The Theme of Courage in Red Badge of Courage :: Red Badge Courage Essays

The Theme of Courage in Red Badge of Courage The Red Badge of Courage is a fictional psychological portrait of a young soldier named Henry Fleming, tracing the thread of his emotions and reactions to events that transpire during an unnamed battle of the Civil War (spark notes). Henry is an average farmer from New York. Henry wants to go to war and become a hero like the one he read about in his school. The story starts off with everyone sitting in regiment camp by the river with rumors flowing around. While everyone is thinking about what they will do in war, Henry was thinking of how is he going to react when he goes to the battlefields. How would he react if he was to die? He said, no matter what happens he will not run from a fight. Two of the other guys in the army had about the same courage as Henry, but none of them ever said that they will not run away. Before he can go on to fight in battle, the army puts him in a battle to see if he runs away from fight or not. The northern army is finally put on the move and marched across the river, where they meet with Southern forces. Henry's regiment takes a reserve position, so Henry gets to see a battle before going in to an action himself. Finally his regiment drives back the enemy and Henry feels a joy of success. Then enemy charges again, but Henry flees thinking his regiment will be overrun by the enemy. As he running and trying to justify to himself why he is running. When he gets to the woods he sees a dead man in a clearing. Henry takes the man and runs to the army's rear to get the man some help. Instead he finds his friend Jim Conkin from his regiment, who has been shot in the side. Henry tried to help Jim with another man called "Tattered Soldier." Jim could not hold on and died. After Jims death, Henry felt angry and left the Tattered Soldier alone to die in field, but it always came back to haunt Henry. After he leaves the Tattered Soldier, he sees the enemy charging and rushes back to the union regiment.

Explain the theory of Virtue Ethics Essay

Aristotle originally introduced virtue Ethics to society in ancient Greek times. Virtue Ethics tells us that we should look at the character of the person instead of the actions or duties a person performs. Instead of concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how you can be a better person. Aristotle claims that leading a virtuous life is easy, and those who do, do so to be happy. Happiness is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. To become a better person, you must practice virtuous acts regularly. After a while, these acts will become routine and so the virtuous acts will be nothing more than everyday life and the person a virtuous person. Aristotle said that although virtues should become a habit we must never forget that we behave in such a way because it is right. For example, if a singer practices singing everyday, they will become better at it and used to doing it. This is the same as people who practice their virtues and soon automatically act in the right way, by practicing our skills we improve them, becoming happier. Virtues should not be an effort, but simply a part of everyone’s personality. Aristotle says that virtue is something that we acquire and are not just born with, people are not inherently good or bad, but become good or bad according to the habits they develop. Aristotle said that a virtue was a ‘Golden Mean’ in between to vices. These ‘Vices’ are two extremes of a scale at opposite ends, one of excess and one of deficiency. For example the vices would be shamelessness and shyness, and the virtue modesty. Another example of this would be rudeness and a sense of humour as the two vices and the virtue as wittiness. Such virtues must be cultivated, we must learn when to use certain virtues and to what extent, for example we must not ever use humour in excess to act like a fool, but at the same time we must also not pass into rudeness. Two philosophers, Anscombe and MacIntyre say that there has been a mistake in how virtues have been portrayed. The majority of people look at the actions a person does to judge whether they are virtuous or not. The way in which we behave provides an opportunity for others to judge our virtues and vices. This however is not right. People should look at the character within and look at what the person believes is right and how they think they should help people instead of what they do to help. A famous example of a virtuous person is Mother Theresa. She helped millions of suffering people across the world and for this became well known as a virtuous person. There are hundreds of other virtuous people who would have liked to have helped but were unable to do so in such a huge way who are not considered as virtuous, but these people are just as virtuous but not recognised for it. Aristotle tells us that we are most likely to learn virtuous behaviour from watching others. If we experience others being kind to us and see the happiness it creates we are more likely to practice it then if we were just told to do it. For example, if we were told to be courageous we may occasionally stand up for small things that we disagree with, but if we see someone telling others off for not doing the right thing then we are more likely to not allow bad behaviour towards ourselves. Aristotle said that the best way of becoming virtuous was to follow in the footsteps of a virtuous person, e.g. Mother Theresa and do what they do. Virtue Ethics is relative; Aristotle recognised that virtues in one country may not be the same as virtues in another. He believed that there was no absolute platonic good beyond our world. As virtues have evolved through habits of society it is probable that different societies would deem different actions good or bad. However there is no difference between the virtues of a community and individuals within that community, the supreme happiness that Aristotle talks about is one for the community, and not just and individual. MacIntyre suggests that philosophy is too far removed from ordinary life and said that it is not good enough that philosophers spend their time debating the nature of ethical language or forming reasoned theories of morality in a way that is far removed from real people and real life. All actions are done in order to reach an aim. A successive series of actions are also for an aim, for example getting up in to morning to go to work, is to make money, is to feed our families is to go on nice holidays is to but them nice things etc. all ultimate aims is to make people happy, everything is subordinate to the supreme good, which is happiness. Everyone has different ideas of what happiness is and different things all make different people happy, and Aristotle called this feeling of all round well being eudemonia. Therefore, Virtue Ethics concentrates on what a person is then what a person does. Its aim is to achieve something, which people genuinely want rather then being based on arguably incoherent ideas about the after-life. It is a system, which can be easily applied and understood by all. It fits into a variety of philosophies, and religions, which both do and don’t include God. However, there are a few problems with Virtue Ethics. Ones of these which has been pointed out by MacIntyre is that although a virtue is the ‘golden mean’ between two vices it cannot be applied to all virtues. Virtues such as promise keeping, loyalty, and compassion do not fall between any two vices and so Aristotle’s theory of this does not really work. Another problem with this theory is that it is of little help to people faced with a moral dilemma. It does not help them make a decision like other theories such a natural law or utilitarianism.

An Ironic Editorial Cartoon Essay

â€Å"Let’s hope the asteroid’s impact is confined to the subprime mortgage area. † These are the words spoken among several dinosaurs as a large asteroid is headed towards earth. Or, more accurately, they are the words of the dinosaurs within the frame of Tim Toles’ biting editorial cartoon. Upon first viewing, the cartoon does provoke immediate laughter. Then, when you stop to let the themes of the cartoon sink in you realize that the humor is quite dark and ominous and, more importantly, it is quite accurate. For those not familiar with the symbolism, there is an unproven theory that asserts dinosaurs may have been rendered extinct due to an asteroid hitting the earth. The reason all dinosaurs were rendered extinct was due to the asteroid having a significant change on the earth’s climate and environment. That is, the asteroid possessed a ripple effect that went far beyond the exact area where the asteroid landed. The symbolism presented here ties in with the subprime mortgage crisis in a manner that is both obvious and outright chilling. The weight of the claims presented in the argument makes logical sense. It simply infers that economic problems will have a major ripple effect. That is, the economic woes of those affected by the subprime crisis will carry over into other aspects of the economy. As a result, even those who may previously have had nothing to do with the subprime crisis will be negatively impacted. (In essence, the intended audience is the entire population of the nation) After all, we are all plugged into the same economy. If one area is hurting, it will invariably drag down others. This is clearly an interpretation based on implication and the claim is obviously apparent in the words used. And, yes, such assumptions are warranted as by the time the cartoon appeared the ripple effect of the crisis has lead to a huge federal bailout This is not a notion that is arrived at on the basis of speculation and alarmism. It is based on simple math and the law of cause and effect. If someone’s home suffers from a foreclosure then the individual will find himself in an extremely disadvantageous financial position. Clearly, such an individual would have to make numerous â€Å"cut backs† on purchasing decisions and this means less money will flow into the economy. Such actions have negative effects on profits in various companies and hurt stock values. If stock values are reduced then the net worth of investors (many of which rely on their investment during their retirement years) will reduce. Then, there is also the huge problem of massive foreclosures over-saturating the real estate market. This has the negative effect of ruining equity on real estate throughout the nation. Further problems arise as the economy declines and credit dries up. This can lead to â€Å"bank runs† where customers opt to pull money out of their banks for fear they may lose their savings if the bank goes under. So, yes, just like the horrible ripple effect the asteroid had on the dinosaurs, the subprime crisis is one that affects the whole world as opposed to any one, single contained area. Of course, prior to the asteroid landing, the dinosaurs had no idea how serious the problem would be. They saw it coming but did not expect it to possess such a ripple effect. The dinosaur’s predicament is woefully similar to the predicament facing the economic landscape now that the subprime crisis has reeled out of control. As such, this cartoon is serious call to action and it is made with the intended goal of motivating the public to be ready for the serious ramifications of the subprime crisis. Now, when it comes to the ability to critique the effectiveness of the cartoon we must look at the sum of its parts. Particularly, is imagery also needed to effectively convey the information presented in the cartoon? Of course, it is possible to convey the same information and sentiment. Granted, the words in the cartoon would obviously have to be expanded upon in order to provide the proper context to make sense. However, the biting humor of the cartoon would needlessly be eliminated and replaced by exposition and explanation.. Such an approach would work quite effectively but it would not possess the same power of the cartoon. That is, the cartoon works on a number of levels because it combines visual imagery with ironic wording. In terms of the specific words within the cartoon, however, the presence of the words without the imagery would make little sense since they would be out of context without the presence of the dinosaurs. Now, if one were to keep the image and remove the wording the end result would be disastrous. A visual image of dinosaurs looking up at the sky and seeing an asteroid would convey the concept that an asteroid may have killed them, but it does nothing to promote the ironic notion that the subprime mortgage crisis can cause a similar ripple effect. In short, the value of the cartoon is basically worthless without the presence of the ironic wording. After all, if you were to remove the words from the cartoon would you be able to guess that its subject matter involves the subprime crisis? In all likelihood, making any connection between the dinosaurs and the subprime crisis would be impossible without the appropriate wording. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It is simply an honest assessment of the limitations of the cartoon’s visual imagery. But does it work? It depends. It is odd however, that irony is used as a means of promoting the argument style of persuasion. In a way, the cartoon heralds more than it seeks to persuade. So, really, its goal is not so much to be persuasive since it does not seek to promote a point to the doubting as much as it is a statement of fact. While a statement of fact can persuade some, such a statement is not automatically persuasive. For those who are logic and rational, however, it will have a stronger resonance that mixes pathos with logos. That is, it mixes humorous irony with obviously true facts. In the final analysis, it is safe to say that this particular editorial cartoon is brilliant. It mixes words and images together in an ironic and informative matter that stresses the gravity of the subprime crisis. Of course, the words and images do this well in combination. Separately, they would lack the effectiveness they possess as a tandem. Bibliography Toles, Tom. (2008) â€Å"Unnamed Cartoon†. THE WASHINGTON POST. Retrieved October 5, 2008 from http://www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/content/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/

Proposal Argument Essay

Licensing for personal trainers: legitimizing the profession. â€Å"In its present form, personal training only dates back a few decades, yet it is among the fastest growing professions in the U. S. † (Holt). In the 80’s and 90’s personal trainers were predominantly heavy lifters who looked like they could soon compete in a bodybuilding contest. The muscular physique automatically qualified each of them as â€Å"guru† in the fitness world and helped quickly build a clientele.Towards the late-90's, the situation started to change: gyms became less and less of an intimidating environment for a wide category of people with no desire to become â€Å"huge. † Personal trainers of a new generation expanded their specialization to weight loss, cardio vascular health, toning and general fitness which made training itself more accessible for all age groups, people with different skill levels and special requirements. As a result. , the trainer’s job to day has become very complex and goes much farther instructions during a workout session.It can’t be successfully performed without a strong knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, program development and even psychology You will assume that someone who guides and assists you in developing health and fitness must be a specialist in this area of knowledge. Of course! But do you know that one can become â€Å"a certified personal trainer† by taking an online test for less than 100 dollars? It’s true! Competence and skill level of many trainers you see at health clubs and gyms is low and they are surely not worth the money spent.Moreover, your health is under potential risk! The solution to this problem can be achieved through a required licensing of personal trainers just like other health/medical professionals. This would benefit both the public and the personal training profession. As a fitness trainer for over seven years, I truly believe that our industry desperatel y needs more regulations. My background in gymnastics in addition to two certifications from Wellness Academy (Russia) and International Sports Science Association (USA) surely give me a big advantage over someone who spent $69.95 and a couple weeks learning â€Å"all the nitty-gritty of personal training† to obtain so called ExpertRating Online Certification (Personal Training Certification).So you may think: the less my competitors know the better my services look in comparison with their. No, it’s not that easy! I would rather have a strong competition than constantly disprove common opinion about personal trainers as people with weak knowledge base who flirt with clients, bark orders and very often behave unprofessionally.A few times I trained people who had bad experience with a trainer in the past and it felt like I had to break the wall of apprehension and distrust before they took me seriously. Not only I had to defend myself in some ways but there were also fi nancial consequences when clients refused to pay me upfront (usually a client prepays for a package of sessions) and that’s why I got paid on session-by-session basis with no commitment from client’s side. I personally know a few trainers who collected money for the training and disappeared while their clients have been left with nothing!Therefore, such a practice like licensing could be a very effective control instrument for the industry and could keep trainers accountable for their actions. From clients’ perspective, mandatory licensing can become a guarantee of receiving a high quality service – safe and efficient workout. Nancy Howard, a health professional and a Certified Running Coach, states in her article â€Å"Poll: Should Personal Trainers Be Licensed†: â€Å"When we place our trust in those who will direct us on the proper path to reclaiming our health and fitness, it is important that we have full disclosure of their qualifications.â € Her words means a lot in today’s situation, when many people seeking for personal trainers’ help have some kind of health issue that limit their ability to perform certain movements or type of physical activity. I had the opportunity to work with clients who had knee replacements, severe stage of scoliosis, arthritis, diabetes, past injuries and so on. You can easily hurt a client or worsen an existing condition by using inappropriate exercising techniques and approaches. Once I’ve seen a trainer who made his new client with swayback (lordosis) do multiple low back exercises with significant weight.With such a spine condition you have to be extremely careful when perform any activity involving low back and must primarily focus on strengthening your abdominal muscles and back of the thighs in order to balance the inward curvature of spine. As a result of that unconsidered workout the client had extreme back pains and decided to stop training. Not only this c ould be prevented if a trainer had more knowledge about lordosis (which is pretty easy to determine), but the client would be able to improve his back condition with appropriate exercise routine.This example shows that some certification organizations fail to provide the market with well-qualified and knowledgeable professionals. They are not regulated by state and often offer take-home or on-online tests which objectivity is questionable. Licensing, on the other side, means a nationally standardized test and leaves no place for cheating. It is interesting to note that Howard makes a comparison between personal trainers and other health professionals like â€Å"Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Physical Therapists and Registered Dietitians† who required to be licensed by the state which they practice.According to her, there is no reason why personal trainers should be treated any different as their services belongs to the same field (Howard). In my opinion, this analogy is more than appropriate considering that clients are paying almost as much for a private training session as for the one-hour massage or a visit to dietician. Moreover, Howard mentions two interesting points in favor of the licensing. First, it â€Å"will facilitate referrals from traditional health care providers,† and, secondly, the insurance companies â€Å"will be more likely to reimburse for services if personal trainers are licensed† (Howard).This means more people would be able to afford training that is safe and effective. Clearly, the transformation of personal training industry won’t be easy. Joe Cannon (personal trainer, author and health educator) states that â€Å"a government mandated fitness license might also mean an end to fitness organizations all together. † At the present moment, there are dozens of certifying fitness organizations within US and, for obvious reasons, they are resisting to proposed legislation changes.â€Å"If personal trainers needed a license† – Cannon says – â€Å"then all fitness organizations would come under the jurisdiction of the government and the ‘licensing’ would be standardized. † I understand how much multimillion dollar certification business would be affected but new market conditions will automatically eliminate companies like ExpertRating Online Certification and increase the entrance barrier into the profession. I’m sure strong certification organizations like NASM, ACE, IFTA, ACMS and a few others would find their place in the restructured industry although they will fight against licensing to the last breath.As a negative factor of licensing Cannon mentions that â€Å"each trainer would be paying the government every year or so to maintain their license; that’s in addition to what they pay for fitness continuing education classes. † Of course, no one would be happy about it but the level of discontent will d epend on the amount of a fee. I’m already paying about 500-600 dollars every two years to keep my certification valid and another 400 dollars for insurance so if the new expense would stay within the same range there shouldn’t be a problem. Another concern regarding potential licensing of personal trainers is difficulties in its obtaining.Senate Bill 2164 (â€Å"Fitness Professional Licensing Act†) proposed in New Jersey in 2008 requires a licensure: To complete an approved course of study of not less than 300 in-person classroom hour†¦. which shall include not less than 50 hours of an unpaid internship in the presence of and under the direct supervision of, a licensed fitness professional, which internship shall be provided by the school providing the approved course of study; and (b) have passed an examination administered or approved by the board; or (2) possess an associate's or bachelor’s degree in physical education, exercise science, exercise physiology or adult fitness.(S2164) The majority of fitness professionals’ community finds this bill inappropriate for experienced and qualified trainers who are in the business for years. It basically means they would have to go back to school and put their clients aside for a while. I personally know a few trainers without a degree but with years of work in the field and several certifications of all kinds. There are no doubts about their qualification! Nevertheless according to the â€Å"Fitness Professional Licensing Act† these people would need 50 hours of unpaid internship which is absolutely ridiculous!Joe Stein, president of Renaissance Fitness & Wellness Inc. , also expresses his negative opinion about the bill by saying that â€Å"the New Jersey state senate is trying to balance the bloated state budget on the backs of personal trainers and their clients† (Halvorson). On the other side, proposed legislation requirements establish a comprehensive educat ional program for people entering the field.Therefore beginner trainers would not only have a strong theoretical skills  but a real life work experience in the gym. There is no such certification at the present moment that can offer internship or any kind of workshop unless you are ready to pay another 600 dollars on top of the certification cost. Despite all advantages that licensing can potentially bring into the personal training industry, proposed legislation in New Jersey, Maryland and Georgia in 2008 achieved no success (State Licensing of Personal Trainers Update – December 2008).The bill doesn’t consider existing circumstances of the profession and is unrealistic at its present format. However, National Board of Fitness Examiners started to work on â€Å"one nationally standardized examination process in lieu of 50 different state board exams† (State Licensing of Personal Trainers Update – December 2008). So when the time is right it can be used by states and will avoid a possibility â€Å"when the exams could be developed by people outside the profession† (State Licensing of Personal Trainers Update – December 2008).After all, I strongly believe that licensing is necessary in personal training business as it legitimizes the profession. I want to be recognized as a â€Å"specialist† in the eyes of potential clients and people in a health/medical field. From the business owner’s perspective, licensing would be extremely helpful in finding properly educated and experienced trainers whose work can correspond to the high standards that I set for my clients.

BP oil spil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

BP oil spil - Essay Example The bad publicity caused by the oil spill caused BP corporate shares to plummet, and this was made worse by President Obama’s public condemnation of the company. The company CEO Tony Hayward was largely criticized and blamed for the incident. He subsequently stepped down from his post several months after the oil spill. Based on the above situation, this paper shall now assess the public relations (PR) implications of the oil spill on BP. It shall also evaluate whether the organization could have handled the situation better and if it could have, its different actions in this regard. The main issues of the event shall be presented, along with the individuals and state affected by this oil spill. This paper shall evaluate how BP handled this disaster. A fair and balanced discussion shall be undertaken for this issue, mainly presenting the company’s side as well as the public’s side on this issue. After presenting both sides of the issue, this student’s posi tion and judgment shall also be presented. This paper is being undertaken in the hope of establishing a comprehensive and academic discussion on the subject matter. Discussion PR implications for BP The PR implications of the oil disaster for BP present a negative image of the company. In fact, with just a few words released to the press, it seems to negate its mantra, ‘BP cares.’ The way BP handled the disaster in terms of public relations did not help the company in any way; and their PR efforts did not portray BP in the best of light. It even portrayed them as an uncaring and incompetent company (Berr, 2010). Before the US Congress Hearing, Tony Hayward repeatedly blamed others for the disaster; and he, in behalf of the company, hardly took any responsibility for the disaster and for the decisions the company made which led to the explosion. A month after the explosion, BP claimed that the environmental impact of the oil spill would be â€Å"very, very modest† . In the immediate aftermath, and now months after the initial oil spill, its impact to the environment has already proven to be monumental (Hutchison, 2010). In fact, its impact is set to last for many more years to come. BP also did not release accurate statistics and reports to the public. Furthermore, it first admitted that it has underestimated the amount of oil which was leaking. It was unable to express how much was spilling, but estimates it at about 5,000 barrels. The White House negated this figure by expressing that it was closer to 60,000 barrels (Hutchison, 2010). In the aftermath of the disaster, BP’s share prices fell by about four percent. This was the same day when the US accused BP of downplaying the impact of the spill. Two months into the oil spill, it was revealed that BP was given permission to drill in the Gulf of Mexico after it presented documents which basically expressed that it was capable of dealing with oil spills even larger than the one it was facing (Hutchison, 2010). These revelations provided more sources of embarrassment for the company. Tony Hayward was criticized for his insensitivity when he later remarked that he would â€Å"like [his] life back†. Even if he apologized for his comment, the damage to BP’s image was already done. BP was wiped off 12bn pounds on the day that Barack Obama declared that he was now launching a criminal investigation of BP’

Organizational and technical issues of significance in the Research Paper

Organizational and technical issues of significance in the international or global management of information systems - Research Paper Example In a digital world, key business assets such as intellectual property, essential capabilities and human being resources are controlled through digital means. Moreover, any information required to support key business decisions is available any given time and anywhere within digital firms, which gives digital firms the ability to respond rapidly compared to the traditional firms making digital firms flexible and able to survive in turbulent times. Information systems offer digital firms extraordinary opportunities to global organizations and management because information systems enable business firm to possess the potential of achieving unprecedented levels of prosperity and competitiveness. International information systems are made up of fundamental information systems necessary for corporations to coordinate global business and various other activities. Digital firms are distinguished by their reliance on information technology in organizing and managing their activities; hence, m anagers consider information systems as useful enablers as well as the core of business and a primary management tool despite the various challenges to information systems. ... Information systems contain information regarding considerable people and things within an organization or even within the surroundings of the organization. Information system from business perspective is considered a managerial tool that has its basis on information technology useful in solving challenges within the environment. Therefore, information systems form an integral part in organizations because some companies like credit reporting firms would not be in business without information systems. A significant part of management involves creative work that is propelled by knowledge and information; hence, information system plays a significant and powerful role in redirecting and redesigning an organization. Information technology is a tool managers use to tackle change where computer hardware is used to input, process and output information within an information system. Information systems consist of various components that include the processing unit, several input, and output and storage devices as well as physical media that connects the devices. Computer software involves detailed programmed instructions that coordinate computer hardware within an information system, while storage technology involves physical media for keeping data like optical disks as well as software that governs the organization of data on the physical media. Communication technology incorporates physical gadgets and software in linking the several parts of hardware and transferring data from one place to another through computer networks in order to share resources. Technology resources that can be shared throughout an organization constitute the organization’s information technology infrastructure,

With reference to a particular country case study, critically outline Essay

With reference to a particular country case study, critically outline and assess the key features of neoliberal development policy in that country - Essay Example exican debt of nineteen eighty-two even after adopting adjustments in structures and policies of promotional exports that were inspired by the â€Å"Washington consensus†. The early nineties marked a period of optimistic expectations that the recovery would take place. Despite this, the regional increase of the quantum of export and integration of into a global economy in large-scale made growth in the economy to remain evasive. The growth rate of the regional per capita in the year became 0.43 percent from the year 1980 and 2005. Moreover, this was aggravated by the recent financial crisis in Ecuador. Basing on the prices of raw materials, the recovery is still insufficient to create changes on the pattern. According to â€Å"Washington consensus†, the economic growth must be generated from the exports and its effect on trickling down must lead to the social development. The economic performance of several Latin America countries has been disappointing for the last twenty-five years or so. The years have been marked by stagnation in economy and increase in crisis vulnerability have been made worse with the increase in poverty, increased social inequality and deterioration in the environment (Molyneux 2008, pp.775–797). Ecuador is among the Latin American countries that are  among the less developed with 1.461USD per capita income by the year 2001. This was relative below the average income per capita in the region. Viewing it closer, it reveals Ecuador’s poor performance in the economy even with the regional context that is weak. During the last decades, several countries in Latin America hade export expansion, but relatively small income growth only few country had high economic growth. Ecuador’s primary products composed of bananas, oils, Coffee, shrimps and flowers represent the country’s major exports. The factors that have historically influenced the country such as social, ethnic and regional disparities remain pervasive. The economy of Ecuador is