Political rhetoric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Political rhetoric - Essay Example Given the variations in the economic state of the United States of America, Obama used his annual State of the Union podium to adopt a new trend in his executive authority as the President. The speech entailed rhetoric speech through the use of defiant words such as â€Å"with or without Congress† as an individual step in advancement of the economy. The President also adopted the use of alliteration in a number of paragraphs such as â€Å"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.† These words outline the repetition of words alongside words that soften the attention of the audience. In addition, the president insisted the use of rhetoric using character development by stating. â€Å"I’m eager to work with all of you,† â€Å"But America does not stand still and neither wil l I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do (Baker, n.d).† At the same time, republicans were not left out in responding to the rhetoric speech of Obama in the state of the Union. The five term congress woman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers rhetorically responded by blaming Obama for the current economic problems. She stated, â€Å"Too many people are falling further and further behind because, right now, the president’s policies are making people’s lives harder,† she said. â€Å"Republicans have plans to close the gap.† Her speech incorporated alliteration as a way of outlining how her 6 year old son, Cole was born with Down syndrome under the Obama’s health care program that had many regulations and a record in expenditure (Franke-Ruta, n.d). Obama’s speech at the annual State of the Union podium resembles that of Julius

Case Study 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

4 - Case Study Example isorder – Observation of thin, tired-looking, fatigued, weight loss, poor appetite, muscle weakness, skin warm, dry, flat affect, provides little detail in answers, indecisive, has difficulty concentrating depressed mood or anhedonia (absence or pleasure) for at least 2 weeks. (Pg 53) sleep disturbance, weight loss, loss of appetite, loss of sexual interest (Pg 59-60), Patients with depression may display poor or lapsed hygiene. Pg 61 May cause a patient to be withdrawn (Pg 61), negative, slow, low-self-esteem Hypothesis 1: Major depressive disorder – genetics plays a vital role, results from abnormalities between brain hormones and neurotransmitters i.e. hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; serotonergic, dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems. Depression might be caused by relational issues. Bereavement is among the most traumatizing, painful and gut wrenching experience a person will ever face. Grieving people often undergo various states during this period (regret, loneliness, withdrawal, intrusive images, depression, unhappiness, a feeling of being overwhelmed and depersonalization. These characteristics displayed by the patient made the diagnosis from settling on anemia, thyroiditis and insomnia. At first, the feelings of grief may seem to be forgotten. But, with time they evolve into bursts of depression which are brought about by the reminders of the dead/deceased (Astrid,

Personality Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personality Theory - Essay Example Nevertheless, as adults, the parents were responsible for their son’s death. Parental Abuse Resulting in Child Suicide: The Personality of Both the Parents and Child which Results in Suicide The case of the child being abused by violent parents is not uncommon. It can happen anytime as long as there are children with suicidal tendencies and parents who are predisposed to behave in a way that they would hurt their children. Based on the details of the case, the child committed suicide because he must have been a typical case of Borderline Personality Disorder and his parents as well, and this must have unconsciously made them cause their own child’s death. Definition of the Case and Important Things to Consider The case study involving the child who killed himself and the parents who abused him must be investigated in such a way that the roles of the child and the parents in bringing about the act of suicide are defined. Moreover, one needs to consider the reasons why th e child could have decided to kill himself and why the parents themselves were abusive. Understanding the underlying cause of their actions and decisions would shed more light into why the suicide took place. The Possibility of Borderline Personality Disorder The child who killed himself may have been suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, because he displayed a similar set of symptoms as a typical case, and it was the parents’ fault that the degree of their abuse towards him made him decide to kill himself. BPD is a psychological problem which is most commonly associated with â€Å"self destructive† behavior, which in turn is the most likely cause of the suicide (Paris, 2011). Moreover, someone with BPD is also most likely to be â€Å"highly unstable emotionally† and thus develops several mood swings especially as a rather automatic response to highly stressful events (Paris, 2011). These highly unstable emotions and unpredictable mood swings m ay have reached their peak at the time of suicide and thus may have triggered the act itself. Coupled with a preexisting self destructive behavior, the sudden surge of depressive or angry emotions in the child may have been directed towards himself. Parental abuse may have triggered the depression and anger in the child, but since the child may have felt powerless, he did not choose to retaliate and instead decided to kill himself in order to end the extremely uncomfortable feeling of abuse, loss of personal value and loss of self-esteem. Moreover, since BPD is characterized by â€Å"repetitive suicide attempts,† then it is obvious that the child was suffering from this or a similar disorder at the moment of suicide (Paris, 2011). The child may have therefore attempted suicide a number of times but perhaps during that time that he killed himself, there must have been too much anger in him that could not be contained anymore. There could also have been a lot of anger that had piled up and perhaps the last cruel thing his parents did to him somehow served as the last straw that eventually made him decide to end his life. Furthermore, there might not have been anyone else in the house who could have at least stopped the child from committing suicide, or perhaps there was but this person might have also been powerless and helpless against the child’

Healthy foods vs. not healthy foods Essay Example for Free

Healthy foods vs. not healthy foods Essay Eating is something that we all have to do to stay alive and we do it at least three times a day. We live in a world where there are so many choices and no one but ourselves are responsible for the foods we eat. In this essay I will compare and contrast the differences between eating healthy foods instead of not so healthy foods. First I’m going to discuss the healthy foods. The two areas of healthy food I’m going to talk about are the benefits and taste. The Benefits of eating healthy foods are that our bodies stay healthy, keeps you full and satisfied longer during the day, giving you more energy through out the day and in the long run keeping us out of the doctor’s office. If you’re trying to lose weight consuming healthy foods is a start to lose weight. The taste of healthy foods is fresher and if you prepare it well the taste will satifa you but it can sometimes lack good taste if you don’t know how to prepare it. Second I’m going to discuss the benefits and taste of the not healthy foods. There is no benefit of eating food that isn’t healthy for you. When we consume foods that have no benefits we end up with all types of health problems like diabetes, heart conditions and being overweight Which all can lead to high medical bills. The taste of these kinds of food might tastes better at the moment due to all the ingredients that are in them and might cost cheaper so it becomes easier for us to consume. In the long run we are responsible for what we eat and the choices of food we buy but we should all consider the benefits it will make or not make.

Comparison: Buddhism And Jainism

Comparison: Buddhism And Jainism 1) There are many similarities and many differences between Buddhism and Jainism. To begin, we will start by discussing the similarities in both. In Jainism and Buddhism rather than having a God or creator there is a teacher. Both religions do not accept the permanent power of God as the creator of the world. Buddha and the last of the 24 thirthankaras (mahavira) spread their experience of finding liberation to communities and people began to follow. In Buddhism there was the development of sangha through Buddhaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s early disciples it allowed anyone to adapt to his teaching and as for Jainism it does not formally recognize the caste system. Therefore, followers came from all castes and levels of society. Another similarity is the concept of living in a nonviolent way. The first teaching of Buddhism is to abstain from violence and protect all life. All things have a living spirit. In Jainism, nonviolence is not just about being abusive or to people rather it is to not b e destructive toward nature and all living things. Like Buddhists, Jains believe that our actions influence the future course of our current life, and of our lives to come. Both religions agree that death is a natural process of life and want to reach a state of nirvana or liberation. However, there are differences in both religions. For instance, in Jainism the soul exists everywhere, not only in living beings, but in inanimate objects as well. The soul in Jainism reaches it s highest state when the soul liberates itself from the bondage of karmas. But Buddhism holds completely dissimilar views. Karma in Buddhism, defines our actions of body and speech, and mind. Things we choose to do or say or think set karma into motion. The law of karma is a law of cause and effect. According to Buddhism, soul is not a permanent; it is ever changing. Therefore, a person must follow the noble eightfold path to reach liberation. Jains believe that karma is a form of matter which is not simply the effect of ones actions, but a real substance that runs into each individual body. When particles of karma attach to a life it will affect that soul. This karmic substance remains with a being until good conduct and self purification eliminates them. Another difference between both religions would be the choice of food. In Jainism you must be a vegetarian and Buddhism it is a choice you can make whether or not you can be carnivore or be a vegetarian. Hence, there is similarities in Buddhism and Jainism where there is no creator or god but rather a teacher. In addition, there are no caste systems in both religions, there is a concept of living in a non-violent way and want to reach liberation. Nevertheless, both religions have a different perspective on soul and karma. 2) There are many differences between Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion which means that they sense spiritual reality without a personal deity or deities. There is a single founder in Buddhism which was known as Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha. Buddha does not identify on images of unseen reality. In other words only believe in what you can physically see. Buddha is a teacher not a god. Unlike Hinduism, which is theistic religion that practices the worship of many gods, Hinduism is formed of various traditions and has no single founder. The feeling is that the celestial has innumerable forms. Buddha taught by accepting how we build distress for ourselves we can become liberated. When he first experienced the world he became disheartened and went on to preach that life is full of grief and suffering. He wanted to find liberation for suffering and emphasizes on sufferings in the existing world. The Hindu last scriptures Upanishads recognize that sufferi ng is a natural part of the human state. It takes the suffering in human life and places it to previous karma or actions of the human being. Hinduism does not stress suffering as much as Buddhism rather they set greater stress on the bliss enjoyed on experiencing on a coming together with God or the Self. Since we are all an emergence of God, bliss is a fundamental part of our nature. The Upanishads stressed on this experience of bliss to inspire the Hindu devotees to experience Moksha- liberation. In addition, Buddhism does not follow the Brahmanic tradition like Hinduism. Buddhism withdraws the ideas of eternal self or soul (Atman) and eternity or transcendent reality (Brahman); this condition separates it from Hinduism. The goal to Buddhism is to reach nirvana, enlightenment and the end of suffering. Buddhism believes in reaching nirvana through the four noble truths and eightfold path. Unlike Buddhism there are many ways like yoga (Jnana, Karma, Raja and Bhakti) to reach liberat ion in Hinduism. Reincarnation is another factor in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is said that the soul continues after death and goes into another body. The soul can rebirth into animals or plants depending on the karma. Unlike, In Theravada Buddhism, there is the principle of anatta, or no soul, which states there is no continuing being that carries on from one life to the next. Therefore, rebirths are not handed out but are simply the natural results of good or bad endeavors.

Arguments for Short and Longer Term Capitalism

Arguments for Short and Longer Term Capitalism Introduction Reason Dominic Barton’s article on the â€Å"Capitalism for the Long Term† and in particular his â€Å"Fight the Tyranny of Short-Termism† essentially asserts ‘there is a myopia plagues all Western institutions in every sector’ and in his article, he suggests solutions to potentially treat thus problem He believes that this short-sighted perspective leads to the crippling of corporations, and the economy and creates social problems. Research that supports Barton’s claim of this pervasive myopia was presented during a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley in June 2011, where it was shown that the majority of chief investment officers from top asset management firms focused on short-term horizons that are disconnected from the organic process that typically value in businesses (Generation Investment Management LLP, 2012). In addition, former United States of America (USA) Vice-President, Al Gore said that ‘capitalism is coming under increased scrutiny and needs to change as short-term thinking has driven a wedge between investing and the creation of value for corporations’ and capitalism needs to change (Johan Carlstrom, 2013). This problem of short-term capitalism has attracted many institutional bodies such as International Monetary Fund and Harvard Business Review to conduct studies looking at its negative impact. The short-fall of short-term capitalism can be seen and felt most recently by th e financial crisis in 2008 that saw the collapse of major firms such as Lehman Brothers and the lives of many employees and their families destroyed along with the economy (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 2011). In summary, his argument calls for the review of a shift from short-term capitalism towards long-term capitalism in order for capitalism to continue to thrive in this modern age. Assumptions Potential Problems Barton’s main argument of transferring from short-term capitalism to long-term capitalism is problematic for a few reasons. Firstly, he assumes that short-term capitalism always leads to short-term management. Next, he assumes that short-term management is the root problem of short-term capitalism. Conversely, he assumes that long-term capitalism is better than short-term capitalism. However it is not possible to determine the true lasting advantages and disadvantages of long-term capitalism as it may not has not run its full course yet. Disadvantages may not be readily apparent initially and may end up being more potent as they have had more time to fester and snowball. Barton makes a further assumption that all investors are short-term and thus value-orientated which is false because that is a sweeping judgement on a diverse group of investors, of which a notable example to the contrary is Warren Buffet. He also believes that because investors are value-oriented, they are the ones at the root of problem as they pressure the board and management to practise short-term capitalism too. There may be some truth in that value-orientated investors will lead to short-term management this creates a vicious cycle. In theory, the management should be autonomous but in reality their investors usually influence them. A case in point would be that Chief Executives Officers (CEOS) are pressured by their investors to meet quarterly targets for the company’s share price may depreciate if they fail to meet them. CEOs then go to great lengths to achieving them, even if it could damage longer-term health of the business (Tim Koller, Rishi Raj Abhishek Saxena, 2013). As such, in order to avoid a conflict of interest, any board of directors should be fully independent (Lawrence Weber, 2011). This is important as the board would then be able to choose what is best for the corporation and should they choose to practise long-term capitalism, they would need to filter out the growth-orientated investors from the value-orientated investors (Bill George, 2013). Hence, the board decides the type of capitalism they want to undertake and the type of investors they wish to attract. Thus, it is not the investors who determine the corporation’s take on capitalism and should not be where we start from to solve this problem of short-term capitalism as mentioned by Barton. Another assumption that he makes is that ‘short-term capitalism is a tyrant that needs to be rid of for before the social contract between capitalist system and citizenry ruptures.’ The reality is that capitalism is by its very nature is governed by an inanimate non-living economic model and therefore cannot be corrupt. The misuse and abuse of the model by its users is to blame. Clayton Christensen provides an alternative explanation Businesses are created to meet demands and in exchange seek revenue. There are mainly two ways businesses can do that, they can either create empowering innovation which creates value or reinvest capital with capital but does not create any value. Reinvestment is obviously much faster than the creation of empowering innovations and as a result this is the choice of many firms (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), 2013). It is because of this choice, that the flow of value creation is broken (Refer to Appendix A) as reinvestment only serves to stagnate the economy (Clayton Christensen Derek Van Bever, 2014). This flow broke when the professionals in finance started to advise companies on the fastest way possible to maximise profit margins. Hence, it is clear then that short-term capitalism, which was more beneficial than detrimental in the past, was ruined not because of what it is but r ather the people who abused it. Barton’s suggestion for the transformation to long-term capitalism by focusing on long-term results and removing short-term targets makes a grave assumption that is meritocracy can still function in this era of career-minded people. Using his example that financial firms ought to adopt an approach that encourages fund managers using favourable methods in achieving their benchmark targets, meritocracy may be an obstacle because by adopting favourable methods and merely achieving their targets, it will be hard for these career-minded managers to distinguish themselves from the pack (Emilio J. Castilla Stephen Benard, 2010) and thus his suggestion will crumble over time. He also assumed that the reason why CEOs may take up actions that would damage the company’s long-term health in exchange for meeting quarterly targets is because of value-orientated investors. When in fact, the reason may simply be these CEOs are using the company as a stepping-stone to further their car eer advancement. This may then be the better explanation as to why the avenge tenure of CEOs has decreased from 1992 till now (Steven N. Kaplan Bernadette A. Minton, 2008). So then we realise that even by changing from short-term to long-term targets, it may not solve the issue at hand because meritocracy needs to be improved upon. On top of the need to evaluate the relevancy of our current version of meritocracy, another underlying assumption that he made when he said that we should look towards long-term capitalism and to move away from short-term capitalism is actually the relevancy of capitalism in today’s world. Taking into account of all available psychological research Daniel Kahneman, 2011) and living in our technology dependent world, many economic models that are proving to be outdated (Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner, 2005). By this reasoning, capitalism, which is actually governed by the many economic models, may no longer be relevant today and should not be the default model used even though it is widely accepted because it generates capital. However, there are no other appropriate models available, then perhaps modification and adaption of capitalism to keep it relevant in today’s context is the way forward. Further Potential Problems Barton proposed on first focusing on the people who provide capital first as they account for 35% of the world’s financial assets. Aside from the above-mentioned points, he is actually suggesting that these investors should take up a growth-orientated mentality. Realistically speaking, only major investors have the ability to influence the management team’s view on capitalism. It is difficult to convince them as these investors are unlikely to forsake guaranteed instant returns in exchange for less guaranteed future returns even if it may be higher. Investors being rationale beings would seek what is best for them and they may weigh that uncertainty too risky for that slight increase in return. He also suggests that firms should not encourage employees (fund managers) to meet the high benchmark indexes if the employees use favourable methods in achieving those targets. This is a noble proposal but unfortunately would collapse in the working world. The reason would be because firms use benchmarks to evaluate one employee against the other. In addition, favourable methods can easily be facades of unscrupulous methods as employees pit against each other to meet or beat the benchmark indexes. These methods, whether favourable or not, can only be evaluated at a later date. By then, the damage may already be irreversible. The definition of favourable is open to multiple subjective interpretations. This may result in employees may result in employees being unsure of what is allowed and as a result standards may be sub-par or may even result in a uniform standard of work produced, which would result in the failure of the incentivized promotion system. All of this is under the assum ption that everyone has high moral standards. In this era of career-minded people, it is also high unlikely that they will settle to be an average Joe for the sake of long-term capitalism as they will strive to be different by achieving higher benchmark indexes. Conclusion His assumption that there is something wrong with the current system (short-term capitalism) in place now is founded but the methods in which he employs to tackle the problem, in my opinion, are only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Actions need to be taken, but to create a noticeable difference, the actions cannot target certain groups or firms with wrongdoing policies but must target the fundamentals such as the validity of meritocracy and capitalism. We should focus on fixing the fundamentals of meritocracy and adjusting capitalism to make it relevant to today’s context by reviewing the economic models, which they are based upon. Thereafter, then we should heed the Barton’s suggestions on transferring from short-term to long-term capitalism, if capitalism is still deemed to be a relevant economic model for our modern world. Reference: Anne T. Lawrence and James Weber. (2011). Stockholder Rights and Corporate Governnance: Chapter 14 from Business and society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy, 13th Edition Bill George. (2013, December) Bill George on rethinking Capitalism/ Interviewer: Willian George and Rik Kirkland [6:50]. McKinsey Company. Retrieved from  http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/bill_george_on_rethinking_capitalism Castilla, Emilio J., and Stephen Benard. â€Å"The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations.† Administrative Science Quarterly 55 (2010): 543-576.  © 2010 by Johnson Graduate School, Cornell University. Clayton Christensen. (2013, September) The Capitalist’s Dilemma/ Interviewer: Rohan Silva [24:47]. Royal Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.thersa.org/events/video/vision-videos/the-capitalists-dilemma Derek Van Bever and Clayton Christensen. (2014, June). The Capitalist’s Dilemma. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2014/06/the-capitalists-dilemma/ar/1 Generation Investment Management LLP. (2012). Sustainable Capitalism. Johan Carlstrom. (2013, June). Gore Says Capitalism’s Short-Term focus is Hurting Companies. Bloomberg. Retrieved from  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-17/gore-says-capitalism-s-short-term-focus-is-hurting-companies.html Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. (2005). Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. United States of America: HarperCollins. Steven N. Kaplan Bernadette A. Minton. (2008, August). How has CEO Turnover changed. Tim Koller, Rishi Raj and Abhishek Saxena. (2013, January). Avoiding the consensus-earning trap. McKinsey Company. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/corporate_finance/avoiding_the_consensus-earnings_trap United States of America. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. (2011). Final report of the National Comission on the causes and economic crisis in the United States. Daniel Kahneman. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. United States of America: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Appendix A The Economic Engine (Clayton Christensen, 2013)

Disclosure in Work Environments Essay -- Communication, Interpersonal

Open communication between individuals is very important. This quality is what makes relationships run smoothly between two or more individuals. Barnett, Cochran and Taylor explored significant relations between the openness of communication between management and employees in a previous study (1993). These researchers found that employees expressed concerns and the level of internal disclosures by employees in the study (Barnett et al., 1993). Barnett, Cochran and Taylor also found in their study that external whistle blowing may lead to â€Å"negative publicity, regulatory investigations, and legal liability issues† (1993). Trying to hold back or quiet employees may make the problem between the employees worse. Internal disclosures provide organizations an opportunity to explore and correct wrongdoing, and avoid the more negative consequences of external whistle blowing (Barnett et al., 1993). Disclosure in Work Environments 4 As sexual harassment can be a major topic in literature and in the workplace, organizations make sure to focus attention on the legal problems that may become evident if the harassment occurs (Bingham, 1991). Bingham investigated the interpersonal aspect of sexual harassment in this study to find how to eliminate the problem of sexual harassment (1991). In disclosure related situations, exchanging too much personal information to another employee can result in sexual harassment. In doing so, individuals must be careful in whom they are disclosing information to. Many individuals may feel uncomfortable in the situation. In many companies, sexual harassment is taken very seriously. Before an employee is hired at most companies they are explained the harassment precautions and regulations. In do... ...esearchers (Sias & Cahill, 1998). Peer friendships can offer a source of immanent rewards for employees. These rewards can protect against job-related anxiety, and can reduce job frustration and turnover (Sias & Cahill, 1998). By sticking together in the work environment, individuals are able to overcome obstacles at their employment. In doing so, individuals realize that they are not in it alone. The researchers found that peer friendships were based on both individual and circumstantial factors. For many, these workplace peers become more than just coworkers; they may also become friends (Sias & Cahill, 1998). The workplace did not act as a vessel for the friendships, but it played a significant role in the friendships developmental process. As their artificial influence decreased the friendship became closer and more interpersonal (Sias & Cahill, 1998).