Importance of Marketing Essay

Marketing helps guide businesses in making strategic decisions by identifying growth opportunities and developing creative ways to approach those opportunities. Through successful marketing, a business will conduct extensive research, strategize and plan, brand the product, conduct product development, train the sales force, establish points of purchase, use public relations, and follow-up with good customer service. Marketing is the activity of a business organization that identifies customers, markets, as well as market segments and develops products or services to meet the needs of the customers by offering value of a product or service in exchange for profits and revenues for the business. In brief, marketing informs, educates, and persuades and it is paramount to the achievement of business success2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. BackgroundMarketing can be described as advertising a product. Marketing occurs when a company is trying to persuade costumers to buy the product that they produce over another company’s product. Marketing includes intensive research so that the company can get an outlook at what is the current trend in the marketplace. The problem is that marketing in theory contains these following activities also known as the 4-Ps which are developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. 2.2. Purpose of the reportThis report aims to give basics of marketing comcept that is the most vital fact in business life for success. This report will tell why marketing has become so important in business life. 2.3. Statement of the problemAn organization cannot be successful unless the organization is satisfying its customers’ needs. This is because a product cannot simply be produced and expected to be sold. Although the idea for most is to create a product or service that â€Å"sells itself,† the product or service must create some consumer satisfaction to be able to sell itself. In order for there to be consumer satisfaction, economic utility must be derived from the product or service3. METHODOLOGY Information has been gathered through research of websites, journals and books as well as own interpretation and ideas on how marketing is seen important in contributing to the profitability of any company. 4. FINDINGS4.1. What is marketing?Marketing is a very general term that has no specific definition to it. However, it is best described as â€Å"A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It is an understanding of how the company works with its consumers and how it generates in the society. Marketing is seen to be the process of ‘bringing in the businesses’. It is not seen to be an alternative, but a necessity (Forsyth, 2004). Many people consider marketing as a tactic. However it is more than just a tactic. Marketing is analysis. According to Allen Weiss (2002), marketing is the analysis of customers, competitors, and a company by incorporating the understanding of competitive analysis and company capabilities into a general understanding of what the existing segments are. 4.2. Impact of MarketingMarketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs. Marketing can be defined as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. (Kotler, 2004) According to the American Marketing Association defines marketing as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders. (Kotler, 2004)According to the Marketing Principals book marketing can be defined as an organizational philosophy has been based on the marketing concept. This concept consists of three interrelated principles such as:†¢An organization’s basic purpose is to satisfy customer needs. †¢Satisfying customer needs requires integrated and coordinated efforts throughout the organization. †¢Organizations should focus on long-term success. Based on these definitions, explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. Marketing is important in an organization success. Marketing is a broad topic that covers a range of aspects, including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. Marketing is important because it creates the core for the company. Marketing helps provide a service for the customer. Making the customer happy is the goal of the company. If a company does not know what the client wants the company will not survive. The strategy in which the company uses is important to the company success. Marketing is the key for an organization to succeed. First, marketers create a need in the mind of consumers. If they do not have a need for the product, they won’t buy it. Then they have to come up with a product which will delight the consumers, and keep them coming back again and again. This is needed to build a long-term relationship with consumers. If marketing gets them to purchase the product once, this would be a good outcome, but marketing should work to make them into lifelong loyal customers. A company is coming out with a new produce which will revolutionize the building industry. It makes building homes effortless. Sales of the product are lower than predicted. Research has found that many people are unaware of the product. One has made an idea to have a campaign marketing the benefits of the new product. Customers began to realize that there was a great need for the product which was being advertised. So, the customers began to purchase the product. No awareness is equated to any sales. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)An established brand of toothpaste is seeing its sale’s drop. No one can understand why. The product has been used for years; however, the company has done little advertising in the past few years because the product was so well established. Once a new ad campaign hit the waves, sales increased once more. Why? Well customers forget about products if they are not reminded. To maintain long-term customers, they need to be continues reminded of the product and they need to remember how much the product delights them, and how well the product performs. But re-establishing advertising, one must reinforce the communication link with customers. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)A person is looking to buy a luxury car. They have the money, and one has the knowledge about the many competitors. What decision should the guy make? The guy ends up buying a car with the company that has the best customer relations. They buy it at the place where they are treated with respect and class, where they feel involved in every step of the journey, where they know they made the right decision. After they buy the car, their relationship with the company does not end there; the customer can join clubs, attend financial seminars, attend wine and cheese events. All things build customer relationships which are strong and make the consumer happy. And the next time the consumer is in the market for a new car, they won’t shop around – they will return to the same dealership. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)Marketing is more than just a company trying to sell the product. Marketing involves a great deal of research. Marketing also includes developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. One has to be able to understand marketing so that it can be used in real life situations. 4.3. Why Marketing is Importantâ€Å"Marketing management is accomplished by carrying out marketing research, planning, implementation, and control† (Kotler, 2004). Marketing plays a major role in every business. It is very important as it contributes to the profitability of the company itself. â€Å"Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong, value-laden relationship with customers and other stakeholders. â€Å"They must build strong economic and social ties by promising and consistently delivering high quality products, good service and fair prices,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Furthermore, when both customers and producers are mutually beneficial from this relationship, profitable transactions will follow. Knowledge of marketing strategy and market research is crucial in order to excel in marketing. 4.3.1 Five key factors to an effective marketingForsyth (2004) stated five factors which summarizes the effectiveness of marketing. a)Customer oriented. Company needs to focus on the wants and demands of the consumers. Profits come only after the consumers are satisfied. b)Continuously deployed. Marketing must be ready all the time as the company operates. c)Effective coordination. Marketing must logically co-ordinate its activities with the involvement of other departments and senior management team. d)Creativeness. Creativeness is needed during competitive times. By adding creativeness, marketing will be stronger. e)Underpinning culture. What makes marketing possible is not only depended on the people in marketing, but also the contributions from professional staffs in other departments are indeed needed (Forsyth, 2004). 4.3.2 Market Researchâ€Å"Marketing Research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information–information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). â€Å"By 1957 †¦ as markets moved from seller to buyer, new ideas of ‘marketing were taking hold. Companies began to grasp the importance of understanding what the consumers really wanted; it could no longer be assumed to be the same as it always had,† (V alentine & Gordon, 2000)Marketing research is basically the function that connects the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information. There are four steps of market research. The first step is defining the problem; this is the hardest step of market research. If an inexperience manager define the problem wrongly, the whole market research will be affected hence the information will be inappropriate. Once, the problem has defined, the manager should determine, the research objectives which may fall in the three categories such as exploratory, descriptive or casual research. The second step is designing the research which will consist of determining what information should be gathered and how data will be collected. In this case, the data can be primary data collection or secondary data collection. The third step is implementing the plan which usually can be done by the internal staff or external firm. After the plan has implemented, the raw data will be prepared in order to get the information. The last step is interpreting the data; the researches will need to present the overall information to the marketing manager to be carried out to the next marketing process. 4.3.3 Marketing EnvironmentIt is important to determine the environment that the company is working in. The marketing environment refers to the actors and forces outside the marketing management’s skills to cultivate as well as maintain successful transactions with targeted customers (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Certain environmental complications and issues can severely affect the profitability of the company. Environmental complications and issues include the breakdown of economy (local economy and international economy), inflation, boom, trend, customer’s dissatisfaction and others. The company should be able to adapt to such changes of the environment, or else the company’s profit will significantly decrease. This would affect the company’s growth as well as driving o ff loyal customers. 4.3.3.1 The micro-environmentIt could simply be defined as the forces nearest to the company, which affect the company’s capability of serving its customers. Certain types of micro-environments that the company needs to take notice of are, for example, other departments, major suppliers, marketing representatives, customers and competitors (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these environments can be ‘controlled’ by the company itself. 4.3.3.2 The Macro-environmentâ€Å"The macro-environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the whole micro-environment – demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these cannot be ‘controlled’ by the company. 4.3.4 Marketing Segmenting, Targeting, Positioningâ€Å"Market segmentation is the act of grouping customers in markets with some heterogeneity into smaller, more similar or homogene ous segments† (Dibb and Simkin, 2001). There are four variables that the business can choose to segment their markets; geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral variables. The business can choose to segment in one variable or a combination between two or three variables. However, in order to achieve an effective segmentation, the business should have the characteristic of measurability, accessibility, and substantiality and action ability. The next step, the business has to decide on which market segment they should target on, which classified of undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing or concentrated marketing. Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will enter, they must decide which ‘positions’ they want to occupy in those segments. Product position means â€Å"the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes; the place product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). They can position their products according to specific product attributes, benefits, users’ occasions, certain classes of users, against a competitor, away from competitor and product classes. In brief, by dividing market into a group of consumers who have a similar needs and wants, the business can achieve consumers’ satisfaction easier rather than if they concentrate on broadly market. Hence, when the business can satisfy the consumers, the consumers will develop a brand loyalty. â€Å"Customers can’t fully give loyalty until they believe a company genuinely cares about them and cares about their needs† (Hein, 2004). Moreover, as brand loyalty has formed, the business will be able to receive a profit, which should be supported with accurate product positioning. 4.3.5 Marketing MixMarketing mix is a set of â€Å"controllable marketing variables that the company combines to produce the feedback it wants in the targeted market† (Kotler, Brown, Adam a nd Armstrong, 2004). Marketing mix consists of 4Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Product is defined as â€Å"anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004).In order to produce a product, a business has to concern about the level of product; core, actual and augmented product. The core product is â€Å"the problem solving services or core benefits that the consumers are really buying when they obtained the product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Actual product is â€Å"product’s part, styling, features, brand name, packaging a d other attributes that combine to deliver core product benefits† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Whereas the augmented product is â€Å"additional consumer services and benefits build around the core and actual products† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The second element of marketin g mix is price. Price is â€Å"the amount of money charged for a product or the sum of value consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using a product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). There two factors that the business should apply before set up the price; internal and external factors. Then, they can choose which type of pricing that suit the product; cost-plus, value-based, competitive or relationship-based pricing. The third element is Place, which is defined as â€Å"making products available in the right quantities and locations when customers want them† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It includes physical distributions, inventory, location, transport, and channels. Intermediaries (marketing channel) are the one which distribute the product from the producer to consumer. The last element is Promotion. It simply means the transmitting merits of the products and persuading target consumers to buy them. At the start of the products lifecycle, promotion is necessary so that potential customers know of the existence of the product. Once the product grows, promotion must become more persuasive and encourage consumers to make a purchase. 4.3.6 ImplementationMarketing implementing is to translate the plans into actions. For the successful marketing implementation, â€Å"company has to blend these elements: action programs, organization structure, decision and reward system, human resources and company culture – into a cohesive program that supports its strategies† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). 4.3.7 ControllingMarketing control referred as â€Å"the process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans, and taking corrective action to ensure that marketing objectives are attained† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The manager should control the marketing implementation by setting a goal , measure and evaluate the performance and also correcting the error of implementation. 4.4. Marketing and BrandingProduct is the core of marketing, which including tangible goods like food or drinks or intangible services, as it is the major way to embody customers requirements; and, branding is directly associated with it. In fact, branding is all about decisio ns of products, like brand names or trademarks. Stork (2007) asserted that a brand is a unique business identity which represents the personality, quality or origin of products. And, such a product which added value by branding would appear in every activity of marketing, namely, branding is actually react on the whole marketing system directly and indirectly. In addition, Stork (2007) also argued that branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. This is significant, as it accords with the objective of marketing, and it is the first step to attract customers. By contrast with those basic branding factors, brand loyalty is more complicated but significant. Attracting customers is not enough, organizations demand loyalty of customers to brands to make them competitive among others. Therefore, based on the analysis of theories above, branding and brand loyalty is vital to successful marketing, but there are still many other factors could affect their importance within the dynamic environment, like the different industry will have different types of marketing and branding. Subsequently, the further and deeper investigation will be conducted with examples of Virgin Atlantic Airway, which is a super brand in airline industry. Virtually, Design Council of UK (2007) defined that the airline industry is difficult to operate. Fixed costs are high, demand can fluctuate quite dramatically and shortages of key airport infrastructure all make it difficult for airlines to operate profitably. Relatively, the marketing for airline industry is not easy as well; the promotion or pricing would be totally different to other industries like food or drink, because its products are distinctive. However, Virgin Atlantic is doing quite well in general, it is famous on its branding and its services and it did won many rewards on that, like it came out on top in a consumer survey of travel brands in 2006. (Business Source Premier, 2006) As discussed before, a brand is a unique business identity, and a well managed one would be the asset of an organization, and the marketing and financial value associated with its strength in a market is so-called brand equity. (Dibb et al, 2001) According to Dibb et al (2001), there are four main elements underlie the brand equity, which are brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand quality and brand associations. It is good for customers to know the brand names of products which they do or do not like, thereby, they can recognize and purchase products that satisfy their needs simply. Otherwise, the product selection would be complicated or even wrongly selection. At the same time, it is clear that brand name awareness is the very first step for sellers, which would cause familiarity; and a unique brand name or logo may reinforce the familiarity to be memorable, which will strongly remain custom ers to come again. Due to that, organizations should promote their brand names or logos as much as possible within this stage, to gain awareness of their brands from customers. For example, one of marketing techniques of Virgin Atlantic is to advertising activity in the UK includes TV, press, magazines, outdoor posters and taxi sides, all featuring their distinctive logo. Advertising is used to encourage people to try the airline, to raise awareness of new product developments and new routes. (Virgin Atlantic, 2007)The perceived brand quality means certain perception of customers over the brand quality. This sort of perception mainly depends on consumers’ using experiences or the way organizations branded. Well marketed brands would become the indicators of quality or choice making for consumers as they have less or no ideas about the quality of certain goods in some case. As branded of its services, Virgin Atlantic is giving their customers what they want, by offering limousine services, full m eal catering, multi-class services, and entertainment consoles on every seat-back. (Stealing Share, 2006) Thus, the perceived brand quality of Virgin aircrafts is quite high; customers probably would consider it firstly or secondly while they are choosing an airline that is good at customer services. Thirdly, the brand would be more attractive and memorable if it associated with certain lifestyle or other characteristics. Virgin is one of the best choices for illustrating this point. As one of extended brands of Virgin Group, Virgin Atlantic is absolutely under the organizational culture as well, which characterized by Richard Branson, the founder of the company. Virgin’s brand values are really Branson style, which are innovative, competitive challenging, fun and so on and this also embodies in Virgin Atlantic. For instance, Virgin’s design teams always working on challenging new technologies or services, like the design of its upper class suite. (Design Council, 2007) Or, the entertainment consoles on every seat-back shows their focus on providing fun to customers. Like other three elements discussed above, brand loyalty is also valued to brand equity thanks to its function. Dibb et al (2001) defined that brand loyalty is a strongly motivated and long standing decision to purchase a particular product or service. Once customers loyal to one specific product, the market share of that product for the company would be relatively stable, allowing the company to use its resources more effectively or obtain premium prices. In line with what discussed before, organizations could be competitive with a relative stable market share among their competitors through brand loyalty, and meanwhile companies can diminish certain costs like the cost of attracting new customers. Moreover, brand loyalty has three degrees that are recognition, preference and insistence. The recognition is just alike as awareness of brand name; customers realize that brand is an alternative to purchase. Brand preference is stronger than recognition, as customers is showing certainly prefers on one brand over others, but they would accept substitutes wh ile the brand is not available. The last degree is the strongest one as consumers would insistent on the particular brand and will accept no substitutes. (Dibb et al, 2001) Though, it is less to happen due to various reasons, like in the airline industry, it is difficult for customers to insistent on one brand thanks to limitation of airline routes and destinations. 5. CONCLUSION Marketing is a unique and vast area of business. All the success of a business depends on a successful marketing campaign. There is also much more to marketing than what is discussed here. One fundamental of any marketing program is that it work toward meeting the wants and needs of customers in the target area. Trying to force feed a product or service to an unwanting public is seldom successful and is very expensive. Which is why it is very important to research and develop all new marketing ideas so that they fit the product being offered. Do you sell ice cold lemonade on a freezing winter day? A better suggestion would be hot chocolate. However, innovation and new marketing techniques can be offered where you can do both at their respective seasons. Its all about marketing. The challenges and obstacles involved with corporate longevity are faced and championed through marketing and its strategies. Important aspects of marketing are the acquisition of new clients, branding, and influencing behaviors that encourage sales. Each of these categories promotes business expansion and prosperity. Each organization has their own recipe for marketing and succes. 6. REFERENCESD ibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell (2001), Marketing—Concepts and Strategies, Houghton Mifflin CompanyEleven lessons: Managing design in eleven global brands (Virgin Atlantic), (2007), In: Design Council [online]. Available from: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/managingdesign/Design-at-Virgin-Atlantic-Airways/Virgin-Atlantic-case-study-designing-the-upper-class-suite/Marcia Yudkin, Head Stork (2005-2007), the Benefits of Branding, In: Name At Last [online]. Available from: http://www.namedatlast.com/branding3.htmStealing Share (10/10/2006), Global Branding: Virgin Atlantic gets it Right, In: Stealing Share—Beyond Theory [online]. Available from: http://www.stealingshare.com/content/1160504877375.htmVirgin Atlantic (2007), Student Information Pack—Marketing, In: Virgin Atlantic Website [online]. Available from: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/ourstory/forstudents.jsp#marketingVirgin tops loyalty league (2006), Travel Weekly: The Choice of Travel Professionals (00494577), 00494577, 2006, Issue 1806 [online], In: Business Source Primer [online]. Available from: http://web.ebscohost.com.chain.kent.ac.uk/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=102&sid=a0e44807-1ff0-44bf-bf32-80e054ac90da%40sessionmgr104Forsyth, P (2004) ‘Marketing is a must’, IEE Engineering ManagementKotler, P., Adam, S., Armstrong, G.,

Does Inequality in School System Funding Contribute to the Cycle of Poverty

In Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol describes the conditions of several of America's public schools. Between 1988 and 1990, Kozol visited schools in approximately 30 neighborhoods and found that there was a wide disparity in the conditions between the schools in the poorest inner-city communities and schools in the wealthier suburban communities. How can there be such huge differences within the public school system of a country which claims to provide equal opportunity for all?It becomes obvious to Kozol that many poor children begin their young lives with an education that is far inferior to that of the children who grow up in wealthier communities. They are not given an equal opportunity from the start. He writes, â€Å"Denial of ‘the means of competition' is perhaps the single most consistent outcome of the education offered to poor children in the schools of our large cities . . . † (p. 83). Although all children are required to attend school until age 16, there are major differences in schools and they appear to be drawn along lines of race and social class.Kozol examines how the unequal funding of schools relates to social class divisions, institutional and environmental racism, isolation and alienation of students and staff within poor schools, the physical decay of buildings, and the health conditions of students. All of these contribute to a psychological disarray of the young people who recognize that the ruling class views them as expendable and not worth investing its money or resources. Kozol's focus of this book is to examine urban school districts, which are severely segregated by race and class.They are overwhelmingly nonwhite and very poor, which contrasts sharply with the wealthy overwhelmingly white suburban schools right next to them (p. 74). He limits his selections to poor inner-city schools rather than include examples of all poor schools because he feels that they best exhibit racial segregation and social class division s. He notes that even when schools have a â€Å"diverse† student population, segregation occurs within the school through special education programs or vocational tracking.Although Kozol does not directly address it, the center of the problems that affect these schools is a capitalist system that requires the reproduction of the divisions of labor (Bowles). Schools provide the training to meet this requirement through the tracking of students into the roles that they will fulfill in our economic system. The ruling class attempts to make sure that there are an appropriate number of people to fit these jobs. Capitalists (i. e. business owners) not only want an obedient workforce, but a surplus of workers at each level so that they can pay the lowest wage possible (Spring, p. 24). They will seek out and encourage programs that train people for such jobs. Who should be assigned each role? Kozol does point out that wealthy white people want to make sure their children get the â₠¬Å"good† jobs and live in the â€Å"good† (less polluted) areas. They benefit from the divisions of labor and will use their influence to maintain government policies that ensure their positions.When Kozol discussed funding inequities among school districts with a group of affluent students in Rye, New York, one student exhibited these beliefs when she said she had no reason to care about fixing the problems of school funding because she failed to see how it could benefit her (p. 126). She indeed recognized how the class divisions were to her advantage. Why would she want to change that? The policies that the ruling class creates to maintain their place on the social class ladder inherently lead to the continuation of the cycle of poverty, social class divisions, and environmental and institutional racism.Kozol provides examples of this, which range from the location of nonwhite, poor people on and near toxic waste sites (p. 8-12), to blaming problems of the inner city on the people within that system (they are unable to govern themselves, their children aren't worth the money it takes to educate them) (p. 9, 26, 75-76, 192-193), to the funding formula that allocates funds to public schools (54-56, 202, and throughout). It is this unequal funding of public schools that is Kozol's main emphasis in  Savage Inequalities.Funding based upon property taxes and property values discriminates against lower social classes, and this unequal funding leads to inferior schools and creates a wide disparity between schools in the poorest and wealthiest communities. Isolation of students, staff, and the community is a direct result of the inequities in funding. People who have poor schooling are funneled into jobs which are poorly paid and so the people not only have less knowledge, but have less money and influence with which to change the system (p. 7). Because they don't know how, nor have the tools necessary to break the cycle of poverty, they continue to re produce the class divisions and schooling that supports it. This in turn allows their children to be continually tracked and fed into the lower skilled jobs and schooling, which is a necessary component of the capitalist system. Kozol vividly illustrates the deplorable conditions of the poorest schools. In contrast, he provides colorful descriptions of the wealthiest suburban schools that neighbor them.He effectively demonstrates the racist conditions and social class discrimination that lead to the variations within the public school system as well as discusses the funding formula for America's public schools. His writing is exaggerated, I am sure, in order to make his point. He had an abundance of information and had to be selective (as anyone would) and when choosing what to include, he used the extreme examples to make his points clear. He may not have included schools because they did not exemplify his point, which is that there is a huge discrepancy in the quality of public sc hools depending on where one lives.Yet it still seems that he could have included more. What Kozol should have included was more information on his â€Å"research† methods. Perhaps this could be added as an appendix. How many schools did he visit in all? How many were elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools? How would he classify the schools he did visit? How many of the total would he say were very wealthy, awful, or a varying degree in between? Kozol provides descriptions of the worst of the worst, but his research only extends to a limited number of urban schools.He asks if what he sees is atypical of inner city schools (p. 36). Has he visited enough schools to determine that? It is true that there are those schools out there and they should not be like that, but do they represent the majority of urban schools across the country? He is selective in choosing and describing the worst of the schools located in the inner city, yet he leaves out any mention of the relative conditions of the other schools in the city. He also fails to include any examples of conditions of poor white suburban and rural schools and schools not at the middle class level.Perhaps Kozol could also include more on his views as to what the â€Å"minimal† requirements for a good school should be. What should all public schools have? He says that there should be more poor schools that resemble the better schools. Are the wealthy suburban schools examples of the minimum that â€Å"public schooling† should offer? Or shall they have somewhat less (not necessarily California) while poorer schools get a lot more? Are there minimum educational experiences that all students could expect in any public school?If parents wanted more than was provided by the public schools, they could demand more (for all) or they could provide tutoring or a private education for their children. Kozol suggests equalized funding as a solution to the lack of quality in urban schools. F unding alone will not solve the schools. There needs to be changes in the greater society that would have to occur simultaneously for real improvements to occur. Besides, equal funding does not mean equal schools. Would policy makers really want equal funding?If politicians really valued public education and believed in doing what would provide equal funding for ALL, plenty of money would â€Å"become available. †Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps my greatest problems with  Savage Inequalities are that Kozol does not deeply examine why things got the way they have as they relate to the purposes of schooling as described by Joel Spring (p. 18-26), and Kozol is all talk, no action. While he was visiting these schools, did he attempt to organize the schools, teachers, parents, and students? He observed the schools and was able to highlight the inequities present, but did he do anything?He had an ideal opportunity to initiate some organizing of those involved, yet the book does not suggest that he did much more than visit the schools and report back what he saw, heard, and felt. Since only part of the problem, albeit a large part, is how the schools are funded, one would need to look beyond the education system to find a solution which would really rectify the problems Kozol describes. Schools cannot truly be reformed without â€Å"reforming† the societal conditions that surround the schools.The schools are the way they are for a purpose–to reproduce the social divisions of labor (Bowles) and to maintain the capitalist economy of our country. When discussing how to solve problems of unequal funding, Jezebel, an eleventh grade student at Woodrow Wilson School in Camden, New Jersey addresses segregation and says that even if funding were the same, schools will not be equal. A very insightful young lady, she recognizes the degree to which the ruling class will prevent a fair education system and desegregation from developing as she realistically suggests that â €Å"it would take a war to bring us together† (Kozol, p. 55). Short of that, it is unlikely that these problems will be solved through any reform effort. To begin to solve the problems, people need to collectively stand together and fight for the rights of all the children to have an equal start in life. That means people need to know what is going on and that they can do something to change it. Kozol was right about that when he suggested that people may be more willing to revise the system if they understood how it worked (107), but how do you get people to look beneath the veil? Fifty-five years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Brown v.Board of Education case that school segregation policies are unconstitutional. Yet despite the moral victory of the Brown decision, in the decades since 1954 we have failed to create educational equality in America. Despite countless initiatives, hundreds of billions of dollars invested in various school improvement efforts, and the passage of a federal law that mandates that no child be left behind, we continue to see gaps in educational opportunity that disproportionately impact the lives of low income communities and communities of color across the fifty states. How can this be?In the wealthiest nation on earth, that has professed its commitment to eliminating these gaps for more than half a century, how can such glaring inequities persist? While we have gone to great lengths to experiment with education reform, we have done little to address the web of related social issues that together create the conditions necessary for educational success. We have spent our time and money focusing on things like toughening standards for students, making it harder to become a licensed teacher, and holding failing schools accountable for poor performance.And while many of these reform efforts have had some generally positive impact on the quality of education our children receive, all of these reforms ig nore the fact that no matter what we do in schools, students still live their lives in communities that reflect the systemic economic, racial and environmental inequalities that our society has yet to resolve. Like a patient with pneumonia who takes larger and larger doses of cough syrup and then wonders why they’re not getting better, we find ourselves treating primarily the symptoms of educational inequality rather than the root causes.If we hope to change our educational fortune, our society will need a cure that actually attacks the problem where it exists. It is only through a structural analysis of education that we can understand how issues like housing, school funding systems, and employment interact to shape our children’s ability to succeed in school. Let’s start by looking at the issue of housing. There is perhaps no single greater factor in determining one’s educational experience than where you live.Despite the moral victory of Brown, for the average low income black and Latino student in America today, schools are only marginally less segregated than they were in 1954 and are growing more segregated every year. 1   We have replaced the system of racial segregation with a system of residential segregation. Low-income blacks and Latinos are not explicitly forbidden from attending more affluent, majority-white schools because of their race, they are forbidden from attending because they are unable to secure housing in districts where affluent, high-functioning schools exist.This system, first declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1974 case Miliken v. Bradley, essentially means that middle class and wealthy white communities need only to prevent low income people and people of color from moving into their districts in order to maintain segregated schools. Even cities that have sought to voluntarily integrate schools, like Seattle and Louisville, have been thwarted by recent conservative Court rulings.    In actuality then, the great dream of integrated schools in America not only never fully materialized, what little progress had been made is being undone before our eyes. For many low income communities and communities of color, little has ever happened to disrupt what has for generations been a schooling experience defined by crumbling infrastructure, poor quality teaching, lack of resources for arts, music, athletics, and extracurricular activities, and high concentrations of poverty along with all of its destabilizing effects on the lives of children.To fully understand the structural connections between educational opportunity and housing, first we must understand how schools receive funding. The primary source of funding for most school systems is property taxes. This means wealthy districts with high property values not only have more to spend on education, they can actually tax themselves at lower rates than their less affluent counterparts and still raise more money for scho ols.Even within school districts with diverse populations, providing equal per pupil funding for schools that serve populations with dramatically different needs can result in schools that reinforce, rather than reduce, inequality. In New York City for example, where per pupil funding is constant3 in the public schools throughout the city, schools that serve students who come to school with a range of academic and social needs that are not being met at home are at a perpetual disadvantage when compared to schools that serve students from more affluent and less needy areas.The Bronx, for example, when compared to the other boroughs of New York city is notable for being home to the neighborhoods with the city’s highest concentrations of poverty, adult incarceration, unemployment, and adults who themselves have not attained a high school diploma. 4   Given these social factors, it is a virtual certainty that, on average, students from the Bronx will come to school with greater need for academic, social and emotional support than their less challenged counterparts in wealthier areas of the city.   The Bronx also has the lowest rates of home ownership in New York City, making students especially likely to change residences and schools multiple times. 4   Studies have shown this kind of mobility to be a strong indicator of low performance. 5   It is no surprise then that the Bronx has the lowest rates of students performing at grade level on standardized tests in Math and English in New York City. 4 Because of modern school segregation, low-income students not only struggle with poverty related issues at home but generally receive an inferior education at school as well.This combination creates a sense of hopelessness and the perception that the benefits of education cannot be realized among many in these communities. This leads many students to achieve below their potential and to disengage from school, leaving them with few opportunities for gainful employment or to secure housing in an area where better schools could serve their own children in the future. Together these structural forces create a self-reinforcing cycle of poverty (both economic and educational) that disproportionately impacts the lives of people of color in America.    The problems we face in closing gaps in educational opportunity and outcomes are not purely the result of inaction, or lack of effort, but rather the misunderstanding of the source of the problem. To succeed in eliminating educational inequality in this country we must begin to address the social and economic conditions in low income and minority communities. The prospect of this kind of systemic change can seem daunting, but here are three ways we can begin addressing the issue: EmploymentCreate strong incentives for businesses that locate long term, living wage, environmentally friendly employment opportunities in low income and minority communities. In cities like New York, low-income min orities often live in areas with few opportunities for gainful employment. 4   This compounds their geographic isolation, increases adult and teen unemployment, and forces parents to spend more time commuting to jobs in which they earn low wages.The presence of stable, living wage earning jobs in low income communities not only improves the economic fortunes of the area, it also provides a critical mass of role models who can reinforce for students the value of educational achievement. Health Care One of the more disastrous byproducts of poverty is many parents’ inability to support their child’s development and achievement in school. With inadequate access to physical and mental health care, vision testing, and nutritional counseling, many parents in low income and minority communities are unable to offer their children the support they need to be prepared for success in school.We would likely see greater gains in educational achievement among low income and minorit y students by investing in community support services like universal health care, school-based vision clinics, and mental health services, than we see from the billions we currently spend on No Child Left Behind reforms. 5  Ã‚   Housing Integration Simply put, we will not likely be able to achieve educational equality without a dismantling of the new class and race based separate-but-equal school system being reestablished in America.The best way to ensure school integration is through housing integration. To achieve this we need rigorous enforcement of the long neglected 1968 Fair Housing Act, which contains provisions to ensure municipalities structure housing policy in ways that don’t reinforce racial segregation. In addition, we need a comprehensive, national strategy to ensure that as affluent whites move back into city centers, and blacks and Latinos are priced out of gentrifying areas and into the suburbs, we don’t simply shift populations in still segregated schools. 1

Kecak Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kecak Dance - Essay Example This is apparent from the male gender’s checkered costumes won from the waist besides the performers’ array as they do the dance. From its inception to date, the dance has earned itself an incomparable fame globally owing to its magnificent aspects that comprise the entire performance, which this essay seeks to elaborate. Kecak Dance comprises an amalgamation of various Indian cultural exorcism movements and themes whose purpose entailed to narrate Ramayana account (Ubud). The dance represents 1930s’ work done by both Wayan Limbak and Walter Spies, where due to their immense and varied knowhow, emerged with a dance that is of its own category (Cormier). These composers sourced ideas from the Indian culture whereby they merged them with the knowhow they possessed with the intention of narrating Ramayana account by acting. This is manifested from the various aspects depicting Walter Spies’ artistic touch, for illustration, checkered pants, varied consumes ha ving dragon images, and the performers’ fascinating array while dancing. The dance’s creators intended to present their composition to the Western tourists, hence prompting Wayan Limbak to popularizing it globally. Therefore, Wayan Limbak ended up forming troupes meant to organize numerous functions globally with the intention of reaching many people (Cormier). Kecak dance is one of the numerous Indian expressions of Ramayana account. Principally, this is Hindu epic where artists from its inception have devised numerous ways to represent it, for illustration, carving and even using canvas (Bakan 88). The account starts with the arrival of Rama accompanied by his wife Sita and immediate brother Laksmana in the jungle. Owing to the Rama grandmother’s trickery, the trio found themselves exiled to the Dandaka forest where they thought would offer them privacy they needed. Conversely, all their actions and missions in the forest were under the observation of demon Ra hwana. The demon started lusting after Sita where it sought ways of separating the trio to abduct her from the two men. The accomplishment of this mission was via his prime minister who transformed himself to a golden deer to lure Rama away from the wife. Then the demon approached Sita in the form of a hungry priest desperately in need of assistance (Bakan 86). Finally, the trick succeeded, where Rahwana abducted the wife and proceeded with her to his palace. Rama and his brother on realizing what happened to Sita, they embarked on a search mission intended to rescue her from the demonic kingdom with the aid of Sugriwa’s monkey army. This is evident from the dance’s certain movements that are similar to those of monkeys, as they try to put off fire while engaging Meganada until they defeated him. Hence, the story acts as the theme if the dance where performers narrate it using actions besides chanting (Nettl et al 89). Initially, in 1930s the Kecak dance’s perfo rmers were only men, though as years progressed the organizers included women. Since, some of its scenes’ roles entailed female performers, for instance, the Sita’s position who was Rama’s partner. The most intriguing aspect of the Kecak dance is its unique mode of staging. Since, the audience without proper knowledge of its thematic account can perceive it as being illogical and loose interest. Therefore, the organizers mainly ensure there is adequate literature

How US & European Union Sanctions Impact Russia Essay

How US & European Union Sanctions Impact Russia - Essay Example They majored on this sector because they had background information that Russia’s domestic budget relied heavily on the sales of this product. The result from terrible double sanctions together with sliding oil prices, in November 2014 the Russian economy decreased by 0.5 percent that was that decline experienced over the period of five years. To the Russian economy, some adverse effects were experienced because of these sanctions and drifting of oil prices (Cotella). As per the trading record, the value of the dollar against the Russian currency dropped by about 20 percent on December 26, 2014. The exchange market had reached 80 rubles for one US dollar. Since the year 1998, this was the highest recorded rate, and this ventured the country to a debt default after the disarray from the previous crisis. In the initial rise of the dollar price, seemed ineffective. The later staged its way and staged its biggest rally in the duration of 16 years, and this prompted to scramble so that they could meet the tax deadline. The Russian government wanted to put this into practice by forcing the exporters to convert their foreign exchange into Russian currency (Jones and Whitworth). The Russian central bank found itself in unexpected and vast scrambling rates, and this was targeting to rectification in giving a ruble a hand. Currency speculation and crushing blow were another meaning of the experienced higher rates. The potential spark of massive short covering was an anticipation of turnaround of the ruble to maintain the position that it was holding. The consumers and corporations also faced the tragedy of higher rates of interest when was a havoc (THE MONTH IN BRIEF: IS Oil Installations Attacked, Libyan Output Recovers And EU And US Prepare More Sanctions Against Russia). The combinations of sanctions and reduced oil prices lead to depression and rises. The Russian central bank said that in a the circumstance where crude oil averages 60 dollars per barrel on

Write a paper that explains where I am so far in school and what I Essay

Write a paper that explains where I am so far in school and what I have accomplished - Essay Example Thereafter, I learnt the business mathematics that includes average, mixtures, and computation of interest. In addition, as a part of mathematics, I learnt how to handle discounting of bills, how to calculate percentages, ratios and proportions. Thereafter, there was elementary statistics that included geographical presentation of statistical data, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion etc. Thereafter, there was introduction to computer that taught how computer is used in the business world, and the purpose of various software. In addition, this gave me an idea on how various programs are effectively used in various business needs. As a part of this, I got a chance to learn more about the practical use of internet and email. Thereafter, there was practical training on typing and keyboarding that helped me gain proficiency in the same. The last part was business office practices and procedures. This part gave an insight into the various common procedures in the business offices, and the ethics one should adhere to in such situations. Now, the remaining parts are business English, business operations essentials, email applications and programs, data processing and spreadsheet skills, presentation application skills, and business office procedures and practices. Business English means the English language used in international business. According to Guffey, it is important to learn this because it enhances ones ability to interact with people from various countries (xv). In addition, the rapid growth in technology made businesses global with business operations around the world. So, it is very important to have good knowledge of business English for effective negotiations. The next part to be covered is business operations skills that will provide more knowledge about different components of an office workstation, various purchasing systems, different ways of charting

Solid State Hard drive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Solid State Hard drive - Research Paper Example Thus, it offers faster access time than a disk since the data can be randomly accessed and does not depend upon a read/write interface head synchronizing with a moving disk. In addition, it also offers better material flexibility to physical vibration, noise and excessive temperature change/variation. However, there is a problem with it that is its higher cost per MB of storage (StorageSearch) and (Crothers). Kyrnin (2009) states that fundamental principle of solid state drive’s working is that there should be no circulating or moving disk parts. In other words, these disks have no moving heads or spinning platters. Additionally, in solid state hard drive data is spread over numerous word length pieces and stored in memory. In addition, the data from the hard drive is accessed instantly using a technique unique system-wide addresses searching. Moreover, this action has been employed in computer RAM (Random Access Memory) for several years, however for a long time it was too costly for companies that manufacture SSD (Kyrnin). According to Rankin (2009), the solid state disks employ either SDRAM (volatile and non-volatile storage respectively) or NAND flash. Though, NAND flash is acknowledged as the NAND-gate technology that is widely used in USB flash drives as well as in a lot of different memory cards. Additionally, the NAND flash is based on the drives that are persistent as well as are able to successfully replicate a hard disk drive. On the other hand, SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) is a volatile memory and needs an additional power source if it is to function separately from a computer (Rankin). According to Kyrnin (2009), the solid state hard drive basically looks similar to the traditional hard drive and has no apparent difference from traditional hard drive. On the other hand, the new solid state hard

Discretion in the stop and search context have come under much Essay

Discretion in the stop and search context have come under much scrutiny as it has widely been linked to racist practices.Discuss - Essay Example Although stop and search normally happens in public places, it may also be implemented in certain private areas. However, police discretion to stop and search individuals in public has become one of the most contentious aspects of British policing, and several empirical researches, anecdotal evidences, and survey data point to the ineffective and discriminatory use of the police powers. Significantly, the question of police powers to stop and search people has become one of the central questions in the debate about the relationship between police and community. Most notably, discretion in the stop and search context give rise to several related issues including racist practices and it remains a bare fact that Black people are more likely to be stopped than White people. As Bowling and Phillips (2007) maintain, â€Å"the statistics show that the use of the powers against black people is disproportionate and that this is an indication of unlawful racial discrimination. If stop and sea rch powers cannot be electively regulated – and it seems that they cannot – then their continued use is unjustified and should be curtailed.†1 Therefore, it is fundamental to establish that discretion in the stop and search context has come under much scrutiny as it has widely been linked to racist practices. This paper makes a reflective exploration of the use of discretion in the stop and search in relation to racist practices. Discretion in the Stop and Search and Racist Practices The fundamental relationship among the concepts of ethnicities, racism, crime, and criminal justice has been widely acknowledged in the various empirical studies in criminology. Significantly, the modern strategies of police and policing affect the minority communities and ethnic groups. Ever since the beginning of post-colonial migration to the U.K., the relationship between policing and minority ethnic communities have been characterised by mistrust, resentment, and suspicion. As W hitefield (2004) maintains, the anti-immigrant attitudes and insensitive policing of the early years of post-colonial migration developed ‘mistrust, resentment, and suspicion’ between the police and minority ethnic communities. For example, the West Indian Standing Conference report by Hunte (1966) draws attention to police officers going â€Å"nigger hunting †¦ to bring in coloured person at all costs.† 2 Significantly, oppressive policing against African, Caribbean, and Asian communities takes the form of mass stop and search operations, the improper use of paramilitary methods, disproportionate surveillance, groundless armed raids, etc. â€Å"Among the various aspects of the relationship between the police and minority ethnic communities, it is the practice of ‘stop and search’ that has been the most contentious.† 3 Therefore, police discretion in the stop and search context has given rise to heated debates in criminal justice seeing t hat it has widely been linked to racist practices. First of all, it is essential to realise what ‘stop and search’ exactly means and what are the various contexts in which the police discretion in the stop and search is applicable. According to the Vagrancy Act of 1824, any individual in suspicious context could be arrested and prosecuted by the police, and there are evidences to establish that this discretionary power of the police

Q8Na Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Q8Na - Essay Example Workers participation and empowerment is apparent whereby they are more involved in decision making process, can set own goals and solve problems through action learning (Dunton, 2008). Communication is open to all in the organization hence more commitment to planned programs and a basis for learning organization culture (Salem, 2008). Functional teams are emerging unlike in the past where individual work was encouraged. The top management sets the vision, mission and objectives and the whole organizational is involved in ensuring they are met. Training and development of employees is also evident. Organizations are transforming into learning organizations. A culture of learning through mistakes is also encouraged as opposed to punishing employees for making mistakes hence hindering learning. Total quality management techniques are also emerging and use of internal and external consultants to help the management through change process. Appreciative inquiry method of management is bei ng embraced in organizations to support positive culture (Faure, 2006). The economy is becoming more globalized, workforce more dynamic and educated and environmental responsibility is on the rise. In future organizational development therefore will be more technologically enabled. Organizations will be involved in more networking and e-commerce and have greater productivity. For example, the organization will be able to serve more customers and employees can work from anywhere through use of technology. There will be more innovations and learning and client base will be diverse due to development in information and technology. Organizational development practitioners will require more competence to deal with diverse clients and cross-cultural teams. Transformational leadership will be required to deal with the emerging issues. Change is inevitable in

Smoking and its effect on society Essay Example for Free

Smoking and its effect on society Essay Many people believe that they are in control of their own lives. They believe that their lives are based upon choices they make as individuals. For me on the other hand it is different. I have given my choice away. Throughout my entire life I have been waiting to attain a feeling of independence and a sense of power over my decisions. However, over the past couple years I have succeeded this power, this choice to an addiction that impacts individuals and families all over the world. In high school I was a three sport athlete whom had the opportunity to play at the college level in both soccer and basketball. But like I previously stated I gave my choice away when I began the treacherous addictive habit of smoking cigarettes. When I wake up every day I make a list of things I need to get done that day, I never write down smoke a cigarette but in the back of my mind there is always a plan for smoking a â€Å"bogie†. Imagine waking up every morning and needing a drink of anything you can get your hands on just so you can breathe. This is what I deal with on a daily basis. I am constantly thirsty, out of breathe, and congested. My day is run by when to smoke one. I have a cigarette when I wake up, drink coffee/red bull, after a meal, on the drive to class, on the drive home from class, while I’m doing homework, after sex, when I get bored, and before bed. I smoke a little more than ten cigarettes a day, so let’s do the math for how much I spend in a year for cigarettes. If we round it to half a pack a day, that means I smoke a pack of cigarettes in 2 days. If there are 365 in a year, that’s 182. 5 packs I smoke a year. In today’s economy cigarettes in New York go for $10 a pack, that’s the cheapest you can buy a single pack of Newport’s, which are my cigarette of choice. So if you multiply 182. 5 times 10, that’s $1825 a year I spend on cigarettes. To put this number in perspective for you, the tuition costs here at Clinton Community College for a full year is 3,960. So for one semester it’s $1,980. Essentially this means that if I wasn’t addicted to nicotine I could just about pay for a whole semester of college each year rather than buy 182. 5 packs of cigarettes. For now a pack every two days isn’t a death sentence, but if it’s one thing that is true about addictive habits it is that they only get worse. On this pace within years I could be gradually progressing my addiction to the point where I smoke a pack, maybe even two a day. At this point I struggle sometimes to even find the cash to get a pack, so I can only imagine the financial hardships that await me if my disease progresses. My finances aren’t the only part of my life that is impacted by my nicotine addiction, my health has also suffered an extreme amount. Throughout my whole life I have been the kid yelling one more; one more throw, one more kick, one more shot. Even though I have always dealt with a mild case of asthma, sensational has been the only word to describe my athletic performance between the lines on a field or court. My senior year in high school I ran a 5:40 mile, today I would be lucky to run for 5 straight minutes let alone almost complete a mile during it. Coming out of high school I was recruited by the Plattsburgh Men’s soccer coach to play center half back, which if you know anything about soccer is basically the position which requires the best athlete with the best conditioning on the entire team. In the spring of 2009 I tried my first cigarette. At first I hated it, made me cough, feel sick, and smelt horrible. But then I kept smoking them, soon I began to crave the high of smoking one. Whether it was morning, noon, or night when I wanted one I had to have it. Eventually the summer came and since I was recruited by SUNY Plattsburgh I was required to get myself in to tip top shape before I went up there for preseason. Instead I fed into my addiction and smoking cigarettes led to less energy, which led to partying more than I ever had my entire life. This new phase of my life where every other night there was a graduation party just furthered my habits. It was a phase that to this day I still believe opened doors I was never able to close. By the time preseason had come around I was in the worst shape id ever been in. There were certain expectations I was supposed to meet and I couldn’t have been further from that point. Instead of being a freshmen stud starting on a college soccer team, I became a reserve who could not even go on away trips with the team. My addiction of smoking not only took a toll on my health that year, but also my life. I had failed to meet one of the goals I had worked so hard for my entire life. At this point I came to a realization that cigarettes were my kryptonite, they made me weak and were slowly but surely killing me. A person who hasn’t dealt with addiction will say why don’t you just stop, it’s a choice just don’t do it. What these people don’t understand is that I not only don’t have a choice but I am not one bit in control of anything, nicotine owns me, runs me and fuels me. I am one of many Americans either directly or indirectly effected by smoking. Our society has been very progressive in encouraging people to refrain from smoking. The biggest weapon used is just flat out information. Just reading over these facts makes me want to throw my pack in the toilet as we speak. There are more than 4,800 chemicals in cigarette smoke, and 69 of them are known to cause cancer (Kenny, 2012). Also 90% off lung cancer deaths and 80-90% of emphysema and chronic bronchitis deaths are due to smoking (American Lung Association, 2014). Smoking decreases the life of the average male by 13 years (American Lung Association, 2014). The average male in the U. S. is expected to live until 77. By smoking my entire life I am decreasing my life expectancy from 77 years to 63 years, scary to think about. A scary fact to hear is about second hand smoke. Smoking at home, in your backyard, or alone in your car is one thing because it is mainly only effecting yourself. Smoking in public however is a whole separate issue. In one year there are approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually due to second hand smoke (Facts about Smoking and Tobacco Use, 2014). Those are people who die because of cigarette smoke and they aren’t even the ones smoking them, pretty cruel way to die. Smoking has greatly affected our society since the appearance of these statistics. Work places, public parks, and many other places have all out lawed smoking there, and if they haven’t outlawed it they have designated smoking areas away from the majority of people. Over the past 50 years our society has changed its perception of smoking. Years back the social structure of the world made it out to be a cool thing to do. If you didn’t smoke you were an outcaste, you would almost be looked down on. Back then it was a common thing to smoke in people’s homes, in movie theaters, even on planes and in restaurants. I can remember when I was a kid my family would go out to eat and we would have to say non-smoking section so we wouldn’t choke on our food while eating because of all the smoke. They used to promote smoking by having celebrities be their icons of the product to draw attention of the fans, or used mascots like a cowboy to signify manliness and strength, and some companies even stooped so low as to use animals as their mascots in order to make smoking friendlier towards children. Society truly does dictate what is considered a norm and what is considered to be irregular or strange. Today all of those things are illegal because a majority of the people believe those methods to be dishonorable and misguiding. The social structure of our society is constantly changing and maybe one day society as a whole will realize how harmful smoking is to the individual as well as the group and outlaw it completely. In this paper I have talked about my addiction to nicotine because it is a problem I deal with on a daily basis. This addiction of mine has effected many areas of my life including work, relationships, health, school, even self-esteem. Through writing this paper I have realized what a financial toll this habit has already taken on my wallet, thousands of dollars have been stolen from me by my addiction. In addition and more importantly, this addiction has already possibly taken years off of my life which is an eye opener that one cannot turn their back on. In conclusion smoking cigarettes has not only impacted my life, but is a nasty habit that effects the lives of individuals and families all over the world.

The Definition of Reality Essay Example for Free

The Definition of Reality Essay The quote which Christof made in the movie â€Å"The Truman Show† depicts the narrow-mindedness of the human brain the inability to search for the truth. Humans get used to the idea of a particular habit of living, which disables them from reaching the ultimate truth. Therefore, reality is the achievement of the questioning of the world around us to find the perfect truth which should be accepted, to live without the conflict that our world presents itself with. In numerous situations in life, people confirm to the ideas prevalent in their society. Whether it is a certain ideology, fashion style, religion or anything, people usually take it upon themselves to follow it, even though it might not make sense. They climb onto the bandwagon with everyone else, thereby conforming to the popular ideas. However, if one pondered about such ideologies, one would find loopholes, errors and petty misunderstandings within such worldly ideologies. Reality, however, does not and should not have any sort of fallacy. Reality is like the diamond, glittering between the darkness of the other rocks it is buried with. If one scoured the whole place meticulously and with the correct mindset, one would notice the glimmer of the diamond. Reality, thus, is individuality, which makes one appreciate uniqueness and consider ideologies without throwing one’s sense away and following the widely held idea. Gaarder depicts such a situation in his book â€Å"Sophie’s World†. Most people conform to society and slide down into the rabbit’s fur, making themselves comfortable without using their brain, while the best way is to cling on to the edges of the rabbit’s fur, seeing, questioning, interrogating and actively reading through the world’s mysteries to reach that shimmering diamond of reality. Reality is freedom. Because reality is the ultimate truth, it will set one free. Truman is trapped in Seahaven Island because he does not the truth. Born and raised in Seahaven, he knows nothing else. He does not know actual reality, therefore, he is confined. Up until in the movie, Truman had been accepting the world with which he was presented. And that is what all human beings do which is why each and every one of us is trapped in a world that we accept unconsciously. Once we break the barriers of such confinement and realize that it is ultimate truth that we were seeking the whole time and that helped us from such entrapment, we are left with the glittering diamond of reality. Similarly, the people who have slid down the rabbit’s fur have confirmed themselves to the cozy and warm interior of the world they know, accepting, with blind faith, the surroundings they are surrounded with. Truth or reality is the only way towards the questions that has haunted the human race for centuries. Who are we? How was the universe created? Who or what was the cause for creation? What is the purpose of our lives and our universe? An endless stream of questions runs on and on. In the â€Å"Truth Project†, Dr. Tackett explains the fallacy of searching for the answers to such â€Å"universals† in the particulate and natural world around us. Reality is the answer to the universal questions through the acceptance of divinity, authenticity and common reasoning. With the assumption of the existence of God, it is unambiguous that He is the basis for reality- the point that philosophers and cultures from centuries ago have been trying to prove. The idea of divinity of a Supreme Being controlling is the ultimate truth and reality of our existence. Such an idea is of more worth than diamond, gold or silver put together, and thus one would achieve the epitome of reality and truth when he realizes it. Many people state and strongly believe in a multi-faceted reality, in which reality is the perspective of each and every person. In other words, reality is relative, and takes different shapes and forms with each person. This would mean that truth is defined as however each person defines it- truth is relative. However, this is just a notion of the modern ages. It is widely accepted that truth and reality are absolute- there can only be one. By stating truth as relative, according to ‘allaboutphilosophy. org’ people are engaging themselves in a petty fallacy of circular reasoning. They reject the absolutist nature of reality by stating that reality is relative, wherein they are stating an absolute statement, which contradicts their relativism. Reality or truth is absolute- there is only one real way. Many paths may look similar, however- and that is where critical thinking plays a huge role- one must critically examine all the nuances and scrutinize all the â€Å"fine print† before walking down that path. The assumption of a living and supreme God being the reality of our purpose and creation is an ideal that many people refute- atheists, humanists etc. The proof of the suffering in the world and the seemingly cruel and selfish reality of the world- which they perceive because of their narrow-mindedness—seems to present to them evidence against the existence of the supreme being. However, C. S. Lewis and his arguments for the real existence of God prove otherwise. Of course, reality would be worthier than diamond itself, but for this essay’s sake, we would make such an extended analogy. Reality is the ultimate truth that should be seeked by each and every one in their life. The various positive definitions of reality serve to motivate anyone to search for the truth through critical thinking and determination to appreciate the world’s ultimate truth and the struggle to get to that particular destination.