selling channel was selected because it is the basis upon which Vivicom sells its products. Aside from that, China represents one of the most untapped internet shopping markets. The country already has double the number of internet shoppers in the US, yet they only account for less than half of the Chinese population. It has been projected that internet sales will grow exponentially in the next five years. Currently, the amount of time Chinese users spend online is 3 hours daily. This is already quite promising. Furthermore, the youth and other members of this generation are quite comfortable with online shopping. Therefore, the organisation has a lead. In order to increase its presence in China specifically, it needs to target market places or online stores that are already familiar with the Chinese market. The Chinese version of Alibaba.com is already turning heads in the internet world. Organisations like Taobao and TMall also broke records by reporting some of the greatest traffic on their sites. Consumers bought$3 billion... This report stresses that customer relationship quality measures will relate to bulk buyers. Since the nature of Vivicom is such that it may not require repeat purchases, then most customers who will keep coming back are the ones who will buy a lot of the product. The method will measure the degree of customer retention achieved by sales personnel with regard to this group of people. If repeat sales occur in the organisation, then it will be indicative of success. The author of the report declares that the company will need to move beyond repeat sales and assess the extent to which customers are committed to Vivicom and whether they trust the company. This will be analysed through surveys which will determine consumers’ attitude towards the organisation. This paper makes a conclusion that the introduction of Vivicom into the Chinese market will occur through online selling from a Chinese version of the website, and through partnership with Chinese online markets like Taobao and Wealink. It will be critical to get the message across by using social media as well as print ads in key Chinese cities. The main message in advertisements will be communality, as this resonates with Chinese buyers. The company needs to have a sales force with experience in the target market and one that speaks the language fluently. With great emphasis on the value addition of the product, it is likely that it will succeed in China.

Master Slave Dialect Essay Example for Free

Master Slave Dialect Essay The insightful analysis of Hegel in his Phenomenology of Spirit concerning the development of self consciousness revolves around the important impulse to â€Å"Self Consciousness† in which he details the master/slave dialectic. Contrary to preceding German Idealists, Hegel does not hold the assumption that the conscious agent is self conscious a priori; rather, the agent must establish this notion of self-conception through experience. This experience become developed through time and is therefore associated with the concept of â€Å"history†. It can even be claimed that any development of self consciousness must be conditioned historically as much as it draws upon the demands of desire and the means to its sating. Self consciousness is therefore far from innate with regard to individual agent. This break with tradition appears to be in arguing that self consciousness emerges out of non-self consciousness over time in a process which is conditioned historically. Commentators are however not in agreement in regard to the specifics of this historical process and its holistic ontological location, particularly in the nature of the process which underlies the development of self consciousness. Alexandre Kojeve finds Hegels dialectic of the mater/slave relationship to be referring to historically conditioned, material processes. The basic question concerns the amount of historicity required for the development of self consciousness: is it a purely external process brought about by the conflict between two living beings, or is it an internal struggle that encompasses the conflict between various faculties? Kojeve argues for the former interpretation. Kojeve on the Historicity of the Master/Slave Dialectic Kojeves analysis of the master/slave dialectic integrates Marxist conception of class struggle with Hegels phenomenological account. Beginning with Hegels view of desire, Kojeve holds the assumption that the physical creature is the basic unit of consciousness and the locus of desiring. It is from this foundation that humans, together with animals, have desire referred to as the drive to alter external shapes or forms of being to that which would suit their own interests and being. Desire seeks to transform the world, to negate the external object in its own existence and put it to the use of the desiring being. Kojeve, for instance, points to the desire of hunger as a clear example of a desire that a being has that negates the very existence of an object through radical change. The essence of human being lies in this power of negation; he argues that man is negating action, which transforms given being and by transforming it, transforms itself (Kojeve, 1980: 38). The difference that lies between human desire and animal desire is that human desire goes so far as to surpass itself. Humans possess desires that result in the negation of their conception as natural beings. This leads to the possibility of self consciousness which needs â€Å"transcendence of self with respect to self as given† (ibid 39). The key to this transcendence could be human desire if it focuses on that which liberates oneself from that mode of being. The ability to desire non-being is characteristically human and enables an individual to free himself from the concept of being that so enslaves human life. Instead of corresponding to the pulls and pushes of nature, humans can employ desire to transcend the mere â€Å"freedom of the turnspit† and achieve self consciousness. Kojeve is stressing on the biological basis of the master/slave relationship by labeling biological drives â€Å"desires†. The major difference between humans and animals is the ability of humans to desire non-being or death. According to Kojeve, the ability to desire non-being is the extreme limiting case of human freedom. Humans are free from their essence in the most basic way possible; they can opt to end it through their own desires. It is at this point that a desiring consciousness makes the realization that there are more than objects of desire in the world. The desiring subject becomes cognizant of other conscious beings in the world. According to Kojeve, a conscious being can only be satisfied when the other desiring conscious meets its desire for recognition. This is not a natural reciprocation from other beings, and the consequent lines of action are competitive in nature. There exists a struggle between the two agents in a life and death fight for recognition of the other. It appears that since humans demand recognition from the other being and possess the capacity to transcend natural animal desires through the desire of non-being, a struggle ensues between these desires. It seems as if Kojeve is arguing that freedom and ultimate worth reside in the ability of the being to defy nature and desire, and risking destruction in the face of inclinations towards natural preservation. Why is this risk being taken? The non-essential end of this endeavor is identification from another desiring consciousness. The only moment that animals seem to risk their lives is when they are pursuing the means to preserve their life. Humans on the other hand can defy nature to achieve desired recognition from other creatures of the same capabilities. Recognition cannot be gained from any animal in this scheme. It must be from a being that can also risk all of its natural prerogatives in the pursuit of the same end of recognition. Kojeve conceives of Hegels transition from a life and death struggle to one in which no being dies as a last and irreducible premise in the Phenomenology. It appears to be a mere assumption that the deadly struggle ends in one being assuming the role of the master and the other of the slave. According to Kojeve, this results from the ability of the master, and the inability of the slave to resist his natural instincts for survival. The master was strong enough to continue risking his life, while the slave eventually succumbed to his natural desires and attempted to preserve his life through assuming the role of the slave. Kojeve suggests that, â€Å"the vanquished has subordinated his human desire for recognition to the biological desire preserve life. The victor has risked his life for a non-vital end† (ibid 42). At the beginning of the struggle, the two agents appear to be unequal with regard to resolution and stamina. The one who is to be the slave is not capable of continuing the struggle and is therefore forced into subjection as the only way of preserving his life. It must be judged therefore that if both agents had similar resolution and power, the struggle could possibly and with both being slain. This is of course a condition that would not aid the establishment of self consciousness or the extension of biological life, perhaps explaining which Hegel stresses on the ascendance of one master and the servitude of one slave. The work of the slave is the intermediary between the master and the world of nature. According to Kojeve, it is this work that enables the master to satisfy all his needs without personal expectation; the master desires while the work of the slave bends nature to meet these desires. From the masters perspective, desire is followed by immediate satisfaction. From the perspective of the slave, the desire of another is answered with their labor, which then results in the others desire being satisfied. In this scheme, the master is tied to the drives of nature; while he could risk his own natural drives to secure recognition from the subjugated other, his courage and freedom then faded into a mere pursuit of particular biological desires. According to Kojeve, the master remains a natural being, an animal since he maintains this state of egocentric desire and the satisfaction of desire. The actual action of negation and transformation that is achieved in the instantiated relationship of the master and the slave appears in that of the slave. He is the one that is acting and transforming the world, whereas the master merely has desires qua natural being. Given this foundation, Kojeve realizes that the base is set for the possibility of a historical process which is holistically the history of the Fights and the Work that finally ended in the Napoleonic wars and the table on which Hegel wrote the Phenomenology so as to comprehend both those wars and the table. History starts with the resolution of the initial struggle into two classes, those of the master and slave. All material products and future struggle are to be comprehended within this simple framework of master/slave dialectic. History is nothing but a product of the master/slave struggle, made up of entirely of such struggles, and is no more when such struggles end physically. The materialist tendencies in such a conception is quite evident especially when Kojeve remarks that man must always be either master or slave, and that beings must be in a relation with each other for them to be at least considered human. The extreme historicity of the master/slave dialectic is obvious in this conception which is important in describing not only the progress of world history but also the universal history, offering in details the interaction of humanity with the rest of the natural world. According to Hegel, the slave interacts with nature. It therefore follows that natural history details the progress of slave overcoming nature and bending it to its will. The will of the slave is however not the operative force here; instead, it is the masters mediated will that drives the slave to his interaction with nature through his labor. According to Kojeve, it is this fundamental interaction with nature that enables the dialectic reversal of the masters dominance and the slaves subservience in the Phenomenology. The reading of Hegels master/slave dialectic by Kojeve is quite materially founded in its historicity. It involves conflict of individuals or groups, and requires that they resolve into two groups; those that fear death and become the slaves and those that can surpass this fear of death by risking their life and become masters. History starts with this struggle, and the entire history is the continuation of this struggle until the slaves are finally freed from the tyranny of the masters. The sources of this ultimate freedom are work, fear, and service, but only after the slave journeys through a series of ideologies, by which he seeks to justify himself, his slavery, to reconcile the ideal of freedom with the fact of slavery (ibid, 53). The final point of history, according to Kojeve, is when the physical struggle between mater and slave ultimately ceases. History reaches its final point since it is nothing but the constant struggle between masters and slaves. It is in this note that Kojeve ignores much of Hegels true purpose behind Phenomenology. Inadequacy of Kojeves formulation The materialist reading of the master/slave dialectic has been characterized by much criticism owing to what it has ignored concerning Hegels phenomenology. In emphasizing on the purely external struggle between two agents, such a reading simplifies the integral, internal role of another in the establishment of the subjects self consciousness. Kojeve unduly restricts the master/slave analysis in Hegels Phenomenology to the external struggle between two creatures. The true reading of this dialectic must encompass other perspectives as well. The master/slave dialectic can be explicated from three perspectives. The first is the social which is exclusively adopted by Kojeve. This reading focuses on the physical, actual struggle of persons or groups to acquire recognition and power. It is however not enough to take this social perspective for the entire master/slave dialectic. The psychological perspective complements it, which regards the dialectic as an interpersonal struggle within the individual ego. With this regard, the master and slave are various powers or patterns of the mind itself. The latter perspective is one of fusion between the previous two perspectives; the ego is changed by internal processes that are set in motion due to the external struggle between agents. As far as the limitations of the social perspective is concerned, there is no problem with Kojeves analysis. The actual disagreement with Kojeve is enabling the historicity of the psychological account of the master/slave dialectic without reducing it to material conflict between physical agents. The heart of Hegels though is the Platonic parallel between conflict in the stater and conflict in the individual agent. According to this interpretation, the quest for harmony will enable the master/slave dialectic on the levels of both the social and the psychological. The psychological perspective on this dialectic is required to comprehend the succeeding development of self consciousness. Vital to this conception is the idea that the faculties of the ego must contend in order to act because a single comprehensive faculty, regardless of the number of egos, would render them either completely static or completely destructive. Therefore, internal conflict must underlie any external conflict. There is thus the possibility of giving a psychological interpretation of the master/slave dialectic as a struggle within the soul, of the ego striving for self consciousness. Problem with Kojeve according to Carl Schmitt and Emmanuel Levinas The fundamental commonality between Schmitt and Levinas is their replacement of a Hegelian conception of politics as a struggle for recognition emanating from an originary battle to the death with the view that the originary relationship is rather between the rescuer and the victim, always in the presumed presence of some third whose ethical position is not known. At the end of a century that is characterized and dominated by the dialectic of revolution and counter revolution, a shift to Levinas and/or Schmitt can help in understanding the post cold war linkage between the global and the local as a humanitarian relation between the rescuers and the victims and a political doctrine of preemptive third party intervention. Lavina argues that, by relating to beings in the openness of being, understanding finds a meaning for them in terms of being (Lavina, 2006: 87). With this regard, understanding does not invoke them but only names them. Understanding therefore carries an act of violence and of negation. Violence is therefore a partial negation. This partial negation can be defined by the fact that without disappearing, beings are within ones power. Violence denies the independence of beings. Possession is the means whereby a being, while existing, is partially denied. Lavina holds that it is not merely a fact that the being is an instrument and a tool, that is, as a means, it is also an end. According to Lavinas, peace is the paradigmatic ethical relation between one and another in proximity. As a relationship of pure exteriority of two neighbors, each of whom is incapable of knowing the others inner life, peace is entirely different in its origin and demands from the political pursuit of justice. Lavinas sees the responsibility for other human being as anterior to every question. Lavinas acknowledges politics as involving comparison, reciprocity and equality which is external to ethics and is always about peace rather than justice, and presumes human incommensurability. The specific political distinction to which political actions can be reduced is that between friend and enemy according to Schmitt (Schmitt, 1996: 26). The antithesis of friend and enemy does not contradict to the relatively independent criteria of other antitheses. He conceives of the distinction between friend and enemy to denote the utmost degree of intensity of union or separation, association or dissociation. It can exist both in theory and in practice without having to draw from other distinctions. His view shifts from that of Kojeve in the sense that he conceives of the other not to be necessarily an economic competitor. In other words, he does not view master/slave dialectic in the sense that Kojeve views it. According to him, a political enemy does not necessarily have to appear as a competitor. According to him, only the actual participants can correctly identify, comprehend and judge the concrete situation and settle the extreme case of conflict. Each participant, he argues, is in a position to judge whether the adversary intends to negate his opponents way of life and therefore must be repulsed or fought in order to preserve ones own form of existence (Schmitt, 1996: 27). Terrorism as it pertains to master slave dialect Terrorism is an ideology of violence meant to intimidate or cause terror for the aim of exerting pressure on decision making by state bodies. It encompasses a series of acts that are meant to spread intimidation, panic, and destruction in a population. These acts can either be carried out by individuals and groups that are opposing a state or acting on behalf of the state. The question of violence is closely connected with sovereignty. The master slave dialectic must be a violence that makes sense, violence that results in the production of sense in the form of man and history. Terrorism on the other hand is a senseless violence that lays waste without recognition. In order to produce history, the master slave dialectic must produce the positions of master and slave. Because the master has not encountered death in all its terrifying reality as the absolute master and the slave has, the slave possesses the power over the master. In this situation, the act of terrorism is a struggle between masters and slaves. The terrorists have confronted the reality of death. Having defeated the slave, the master forced him to work. This labor implies that while the master is idle, the slave labors at transforming the world. The transforming labor of the slave eventually gives it the power to take up once the liberating Fight for recognition that he refused initially for fear of death. Terrorism thus becomes an element of a struggle between the master and the slave. According to master slave dialectic, the course of history is determined by this struggle.

Effect of Alcohol Caffeine Concentration on Daphnia Magna

Effect of Alcohol Caffeine Concentration on Daphnia Magna The Effect of Alcohol and Caffeine Concentrations on Daphnia Magna Abstract The target of this experiment was to study the effects of alcohol and caffeine on the heart, using the Daphnia Magna as the test subject. The hypothesis was: Increasing the concentration of caffeine in which the Daphnia Magna is submerged will cause its heart rate to increase, while increasing the concentration of alcohol in which it is submerged will cause its heart rate to decrease. To test this hypothesis two Daphnia Magna were exposed to either alcohol or caffeine and its heart rate recorded by placing it on a microscope slide and counting the number of heart beats. It was deducted that the alcohol and caffeine had a very notable effect on the heart, with alcohol slowing it down and caffeine speeding it up. At the highest concentration of alcohol, the heart rate slowed and in turn the higher concentration of caffeine affected the heart rate by increasing it. I feel that the same concept of the effect of alcohol and caffeine on Daphnia Magna would be the same concept for its effec t on humans also sense alcohol is a depressant it tends to slow down the body as Caffeine is well known for giving our bodies a boost of energy. Introduction It was obvious to test the effects that alcohol and caffeine have on the human heart. The effects of alcohol and caffeine were a distinct interest sense they are drugs that are consumed on a large scale in society. However, because it is difficult to perform experiments of this nature on humans and get accurate results, we decided to use Daphnia Magna as a substitute for a human. Though humans and Daphnia Magna are different organisms, alcohol and caffeine should have an almost identical effect on them. The effect when both organisms are exposed to the same amounts of alcohol and caffeine should be more noticeable in Daphnia Magna because they are much smaller, so in turn the chemicals will flow through the Daphnia Magna’s form quicker and effect each cell more. There are many explanations why Daphnia Magna are commonly used compared to the use of a human as test subject. Firstly, Daphnia Magna are simple organisms compared to humans thus there are less factors that we have no control over what could likely affect the heart rate. Secondly, the heart of the Daphnia Magna is easy to view and examine because of their transparent body form. Thirdly, it is logical to use a Daphnia Magna because the effects of the drug will be observed much more quickly, within moments compared to around half an hour in humans. Also, to get usable results, it would be necessary to supply a human subject with a reasonable large amounts of alcohol or caffeine, which wouldn’t be good for short term health, as well as unscrupulous. The hypothesis under investigation was developed because depressants, like alcohol tend to decrease the activity of the body’s organs, whilst stimulants like caffeine tend to increase such activity. Methods and Materials Two Daphnia Magna specimen were collected from the habitat container and then placed each in their own hanging drop slide carefully so they would not slide all over like they would a traditional flat slide. This way one slide would have one Daphnia Magna testing the varying concentrations of alcohol and the other Caffeine. In caffeine we readied concentrations of 0.25%, 0.05%, 0.75% and 1.0% levels of concentration. One member held a bottle of distilled water to be used in between concentrations. The water allows the Daphnia Magna to rest a moment that way it doesn’t die to quickly from the various concentrations. One member will begin the experiment by tallying its heart beats per seconds to allow for an average heart rate. The group then subtracted the water from the slide and replaced it with the fist concentration of caffeine counting the heart beat 15 seconds again then quickly taking away the caffeine and replacing it back with distilled water. We repeat this process and collect the data until all concentrations have be used and the data compiled. Alcohol there were 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% of concentrations. Using a Microscope as well as a fresh bottle of water to adjust the Daphnia Magna to the stress of the many concentrations makes the experiment a little easier. As we did with the caffeine the group used a fresh Daphnia Magna collected the average heartbeat and began the process of subjecting the Daphnia Magna to the Alcohol concentrations collecting the heart beat data and observing how it changes with each concentration. Results Results demonstrates the profound effect the alcohol and caffeine both have on the heart. As shown in figure 1 and 3 the higher the concentration of caffeine the faster the heart becomes. In figures 2 and 4 Alcohol seems to have the opposite affect and slows the heart rate down increasingly with each concentration. Within our results it can be determined that when humans consume alcohol that they will experience a slowness and often a more depressed feeling. On the flip side when humans are exposed to caffeine it can be seen that there is a burst of energy â€Å"Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. Your central nervous system includes your brain, spinal cord, and the other nerves in your body. Caffeine’s main effect on your body is to make you feel more awake and alert for a while† (FDA, 2007) Table 1: group data for Caffeine concentrations Caffeine Concentrations and how they affect the heart rate Concentration Heart Rate 15 sec Heart Rate (BPM) 0% 53 216 0.25% 42 168 0.50% 39 156 0.75% 28 112 1.0% 31 124 Figure 1: the graph that shows the group average heart rates when exposed to the different concentrations of caffeine provided that the Daphnia Magna heart rate was counted for 15 seconds then calculated to BPM Table 2: Group data for alcohol concentrations Alcohol concentrations and how they affect the heart rate Concentration Heart Rate 15 sec Heart Rate (BPM) 0% 31 133.33 2% 27 108 4% 24 96 6% 12 68 8% 19 76 10% 14 56 Figure 2: the graph that shows the group average heart rates when exposed to the different concentrations of alcohol provided that the Daphnia Magna heart rate was counted for 15 seconds then calculated to BPM. Table 3: Class data for caffeine concentrations Water Control AVG 0.25% Caf 0.5% Caf 0.75% Caf 1.0% Caf KR 216 168 156 112 124 g1 45.3 56 84 96 88 G2 248 448 452 480 508 Jeep 132 208 164 220 188 G5 133.3 120 112 124 136 Average 154.92 200 193.6 206.4 208.8 Figure 3: the graph that shows the class average heart rates when exposed to the different concentrations of caffeine.   Ã‚   Table 4: Class data for Alcohol concentrations Initials Water Control AVG 2% Alc 4% Alc 6% Alc 8% Alc 10% Alc KR 133.33 108 96 68 76 56 g1 54 248 285 236 188 172 G2 205.3 312 240 180 64 48 Jeep 181 148 152 124 124 108 G5 205.3 240 196 232 212 100 Average 155.8 211.2 193.8 168 132.8 96.8 Figure 4: the graph that shows the class average heart rates when exposed to the different concentrations of alcohol. Discussion â€Å"Alcohol affects every organ in the drinkers body and can damage a developing fetus. Intoxication can impair brain function and motor skills; heavy use can increase risk of certain cancers, stroke, and liver disease.† (Abuse, 2014)

Sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities Essay -- Charles Dickens

New Wark or New York A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a story of great sacrifices being made for the sake of principle. There are many examples of this throughout the book made by many of the characters but some or more evident than others. In Book The First, entitled â€Å"Recalled to Life,† the most obvious sacrifice for the sake of principle was made by Dr. Manette. He is imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille, for no apparent reason. Another noticeable sacrifice made for the sake of principle was made in Book The Second, entitled â€Å"The Golden Thread,† also by Dr. Manette. Charles Darnay reveals the truth about himself and about his family history. He tells Dr. Manette his real identity and that he is heir to the Marquis St. Evremonde. In Book The Third, entitled â€Å"The Track of a Storm,† Sydney Carton makes an astounding sacrifice for the sake of principle when he fulfills his promise to Lucie Manette, his true love, that he will one day sacrifice himself for the person whom Lucie loves. In â€Å"Recalled to Life,† Dr. Manette makes a very great sacrifice for the sake of principle. â€Å"All through the cold and restless interval, until dawn, they once more whispered in the ears of Mr. Jarvis Lorry-sitting opposite the buried man who had been dug out, and wondering what subtle powers were for ever lost to him, and what were capable of restoration-the old inquiry: ‘I hope you care to be recalled to life?’ And the old answer: ‘I can’t say.’"(45). Dr. Manette is imprisoned in the French Bastille for eighteen years by the cruel French government and unknown to him those many years of pain and suffering serve as a great sacrifice in the eyes of the Revolutionists. He is recalled to life from the time he served when he meets Lu... ...ille. Another conspicuous sacrifice made for the sake of principle was made in Book The Second, also by Dr. Manette. Darnay revealed the truth about himself and about his family history. He lets Dr. Manette know his true identity and that he is the nephew to the Marquis St. Evremonde. In Book The Third, Sydney Carton makes an astonishing sacrifice for the sake of principle when he fulfills his promise to Lucie Manette, his true love, that he will one day sacrifice himself for the person whom Lucie loves. All of the above sacrifices were made with the intention of keeping morals and principles high in human life. Whether it is your life or your feelings towards someone, we have learned that it is always better to give for the greater cause. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Ed. Fred Kaplan and Sylvà ©re Monod. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2001.

Sisyphus: Life?s True Meaning :: essays research papers

Sisyphus, one of the biggest tricksters of all time lived like what seems as a seemingly short life, he was pursued by many Gods wanting to punish him for some trick or prank that he had pulled, but they never got him, finally Hermes captured him though and put him under the control of Hades. He lived life well though apparently taking the title as the King of Corinth, which to some he was the founder, and to others it was handed down to him by Medea. Their are many tales though, where he is clever, as he is described in Homer’s Odyssey. One tells how he came up with a way to find out who was stealing his sheep, he put a mark on them, in modern times known as a brand but, while he was retrieving his sheep he seduced Anticlia, which then became the mother of Odysseus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other tales of him attacking and murdering travelers. Although all these stories are out there, there are also stories of a family man, stories about him, his brother Athamas, his wife Merope, his two sons Odysseus and Glaucus, and his parents Aeolus and Enarete. There are other things he achieved besides trickery. He was said to have founded the Isthmian Games, in honor of Melicertes, whose dying body he found on the shore of Corinth. Sisyphus was also very crafty, as Homer described him to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once when Zeus sent out Thanatos to punish him for revealing one of Zeus’s love affairs, Sisyphus managed to capture Thanatos and bind him in chains. Zeus then had to send Ares to release Thanatos because he is the God of Death and no one was dying while he was bound. Knowing that Thanatos would come back for him he told his wife not to bury his body, then when he died he begged Hades to allow him to go back to earth and punish his wife for not burring him, He then refused to return to Hades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Here is where Hermes comes in, he captured Sisyphus and put him under the power of Hades, where he has to roll a heavy rock to the top of a hill, and every time he almost gets to the top of the hill , the rock’s weight pushes him back to the bottom and he starts all over again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  That was the mythology, now from a physiological point of view. Although, Sisyphus is forced to roll a heavy rock up a hill for eternity, it is said that he is happy.

A Study of Traumatic Life Events in Link with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Running head: Effect of Traumatic Life Events on OCD A Study of Traumatic Life Events in Link with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder A Study of Traumatic Life Events in Link with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, as defined by the National Institute of Mental Health is an anxiety disorder that is distinguished by persistent, unwanted thoughts and/or compulsions (â€Å"NIMH,† 2007). OCD is one of the most expensive and persistent forms of psychopathology. Although OCD has been thought of as a fairly rare disorder, recent studies have found that 1. – 4% of the population has some form of OCD. While the understanding of this disease has been expanded over the past few decades there still remains much to be learned about the causes and origin of the disease. One factor that is thought to contribute to the onset or intensification of most psychiatric disorders is stressful life events especially traumatic life events (Cromer, Schmidt, & Murphy, 20 06, p. 2). However there has not been significant research on the relationship of stressful life events or traumatic life events with OCD. This study attempts to examine the potential correlations between traumatic life events and OCD, if any at all are present (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 3-4). Method A total of 265 participants, being at least eighteen years of age, all with some degree of OCD as their primary disease, participated in this study. Patients with schizophrenia, severe mental retardation, or currently depressed individuals were excluded from this study. The participants were interviewed and tested using four different methods. These methods included the Structured Clinical Interview with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID), the Yale-Brown Excessive Compulsive scale (Y-BOCS), a traumatic life event measure, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The SCID interview was carried out by a trained, as well as experienced, interviewer. Two independent doctors then reviewed the results before making their final blind diagnosis. The Y-BOCS measured how severe each participant’s OCD symptoms were in each of the four areas. These areas ncorporated hoarding, ordering/symmetry, checking/obsessions, and cleaning/contamination (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 4). The traumatic life event measure was in an interview-like setting, where the participants were given descriptions of various traumatic life events. After each description the participants were asked various questions about their own experiences with similar events. If the participant was still troubled by any of the events the int erviewer would continue with a posttraumatic stress disorder test, regardless if the participant met the qualifications for posttraumatic stress disorder. This was done in order to make sure that all traumatic life events were documented properly. The final test was the Beck Depression Inventory which, through a full set of twenty-one questions, determines whether or not a person is currently depressed and the severity of their depression (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 5). Results Out of the 265 patients who participated in this study, 143 of them (roughly 54%) had experienced at least one traumatic life event at the time of the study (Cromer, et al. 2006, p. 1). If more than one event encountered, the participant suffered an increase in the severity of their OCD symptoms. These results remained consistent even when crucial variables, such as age, presence of depression, and the age OCD first began were controlled. Of the four symptoms of OCD that were tested for ordering/symmetry and checking/obsessions were found to have the closest correlation with the presence of traumatic life events (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 5). Discussion The results of this study largely support the fact that the symptoms of OCD are intensified by the onset of traumatic life events (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 1). However the researchers believe that there still needs to be testing done to clarify the link between OCD and traumatic life events as there may be confounding variables creating false positives. For example, there is a chance that some of the symptoms (ordering/symmetry and checking/obsessions in particular) are linked to other mood and anxiety disorders which could be the cause of the higher correlation in the study (Cromer, et al. 2006, p. 9). To improve on this there would have to be a study done to observe how those symptoms react with other disorders. The traumatic life event data that was collected was based off what the patients could remember from the past. This suggests that this particular data is not entirely accurate. The strength in their research, however, is how the SCID test was performed. Not only were there professional interviewers, their work was double checked by two independent doctors to insure the utmost accuracy. The participants were tested and interviewed in four different ways to accumulate more data to create a more accurate experiment (Cromer, et al. , 2006, p. 4). There is something that the researchers mention that I do not entirely agree with however. Cromer, et al. , says that someone with OCD would be more sensitive to traumatic life events and this would skew the results (2006, p. 10), but it is to my understanding that a traumatic event needs only to be traumatic to the person it is happening to, no matter how another observer may be affected by the same situation. If the event is traumatic to the person they will respond to the event (both mentally and physically) just as another person without OCD would respond to an event that is traumatic to them. References Cromer, K. R. , Schmidt, N. B. , & Murphy, D. L. (2006) An investigation of traumatic life events and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behavior Research and Therapy 45(7). Retrieved September 23, 2007, from ScienceDirect database. (September 28, 2007). NIMH  · Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Retrieved October 03, 2007, from http://www. nimh. nih. gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index. shtml.

Acquiring Knowledge Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowledge means power; the whole world craves for knowledge, to know things, to understand, to make accurate calculations and to make wise decisions. But philosophers since ancient times struggle with the question regarding how knowledge is acquired. Is it through the physical senses – of touch, smell, hearing, seeing, and taste? Is it through reason alone? Three great philosophers tackled this question, they are Descartes, Locke, and Kant and all three of them presented three different methodologies when it comes to acquiring knowledge. The pursuit is serious and intense that a whole body of knowledge is dedicated to finding out the answers. It is called epistemology and these three philosophers will serve as guides in the quest to know the truth about knowledge. Descartes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rene Descartes is said to be the father of modern philosophy. He attempted to break with the philosophical traditions of his day by rejecting the Aristotelian philosophy of the schools which is the authority of tradition and the authority of the senses (Craig, 1998). He developed a methodology on how to investigate nature by reducing complex problems to simpler ones and then analyzed further using direct intuition (Craig, 1998). Therefore, his main argument is that by mere thinking one can discover solutions to problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interestingly Descartes had to die to his old beliefs and everything that he considered truth in order for him to determine once and for all that indeed there is a way to discover truth by mere use of intuition and not the reliance of the senses and traditions handed down from one generation to the next. His first guinea pig was himself, he had to doubt his existence to know the truth, and not simply believe that he exist because society tells him that he does exist. He had what inventors and scientists called a â€Å"eureka† moment or a moment of great insight, when he finally blurted out â€Å"Ego cogito, ergo sum† a statement in Latin famously translated as: I think, therefore I am (Broughton, 2008).   This was the breakthrough that he was looking for and he used it as a foundation from where he would build upon his theory of knowledge acquisition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Descartes’ idea is cutting edge at that time. He was one of the first to establish the principle of gaining knowledge and studying things that are beyond the capabilities of the five senses. There are many aspects of mathematics that can be ascertained not by using the five senses but by the mere act of intuition. Intuitively man has the ability to know the truth; this is the main argument of Descartes. This is strengthened by the concept of prior knowledge. A good example is the ability of a baby to suck from the mother’s breast the much needed nutrients for survival. A baby is almost blind from birth and yet able to perform such actions. Locke The capability to use the sense of sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste is one major path in gaining knowledge (Hartnack, 2001). It is in fact the ancient way of knowing the environment and the complexities of human interaction such as language and relationships. John Locke is one of the major proponents for this method of knowledge acquisition – that man has the capability of understanding the world around him by observing and utilizing the power of the five senses to harness information. Thus, it can be argued that man can only observe the world through his senses. In this model knowledge is true when it can be measured and observed through the senses. This is also known as empiricism. The significance of this method can be seen in scientific applications of the use of observation and careful measurements. Scientists, sociologists, and even philosophers from all over the world use this technique and it can even be argued that most people use empiricism without even thinking about it. It is just natural for man to use his senses to understand his environment and the stimulus that he receives every waking moment. Immanuel Kant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant is a central figure in modern philosophy because he was able to synthesize early modern rationalism and empiricism (Rholf, 2010). But this does not mean that Kant was completely successful in reconciling Descartes and Locke’s views concerning the acquisition of knowledge. Kant’s critics even asserted that he had made it more complicated and therefore making it harder to determine the perfect methodology that can help humans master the ability to acquire knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nevertheless, Kant’s major contribution can be summed up in two statements: 1) human beings experience only appearances, not things in themselves; and 2) space and time are noting other than the subjective forms of human sensible intuition (Rohlf, 2010). This is an important conclusion because there are things that empiricism and rationalism cannot cover but can only be ascertain if there is complete understanding of everything – this is knowledge gained after using other people’s insights and breakthroughs.   For example ancient people see the sun orbiting around the earth, rationalism and empiricism will not refute that claim until there is already a capability to improve on that knowledge and modify it because now people know more about the movement of heavenly objects. Comparison   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Descartes did not agree that there can only be one method when it comes to knowledge acquisition. The use of the five senses is not enough to know the truth. There are things in this world that can only be understood by accepting the existence of prior knowledge and the use of intuition. There are mathematical equations that proved useful in improving man’s existence but the steps in developing these mathematical equations was not derived by simply observing the world trough the fives senses. These came forth as a result of institution, simply because mathematical truths belong to an abstract world inaccessible by sense of smell, hearing, taste, touch, and sight. In the privacy of thought, a person can apply these mathematical equations and gain knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another weakness of using the five senses is that it is very subjective. Kant already pointed this out by stating that the five senses cannot be reliable all the time. For example the refraction of light creates optical illusions. The eye communicates to the self and says that the spoon appears to be bent. But the spoon was only perceived to be deformed because of the effect of the action of light when it passes through water. Another problematic aspect of relying on the five senses is its unreliability when human beings are subjected to harsh conditions. For example, a hiker lost in a desert will succumb to the effects of dehydration and begins to see mirage and other images that seem to be real but are not. Even with the obvious weaknesses of the empirical method of acquiring knowledge, it must also be pointed out that the five senses are indispensable tools when it comes to knowledge acquisition. No matter how subjective the five senses may seem to be it must be acknowledge that human beings can live within a community because people understand each other’s languages and respect the rules laid down by the leaders or the elders. This would have been impossible without the use of the five senses. Moreover, the aforementioned weakness of the empirical method can be easily corrected using a third-party that will help verify the information. For example a person hallucinating in the middle of a desert can be rescued by paramedics. And the perfectly healthy rescuers can help the disorientated person to gain his or her bearing. If two people disagree with regards to the exact height of the Statue of Liberty, they need not quarrel, they only need to ask an unbiased participant to measure the statue for them and settle their dispute. Thus, empiricism has only one valid weakness and it is the inability of man to know more than he should and therefore making conclusions without first knowing the big picture or having a complete understanding of the scientific law that governs a particular phenomenon. In this regard Kant’s ideas will be of great help. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Descartes’ view that there is indeed prior knowledge is an important first step in knowledge acquisition. The world is so complex and at the same time working like a well-oiled machine. However, it is not enough to simply say that knowledge can be gained by mere intuition. One has to agree with Locke that the five senses are indispensable tools when it comes to understanding the world. There is a need to observe and to measure in order to know the truth. But even so there are limitations so that it is important to take into consideration what Kant said regarding the inability of the mind to make sense of everything. For example the movement of the earth and sun could never be completely understood by mere intuition or observation alone. There is no perfect methodology in epistemology; there is a need to use each method to know the truth. References Broughton, J. (2008). â€Å"Self-Knowledge.† A Companion to Descartes. MA: Blackwell   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Publishing. Craig, E. (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Routledge. Cicovacki, P. (2002). Between Truth and Illusion: Kant at the Crossroads of Modernity. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Hartnack, J. (2001). Kant’s Theory of Knowledge: Introduction to Critique of Pure Reason. IN: Hacket Publishing, 2001. Rohlf, M. (2010). â€Å"Immanuel Kant.† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accesed 27 July 2010. Avaiable from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/#TraIde   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚