Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm Essay

As health care providers, it is natural to want to heal the patients completely. Today, many people are wanting and needing more from their health care system. The healing hospital paradigm incorporates the process of physical healing, as well as the mind and spiritual healing (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). Spirituality is the foundation of the meaning of life. For some, the foundation is built on religion and for others it may include things like music, art, family or the community (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). This paper will identify the concepts of a healing hospital, technological advances, and the physical design of the hospital, along with the culture in which promotes a holistic approach to total patient care. When planning to create a healing environment in a hospital setting, the most important thing to remember is the patient. Healing environments give the patients a sense of comfort, and a sense of safety. This type of environment helps the patient and family cope with the stressors of injury and illness. The components of a healing environment include three important elements. The first is a healing physical environment, which encompasses not only how to care for the patient, but to care for their families, caregivers and also the members of staff (Eberst, 2008). A healing environment should focus on reducing noise levels as well as fewer night time interruptions of sleep, this is known to promote rest and healing. Providing a room with a focus on lighting, music, color and architectural design, can also promote healing (Ananth, Kreisberg, & Jonas, 2011). Working in a quieter environment helps staff enjoy an overall less stressed area to do their work, which results in fewer errors. T he next component of importance is that of an integrating work design with new technology. This focus is on patient privacy, a more efficient work environment for staff, and advanced technology in the hospital to support the healing process. The last component is essential to creating a Healing Hospital. Incorporating the â€Å"Radical Loving Care† philosophy to all that staff the hospital, from housekeeping to the physicians. This philosophy was developed by Erie Chapman, a well-known healthcare industry leader. The philosophy encourages a culturally compassionate, delivery of care to patients and their families. This type of care promotes healing a patient using a holistic approach,  meeting the physical needs of the patient as well as their emotional and spiritual needs (Eberst, 2008). A great example of a healing hospital is Mercy Gilbert Hospital, built in 2006, located in beautiful Arizona. This facility operates under the 2008 CEO of the year, Laurie Eberst. (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). During the building of this hospital, Ms .Eberst focused not only on the structure of the facility but also the staff and culture of caring that they deliver to their patients and family members. One program that stands out is the â€Å"No One Dies Alone† program. Volunteers for this program are specially trained to be with the dying patient when loved ones are not able to be present. Also, the fact that the code team stays with the patient who has passed in order to honor the life of that patient (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). These are all standards of care at Mercy Gilbert, and what helps this hospital stand out from the rest. The challenges to creating a healing hospital include many of the same challenges of building any healthcare system. Some of these issues include the process of getting the entire healthcare team involved and participating in a new model of delivering care to the patients. The budget for the education, training the entire staff and providing the newest technology for the hospital. Nurses and physicians experience high burnout rates from the physical and mental challenges of their careers. Stresses of the occupation can bring about physical illness, including musculoskeletal, as well as mental issues such as depression (Ananth, Kreisberg, & Jonas, 2011). Nurses and physicians need to heal their own mind, body and soul in order to care for others using a compassionate and loving culture of care. Another challenge is being able to engage the whole community, making new partners for a better living environment. The foundation of health and better living starts with the people of the comm unity being more proactive in their health (Neigher & Hakim, 2011). In the King James Version of the Bible, one verse that relates to a healing hospital is Galatians 3:28, it states that â€Å"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus†. (King James online, n.d.). This verse represents the healthcare community in all that they do. They should, in a healing  environment, as well as in their communities, treat everyone equally. It does not matter where a person comes from, how much money they have, what type of insurance one holds, or how much they contribute to society, everyone should be treated equally and wholly. In a radical loving and caring culture, the belief is that we are not human beings having an occasional spiritual experience, but that we are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience (â€Å"Spirituality,† n.d., p. 1) Each and every encounter we experience as humans, with another, is a blessed encounter. In conclusion, a healing hospital environment provides comfort and compassion to patients and their families during difficult, stressful times in their lives. A positive environment promotes total body healing. Change is something that is constant for growth. It takes only a few committed individuals to start the change in any organization (Neigher & Hakim, 2011). References Ananth, S., Kreisberg, J., & Jonas, W. (2011). Exploring the science of healing. Retrieved from http://www.samueliinstitute.org Eberst, L. (2008, March/April). Arizona medical center shows how to be a ’Healing Hospital’. Health Progress, 89, 77-79. Retrieved from https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/docview/274635012?accountid=7374 Erie Chapman Foundation. (2009, April 12). Days 102-104- top ten healing hospital list & CEO of the year. Radical Loving Care- The Journal of Sacred. Retrieved from http://journalofsacredwork.typepad.com Neigher, W. D., & Hakim, S. M. (2011, June 17). Creating a Sustainable â€Å"healing culture† throughout a healthcare system: using community psychology principles as a guide. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3), 1-25. Retrieved from http://www.gjcpp.org Seeking Spirituality. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spiritualfocus.com/spiritual-quotes The official King James Bible online. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Hospitals/

The concept of self

Changing ideas, beliefs and values impacts an individual's self-schemas and ay lead to a changing of consumer behavior or the removal of behavioral constraints (Blakeley, 1996). Self-concept can be described as multi-faceted (Arnold, et al, 2004), and includes a collection of images, activities, goals, feelings, roles, traits and values. These play a part in different aspects of an individual's perception Of self. The Me-self (Mead, 191 3) can be considered the socialized aspect of the individual and represents a constructed self- image from learned behaviors, attitudes, and expectations of others and society.The Me-self has been developed by the knowledge of society and social interactions and is considered a phase of self that is in the past (Mead, 1913). The I-self however, plays the role of the active observer, the knower, or the information processor (Arnold, et al, 2004). The ‘l' therefore, can be considered the present and future phase of self and represents an individua l's identity based on the response to the â€Å"iv aspect (Mead, 1913). For example, the ‘I' understands how society says an individual should behave and socially interact and they align with the perceived set standards, and that notion becomes self.The ‘Me' and ‘l' have a didactic relationship, almost like system of checks and balances. In essence, the Me-self prevents an individual for example, from breaking the rules or boundaries of societal expectations, while the I-self allows the individual to still express creativity and individualism (Mead, 1913). The I-self and me-self further interlink and enables an individual to understand when to possibly push boundaries that govern social interactions (Mead, 1913).Charles Cooley's (1988) concept of the looking glass self, states that an individual's self grows out of social interactions. The view that an individual has of themselves comes from the interpolation of personal qualities and impressions of the perception s of others (Isakson, 2013). Cooley's (1988) concept on the looking glass self describes that how we see ourselves does not come from who we really are, but rather from how we perceive how others see us.This can influence the monitoring self of consumer where a high self-monitor individual may be more highly concerned about how they are perceived by others and may change their behavior to be viewed in a more positive manner rather than a low self-monitor individual, who may have stronger self beliefs and may tend o behavior more consistently (Arnold, et al, 2004). The extended self, as theorized by Russell Bell (1 988), comprises of external objects, in which the emotional attachment to those objects become perceived as being a part of ourselves.Our possessions are a major contributor and reflection of our identities and this construct of the extended self involves consumer behavior rather than buyer behavior (Bell, 1988). Marketers are interested in the concept of the extended self as consumers regard possessions as a part of themselves and this would enable understanding of consumer behavior and consumption patterns. The most direct form of evidence by Bell (1988) supporting his theory on the extended self is found in the nature of self-perceptions.Firstly, Bell (1988) found that the extended self was not limited to external objects and personal possessions, but also included persons, places as well as body parts and vital organs. This thinking is used especially when marketing goods with connotations of patriotism in most of the world. For example, the slogan used by the famous soft drink company L&P ‘ rural famous in New Zealand†, appeals to and makes potential nonusers highly involved if they consider New Zealand part of their extended selves (Watson, 2001).Bell (1988) further argues that perceived characteristics of an object may not always correspond with the perceived characteristics Of self. To demonstrate, he proposed that an individual c an consider an object like the Statue of Liberty to be a part of themselves, but not actually holding a self-concept composed of characteristics attributed to the statue. Marketers are interested in the concept of self because it is much more than just brand or brand image. Non-brand images, such as example a cigarette smoker or a person with a Ferreira can contribute strongly to self.Post-acquisition object bonding, which may happen after buying a dog can be identified by marketers as a possible strong influence to the sense of self (Bell, 1988). Marketers are interested in the role possessions play in influencing and shaping an individual. For example, after buying a dog, advertisements about dog food, which have never appealed to the individual before, now do. Marketers can play a persuasive role in stimulating need recognition to the individual brought about by their purchases.Besides intro over objects, control by objects, as Bell (1988) theorized may also contribute to an item being viewed as a part of self. We may impose our identities on objects but possessions may also impose their identities on us (Furry, 1978). The longer we possess or get possessed by the object, the more a part of self it becomes (Furry, 1978). Marketers use this knowledge of the extended self in the form of samples, test drive with cars, 10 day free trials with products.Understanding self-concept helps marketers realism that time spent with the product or object is time that an individual may feel more notionally attached to it and have a harder time parting from it. The concept of extended self is of high interest to marketers as the digital age is a relatively new phenomenon. In the digital world, there are a number of differences with concept of the extended self, mainly due to the destruction by the advancement of technology (Bell, 2013). This means that the numerous objects that were marketed to individuals can now be accessed and complied into one platform.Furthermore, it c reates different ways that individual interact with and project themselves onto others (Bell, 2013). However, Bell (2013) proposes that an individual may have a different online persona as compared to offline. A marketer's interest lies in the understanding of an individual's online sense of self, for example, a consumer purchasing from an online website to accurately interpret the individual's online attitudes and beliefs. Self-concept consists of two dynamic processes, interpersonal and interpersonal.Within the facets of self, these two processes play an influential role. The interpersonal process is an individual's cognitive processing, affect and motivation (Archer, Gurney and Moan, 2013). The interpersonal process makes up the I-self and has socially-developed self- knowledge involving goals, strengths, limitations and moods. This process interacts with the external interpersonal self, which includes social perception, choice of situation, interaction strategy and reaction to f eedback (Arnold, et al, 2004) and vice-versa.Marketers are interested in understanding interpersonal and interpersonal processes as individuals' perceptions are generally different from One other. This is due to an interpersonal self shaped around each individuals own personal experiences. Individuals act based on what dynamic self process they are feeling at that time (Arnold, et alarm 2004). Therefore, marketers would better understand their target market by having apt knowledge of these two processes. Possessions are not only considered a part of self, but also are important in the development of self (Bell, 1988).This contributes to the self-narrative of an individual which comprise of coherent stories and personal experiences that provide a sense of continuity in time and space (Arnold, et al, 2004). Marketers are Interested in the self-narrative of individuals as they can arrest goods to support this, for example, photos albums. Photo albums provide an individual with the mean s to document highlights of their lives which can be viewed at any time they so desire. These possessions seem to contribute to the maintenance of the self-concept and narrative as such objects act as reminders or conformers of our identities (McCracken, 1987).With age, an individual's boundary of self develops as it goes through multiple role transitions (Rosenberg-Walton 1984, p. 352). Transitions are of interest to marketers as an individual's self-concept is changeable and is especially yeoman during certain transitions (Arnold, et al, 2004). A consumer's role transitions are marked by changes in consumption patterns (Arnold, et al, 2004). For example, buying a home, graduating from University, or having a baby can be key role transitions in an individual's life. Role transitions can also be linked with a consumer's levels of self-esteem.The positivist of a person's attitude towards him/herself plays an influential role in their behavior and consumption choice (Arnold, et al, 20 04). Low self-esteem can be related to concerns over the looking glass self which in turn influence impulsive purchasing (Arnold, et al, 2004). Marketers can play a key role in increasing the level of involvement and marketing goods which reflect the individual's' self traits to support the transitions. Marketers can use the concept of the changeable self to add or strengthen beliefs in an individual.This can influence an interpersonal process that consumers go through, self- gifting. Self-gifting frequently carries messages about an individual's self- distinctiveness, for example, brand slogans which have the phrase ‘Like no other' (Arnold, et al, 2004). Individuals increasingly seek pleasure in objects hat they buy for themselves as gifts (Kara, 2008). This may be attributed to a positive feeling of accomplishment (Kara, 2008) and consumers may appeal to brand slogans with the phrases ‘reward yourself or ‘you deserve it'.In conjunction with this, self-gifting can also occur as a response to a negative attitude brought about by, for example, feelings of stress. Grub and Growth (1967) state that goods are symbols which communicate a message between an individual and society or their significant others. Consumption communicates socially shared meanings about identity (Arnold, et al, 2004). If a product is to serve as a symbol as a communication device, it must be first gain societal recognition (Grub & Growth, 1967). This process is essentially a classification system which places these products to others in society.These classification systems are society's way of piecing and organizing their activities in a sensible manner (Grub & Growth, 1967). Fashion as an example, illustrates the link of symbolic classification and consumer behavior. When a particular style of fashion becomes popular, a segment of society may direct their behavior towards the archiving and consuming of items manifesting this style (Grub & Growth, 1967). Therefore, an act of classification not only directs self action, but also a set of expectations may be aroused towards the object classified (Grub & Growth, 1967).Marketers need to understand the essence of the object resides not in the object itself but in the direct relation between the object and the individuals classifying the object (Grub & Growth, 1967). Self-enhancement can be brought about by the purchase and consumption of goods in two ways. Firstly, an individuals' self-concept ill be maintained if they believe the good is societal accepted and classified in a manner that matches their self-concept. A product as a symbol contributes to one's looking glass self as the products' conveyed meaning creates symmetry matching the image an individual has of themselves.Secondly, an individual may receive either positive or negative reinforcement from significant others and this strengthens their self-concept with growth and change based on desired reactions from society (Sequester, Pettier, Spanis h, Raw Hill, 2014). Marketers are interested in this area of self as it splays image congruence where self-concept is enhanced through the transfer Of socially accepted meanings Of the product or brand (Arnold, et al, 2004). An individual's self schemas can be used by marketers to market goods which align with an individual's beliefs (Peter & Olson, 2010).This concept of self-enhancement directs consumer behavior to use goods to close the gap between actual and possible selves. These possible selves can be past, present or future. Consumer nostalgia as a past possible self is a powerful and rich tool that marketers can use to tap into an individuals' self. Nostalgia stems from a consumer's yearning for the past, often dissatisfied with the present state and coming future and to compensate, an individual may purchase vintage or retro looking goods to ‘bring them back to their perception of the golden ages (Shah, Lie, Teen & Lu, 2014).The similar concept may be applied to a futu re desired self in the form of anti-gambling advertisements. An individual may begin to increase their involvement towards their desired gambling-free self and may start to pay for counseling services to achieve this. In conclusion, the concept of self is multi-faceted and interrelates with one another, influencing behavior. The sense of self, socially created, is dynamic with consumers' motives playing a part in their consumption choices to develop or maintain their concept of self. Our possessions are a reflection of our identities and an expression of our beliefs.

Why should I be selected for this scholarship Essay

Why should I be selected for this - Scholarship Essay Example I am a single parent with two children; the children require my emotional and financial support as well as the normal upbringing. Background is another significant for me. My parents do not have college education and I am the first one in the family to go to college. Am therefore basically coming from a background that has not known the importance of education and as such I have to struggle on my own as there is not even one person to guide me. I have personally interacted with people who have benefited from education and now know just what my goal is in pursuing professional studies. I will overcome the obstacles above by striking a balance between studies and caring for my two children. I will also not allow my background to destruct my focus on achieving professional qualification and in fact will use my education to serve as a role model to other members of the family. This scholarship will therefore go a long way in enabling me not only complete my studies but also contribute to the betterment of

Midterm question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Midterm question - Essay Example However, since humans are not purely rational, they are prone irrational behaviors and hence the need for a code of ethics to establish relations in an organizations. Indeed, the possibility of having rational and irrational perspective gives rise to a moral consideration in business deliberations according to Kant. Most notable is the fact that reason supersedes any decision and reason gives a moral direction that abides with the law. In fact, Kant reckons that whether a moral act is right depends on the correctness of the actor’s reasoning. According to the Utilitarians, the morality of any action absolutely relies on its utility in providing happiness or pleasure. As such, the Utilitarians define morality or ethical tenets in relation to the outcome of the action. Furthermore, John Stuart Mill respects the value of the natural world and the environment by arguing that destruction of the environment and a reduced quality of life leads to reduced growth in an organization. In analyzing the business model of the Walmart and McDonald’s Corporation, the two dimensions of moral worthiness of an act in an organization will apply. Walmart Corporation is an international company with its headquarters based in Wal-Mart Home Office complex in America (Walmart). Walmart business model associates with selling a wide variety of general merchandise at significantly low prices. This seemingly relates to Utilitarianism define morality or ethical tenets in relation to the outcome of the action. Indeed, the morality of this act derives its worthiness from the profits collected from such a strategy. More so, in U.S and Canada, the company equally employs greeters and designates them at strategic places in the entrance of the store to assist the customers get what they want and give feedback. As such, the corporation plays a huge responsibility in creating quality products and marketing them in an ethical manner. This relates to Kant’s view that it is the mo tive and free will behind every action that derives the action moral worth and not the outcome of such an action. Moreover, these moral acts are compliant with the law. Furthermore, the company refers to its employees as associates thus motivating them in their work. Clearly, the corporation does this with reason and at free will as established by Kant’s view. Nevertheless, Walmart business model attracts serious criticism relating to extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, and environmental practices. Overall, Walmart has successfully offered goods at low prices for working families and subsequently gaining competitive advantage in the market (Walmart). McDonald's is the world's largest fast-food company (McDonald’s Web).  However, the model of business in McDonald’s faces a lot of criticism relating to its menu, its expansion, environmental policy, health policy, and labor record. Indeed, there have been consistent a llegations of corruption at the McDonald. The corporation faces accusations of increasing its profits through political influence. This subsequently has adverse effects on human health especially children who suffer obesity and social conditions of its workers. This is against the law as seen in the documentary film Super-Size Me by Morgan (Supersize Me). As we can see, the McDonald’

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data (CASE) module 5 Essay

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data (CASE) module 5 - Essay Example For instance, employers and organizations are putting more limitation on the accessibility of their information. In the long run, these organizations are suffering time management issues. In this cases, organizations have limited the access of information to physicians and nurses likewise. This limitation requires organizations to only authorize a few entities to information databases. For the physicians and nurses, flow of information changes from prompt and detailed to delayed and censored. The article defines the cost of unintended consequences from policies and other strategies (Jarrell et al. 2012). An interdisciplinary health care delivery can be defined through the consideration of the term interdisciplinary meaning integration of multiple disciplines or fields of expertise. Within the health care sector interdisciplinary health care delivery means the delivery of services by collaboration of multiple health care professionals. Normally health care professionals use interdisciplinary health care delivery when they are faced by multi-step medical intervention. This medical intervention plan may involve diagnosis by a doctor, tests by a lab technician, prescriptions by a physician, and administration of care by nurses. In this case, the flow of information starts from the first professional to see the patient down to the one offering care. The advantages of using interdisciplinary health care delivery include professional intervention by experts on specific areas of the intervention. This ensures accuracy and best practice ensuring that all parties provide timely and relevant i ntervention input coinciding with their qualifications (Hinegardner, 2003). The law of unintended consequences is an idiomatic warming that informs administrative bodies that their strategies and policies have the potential of leading to undesired or unintended results. With application to the health care sector, the law of unintended

Who is profiling for Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Who is profiling for - Essay Example In â€Å"The Violent Kid Profile,† Mary Lord claims that the new method being used to detect violence from unpredictable students will take over the student dignity of millions of students at school. She feels profiling is wrong and is a form of offender, and she also believes that it goes against the Bill of Rights as well. Thus, some students unintentionally suffer the profiling they have no control over. In general, I agree with Mary Lord who claims that profiling has negative effects on students at high school. Those negative impacts are further discussed in this paper with specific reference to Mary Lord’s article â€Å"The Violent Kid Profile†. However, the paper does not aim to provide biased information but is designed to present both positives and negatives of profiling. One of the most crucial criticisms against profiling involves the uncertainty about the causes of the problem behavior that a teenager demonstrates. This is the weakness of profiling that it lacks exposing the actual reason behind a problem behavior and accepts the behavior as an intentional, violent act. The fact that the profiled actions might just be the similar actions performed by other teenagers in the same situation and with the same capacity is ignored! Certain actions are logical to be expected on the basis of reasonableness and situation. Lord points out that some profiles apply equivocal standards to evaluate students behaviors and provide vague standards to include students in the list of those having problems, anxiety abd related issues. She quotes Kevin Dwyer president of the National Association of school Psychologists, who describes some of these profiled behaviors as, â€Å"Listens to songs that promote violence... Appears to be an average student....Isolated... Dr ess sloppily† (Para 6). The behaviors mentioned by Kevin Dwyer are too normal to be observed in the new generation. Therefore, adding such standards to

Ryanairs Internal Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ryanairs Internal Structure - Essay Example In addition, it offered better-quality value-adding operations which were conducted in an efficient manner. Ryanair also retained possession of the resource base which was needed to carry out the value-adding operations. It is an established fact that an organization’s corporate strategy is what creates the drive to realize corporate objectives. This paper will seek to describe the fundamental corporate structures of the Ryanair airline, while also commenting on recommendations that will help in highlighting its best qualities for the purpose of maintaining its competitive advantage. In 1985, Ryanair was officially launched by Tony Ryan in Ireland. At the start, Ryanair had a small staff of 25 employees. The three men only had a turbo-prop plane with which to ferry commuters between Gatwick Airport and Waterford, which is located in southeast Ireland. Gatwick is still the second busiest airfield in England. The rapid increase in the popularity of Ryanair made Britain’s regulatory authorities take notice of it. Soon, it was allowed to operate with four flights on a daily basis. Ryanair quickly developed, and began to attract even more passengers across the UK. Today, Ryanair is considered to be Europe’s oldest low-cost airline. Today, Ryanair has to deal with a lot of challenges that are posted because of the presence of low-cost carriers such as BMI Baby, EasyJet, and Thomson, which also operate between Ireland and Britain. For a long time, Ryanair attracted larger numbers of passengers because of its low prices, and several destinations points. Ryanair also marketed itself aggressively, and so was able to cultivate valuable relationships with operators in airports in different cities. Ryanair also made significant changes which were received well by passengers. For instance, in the past, Ryanair would only procure used planes so as to save on costs. However, the airline  changed this trend as it benefited from increased proceeds.  

Examining current reverse logistics trends Research Paper - 1

Examining current reverse logistics trends - Research Paper Example Based on these activities, reverse logistics can be divided based on whether the reverse flow encompasses product or packaging. A product could be in the reverse flow due to a number of reasons such as refurbishment, remanufacture or because the client returned it. Packaging is a reverse logistics activity because it flows back because of the regulations restrictions on product disposal. Both product and packaging may be reused or landfilled, but if they are to be utilized again, the two may experience a mixed bag of distinctive methodologies (Rogers, & Tibben†Lembke, 2001). Reverse logistics is of great importance to a company because of a number of reasons. First, it permits a trader to get items back from the buyer or send unsold stock once again to the manufacturer to be disassembled, sorted, reassembled or reused; minimizing general expenses for an association. Second, it enhances consumer loyalty and devotion by considering defective merchandise, and repairs of stock. Reverse logistics can incorporate seeking feedback from consumers to make upgrades and to enhance the comprehension of genuine purposes behind item returns. Thirdly, it may lead to gains in an organization. Expanding rate of production, diminishing expenses (transportation, managerial, repair and maintenance), holding clients by enhancing the quality of products are some of the gains an organization can accrue. The topic of examining the current trends of reverse logistics also incorporates some of the analysis methodologies that organizations apply today. A key methodology is the inventory control analysis that aims at ensuring that the supply chain of the company is optimized. Inventory control ensures that inventory management ensures random discount in pricing, minimum purchase requirements and random return (Alinovi, Bottani, & Montanari, 2012).

Occupational Crime and Avocational Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Occupational Crime and Avocational Crime - Essay Example One of the more important challenges confronting the financial heath of retail companies is employee theft. A study undertaken by Hollinger and Pernice (1998) determines that employee theft is the primary cause of inventory shrinkage in retail companies, culminating in losses of billions of dollars per annum. Not only had that but, in immediate comparison to shoplifting, the researchers found that while a single incident of shoplifting averages $212.68, one incident of employee theft averages $1,058.20. Within the context of the aforementioned comparison, it is hardly surprising to discover that employee theft is the primary factor behind inventory shrinkage.Given the dimensions of the problem, as articulated in the preceding paragraph, it is incumbent upon retail companies to design and subsequently implement a strategy as would confront and overcome employee theft. Hollinger and Pernice (1998) maintain that electronic surveillance has, over the years, proven its effectiveness and, in immediate comparison to other strategies, has proven to be â€Å"the most popular loss prevention system† (Hollinger and Pernice, 1998, par. 6). The knowledge that their crime may be recorded and that they may have to face the concomitant legal and career repercussions functions to control an employee’s desire or tendency to steal. As such, the adoption of electronic surveillance may be a solution to the problem.The fact is that such systems are expensive and function to demoralise employees. Friedrichs (2004) emphasizes, other than the cost factor, electronic surveillance may not be the optimal solution to inventory shrinkage due to the negative effect that such systems have upon employee loyalty. In other words, despite the fact that the system has a proven advantage, it has an undesirable effect on employee morale. Rather than install expensive electronic surveillance systems, it is more advisable for a retail company to comprehend the nature of the workplace environment and the factors therein which either allow or motivate such actions. Friedrichs (2004) argues that employee disgruntlement, borne out of the feeling of being underpaid, overworked and unappreciated, and the existence of opportunities to steal are the primary causal factors of inventory shrinkage. In other words, a lack of commitment to the workplace, concomitant with workplace disorganization compels employee theft. The solution to employee theft, as explained in the

Managing Across Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Managing Across Cultures - Essay Example Preparation is the first step in the process of negotiation. According to Metcalf et al (2006), at this stage the parties involved in the negotiation get build some background to the negotiation. The individuals intending to enter into the negotiation try to get the necessary information that may be required to make the negotiation successful. Therefore, the individuals get to research and get to get enough understanding of what they are going to undergo. As part of their preparation the individuals try to analyze the appropriate methods of persuading the other party and how to bargain in the negotiation. Therefore, this can be influenced by some cultural aspects. Decision on the method of bargaining and how to communicate will depend on the cultures of the different individuals involved in the negotiation. This is the second stage in the process of negotiation. After preparing for the entire negotiation, individuals should take time to get to know each other before proceeding for the planned negotiation (Metcalf et al, 2006). Therefore, how the different individuals will get to interact and relate in different occasions will be affected by their cultures. For example, the attitudes towards each other may differ as they get to interact due to different cultural mind-sets or the general national attitude towards time from the different individuals. After the different parties or individuals have prepared enough and have gotten to build their relationship, the next step to the negotiation is coming to the real negotiation where both sides exchange information. The different sides present the information it has and states its position concerning the issue or matter of negotiation. At this stage then cultural aspects can have an impact or great influence on the mode of present or how the parties will respond to each other (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). For example, if the parties are French nationals they will prefer to present their views in a

Policy Making Essay Example for Free

Policy Making Essay In the United States, a Constitutional form of government mandates a separation of powers between the respective branches of government. Therefore, the methods and avenues of the policymaking process are complex. Because of this unique separation between its executive and legislative functions (Schroedel 3) the governmental system in America lacks a formal hierarchical or organic link between the executive and the legislative branches of government (Schroedel 3) and this results in two primary progenitors of policymaking. Policy may be forwarded by the legislative or executive branches. The idea behind the division of policymaking powers to establish a government composed of functionally separated branches that are required to share legislative responsibilities (Schroedel 4) with neither of the branches exerting primacy. In addition to the formal branches of government, policymaking is impacted by public activism and public opinion as well as media. Such influence, often referred to as agenda setting, can be a primary motivator in the policymaking chain. Plainly stated, Agenda-setting is the course by which issues are adopted for Governmental consideration and perhaps remedy (Nelson 161), so, technically, one of the branches of government, legislative or executive, must at some point be engaged in the policymaking process set forth by public agenda-setting. A case which illustrates the combination of all aspects of policymaking fro public activism to legislative and executive influence, is the issue of child abuse in America. Rather than having long-standing laws and protections against child abuse, It was not until the 1950s and 1960s [ ] that the problem again came to the fore (Nelson 163); a key point being that the bringing of the problem to the forefront of public and governmental awareness lay largely with the media and with popular interest groups and activists. It was by examining how child abuse achieved these agendas that government came to understand new categorical social service policies (Nelson 163) and subsequent legislation broadened to include a more sensitive governmental response to rape, as well as recognition of such new problems as spouse abuse, child sexual abuse, child pornography, and abuse of the elderly (Nelson 163). The conclusion is that public interest and activism, along with the legislative and executive branches of government plays a pivotal role in policymaking in American government.

Differences between essentialism and perennialism

Differences between essentialism and perennialism Perennialists believe that the focus of education should be the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They believe the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. They recommend that students learn from reading and analyzing the works by historys finest thinkers and writers. Essentialists believe that when students study these works and ideas, they will appreciate learning. Similar top perennialism, essentialism aims to develop students intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are also centered on teachers in order to accomplish these goals. The teachers are not concerned about the students interests or experiences. They use tried and true teaching methods and techniques that are believed to be most beneficial to disciplining students minds. The perennialist curriculum is universal and is based on their view that all human beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that individuals think deeply, analytical ly, flexibly, and imaginatively. They emphasize that students should not be taught information that may soon be outdated or found to be incorrect. Perennialists disapprove of teachers requiring students to absorb massive amounts of disconnected information. They recommend that schools spend more time teaching about concepts and explaining they are meaningful to students. Perennial means everlasting, like a perennial flower that comes up year after year. Espousing the notion that some ideas have lasted over centuries and are as relevant today as when they were first conceived, Perennialism urges that these ideas should be the focus of education. According to Perennialists, when students are immersed in the study of those profound and enduring ideas, they will appreciate learning for its own sake and become true intellectuals. For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. A Perennialist views nature, human nature, and the underlying principles of existence as constant. The principles of knowledge are enduring. Truth never changes Teaching these unchanging principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest accomplishments of humankind are emphasized- the great works of literature and art, the laws or principles of science. The study of philosophy is thus a crucial part of the Perennialist curriculum. Perennialists regard essentialism, and its view that knowledge stems primarily from the empirical findings of scientists, as undermining the importance of our capacity to reason as individuals; that is, to think deeply, analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively. Perennialists emphasize, though, that students should not be taught information that may soon be obsolete or found to be incorrect because of future scientific and technological findings. Perennialists criticize the vast amount of discrete factual information that educators traditionally have required students to absorb. Perennialists urge schools to spend more time teaching about concepts and explaining how these concepts are meaningful to students. Particularly at the high school and university levels, Perennialists decry undue reliance on textbooks and lectures to communicate ideas. Perennialists suggest that a greater emphasis be placed on teacher-guided seminars, where students and teachers engage in Socratic dialogues, or mutual inquiry sessions, to develop an enhanced understanding of historys most timeless concepts. In addition, Perennialists recommend that students learn directly from reading and analyzing the Great Books. These are the creative works by historys finest thinkers and writers, which Perennialists believe are as profound, beautiful, and meaningful today as when they were written. Perennialists lament the change in universities over the centuries from places where students (and teachers) pursued truth for its own sake to mere glorified training grounds for the students careers. They believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative perspective is on intellectual and moral standards that schools should teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic rigor. Schooling should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society. It should focus on facts-the objective reality out thereand the basics, training students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence policies. A Perennialist asks, What are the essential things a student must know? Within a Perennialist curriculum, activities are tied to the past and not to what is essential right now. The Perennialist values the past but he or she likes the back to basics movement inasmuch as the basics are the learnings of the great minds of the past. Students should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline. Teachers are to help students keep their non-productive instincts in check, such as aggression or mindlessness. For the Perennialist, a great education is a study of the classics. A Perennialist teacher holds fast to a constant curriculum and holds fast to concrete materials that define what he or she will teach (rather than assessing the class and meeting the students needs). A great proponent of Perennialism is Mortimer Adler, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He wrote the Paidea Proposal. His basic tenant is that an individual learns best by studying the classics. The Paideia program seeks to establish a course of study that is general, not specialized; liberal, not vocational; humanistic, not technical. Only in this way can it fulfill the meaning of the words paideia and humanities, which signify the general learning that should be in the possession of every human being. The child should be taught certain basic subjects that will acquaint him/her with the worlds permanencies: English, languages, history, mathematics, natural sciences, the fine arts, and philosophy. The child should learn reading and writing, how to speak and how to listen. He is a social being and lives in a community of men. Thus he must use his reason his powers of rationality to communicate with other men. The three Rs ARE important. Perennialists hold that subject matter should be the center of the curriculum. They feel that greater educational opportunities have lowered standards in the schools. They are particularly critical of the progressives who have placed emphasis on the interests of the child and teaching through activity and freedom. Education should introduce the pupil to the universal concerns of mankind thorough the study of the great works of literature, philosophy, history, and science. Such works represent mans finest insights into his own nature. The insights presented in these works are eternal. They do not change; they are never dated. In this way, s/he learns truths that are more important than any s/he could find by dipping into this or that in the contemporary scene, or by pursing his own interests. Education requires hard work and effort. If the student is interested in the subject, well and good, but if not, s/he still must be required to do the tasks. After all, the student does not know what s/he will need in the future. Motivation is fine, and if the teacher can provide it, well and good, but if not, the student must work at the task regardless. Discipline in the classroom is essential to learning. A noisy classroom is not a desirable place for learning to take place. Order is vital. Students cannot always think of the future. Consequently, teachers and parents must help students overcome their desire for immediate ends and direct them to future objectives. Self-discipline is fine, but most of the times it is insufficient. Adults therefore must give direction. The classroom is teacher-centered. The teacher as a professional is far more likely to know what her students will need to know in the future than do they. S/he is responsible for the education and intellectual growth of his/her students. Education requires the mastery of content, of subject matter. Education requires mental discipline. Study is hard work. Concentration and effort is required. Students must therefore being culturated in the process. Essentialism Educational essentialism is an educational philosophy whose adherents believe that children should learn the traditional basic subjects and that these should be learned thoroughly and rigorously. An essentialist program normally teaches children progressively, from less complex skills to more complex. An Essentialist will usually teach some set subjects similar to Reading, Writing, Literature, Foreign Languages, History, Mathematics, Science, Art, and Music. The teachers role is to instill respect for authority, perseverance, duty, consideration, and practicality. Essentialism strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines. Essentialists aim to instill students with the essentials of academic knowledge, patriotism, and character development. This traditional approach is meant to train the mind, promote reasoning, and ensure a common culture. Essentialism tries to instill all students with the most essential or basic academic knowledge and skills and character development. Essentialists believe that teachers should try to embed traditional moral values and virtues such as respect for authority, perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model citizens. The foundation of essentialist curriculum is based on traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational courses. In the essentialist system, students are required to master a set body of information and basic techniques for their grade level before they are promoted to the next higher grade. The content gradually moves towards more complex skills and detailed knowledge. Essentialists argue that classrooms should be teacher-oriented. The teacher should serve as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn with little regard to the student interests. The teachers also focus on achievement test scores as a means of evaluating progress. The essentialist classroom is centered on students being taught about the people, events, ideas, and institutions that have shaped American society. Essentialists hope that when students leave school, they will not only possess basic knowledge and skills, but they will also have disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying lessons learned in school in the real world. Essentialism is different from what Dewey would like to see in the schools. Students in this system would sit in rows and be taught in masses. The students would learn passively by sitting in their desks and listening to the teacher. An example of essentialism would be lecture based introduction classes taught at universities. Students sit and take notes in a classroom which holds over one h undred students. They take introductory level courses in order to introduce them to the content. After they have completed this course, they will take the next level course and apply what they have learned previously. English 101 and English 102 are a specific example of essentialism.

EU Competition Law and Economics

EU Competition Law and Economics Discuss the use of terms drawn from economics in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, which relate to the interpretation of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Examine, in particular the role such terms play in the legal argument. This essay will examine the economic theories, both from a classical point of view and neo-classical to determine the underpinnings of competition law. Through the works of Adam Smith regarding monopolies in the Wealth of Nations[1] and John Stuart Mill through his theories on restraints of trade in On Liberty[2] this will demonstrate some economic objectives in pursuing laws regarding competition law. This will be supplanted with the neo-classical theories that have given more reasons through economic terms for laws regarding competition. This will provide a bedrock for an analysis of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which have been noted as the two principal Articles dealing with competition law in the European Union (EU).[3] The fundamental reason for having competition law in the EU is to allow for a flourishing free market and to ensure that corporate enterprises do not have undue influence or dominance in the market or even thr ough political influence.[4] This analysis of Articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU through the cases that have come through the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will be looked at through the prism of the economic theories that have been outlined. By looking at it through that prism, it will allow for a determination in terms of whether the role of the economic terms are brought into the legal arguments. It has been suggested that the lawyers and the economics are co-pilots of the competition law aeroplane[5] and this essay will determine whether that is true by looking at the economic theories and the cases through the EU framework on competition law. Economic Theory and Competition Law Prior to delving into how competition law has adopted economic terms and theories, it is imperative to understand how economics operates vis-Ã  -vis competition law. The classical economic theories, as noted by John Stuart Mill state that it is through competition that the political economy can have a scientific basis through which wages, rent and prices can be regulated. Whilst Mill does not provide a definition on what he meant by competition his theory on what laws surrounding competition could achieve were indicative. Smith took this further in Wealth of Nations when he stated it is the right of every man to enter into competition with any other man insofar as it does not violate the laws of justice and the idea of competition was to ensure that those in business bought dearer and sold for cheaper rather than having a monopoly with the opposite occurring. This theory was noted as a statement of perfect competition. This demonstrates the classical theories that exist but as time as gone on there have been neo-classical theories that give more defined responses. In terms of the neo-classical theories, the USA has seemingly stated that competition law should be interpreted solely through what the theories in economics dictate;[6] however, this is questioned in the EU structures. The competing views in the EU look at the efficiencies as well as other concerns such as the environment and the effect on employment.[7] In terms of taking into account the outcome of having perfect competition, it has been stated that allocative and productive efficiency is achieved which leads to the maximisation of social welfare.[8] In terms of allocative efficiency this is an economic term that means the resources will be allocated to different goods and services but will be divided insofar as it remains privately profitable to do so.[9] The second is that of productive efficiency which means that goods and services in society will be produced at the lowest cost.[10] In this regard, competition is seen as beneficial for the productive efficiency because if monop olies exist then it is likely that they will be high cost producers and they can pass that on to the consumer.[11] A third efficiency has been put forward that explains the need for competition, that being dynamic efficiency which cannot be accurately proved[12] but states that competition allows for products to be developed and created to gain the custom of consumers. This theory, in all but name, had been put forward by Smith when he stated that competition allows for new improvements of art[13] showing that this efficiency has long been spoken of. This has been questioned as monopolies have the money to carry out research[14] and where there are monopolies others will try to intervene to get their custom.[15] On this basis, how the EU and CJEU have dealt with situations where monopolies arise must be examined to determine whether the economic terms have led to the decision that has been made. Article 101 TFEU In terms of Article 101 of the TFEU, this is designed to ensure that restrictive practices are deemed incompatible with the common market. The restrictions that are placed on undertakings, which cover all entities that are involved in business,[16] have been seen to be circumvented for a number of reasons. In the case of Wouters Others v Algemene Raad van de Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten[17]it was held that despite a restriction on the legal profession, it was pursuing a legitimate objective in ensuring proper legal practice and therefore was allowed. It has been noted that this idea of a legitimate objective will stay within the competition law of the EU,[18] however, it is what constitutes a legitimate objective that can have implications for economic terms being used in the CJEU. In terms of a finding a legitimate objective, it has been noted that it is not necessary to look at the economic and non-economic objectives as they often go hand in hand.[19] In cases involving profess ional services such as Wouters and other cases such as Asnef Equifax[20]it was noted that the CJEU took into account the issue of information asymmetry whereby despite the fact that there is a restriction on competition which could increase the cost the consumer, the quality will go up which is especially prevalent in professional services.[21] These decisions tend to go against the productive efficiency in that the cost will go up by allowing increased restriction on trade in professional services, however, the allocative efficiency would be seen to improve as the quality given to the consumer improves. This demonstrates that Article 101 of the TFEU has taken the economic viewpoint into account in ensuring that the Treaty does not act rigidly vis-Ã  -vis competition law. The mechanism of Article 101 has not completely followed the economic arguments and this is seen with cases involving free riders. This was seen in the case of Consten and Grundig v Commission[22]which involved Consten who was to be the exclusive distributor in France of Grundig electrical goods with the effect that free riders, who would wait for Consten to promote the goods before then selling the Grundig electrical goods at a lower price than Consten.[23] The free rider economic system has been allowed in the United States of America in the case of Continental TV v GTE Sylvania[24] on the basis that it was economically sound. However, this was rejected in Consten on the basis that the fundamental objective of the EU plan is to have greater integration within the single market and not just to increase consumer protection and welfare.[25] Indeed, in the more recent case this viewpoint was reaffirmed in the case of GlaxoSmithKline v Commission[26]where the guidance from the EU was co nsidered and it was noted that companies are not allowed to establish private barriers within the single market of the EU.[27] These decisions from the CJEU demonstrate that whilst the economic considerations have to be taken into account, they are secondary to the fundamental aim of the EU project to have ever closer Union[28] and to ensure that there are no private barriers within the single market. To compare this to the co-pilot analogy at the beginning of this essay, these decisions would suggest that the policy makers of the EU are the pilots and the lawyer and economist are mere passengers. It must be noted that Article 101 has a defence mechanism at 101(3) which is primarily based on the economic considerations that have been outlined. This defence is for a defendant to prove but all agreements made are eligible to qualify under Article 101(3) if the requirements are met.[29] The requirements state that technical and economic progress must be improved which links with the dynamic efficiency theory of competition law economics.[30] The other requirements involve not eliminating competition on the market as well as ensuring that consumers receive a fair share of the benefits from the agreement. This ties in with Smiths theory on monopolies and improving the market through competition laws as well as the allocative and productive efficiencies noted in the more neo-classical theories regarding economics and competition law. Indeed, this defence under Article 101(3) has been given a wide interpretation as seen in CECED[31]where the economic efficiencies were central to the judgment in declaring that the environmental benefits had to be looked at in terms of their effect on the consumer.[32] As this defence is couched in terms that are readily identifiable with the economic theories, it demonstrates that the economic terms have a huge role in competition law within the EU. Article 102 TFEU In terms of Article 102 of the TFEU, its whole basis is in economic terms as it is designed to stop dominance and abuse. The use of the term dominance in economics is deemed to be wider than that of a monopoly[33] and is a position of economic strength that prevents effective competition being maintained.[34] This type of dominance goes beyond just a single entity and the CJEU can look at more than one economic enterprise to see whether there is dominance, with what is known as collective dominance.[35] In this regard, the economic term of collective dominance and dominance generally was indicative in the case of Italian Flat Case to show that there was a breach of Article 102.[36] The second economic term alongside dominance in Article 102 is that of abuse, which is where a dominant entity can use its economic strength to obtain more benefits that it would have if it was a smaller entity.[37] The use of economic terms in Article 102 cases can be seen when abuse is discussed. Article 102 makes reference to unfair prices but the CJEU has looked beyond this to see situations where there has been predatory pricing[38] and excessive pricing that look at economic terms in terms of how undertakings with great economic strength may attempt to price their competitors out of the market.[39] This tends to demonstrate that there are some economic terms that are used not only in Article 102 itself but also by the CJEU in its interpretation of the Article. However, this view has not been completely replicated across the spectrum. The use of the economic terms in invoking Article 102 has been seen as haphazard[40] and this can be seen through the cases where there has been some reliance on economic terms such as predatory pricing noted above but there are others where it has been based more on the legal concepts such as where there is commission attached for selling a certain brand.[41] In this regard, when Article 102 is looked at solely it can be seen that it is couched in economic terms such as dominance and others have come in through cases such as predatory pricing but when it is compared to its counterpart, Article 101, the effect of economics on its interpretation has not been as widespread.[42] Accordingly, when it comes to the aeroplane analogy with Article 102 it is very much that the lawyer takes the chief pilots role whereas the economist operates as a co-pilot that attempts to bolster any legal arguments that have been made. Conclusion This essay has examined EU Competition Law to determine whether the role of economics or law is prevailing in its application. The economic theories, both classical and neo-classical, demonstrate that the basis for competition law is allowing a free market to ensure that the consumers are able to receive products at a low price and other individuals are able to compete with the larger firms. In relation to Article 101 it can be seen through the use of legitimate aim and the defence given in Article 101(3) that the economic terms have a great role to play in how the case would be decided by the CJEU. However, as noted with the free rider cases such as Consten it is readily identifiable that the economics will only be taken into account after the fundamental aim of the EU, that being ever closer Union, is dealt with. This shows that the economic terms as well as the legal terms are very much secondary to the fundamental aims of the EU project. When the policy issue is put to one side, it can be seen that the economic terms and the legal terms in deciding a competition law case under Article 101 are co-pilots ensuring that the correct decision is made. In terms of Article 102, the use of economics has not been as prevalent as with Article 101 but this is largely due to the fact that there is a lack of a general theme. Perhaps as the law develops vis-Ã  -vis Article 102, the economic terms will have a greater role to play. Bibliography Legislation Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Cases Akzo Chemie BV v Commission [1991] ECR I-3395 Asnef Equifax Servicios de Informacion sobre Solvencia y Credito SL v Asociacion de Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios [2006] ECR I-11125 British Airways Plc v Commission [2007] ECR I-2331 CECED [2000] OJ L187/47 Consten and Grundig v Commission [1966] ECR 299 Continental TV v GTE Sylvania (1977) 433 US 36 GlaxoSmithKline v Commission [2009] ECR I-9291 Klaus Hofner Fritz Esler v Macrotron GmbH [1991] ECR I-1979 Matra Hachette v Commission [1994] ECR II-595 PPG Vernante Pennitalia Spa v Commission [1992] ECR II-1403 United Brands Company v Commission [1978] ECR 207 Wouters Others v Algemene Raad van de Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten [2002] ECR I-1577 Books Akman P, The Concept of Abuse in EU Competition Law: Law and Economic Approaches (Bloomsbury 2015) Bork RH, The Antitrust paradox (The Free Press, 1978) Chalmers D, Davies G Monti G, European Union Law (2nd edn, CUP 2010) Jacobs K (ed), Effective Standardization Management in Corporate Settings (IGI Global, 2010) Galbraith, American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power (Houghton Mifflin, 1952) Huerta de Soto J, The Theory of Dynamic Efficiency (Routledge 2009) Jones A Sufrin B, EU Competition Law: Text, Cases and Materials (6th edn, OUP 2016) Kaczorowska A, European Union Law (Routledge 2008) Kaczorowska-Ireland A, Competition Law in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (Routledge 2012) Mill JS, On Liberty (Vail-Ballou Press, 2003) Scherer Ross, Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance (3rd edn, Houghton Mifflin, 1990) Schulze R, An Introduction to European Law (2nd edn, CUP 2015) Schumpter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (Taylor Francis, 1976) Smith A, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Penguin, 1999) Whish R Bailey D, Competition Law (8th edn, OUP 2015) Articles Apostolakis I, E-Commerce and Free Rider Considerations Under Article 101 TFEU (2016) ECLR 114 Ibanez Colomo P, Market Failures, Transaction Costs and Article 101(1) TFEU Case Law (2012) 37(5) ELR 541 Janssen C Kloosterhuis E, The Wouters Case Law, Special for a Different Reason? (2016) ECLR 335 Lianos I, In Memoriam Keck: The Reformation of the EU Law on the Free Movement of Goods (2015) EL Rev 225 Nowag J, Wouters, When the Condemned Live Longer: A Comment on OTOC and CNG (2014) 36 ECLR 39 ODonoghue R, Defining Legitimate Competition: How to Clarify Pricing Abuses under Article 83 EC (2002) 26 Fordham Intl LJ 83 Posner RA, The Social Costs of Monopoly and Regulation (1975) 83 JPE 807 Ratliff J, Major Events and Policy Issues in EC Competition Law, 2001: Part 1 (2002) ICCLR 6 Stigler G, Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated (1957) 65(1) J Pol Eco 1 Temple Lang J, Some Aspects of Abuse of a Dominant Position in EC Antitrust Law (1979) 3 Fordham Intl LF 1 Tsoulfidis L, Classical vs Neoclassical Conceptions of Competition (2011) MPRA 1 Vickers J, Concepts of Competition (1995) 47 Oxford Economic Papers 1 Miscellaneous Commission, Notice Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (2010) OJ C130/1 de la Mano M, For the Customers Sake: The Competitive Effects of Efficiencies in European Merger Control (Enterprise Paper No 11, 2002) [1] A Smith, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Penguin, 1999). [2] JS Mill, On Liberty (Vail-Ballou Press, 2003). [3] D Chalmers, G Davies G Monti, European Union Law (2nd edn, CUP 2010) p. 962. [4] RA Posner, The Social Costs of Monopoly and Regulation (1975) 83 JPE 807. [5] R Whish D Bailey, Competition Law (8th edn, OUP 2015) p. 2. [6] RH Bork, The Antitrust paradox (The Free Press, 1978). [7] I Lianos, In Memoriam Keck: The Reformation of the EU Law on the Free Movement of Goods (2015) EL Rev 225, 244. [8] Scherer Ross, Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance (3rd edn, Houghton Mifflin, 1990) Ch. 1. [9] R Whish D Bailey, Competition Law (8th edn, OUP 2015) p. 5. [10] M de la Mano, For the Customers Sake: The Competitive Effects of Efficiencies in European Merger Control (Enterprise Paper No 11, 2002) p. 8. [11] J Vickers, Concepts of Competition (1995) 47 Oxford Economic Papers 1. [12] J Huerta de Soto, The Theory of Dynamic Efficiency (Routledge 2009) p. 1-2. [13] Smith (n 1) p. 706. [14] Galbraith, American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power (Houghton Mifflin, 1952). [15] Schumpter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (Taylor Francis, 1976). [16] A Jones B Sufrin, EU Competition Law: Text, Cases and Materials (6th edn, OUP 2016) p. 116. [17] [2002] ECR I-1577. [18] J Nowag, Wouters, When the Condemned Live Longer: A Comment on OTOC and CNG (2014) 36 ECLR 39. [19] P Ibanez Colomo, Market Failures, Transaction Costs and Article 101(1) TFEU Case Law (2012) 37(5) ELR 541, 560. [20] Asnef Equifax Servicios de Informacion sobre Solvencia y Credito SL v Asociacion de Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios [2006] ECR I-11125. [21] C Janssen E Kloosterhuis, The Wouters Case Law, Special for a Different Reason? (2016) ECLR 335, 337. [22] [1966] ECR 299. [23] Chalmers (n 3) p. 979. [24] (1977) 433 US 36. [25] I Apostolakis, E-Commerce and Free Rider Considerations Under Article 101 TFEU (2016) ECLR 114, 116. [26] [2009] ECR I-9291. [27] Commission, Notice Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (2010) OJ C130/1. [28] A Kaczorowska, European Union Law (Routledge 2008) p. 86. [29] Matra Hachette v Commission [1994] ECR II-595. [30] R Schulze, An Introduction to European Law (2nd edn, CUP 2015) p. 318. [31] [2000] OJ L187/47. [32] J Ratliff, Major Events and Policy Issues in EC Competition Law, 2001: Part 1 (2002) ICCLR 6. [33] Klaus Hofner Fritz Esler v Macrotron GmbH [1991] ECR I-1979. [34] United Brands Company v Commission [1978] ECR 207, para. 65. [35] A Kaczorowska-Ireland, Competition Law in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (Routledge 2012) p. 170. [36] PPG Vernante Pennitalia Spa v Commission [1992] ECR II-1403. [37] J Temple Lang, Some Aspects of Abuse of a Dominant Position in EC Antitrust Law (1979) 3 Fordham Intl LF 1, 9. [38] Akzo Chemie BV v Commission [1991] ECR I-3395. [39] P Akman, The Concept of Abuse in EU Competition Law: Law and Economic Approaches (Bloomsbury 2015) p. 188. [40] R ODonoghue, Defining Legitimate Competition: How to Clarify Pricing Abuses under Article 83 EC (2002) 26 Fordham Intl LJ 83. [41] British Airways Plc v Commission [2007] ECR I-2331. [42] Chalmers (n 3) p.1007.

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Essay -- essays research pa

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Philosophers have been concerned with the theories of a social contract for thousands of years. Plato mentions the concept in Crito and in Republic. These theories have stemmed from the concept of justice and for our society to be just. I will look at the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and finally with John Rawls after which a overall view into the function of a social contract can be derived as well as any problems with the theory(s). The basic concept of a social contract is for members of society to enter into a voluntary contract, which allows society to go from a state of nature to a state of civilisation. What is meant by a state of nature is quite similar to how the rest of the animal kingdom works. A person ¡Ã‚ ¦s security depends on his or her own personal power. The fittest survive and the weakest suffer. Every person is concerned with his or her own ends. Plato outlined two types of contract within society. These were the contract of citizenship and the contract of community. The contract of citizenship was tackled in Crito. He regarded it as a contract made by each individual citizen with the state or law. If a man is to remain in a political society he will have to accept its obligations for he has enjoyed it privileges and benefits. The contract of community was covered in Republic Book II. This theory is based on the assumption the man is an egoist. With this assumption of  ¡Ã‚ ¥every man for himself ¡Ã‚ ¦ it is likely that he would either cause harm to others or sustain harm from others and therefore there would be a need to combat this. Thomas Hobbes published his work, the leviathan, which included theories of a social contract. His view is very similar to Plato ¡Ã‚ ¦s in regards to contract of community. He felt that there was a need for members of a society to Curtail the war of all against all and without these theories this war would spiral out of control with everyone competing against scarce resources. He talks about how a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s strength is all that protects them from others. The only way he saw fit to counter this predicament would be for a person to voluntarily agree to a contract where their natural freedom is given up in return for personal security. This freedom would be give up to the supreme authority, the Leviathan, which would serve as a  ¡Ã‚ ¥common pow... ...ction to relatives and close associates. The theory of general will also has problems. What can protect society from unjust rulers who say they are working in the way of general will? General will does not allow for difference in taste. It also identifies moral obligation with general interest. This is a problem because people may have similar morals but have different interest. The rulers can also work with regards to the interest of the state but not with regards to morals. Bibliography Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leviathan; Thomas Hobbes edited by Richard Tuck; 1991; Cambridge University Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rousseau ¡Ã‚ ¦s Political Philosophy; Ramon M Lemos; 1977; University of Georgia Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Second Treatise of Government; John Locke edited by Thomas P Peardon; 1952; Bobbs and Merrill company inc. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Problems of Political Philosophy revised edition; DD Raphael; 1976; Macmillan Press ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract and Discourses; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by GDH Cole; 1973; JM Dent and Sons ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract or Principles of Political Right second edition revised; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by Henry J Tozer; 1898; Swan Sonnenschein and Co.

A Christmas Carol :: essays research papers

The four main characters in the book are Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. This story takes place in London, England. The time is winter December 1843 and it starts the day before Christmas, also known as Christmas Eve. Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character of the story, All 3 ghosts visit him. Through him, the lesson of the story is to be learned. In the book, he is made out to be Anti-Christmas, some are feeling pity for him, other hostility. "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he†¦Nobody ever stopped in the street to say, with gladsome looks, ‘My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?’. No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge." Next there is Tiny Tim, he has to use a crutch to walk and he is very small. Despite his disability, he always keeps the spirit up and tries to maintain it in all his brothers, sisters, and parents, even though they are poor. " He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember, upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see." This quote just shows how thoughtful he is, and how much he cares for others. Tiny Tim’s father Bob is an employee of Scrooge and he is the only one in the Cratchit family that is thankful to Scrooge, because of the job and the pay that he has given him to support his family and keep food in their stomachs. The last but not least major character is Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. He seems to be the only person who comes to converse with Scrooge and offer him anything. In this case, Fred offered him an invitation to his house for Christmas dinner. Fred is convinced at the beginning of the story that Scrooge doesn’t really mean "Bah!†¦Humbug!" No matter how many times he says it. "He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge’s, that he was all in a glow; his face ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.

Semiotics and Instructional Technology Essay -- Signs Writing Symbols

Semiotics and Instructional Technology Abstract The purpose of my paper is to define and discuss semiotics and relate it to instructional technology. Discussing Semiotics Huyghe says that if you are a semiologist, then you study systems of signs (Huyghe, 1993, p.1). This area of discussion can cover a broad range of topics from hieroglyphic writing to "Masks and the semiotics of identity." "In semiotic terms, an icon is a variety of sign that bears a resemblance to its object; a diagram, for example, is an icon of that which the diagram represents (Pollock, 1995, p. 1). In Bourland-Davis’ article, she draws from Johnson and Hackman to discuss semiotics as a form of symbolic communication (Bourland-Davis, 1998, p. 2). In Bourland-Davis’ article (Bourland-Davis, p. 2), Johnson and Hackman state that ‘human (symbolic) communication †¦ generates new and relevant combinations of associations of existing elements (materials, words, ideas, facts, sounds, movements, colors, lines, mathematical notations, procedures, etc.) through lateral (divergent) thinking’ (as cited in Johnson and Hackman, 1995, p.15). Sometimes the most effective way to represent an abstract problem is by using symbols, as students learn to do in high-school algebra (Matlin, 1998, p. 347). Often by comparing an idea to an object that can be symbolically related somehow, the level of understanding is increased, and then that object can later be used as a trigger mechanism for recalling the specifics of that concept (Matlin, 1998, p. 351). "†¦a visual image can let us escape from the boundaries of traditional representations. At the same time, however, the visual image is somewhat concrete; it serves as a symbol for a theory that has not yet bee... ...of identity. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute: Vol. 1 (pp. 581-597). Scott, Robert Ian. (1995). Messages and meanings: An essay/review – Messages and Meanings: An introduction to semiotics by Marcel Danesi. Et Cetera: Vol. 52 (pp. 482-486). Winn, William. Toward a rationale and theoretical basis for educational technology. ETR&D: Vol. 37 (pp. 35-46). Zenger, Weldon F. & Zenger, Sharon K. (1999). Schools and curricula for the 21st century: Predictions, visions and anticipations. NASSP Bulletin: Vol. 83 (pp. 49-60). Textbooks Used: Anglin, Gary J. (1995). Instructional Technology: Past, Present and Future. (2nd ed.). In Barbara L. Grabowski, Message Design: Issues and Trends. (pp. 222-225). Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Matlin, Margaret W. (1998). Cognition. (4th ed.). Texas: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Explain and assess Haidt’s ‘moral foundations’ theory

Introduction This essay will explain and assess Moral Foundations Theory (MFT), which was originally developed by Haidt, and which he has since worked on with a number of collaborators. The first part of this essay will outline the philosophical background of the theory, especially its relationship to Continental rationalism and British empiricism. This will be followed by an explanation and description of Haidt’s Social Intuitionist Model (SIM), which provides the essential mechanism by which MFT functions. Next will come an unpacking and explanation of the general claims of MFT, and the specific foundations it postulates. Finally, there will be an assessment of some of the various critiques of the theory, during which its strengths and weaknesses will be considered. It will be concluded that MFT is a strong theory on the whole, which builds on firm philosophical and scientific foundations and provides good descriptive representation of moral systems. MFT rejects the rationalist notion th at morality can be accessed by a priori reason. Put simply, there are four main justifications for this: (1) there are two cognitive processes that occur in humans – reasoning and intuition – the former of which has been overemphasized; (2) reasoning is frequently motivated by other concerns; (3) the reasoning process tends to construct post hoc justifications, even though we experience the illusion of objective reasoning; and (4) moral action covaries with moral emotion more frequently than with moral reasoning. This is the heritage of Continental philosophy, whose champions were figures such as Descartes and Kant. The philosophical forerunners to MFT were the British empiricist philosophers, especially Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith. These men believed, to quote Hume, ‘that Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.’ In philosophy, this position now falls with in the school of intuitionism. This ‘refers to the view that there are moral truths and that when people grasp these truths they do so not by a process of ratiocination and reflection but rather by a process more akin to perception.’ The social element comes in because intuition occurs in relation to other people. As Haidt puts it, ‘when faced with a social demand for a verbal justification, one becomes a lawyer trying to build a case rather than a judge searching for the truth’. Based on this intellectual heritage, Haidt developed the ‘Social Intuitionist Model’ (SIM). It is important to explain this properly because the ‘SIM is the prequel to MFT’, and provides the mechanism by which the latter works. There are a series of links in the SIM that explain how people relate to moral problems. The first is the intuitive judgement link. ‘The model proposes that moral judgments appear in consciousness automatically and effortlessl y as the result of moral intuitions’. The second is post hoc reasoning. This entails moral reasoning (rather than judgement), which is an ‘effortful’ process in which individuals search for support for an existing, intuitive moral judgement. Research has revealed that ‘everyday reasoning is heavily marred by the biased search only for reasons that support one’s already-stated hypothesis.’ The third is the reasoned persuasion link. This is the process by which the individual verbalises their reasoning in an attempt to persuade others of the validity of their already-made position. This reasoning can sometimes affect the views of others, but this rarely happens because moral judgements are not based on logical arguments but on intuition. It has been hypothesised that persuasion, when it occurs, is effective because it elicits new intuitive judgements in the listener. The importance of using affective persuasion to change affectively based attitu des has been demonstrated by Edwards and von Hippel. The fourth is the social persuasion link. Due to the fact that people are so receptive to the development of group norms, ‘the mere fact that friends, allies, and acquaintances have made a moral judgment exerts a direct influence on others, even if no reasoned persuasion is used’. This may indicate only outward conformity on occasion, but researchers have shown that private judgements can often be directly influenced by the views of others. There are two additional links that are hypothesised. One is the ‘reasoned judgment link’ by which people may at times reason their way to a judgment by sheer force of logic, overriding their initial intuition’. This tends to occur, however, when the ‘initial intuition is weak and processing capacity is high’. In other cases, it frequently leads to a kind of dualist way of thinking, where reasoned judgment is revealed verbally but the intuition cont inues to operate. Interestingly, on this point MFT diverges from the moral theory of Hume and the argument from pure intuition. If this link does exists, there is no explanation of how one can reason their way to a set of premises or axioms that can be used to support logic argument – unless, of course, they reason in a circle. The other link is the ‘private reflection link’, through which moral reasoning can have an indirect causal effect on moral judgement by triggering a new intuition. This is said to be why role-taking is so effective in creating new moral judgments. As Haidt puts it, ‘Simply by putting oneself into the shoes of another person, one may instantly feel pain, sympathy, or other vicarious emotional responses.’ MFT makes several broad claims, which will be presented here in no particular order. Firstly, it rejects the assumption of monism that all moral systems are ultimately reducible to a single goal or principle, most commonly gene ralised as forms of ‘justice’, ‘pleasure’ or ‘happiness’. Instead, it is pluralist and contends that there are numerous (but finite) basic values or virtues. As Isaiah Berlin put it, ‘there is a plurality of ideals, as there is a plurality of cultures and of temperaments.’ This is derived from the fact that it is heavily influenced by evolutionary biology, especially the concepts of kin selection and reciprocal altruism. It also builds on more recent work by de Waal (1996), Ridley (1996), among others. As there are a multitude of adaptive challenges faced by human beings, it seems likely that there are also many different mental tools fitted for a variety of purposes. The second claim is intuitionism, which has already been discussed at some length. To reiterate briefly, it is the assertion that ‘moral judgments, like other evaluative judgments, tend to happen quickly’, without any considerable regard for reasoning or drawn out evaluation. This aspect is encapsulated by Haidt’s (2001) SIM. Moral reasoning (as opposed to moral judgment) is generally utilised for strategic purposes in order to ‘to explain, defend and justify our intuitive moral reactions to others’. The third claim is nativism, which is the belief that there is a set of innate predispositions within human beings (‘innate’ in this case means ‘organized in advance of experience’). These are determined by genetic inheritance, but the ‘first draft’ of moral development is malleable and is changed during childhood and to an extent even during adulthood. Graham et al. employ the metaphor of writing a book, distinguishing between nature’s ‘first draft’ and the ‘editing process’ that begins with experience. Morality, therefore, ‘is innate and highly dependent on environmental influences’. The belief that nature has installed a kind of à ¢â‚¬Ëœpreparedness’ in certain species, one of which is humans, is suggested by studies of rhesus monkeys conducted by Mineka and Cook (1988). Graham et al. (2012) ‘think of this innate organization as being implemented by sets of related modules which work together to guide and constrain responses to each particular problem.’ The final claim is that morality is influenced by cultural learning. This takes places through a set of ‘learning modules’, which are innate and can be used to build on one’s genetic inheritance. For example, the tendency to bow in deference or respect is common to many cultures, but this is adapted to locally-specific cultural contexts and by ‘the time a Hindu girl reaches adulthood, she will have developed culturally-specific knowledge that makes her automatically initiate bowing movements when she encounters, say, a respected politician for the first time.’ In an American household, however, this foundati on might be dropped early on. Despite both girls starting off with the ‘same sets of universal learning modules†¦.the universal (and incomplete) first draft of the moral mind gets filled in and revised so that the child can successfully navigate the moral â€Å"matrix† he or she actually experiences.’ Different societies use different foundations to build their moralities, and some use all of them. MFT, therefore, is an intuitionist theory contending that human moral systems are the combination of innate predispositions and cultural learning. Additionally, judgements are made rapidly on the basis of a plurality of in-built mechanisms, which have been ‘hardwired’ into humans over the course of our species’ evolution. The rest of this essay will present, explain, and assess, in no particular order, the specific foundations postulated by MFT. There are supposedly five or six empirically supported ‘foundations’ for moral judgemen ts, but MFT allows for others being discovered in the future. The first is the care/harm foundation. Human offspring ‘are unusually dependent, and for an unusually long time’ and the intuitive reactions of females have been ‘optimized to detect signs of suffering, distress, or neediness’ for the purpose of raising more offspring. ‘The original triggers of the Care/harm foundation are ‘visual and auditory signs of suffering, distress, or neediness expressed by one’s own child’, but they can be activated by other children, baby animals, stuffed toys with childlike qualities, or descriptions of suffering. This foundation leads to the creation of terms such as ‘kind’ and ‘cruel’, which are valued differently by different cultures (e.g., classical Sparta vs. Buddhist societies). The second is the fairness/cheating foundation. Social animals face non-zero-sum games in which it is advantageous to cooperate. Creat ures ‘whose minds are organized in advance of experience to be highly sensitive to evidence of cheating and cooperation, and to react with emotions that compel them to play â€Å"tit for tat†, had an advantage over those who had to figure out their next move using their general intelligence.’ Social partners with reputations for certain types of behaviour are therefore labelled with words such as ‘fair’, ‘just’, and ‘trustworthy’. The third is the loyalty/betrayal foundation. It was advantageous for our ancestors to form cohesive groups when competing for territory and resources. This same behaviour can be seen in troops of chimpanzees. So humans have developed an innate predisposition to form groups. This manifests today in numerous areas, from nationalism to sports and brand loyalty. The fourth is the authority/subversion foundation. Dominance hierarchies are common among many primates, and the ability to recognise and rea ct by forming strategic relationships yielded an evolutionary advantage. Modules of the human mind in this foundation explain why we submit to many useful but constraining societal structures, such as the police force and political leaders. The varied development of this foundation explains why different societies (modern-day China vs. America) or groups (social conservatives vs. liberals) value authority in different ways. The fifth is the sanctity/degradation foundation. Human evolution carried adaptive challenges, such as moving from tree-based to ground-based living, living in larger, denser groups, and eating more meat, some of which was scavenged. This exposed us to a greater number of pathogens and parasites, and we therefore developed a pre-emptory, in-built sensitivity to factors other than the ‘sensory properties of potential foods, friends, and mates.’ ‘Disgust and the behavioral immune system have come to undergird a variety of moral reactions, e.g., t o immigrants and sexual deviants’ There are numerous criticisms of MFT, most of which are directed at one of the four main claims undergirding it: nativism, plurality, cultural learning, and intuitionism. One problem with nativism, for example, is that it is difficult to determine the extent to which the mind is ‘hardwired’. As Graham et al., put it: ‘opinions range widely from minimalist positions, which say that there is hardly any writing on the â€Å"first draft† of the mind, to maximalist positions such as massive modularity’ Indeed, the ambiguity here has led some to criticise MFT, and nativism in general, on the grounds that it lacks empirical neuroscientific evidence for the existence of modules. However, this is not reasonable at present. Given that the field is yet to ‘find a set of genes that, collectively, explains 5% of the variance in how tall people are what chance is there that anyone will find a set of genes that code fo r mental modules (such as loyalty or sanctity) whose expression is far more subject to cultural influence than is height?’ There is also considerable criticism of the emphasis MFT places on intuitionism. For example, some argue ‘that that intuition and reasoning are best seen as partners in a dance, in which either partner can lead and the other will follow.’ However, whatever the prominent role of reason, this seems misleading at the very least. As has been referenced already in this essay, and as Hume showed in his Treatise, it is not clear how reason can establish the first principles from which logical argument follows. Moral axioms cannot be given a logical foundation, and to the extent that they exist in nature and are ‘hardwired’, they cannot be expressed. Therefore, they are beyond realm of reason by their very nature. To say that reasoning can lead when it is necessarily guided by intuitive first principles is therefore unsupportable. Intere sting critiques come from the monists, who disagree with the pluralism hypothesis. Gray et al. believe that the care/harm foundation is the only one that is truly foundational. Graham et al. (2012) call this Procrustean, citing the fact that certain moral judgements, such as disgust, appear not to be accounted for by the care/harm foundation. Their confidence in this matter, however, is arguably misplaced. Disgust over, say, a dirty environment could be seen as a cause of harm. Perhaps those creatures with a predisposition to avoid unclean environments encountered fewer pathogens, for example, or were at less risk of being exposed to small but dangerous creatures such as spiders and snakes. Clearly, emotions, such as disgust, can potentially be explained by the care/harm foundation. The difficulty here arises in attempting to make bold comment about the way our ancestors perceived the links between various phenomena and their effects. While it is possible to argue that matters of di sgust have little to do with harm, perhaps there is link that has not yet been discovered. Some critics suggest that there should also be an oppression/liberty foundation. This is the potential sixth foundation being worked on by Haidt. Others point to the fact that MFT might be missing a waste/inefficiency foundation. These critiques focus on the particular pluralisms chosen for MFT. This is really a matter of fine-tuning, rather than any fundamental. This essay has sought to explain and assess Haidt’s MTF. It has emerged that its central claims are extremely well-founded. The SIM has strong roots that date back to the empirical tradition in Britain and which still have not been successfully overturned. With the developments in psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, both intuitionism and nativism rest on firm foundations. There are philosophical and other objections that can be targeted at the pluralism element of MFT. This is not to say that it is incorrect but rather that the confidence with which the claim is made is not justified. This essay has not sought to address deontological critiques of the MFT. There are those who would argue that MFT is asking the wrong questions, namely what morality is rather than what it should be. However, given that this problem was so adequately dealt with by Hume in his Treatise, it seems appropriate that scholars building on his legacy should develop a descriptive moral theory instead. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah, ‘My intellectual path’ in H. Hardy (ed.), The Power of Ideas 1-23, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001 Bruner, Jerome, The process of education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960 Davis, Jody L.., & Rusbult, Caryl, E. ‘Attitude alignment in close relationships’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81 (2001), pp. 65-84 Edwards, Kari., & von Hippel, William, ‘Hearts and minds: The priority of affective versus cognitive factors in person perception’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21 (1995), pp. 996-1011. Graham, Jesse, Haidt, Jonathan, Koleva, Sena., Motyl, Matt., Iyer, Ravi, Wojcik, Sean P. and Ditto, Peter. H, ‘Moral Foundations Theory: The Pragmatic Validity of Moral Pluralism’, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (2012) Gray, Kurt, Young, Liana, and Waytz, Adam, ‘Mind perception is the essence of morality’, Psychological Inquiry, 23, (2012), pp. 101-124 Greenwald, Anthony. G., and Banaji, Mahzarin. R, ‘Implicit social cognition’, Psychological Review, 102, (1995), pp. 4-27 Haidt, Jonathan, The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York: Pantheon, 2012 Haidt, Jonathan, ‘The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail: A Social Intuitionist Approach to Moral Judgment’, Psychological Review, Vol. 108. No. 4 (2001), pp. 814-834 Joyce, Richard, The Evolution of Morality, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005 Mineka, Susan, & Cook, M., ‘Social learning and the acquisition of snake fear in monkeys’, in Thomas. R. Zentall & John. B. G. Galef (Eds.), Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives (pp. 51-74). Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988 Narvaez, Darcia, ‘Moral complexity: The fatal attraction of truthiness and the importance of mature moral functioning’, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (2010), pp. 163-181 Perkins, David. N., Farady, Mike., & Bushey, B., ‘Everyday reasoning and the roots of intelligence’ in Voss, James F., Perkins, David N., and J. W. Segal (Eds.), Informal reasoning and education (pp. 83-105). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1991 Skitka, Linda J. ‘The psychological foundations of moral conviction†, in Wright, Jennifer and Sarkissian Ryan H (eds) Advances in Moral Psychology (pp.267-281), Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2010 [Accessed 09/03/2014] http://tigger.uic.edu/~lskitka/Foundations.pdf Suhler, Christopher. L., & Churchland, Patricia, ‘Can innate, modular â€Å"foundations† explain moralityChallenges for Haidt’s moral foundations theory’, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(9) (2011), pp. 2103-2116 Williams, Bernard, ‘Rationalism’ in P. Edwards (Ed.) The encyclopedia of philosophy (Vols. 7-8, pp. 69-75) New York: Macmillan, 1967