Existentialism Essay Essay

Ever wonder why we have the term â€Å"free will† or where it originated? People believe that an individual can discover themselves as a person and choose how to live by the decisions they make; well this is where the word existentialism comes into play. Existentialism has been around since the early nineteenth century with Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophical and theological writings which, in the twentieth century, would be recognized as existentialism. The term was first coined by Gabriel Marcel, the French philosopher and later adopted by Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche and other philosophers for whom human existence were key philosophical topics; but Kierkegaard is known as the â€Å"Father of Existentialism†. Existentialism proposes that man is full of anxiety and despair with no meaning in his life, simply existing, until he made a decisive choice about the future. That is the way to achieve dignity as a human being. Existentialists felt that adopting a social or political cause was one way of giving purpose to life. Since then, existentialism has been used by writers such as Hamlet, Voltaire, Henry David Thoreau, in Buddha’s teachings, and more. Throughout the years, existentialism has been viewed from various lenses to express different ideas, emotions, as well as to expand the thought process of readers, movie go’ers, and theater lovers everywhere and has been excessively used in Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war novel Slaughterhouse Five, Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, and in the movie Inception. Existentialism is a concept that became popular during the Second World War in France, and just after it. French playwrights have often used the stage to express their views about anything going on in the world. There were â€Å"hidden meanings† that were common throughout the period so that plays would be able to pass without being banned or censored. One who wrote best-selling novels, plays and widely read journalism as well as theoretical texts during this period was Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre had been imprisoned in Germany in 1940 but managed to escape and become one of the leaders of the Existential movement in France. Sartre dealt with existentialist themes in his 1938 novel Nausea and the short stories in his 1939 collection The Wall, and had published his treatise on existentialism, Being and Nothingness in 1943, but it was in the two years following the liberation of Paris from the German occupying forces that he and his close associate became internationally famous as the leading figures of a movement known as existentialism. A major theme throughout his writings was freedom and responsibility. One other extremely popular writer and playwright during the same time as Sartre, as well as a close friend, was Albert Camus. In a short amount of time, Camus and Sartre became the leading public intellectuals of post-war France achieving, by the end of 1945, â€Å"a fame that reached across all audiences. † (Existential Primer: Albert Camus) Camus rejected the existentialist label and considered his works to be concerned with facing the absurd. In the Titular book, Camus uses the analogy of the Greek myth of Sisyphus to demonstrate the futility of existence. In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned for eternity by the gods to roll a rock up a hill; when he reaches the summit, the rock will roll to the bottom again. Camus believes that this existence is pointless yet Sisyphus ultimately finds meaning and purpose in his task, simply by continually applying himself to it. For Camus, this related heavily to everyday life, and he saw Sisyphus an â€Å"absurd† hero, with a pointless existence. Camus felt that it was necessary to wonder what the meaning of life was and that the human being longed for some sense of clarity in the world, since â€Å"if the world were clear, art would not exist. † (Existential Primer: Albert Camus) â€Å"The Myth of Sisyphus† became a prototype for existentialism in the theatre and eventually inspired Beckett to write Waiting for Godot. In Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, existentialism manifests itself in a few ways; the frustration of trying to understand the meaning in life, the continued repetition seen throughout the play, and the inability to act. What remains archetypal in Waiting for Godot, concerning the absurdist metaphor is the way in which each character relies on the other for comfort, support, and most of all, meaning. Vladimir and Estragon desperately need one another in order to avoid living a lonely and meaningless life. The two together functions as a metaphor for survival, like the characters that proceed and follow them, they feel compelled to leave one another, but at the same time compelled to stay together. They consider parting, but, in the end, never actually part. Andrew Kennedy explains these rituals of parting saying, â€Å"each is like a rehearsed ceremony, acted out to lessen the distance between time present and the ending of the relationship, which is both dreaded and desired†(57). Therefore, Vladimir and Estragon’s inability to leave each other is just another example of the uncertainty and frustration they feel as they wait for an explanation of their existence. One of the most prevalent themes in Waiting for Godot is Estragon and Vladimir’s inability to act. When Estragon says â€Å"Let’s go†, Vladimir says â€Å"We can’t†¦ We’re waiting for Godot† (page 7). They are not even sure that Godot will come, or that they are waiting at the right place. Even if he doesn’t come, they plan to wait indefinitely. Even if he doesn’t come, they plan to wait indefinitely. After witnessing Pozzo’s cruelty to Lucky, Vladimir and Estragon are outraged. Yet they are still unable to do anything to improve Lucky’s situation. Pozzo lets Estragon and Vladimir know that they do not have control over their immediate future or even their distant future. When talking about the mysterious twilight, Estragon and Vladimir relate to waiting for Godot. So long as they know what to expect, waiting is their only course of action. Since Estragon and Vladimir can never make a decisive choice about what they want to do or about their future, their life seems to have no meaning.

Breastfeeding and the Sexual Objectification of Women

Female breastfeeding and sexual objectivation Women's sexual objectivity is harmful not only for women but also for their children and even the environment. This objective may interfere with women breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is very beneficial for mothers, babies, and the environment. Breastfeeding children are unlikely to cause ear infections, allergies, vomiting, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, chronic gastrointestinal disorders, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, bacterial meningitis, breastfeeding is sudden I know that it helps to prevent death. Illness (SIDS), lactating women are low The concept of sexual objectivization, especially women's objectiveness, is an important idea in feminist theory and feminist psychology. Many feminists believe that sexual objectiveness plays an important role in sexual inequality. Psychologists associate objectivity with the physical and mental health risks of women. The male objectivity of men includes women who are mainly considered male sexual desires rather than whole people. There are disagreement about discomfort, but many feminists believe that women are objectiveized in ads, art, and sexually oriented accounts in the media. In prostitution, men evaluate or judge gender and aesthetics of women in public places and activities such as beauty contests. Men play a role in reducing women's sexuality, especially in male friendship groups and the environment, and by reducing the consumption of media by sex. But women also promote women's sexuality and self-objectiveness. For example, in many female groups, we habitually critically evaluate the appearance of ourselves and others and talk about clothes, hair, weight and cosmetics. Mothers often educate their daughters self-objectively by focusing on their daughter's weight and clothing, and by overly focusing on the appearance of the body through imitation. Self-objectiveness exerts a certain influence on the thought processes and actions of women's physical activity a nd sexual activity, but it is unlikely that emotions on the body of a woman, including functions that can not be separated from the body of a woman, such as menstruation and breastfeeding Also relevant. Consistent with the theory of objectiveness, habitual physical monitoring is a feature of self-objectiveness that influences the influence of women on the body (Breines, Crocker, Garcia, 2008). For example, in a qualitative survey, we believe that women's samples of self-identifying feminists express themselves boldly care about their bodies and are trained by others in terms of appearance, speech, and behavior It was. ), Page 34

Validity of qualitative research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Validity of qualitative research - Essay Example ent to which results, as the researcher presents them, are consistent with the offered perceptions by the research participants in a study (Lodico, Spailding and Voegtle, 2010). Many strategies exist for improving validity or credibility in a qualitative research. Extending a study to cover a long period is one of the strategies to improving validity. This offers sufficient time for interaction between a researcher and research participants and reduces chances of misconceptions towards data that do not represent perception of research participants or reality on observed phenomenon. An ethnographic study is an example and longer period allows the researcher to understand cultural values of participants into observed behavior. Triangulation is another strategy for improving validity of a qualitative study. This involves application of more than one strategy in the research process. An example is the use of observation together with interviews in data collection to ensure consistency in collected data. Obtaining validation from research participants is another approach to improving validity or credibility in a qualitative research and may involve secondary con tacts with participants for confirmation of collected data (Yin, 2011). My experience with qualitative research at academic and professional levels justifies this. Studies on perception towards arts for marketing purposes are

Which Criteria Might Be Most Appropriate for Assessing the Essay

Which Criteria Might Be Most Appropriate for Assessing the Sustainability of Building Materials - Essay Example The resources used to fuel this economic growth (fossil fuels, minerals, fresh water, wood etc.) are being depleted at a very alarming rate. Issues such as global warming, pollution etc. has raised concerns about the future of life on the planet. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the community of scientists and engineers are now promoting sustainable practices in the various fields of engineering (Braganca, Mateus and Koukarri, 2010). This includes lesser dependence on the fossil fuels with increased power production from renewable energy resources, energy conservation through more efficient production systems and building designs and the use of sustainable and recyclable materials in construction industry and consumer goods. The construction industry currently consumes a huge amount of resources mainly the building materials such as structure steel, concrete, cement, sand, gravel, wood, and glass etc. The current annual consumption of structure steel in USA alone is 7.1 millio n metric tones. On the completion of its lifecycle, as the building is destroyed for renovation or incorporation of new designs, this material is usually dumped in waste land and creates environmental issues. Moreover, the materials traditionally used for construction such as masonry bricks and concrete are good conductors of heat and hence they significantly increase the energy consumption for cooling and heating the building. Operation and maintenance of buildings is also a very important concern while selecting the building materials. Deterioration of traditional building materials causes waste materials to escape in to the atmosphere. The maintenance of buildings usually causes use of the same materials with the same drawbacks. It is also reported that the traditional construction materials are responsible for toxic emissions to both outdoors and indoors of the building causing damaging effects on the human health. The above discussion shows that the traditional practices involv e wastage of materials and energy and in most of the cases has deteriorating effects on the environment. It is hence of great importance that the materials used for construction must be environment friendly and sustainable. When it comes to engineering design and material selection process, it is important that the decisions are made on the basis of quantified data rather than abstract observations and experiences. It is important to measure how much a material is environment friendly or to what extent it has the damaging effect on the environment. Hence as the first step towards the use of sustainable materials in the building design, the criteria on which the sustainability of a building is measured should be specified. This paper discusses the research made in this regard and summarizes the criteria used by different researchers and in different regions around the globe. According to Oxford dictionary sustainability is defined as the ‘conservation of the ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources’. With reference to the building materials, the term implies that the selection of building materials should be made considering the environmental effect of their production and usage. Such materials should be given preference which are recyclable, have none or negligible emissions, have very low carbon foot print during their production and transportation. There are several different properties which are desirable in building materials in order to increase their sustainability. The manufacturing processes for the materials should involve minimum green house gas emissions or other harmful environment effects. The emissions from the building mate

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Assignment - 4

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Assignment Example The business planning process consists in following some step by step processes which needs to be documented for an organization to have a clear insight and direction for work. Critical appraisal of the business planning process The business planning process has a lot of loopholes and most traditional business plans are criticized to be overtly formal and rigid. Here we will critically appraise a business planning process. Idea generation The first step of a business plan is the visualization of a new product or service which the enterprise desires to provide. In fact it outlines the key to future growth prospects. However, before taking a decision as to which product or service should be started, a thorough market research including customer’s preferences should be conducted. Most organizations rely on the traditional methods in order to research on the idea generation and come to a decision. The traditional techniques are usually based on the inputs provided by customers and these may be extremely biased. These techniques identify a target market for the product or service and randomly conduct a customer focused survey to come to a conclusion (Lilien et al. 2002). Another key barrier to the idea generation process is that firms may hurriedly decide and document a product or a service idea. In this case thorough research may not have been conducted probably due to lack of skill and knowledge and faulty processes (Flint 2000). Hence; most business ideas may never be implemented. Other constraints faced by firms may be with reference to garnering sufficient funds to start a business. If the firm is not able to procure funds then the business idea is scrapped and the top management has to again come out with a new business idea. Strategic objectives The next step in the business planning process consists in setting short term and long term goals and strategies. It is very necessary to set up goals so that a pre determined path can be chalked out to attain strategic objectives. However, most planners may come up with highly unrealistic and unattainable objectives. This is one of the principal reasons for the failure of the business planning process. This may occur due to the fact that the top management team has a divided opinion or is not wholly involved in the planning process (Mintzberg 1994). Also the planners have to work under uncertain market conditions and hence they need to monitor the goals from time to time. Most firms do not bother to discuss and make changes to the pre determined goals and this may lead to failure of the business plan. Market analysis and research The organization needs to thoroughly research the customer market by conducting a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a thorough research conducted with reference to identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat of the product market and the customer market. The main problem encountered in a market research is that the data collected may be outda ted or irrelevant for the purpose. In this case, the results generated on the basis of the research may be biased or flawed. Another problem organizations encounter is with the location

E-government Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

E-government - Dissertation Example It is worth mentioning that the aspect of e-government represents a dynamic process, constant innovations incorporated within advanced technologies and upgraded development of products along with processes. Consequently, the goal related to e-government depicts management of human as well as public finances and service delivery. Furthermore, it depicts enhancement of quality of the public services by a considerable level. It further takes into concern the climatic condition of investments that entail business-to-government transactional costs as well as lowers legal burdens. There exist four different models that are being used by the governments to create institutional framework in fulfilling the functions related to policy making as well as strategy formulation. Furthermore, implementation of models concerning e-government fosters effective governance as well as coordination by a greater level (Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 2003). Consequently, the four models repr esent policy along with investment coordination, administrative coordination, technical coordination and shared coordination. These models enhance the effectiveness of e-government related activities at large. With this concern, the concerned study will entail the global status as well as the trends being followed in the e- government sector. It will further entail the different models of e-government. The models of the e-government will include USA, Iraq and UK model. In addition, the study will further entail the historical process related to e-government. The study of the current situation prevailing within Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) forms a part of this study. Information related with the infrastructure of the society of KRG has also been included in this particular study. E-government based strategic targets as well as recommendations for KRG with respect to information society also frame a part of this particular study. The vision of the ministry of KRG linked with e-go vernment approach and its implementation forms a part of the concerned study. 2. Global Status and Trends in e-Government E-government represents the government that pursues to optimise the functions by transforming internal as well as external relationship in terms of applying information and communication technology. There exist certain effective driving forces that help in the development of e-government. World-making agenda helps ‘New Public Management’ coalitions in terms of raising the efficiency as well as the effectiveness within public administration. This further helps in saving with respect to personnel cost and thus raises the excellence of the communal services. Politicians, those who are concerned about societal welfare and the urban civilization based organisations consider e-government as an instrument for effectively managing labour market and reducing geographical constraints with respect to the supply of public services (Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 2003). Concerning with the emerging trends in e-government, it is to be stated that a new concept related to marketing as well as politics has been included in the contents of e- government website. Furthermore, it has been revealed that market value is defined in sub-categories. The subcategories

Research and Academic Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Research and Academic Skills - Essay Example If anyone is doing research on experiment learning within a practical subject i.e Hairdressing, you will look around, compare your initiative with others, compare your facilities, and so on. You might look at specialist, make promotions. In other words, before you bring anything you will collect verification and appraise it before making a final decision. Research is finding out what you don't already know. No one knows everything, but everybody knows something. However, to complicate matters, often what you know, or think you know, is incorrect. There are two basic purposes for research: to learn something, or to gather evidence. The first, to learn something, is for your own benefit. It is almost impossible for a human to stop learning. Research is organized learning, looking for specific things to add to your store of knowledge (Richard, 1996). There are three types of research, pure, original, and secondary. Each type has the goal of finding information and/or understanding something. The difference comes in the strategy employed in achieving the objective. Academic skills are all about helping you learn how to be a more effective learner and develop the research skills that will help you now and in the future (University of Southampton, 2009). The skills are most appropriately viewed as multivariate. In the popular literature, a multivariate view of skills is perhaps best encapsulated in Howard Gardner's (1993) writing about multiple intelligences. He defines seven intelligences: the linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences that are at such a premium in schools today; musical intelligence; spatial intelligence bodily-kinesthetic intelligence; and two forms of personal intelligence, one directed toward other persons, one directed toward oneself . Thus, academic Skills offer services for students who wish to develop their academic skills in any field. This service aims to help students develop independent learning strategies to maximize their academic performance. The Academic Skills usually run workshops and classes aimed at helping students develop their academic as well as practical skills. It supports the experiential learning to the students for their academic enhancement as well as career upliftment. The academic skills encourage critical thinking right from the start of the studies. It helps to build on the first skills-based assignment. The students tackle the task armed with guidelines, checklists and templates, and can consult the feedback. The academic skills will support to learn the required academic skills and are able to think critically about the issues (Bruton). c. Skills and Career: It is now commonly accepted that changes in work and the workplace are transforming the kinds of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for successful work performance. Evidence for new skill needs from employer surveys, for example, suggests that employers are often more concerned about soft skills or attitudes rather than technical knowledge or competencies. Empirical studies of work find that employers and workers also feel generic skills, such as problem solving, communication and the ability to work in teams, are increasingly important for workplace